For the past week, I have been in chase of something that in the U.S. I might find in one stop at a Home Depot....
...a metal ring that is 1.5 inches in diameter. Yes, it is an obscure thing to be looking for...but I have been in search of it for an activity that I am doing with the girls at Dorotea Carrion tomorrow so I set off on my little scavenger hunt!
Here in Ecuador, there are a few things that lead to things turning into a wild goose chase. One is that sometimes us extranjeros (foreigners) don't know the proper vocabulary or word usage for an item. The other is that there are literally hundreds of stores in Loja that carry the most random things, so often you are guaranteed to go to at least 2 tiendas to find what you want. Small little tiendas full of random things so you keep trying, one after the other!
So, to start my hunt, I went to a ton of hardware stores (at least 5) asking for "un anillo de metal de 4 centimetros, mas o menos" (a ring of metal of 4 centimeters, more or less). I would get the response that they didn't carry it, but perhaps the next ferrateria down the road would have it. One guy asked me what it was for, and I couldn't really say...me telling him I am doing some teambuilders with a group of girls would lead me nowhere! The staff at Dorotea Carrion showed up with a u-shaped tube that was 4 cm but not what I needed. They were also at a loss of where you could buy something like that so I continued my hunt.
Today I headed into town in the rain, and Adam suggested that I stop by this big warehouse store called Placa Centro. I walk into this gigantic warehouse where they are cutting planks of wood, selling gallons of paint, and giant bags of sawdust. I gave up asking for "un anillo de metal" because it just brought about strange looks, so instead I pointed at my purse and asked if they had something similar to the rings on my purse.
My question led to a very sure response from the woman. She directed me to make a left at the corner down the hill and told me there would be a shop next to a few panaderias (semi-helfpul...there are panaderias on every block). It was the most confident response I had received in the past week (I had been getting a lot of "Ummm...maybe you can try another hardware store??") so I was happy to follow it. I arrived at a small hardware shop next to a panaderia and asked them if they carried something similar to what was on my purse. They shook their heads but then said, "There is a shop that is up the hill and to the left. They fix shoes and they have things like that." I thanked them and went to this next shop that fixes shoes. They regrettably told me that they too did not carry such an item...however they knew of one place that was sure to have it. Back down the hill, make a left, and it would be on that street. I wandered up and down the street not seeing a shop that would carry such a thing, so I gave one last shot and asked a small store that sold ribbons and asked if they knew where I could find something similar to the thing on my purse. The woman at the store smiled and pointed across the street and said "There is a shop that will sell that in the blue and yellow building. Their entrance is on the other street, so just make a right on the corner."
I walked into this shop, full of zippers, soles of shoes, belt straps, belt buckles...AND metal rings of 4 cm, more or less! I was soooo happy to pay my $0.20 (I even had a choice of silver or gold colored and a large variety of diameters!) after only having visited 5 locations today! And I was sure to ask what I should call this ring in the future, in case I ever had an inkling to buy another one. No, it was not an anillo (the word for a ring that you would wear)...it was an argolla. So in the future, "Estoy buscando una argolla de 4 centimetros, mas o menos." And I will prepare myself for yet another visit to no less than 5 tiendas in search of my obscure item that is sure to be sitting in some tienda somewhere in Loja!
3 comments:
that is crazy! i'd be annoyed having to walk up and down that hill.
I'm glad you found it though...and did you get mah package yet?
I'm most impressed that you were able to talk to all of those store vendors. I wish to be able to have my own wild goose chase someday. :)
This to me would be heaven! I call them missions... today my mission is to find a "---" and by the end of it all you have met people and seen thing you never knew existed.
Good job, Emily!
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