Bienvenido al primer episodio del podcast de video Curious Cuenca. En esta serie de podcasts, entrevistamos a personas interesantes de distintos ámbitos de la vida que viven en Cuenca, Ecuador. Los invitados incluyen expats nuevos y antiguos, negocios, locales interesantes y organizaciones sin fines de lucro con base en Cuenca.
También te permitimos donar a estas organizaciones sin fines de lucro a través de nuestrositio aquí.
Nuestro primer invitado es Jeff Schinsky. Jeff ha escrito numerosos artículos detallados para YapaTree, incluyendo¡Y ahora sos un expat: ¡Es hora de reinventarte!Este artículo me encantó, así que invité a Jeff a conversar para arrancar la serie de podcasts.
Vivir en el extranjero como expatriado puede ser tanto emocionante como desafiante, especialmente para los jubilados que buscan un nuevo capítulo en su vida. El camino de Jeff en Ecuador es una historia bacán de resiliencia, apoyo comunitario y crecimiento personal en medio de la inmersión y adaptación cultural. En este artículo, nos adentramos en las experiencias, reflexiones y valiosas lecciones de Jeff acumuladas durante su década en Cuenca, Ecuador.
El camino hacia Cuenca
La historia de Jeff comienza hace más de una década, cuando tomó la decisión que le cambió la vida de mudarse a Cuenca. Atraído por la accesibilidad económica de la ciudad y el espíritu de aventura, Jeff vio una oportunidad para empezar de nuevo. Recuerda haberse inspirado en un episodio de House Hunters International que mostraba el atractivo costo de vida de Cuenca, lo que lo impulsó a dar el salto desde su ciudad natal en Denver, EE.UU.
Al llegar, Jeff se propuso sumergirse en la cultura local, abrazando los retos y oportunidades que conlleva vivir en el extranjero. A pesar de los obstáculos iniciales y los ajustes inevitables de instalarse en un nuevo país, Jeff quedó cautivado por la vibrante comunidad y las infinitas posibilidades de crecimiento personal.
Abrazando el cambio y la comunidad
A medida que Jeff se fue asentando en la vida en Cuenca, inició un proceso de aprendizaje y transformación continua. De ser un introvertido declarado a convertirse en un participante activo en eventos comunitarios y actividades culturales, el camino de Jeff refleja el poder de abrazar el cambio. A través de su participación en diversas organizaciones y sus esfuerzos por aprender el idioma, Jeff descubrió un renovado sentido de propósito y pertenencia en Cuenca.
Jeff resalta la importancia de la comunidad en su camino, destacando la calidez y hospitalidad de la gente ecuatoriana. Al forjar vínculos con locales y otros expats por igual, Jeff cultivó una red de apoyo que enriqueció su experiencia y facilitó su integración en el vibrante tejido de vida de Cuenca.
Aportes a la comunidad expat
A medida que el camino de Jeff se fue desarrollando, reconoció la necesidad de una plataforma para conectar y apoyar a los expats que navegan la vida en Cuenca. Así nació "Expats Without Agendas", un grupo de Facebook dedicado a brindar recursos, consejos y camaradería a expats de todo el mundo.
A través de su rol como administrador del grupo, Jeff ha sido testigo de primera mano de la evolución de la comunidad expat de Cuenca. A pesar de los desafíos de moderar foros en línea y desmentir información incorrecta, Jeff sigue comprometido con fomentar un sentido de pertenencia y solidaridad entre los expats en Cuenca.
Navegando el mercado de arriendos
Basándose en su experiencia como agente de arriendos, Jeff ofrece consejos valiosos a los recién llegados sobre cómo elegir el barrio adecuado, evitar problemas de ruido ocultos, negociar contratos de arriendo y manejar las expectativas en un mercado competitivo. Sus perspectivas arrojan luz sobre las complejidades de arrendar en Cuenca, a la vez que ayudan a los expats a tomar decisiones informadas sobre sus opciones de vivienda.
