<\/p>\n
Never a dull \u2013 even when you\u2019ve lived in a foreign country more than a decade.<\/p>\n
![\"horizontal](\"http:\/\/www.travelnlass.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Horizontal-File.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSorry, \u201csolo horizontal, Se\u00f1ora\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Still adoring my adopted home here in Cuenca, Ecuador (especially my sweet digs overlooking the gurgling Rio Tomebamba). And while you\u2019d think that after 11+ years of wandering these charming cobbled streets and noodling out where to unearth most every common household item, food, etc. (e.g. a simple safety pin, vertical file organizer \u2013 no such thing, \u201cSolo horizontal, Se\u00f1ora\u201d, etc.), I\u2019d have put such cultural\/language barriers behind me.<\/p>\n
Nosiree. Even w\/ my ever \u201cmejor\u201d Spanish, there\u2019s still plenty of elusive words for common objects, foods, etc. that lead to furtive searches (often involving comical miming).<\/p>\n
Case In Point: Tracking down a simple RUBBER BAND!<\/p>\n
The truth is, I like nothing better than the daily challenges that living in a foreign country guarantees. Indeed, for this life-long wanderlust, having a home-base in a foreign land to use as a springboard for traveling to ever new near and far-away countries \u2013 is the very best of all worlds.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, it is precisely the many little challenges that I actually THRIVE on. Since moving permanently abroad more than a decade ago (um, may I direct your eyeballs to that ticking clock \u2191 above that\u2019s poised to turn over to \u201c14\u201d years in a matter of days?), I\u2019ve often said that I\u2019d be bored silly within a week, should I ever find myself back in my old U.S. hood in Seattle. Everything would be far too easy there. Same language, same culture, same Target, same Walmart, same Home Depot, same-same everything that I\u2019ve known all my life. Though plenty modern and comfy (no Virginia, we\u2019re not all living in thatched, dirt-floored huts here in Ecuador), even as a veteran \u201cgringa\u201d here in Cuenca, there\u2019s still plenty of surprises around every corner.<\/p>\n
So here\u2019s the thing\u2026 I\u2019d run out of my small stash of rubber bands. Clearly a \u201cfirst-world problem\u201d but nonetheless, a PITA when I want to secure the cord to my food processor, hair straightener, etc. What to do?<\/p>\n
Now I know that the Spanish word \u201ccintur\u00f3n\u201d translates to \u201cbelt\u201d in English. But I\u2019ve learned that it likewise works well as \u201ctape\u201d when seeking a simple roll of masking tape. And \u201celastico\u201d is as you\u2019d expect \u2013 elastic. So perhaps \u201ccintur\u00f3n elastico\u201d might at least get me in the ballpark.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, to be on the safe side, I dutifully Google for the Spanish word for \u201crubber band\u201d and get \u201cbandas de goma\u201d (i.e. apparently \u201cgoma\u201d means \u201crubber\u201d \u2013 who knew?)<\/p>\n
Btw, I could have simply dropped a photo of rubber bands on my phone (a method that\u2019s worked great for \u201csafety pins\u201d, \u201cbamboo steamer\u201d, et al in the past) but I\u2019m trying to learn a foreign language here people \u2013 so such image-crutches aren\u2019t going to up my Spanish vocabulary game, now are they?<\/p>\n
Anyway\u2026 so off I skip to the local \u201cTarget\u201d (a.k.a. \u201cCoral\u201d here in Cuenca), intercept a stray worker, and politely ask: \u201cDisculpe Se\u00f1or, buenas tardes, \u00bfC\u00f3mo est\u00e1s?\u201d \u2013\u00a0 the ubiquitous preface to every blessed social and\/or commercial interaction here in Cuenca. And only THEN do I presume to ask: \u201c\u00bfVenden bandas de goma?\u201d<\/p>\n
Blank stare. Followed swiftly by a desperate look of misery as Cuencanos are nothing, if not exceedingly polite, uber-eager to please, and near-mortally wounded should they not be able to help a total stranger.<\/p>\n
\u201cTal vez\u2026 \u00bfLas cosas para la escuela???\u201d (school supplies, perhaps?)<\/p>\n Another energetic skip to the pencils, rulers, and crayons department and\u2026<\/p>\n Woa \u2013 wazzat???<\/p>\n By golly \u2013 packages of colorful RUBBER BANDS!!!<\/p>\n Turns out (as evidenced on the package), here in Ecuador they\u2019re called \u201cligas\u201d. Apparently it\u2019s slang, and \u201ccaucho\u201d is another name for \u201crubber\u201d. Go figure. \ud83e\udd2a<\/p>\n Then again\u2026 an \u201celastico\u201d garter does make a smidge of sense, and \u201cligar\u201d is the verb \u201cto tie\u201d after all (as in \u201cto tie together\u201d a series of f\u00fatbol teams, I suppose). So I guess it\u2019s just another example of the gazillion nuances in learning a foreign language.<\/p>\n In any case, clearly Google\u2019s literal \u201cbandas\u201d this and \u201cgoma\u201d that didn\u2019t cut it with my dear shop helper. And you can bet that I added a new bit of slang to my never-ending adventure of living here in Ecuador.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n P. S.<\/b> New here and curious who I am?\u00a0 Check my bio<\/a> to learn more!\u00a0 Better yet, subscribe to my email list (so you never miss a single post) and get a pdf of my 30+ Best Travel Tips (trust me, at least one is sure to be a revelation).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nAbout the Author<\/h4>\n