Superando problemas de salud
A lo largo de su camino en Cuenca, Jeff ha enfrentado sus propios problemas de salud, desde batallar contra el COVID-19 hasta navegar el sistema de salud como expat. A pesar de estos contratiempos, Jeff se mantiene resiliente, compartiendo abiertamente sus experiencias para concientizar y apoyar a otros que enfrentan obstáculos similares.
Con un compromiso hacia el manejo proactivo de la salud y la defensa comunitaria, Jeff subraya la importancia de priorizar el bienestar en la experiencia expat. Su historia es un testimonio de la fortaleza y resiliencia de los expats en Cuenca, inspirando a otros a tomar las riendas de su salud y abrazar el camino de la auto-reinvención.
Apoyo familiar y comunitario
El apoyo incondicional de la familia de Jeff y de la comunidad expat durante los momentos difíciles fue muy importante para él. En medio de los problemas de salud, la presencia constante de su esposa durante las visitas al hospital y la generosidad de los expats locales subrayan la importancia de construir una red de apoyo en tierra extraña. La experiencia de Jeff destaca el papel vital de los lazos comunitarios para navegar los altibajos de la vida expat, especialmente para los jubilados lejos de su tierra natal.
Integración y aprendizaje del idioma
Uno de los aspectos fundamentales del camino de Jeff es su énfasis en aprender español para integrarse efectivamente en la cultura ecuatoriana. A través de anécdotas de interacciones cotidianas y situaciones de emergencia, Jeff ilustra la necesidad práctica y el significado cultural de las habilidades lingüísticas. Sus consejos subrayan la importancia de adoptar el idioma local para sumergirse plenamente en el tejido de la vida ecuatoriana y fomentar conexiones más profundas dentro de la comunidad.
Adaptando hobbies y estilo de vida
La capacidad de adaptación de Jeff brilla a medida que explora nuevos hobbies y experiencias en Ecuador. Desde cultivar bonsáis hasta unirse a bandas locales e iniciar un círculo de tambores, el camino de Jeff ejemplifica el espíritu de curiosidad y exploración que define la vida expat. A través de estas actividades, no solo abraza la cultura ecuatoriana sino que también encuentra espacios para la expresión personal y la realización, mostrando el poder transformador de perseguir las pasiones en un nuevo entorno.
Resiliencia y superación de desafíos
A pesar de enfrentar problemas de salud y dudas ocasionales, la resiliencia y el optimismo de Jeff se mantienen inquebrantables. Su disposición a aprender nuevas habilidades, como tocar instrumentos musicales, refleja una mentalidad de crecimiento y una determinación de abrazar plenamente las oportunidades de la vida. A través de la perseverancia y una actitud positiva, Jeff ejemplifica la resiliencia necesaria para navegar las complejidades de la vida expat y prosperar en medio de la adversidad.
Reflexiones sobre la vida en Ecuador
Las reflexiones de Jeff ofrecen una perspectiva matizada sobre la naturaleza cambiante de la sociedad ecuatoriana. Si bien reconoce los cambios en las percepciones de seguridad y las dinámicas sociales, mantiene una profunda apreciación por la belleza natural del país, su riqueza cultural y la calidez de su gente. El camino de Jeff subraya la importancia de abrazar el cambio manteniéndose arraigado en la gratitud y el optimismo por las experiencias que Ecuador tiene para ofrecer.
Consejos para futuros expats
A medida que Jeff reflexiona sobre su camino expat, ofrece consejos valiosos a los futuros expats, instándoles a aprovechar las oportunidades y abrazar la jubilación temprano. Su historia es un testimonio del potencial transformador de la vida expat, enfatizando la importancia de la resiliencia, la comunidad y la disposición a abrazar nuevas experiencias. A través de la perspectiva de Jeff, los aspirantes a expats obtienen una visión de las recompensas y desafíos de vivir en el extranjero, inspirándolos a embarcarse en su propio camino de descubrimiento y crecimiento.
Cerrando
El camino de Jeff en Ecuador es uno interesante y satisfactorio. Un tejido entretejido con resiliencia, comunidad y crecimiento personal. Esperamos que vos puedas usar sus experiencias como inspiración para tu propio camino transformador durante tu tiempo en Cuenca.
Nos encantaría escuchar sobre tu camino en los comentarios. Y, por favor considerádonar a las organizaciones sin fines de lucro de Cuenca.
Nos vemos en el próximo episodio de Curious Cuenca.
Lecturas adicionales:
Reinventándote en Cuenca - Curious Cuenca Podcast EP1 (Transcripción)
Jason00:00
Bienvenido al Curious Cuenca Podcast de YapaTree. Estoy súper emocionado de compartir este proyecto con vos. Es un concepto que ha estado dando vueltas en mi cabeza por varios años y finalmente está tomando forma. El concepto general es bastante sencillo. Curious Cuenca es un podcast de video donde entrevistamos a personas interesantes de distintos ámbitos de la vida que viven en Cuenca, Ecuador. Los invitados incluyen expats nuevos y antiguos, negocios, locales interesantes y organizaciones sin fines de lucro con base en Cuenca.
Jason00:28
Estas organizaciones sin fines de lucro también juegan un papel clave en el podcast ya que te permitimos donarles. Hay muchas organizaciones benéficas que se merecen apoyo en Cuenca y que batallan un poco con el mercadeo. Bueno, seamos honestos, todas batallan bastante y muchos de nuestros seguidores están en proceso de mudarse a Cuenca y están buscando maneras de contribuir a su nuevo hogar. Esto les da la oportunidad de empezar a hacer una diferencia antes de llegar. Claro que no estamos tratando de lucrarnos con tus donaciones, el 100% menos cualquier comisión de PayPal se dona una vez que alcanzamos el umbral objetivo, y estamos empezando este umbral en $500. Ojalá no nos tome mucho tiempo llegar ahí y con tu apoyo, estoy seguro de que podemos lograrlo.
Jason01:12
¿Y cuál es mi motivación? Bueno, es doble. Primero, como creador de contenido, creo que esta es la manera en que puedo tener el mayor impacto ayudando a estas organizaciones sin fines de lucro. Segundo, soy súper curioso por naturaleza y esta serie de podcasts me da una excusa para hablar con personas interesantes con las que de otra manera probablemente no me cruzaría.
Jason01:33
Se podría decir que esta serie de podcasts es la próxima iteración de mi camino en Cuenca. Representa un cambio importante para mí y tengo que decir que he pasado por un montón de cambios diferentes desde que estoy en Ecuador y en particular en Cuenca. Esto nos lleva al tema de hoy, Reinventándote en Cuenca. Es un gran placer para mí darle la bienvenida al primer invitado del podcast Curious Cuenca, Jeff Schinsky. Quizás conocés a Jeff por su grupo de Facebook Expats Without Agendas, o por tocar en su banda Northern Roots, o por alguna de las otras muchas actividades que Jeff parece haber adoptado durante su jubilación en Cuenca. Bienvenido Jeff. Muchas gracias por estar aquí, la primera pregunta es simplemente lo básico: ¿cuánto tiempo llevás en Cuenca y por qué elegiste Cuenca como tu destino?
Jeff02:22
Acabo de cumplir mi décimo aniversario el 1 de febrero. Llegué en diciembre de 2013 y en dos meses había vendido la mayoría de mis cosas y me había venido a vivir a Cuenca.
Jason02:40
¿Qué? ¿Qué fue lo que te llamó la atención de Cuenca?
Jeff02:44
Bueno, había visto un episodio de House Hunters International con una pareja canadiense que ya no está aquí. Pero estaban buscando departamentos y otras propiedades, ya sabés, quinientos, seiscientos al mes por estos lugares grandes y bien chéveres. Y ahí estaba yo en Denver pagando mil seiscientos dólares al mes por un departamento pequeño de dos habitaciones, con un promedio de trescientos al mes en servicios básicos. Los planes de celular, los planes de cable y televisión, todo cuesta más allá, y cuando vi cuánto, ya sabés, estaban hablando del costo de vida acá, lo guardé en el fondo de mi mente. Todavía no estaba listo para mudarme, pero se quedó ahí en el fondo de mi mente.
Jason03:34
¿Entonces fue el costo de vida lo que generó esa primera chispa, como decir, hey, puedo vivir en Ecuador y va a ser como la mitad de lo que estabas considerando en los EE.UU.? ¿O cuando hiciste los cálculos, cómo resultó?
Jeff03:46
Resultó ser más como un tercio, en realidad, y no vine aquí solo como un refugiado económico como sé que algunos han hecho. Lo vi como, ya sabés, tengo espíritu de aventura, así que simplemente parecía algo bacán de hacer.
Jason04:04
Bacán. El artículo sobre reinventarte en Cuenca es chévere, es muy detallado así que muchas gracias por escribirlo, es muy personal y también aprecio eso. ¿Qué te inspiró a escribir un relato tan personal o a compartir con otros tu relato personal?
Jeff04:22
Bueno, lo principal es que mi vida ha cambiado tanto desde lo que era antes de venir aquí. Yo era una persona muy anónima que básicamente se mantenía para sí misma. Soy un introvertido a ultranza, ya sabés, casi fuera de escala. Pero mi vida aquí ha cambiado tanto, se ha abierto de tantas maneras diferentes y me he metido en otras actividades, conocido a tanta gente, aprendido el idioma aquí, involucrado en tantas cosas. Solo quería mostrarle a la gente que había opciones aquí. Cuenca es un buen lugar para salir y hacer cosas y encontrar actividades, ya sea en idiomART tomando una clase de acuarela o lo que sea. Hay tanto que la gente puede hacer aquí y simplemente quería compartir eso. O sea, pasé de ser alguien que casi no hacía nada fuera de casa a alguien que se ha expandido de muchas maneras diferentes y solo quería compartir eso con la gente y hacerles saber que era una posibilidad.
Jason05:27
Creo que es un gran testimonio de las posibilidades que existen y este tema es algo con lo que personalmente me encuentro todo el tiempo, ya sabés, cada expat que llega aquí dice: "¿Cómo voy a pasar mi tiempo?" Bueno, claro que podés pasarlo como lo has pasado en los States, pero este es un muy buen momento para pensar cómo y qué querés que sea tu vida. Así que creo que para mí, ese es probablemente uno de los principales mensajes: sí, podés venir efectivamente a Cuenca, abrazar el cambio. Y hay muchas oportunidades disponibles para vos. Pero creo que el punto es que no van a ir detrás de vos y esto es algo que mencionaste en el artículo, es que tuviste que ponerte ahí afuera, especialmente siendo introvertido. Me imagino que eso fue bastante difícil, especialmente durante esos pasos iniciales. ¿Podés contarme algunos de esos pasos iniciales que te ayudaron a salir adelante?
Jeff06:18
Bueno, uno es que no me llevo bien con el aburrimiento. Como no hablaba español todavía en ese momento, al menos. O sea, podía decir algunas palabras, algunas frases, pero básicamente, y estaba solo. Vine aquí por mi cuenta y empecé a sentirme algo aislado, así que empecé a buscar cosas que hacer, y eso me llevó naturalmente a, ya sabés, adoptar un hobby, luego otro hobby. Ya sabés, algunos de esos hobbies se convirtieron en pasiones permanentes, y otros se convirtieron simplemente en algo que hice temporalmente. Lo disfruté por un tiempo y luego seguí adelante.
Jason06:55
Así que simplemente no querías quedarte dentro viendo tele todo el día y sé que eso es tentador para algunos expats porque es la opción fácil.
Jason07:03
Y entonces avanzando hacia algunos de los aspectos más culturales, y muchos expats especialmente, ya sabés, nuestra oficina, el estudio está en El Centro. Tiene un ambiente romántico y para todos los que llegan a Cuenca, creo que es justo decir que una de las atracciones iniciales es la diversidad cultural, entonces mi pregunta para vos es ¿cómo eso ha ayudado a remodelar la identidad que tenés ahora en Cuenca, las experiencias culturales que has tenido aquí?
Jeff07:29
Bueno, he vivido en el extranjero antes. Pasé 20 años en la Fuerza Aérea de los EE.UU. y viví en otros dos países. Afortunadamente, la gente allá hablaba inglés, así que no tuve que aprender otro idioma. Pero sí, ya sabés, tener que aprender el idioma aquí. Bueno, no tenía que hacerlo, ya sabés, mucha gente no lo hace.
Jason07:54
Pero sentiste que necesitabas hacerlo.
Jeff07:56
Sí, siento que si vas a vivir en otro país, si realmente querés experimentarlo al máximo, necesitás poder comunicarte con la gente que te rodea y, ya sabés, no quería depender de facilitadores y otros traductores para todo lo que hago, así que.
Jason08:15
Mencionaste en el artículo básicamente convertirte en parte de una familia ecuatoriana y definitivamente puedo relacionarme con eso y hay muchos aprendizajes. No siempre es fácil, pero sí añade una dimensión completamente diferente al tiempo aquí y así que me encantaría que pudieras contarme algunas de las alegrías pero también algunos de los desafíos del otro lado que has experimentado personalmente con esto.
Jeff08:44
Sí, bueno, uno de los desafíos inmediatos fue poder entender todo el jerga que hablaban mis tres nuevas hijas. Todavía tengo problemas a veces para entender a la gente menor de 30 años aquí.
Jason08:57
¿Sí, son cuencanas?
Jeff08:58
Sí, bueno, mi esposa es originalmente de Portoviejo y...
Jason09:04
¿Ese jerga costeño está presente en tu esposa?
Jeff09:09
Después de hablar con su madre o hermana por teléfono, la manaba en ella sale y empieza a hablar lo que yo llamo Chino, así que tengo que recordarle que vuelva a cambiar. Ella ha vivido en Cuenca por bien más de 20 años así que puede hablar tanto español costeño como serrano. Pero algunos de los otros desafíos fueron, quiero decir, simplemente hacen las cosas de manera muy diferente. Hay mucho y no necesariamente de mala manera, quiero decir, hay un gran enfoque en la familia y los amigos y sé que he aprendido mucho de ellos. Por ejemplo, en los EE.UU. no entras a un banco o sales de un banco y le dás las gracias al guardia de seguridad que sostiene una escopeta, pero cuando noté que mi esposa lo hacía, ya sabés, ella decía hola y adiós y gracias a todos y yo no me daba cuenta de lo importante que era eso aquí. Y realmente es parte de la cultura y descubrí, ya sabés, al hablar con algunos ecuatorianos, que consideran que muchos de los expats son groseros o despectivos porque no hacen esas cosas y así que fue una lección muy importante para mí aquí y un poco desafiante debido a mi introversión, no soy naturalmente extrovertido de esa manera.
Jeff10:36
Pero en cuanto a, ya sabés, algunas de las alegrías de estar en una familia ecuatoriana, no creo haber lavado más de un par de platos en los últimos siete años. No me dejan hacer nada por mí mismo, así que decir que me cuidan bien sería quedarse corto. Y a veces eso puede ser frustrante porque era una persona bastante independiente. Estuve soltero durante ocho años antes de llegar aquí y aunque todavía extraño la pérdida de mi independencia hasta cierto punto, ya sabés, ser parte de una familia amorosa compensa mucho eso.
Jason11:18
La mamá de Michelle está viviendo con nosotros en este momento, así que básicamente ha tomado, ya sabés, lo que vos estás hablando, como que simplemente va a la cocina, prepara comida, se asegura de que nadie en la casa tenga hambre, y probablemente algunos de los vecinos también, así que es muy chévere para mí.
Jason11:32
Sigamos con tu grupo de Facebook, Expats Without Agendas, porque definitivamente puedo relacionarme con eso. Nosotros empezamos nuestro grupo de Facebook por una razón muy similar, el panorama actual no estaba necesariamente satisfaciendo las necesidades que pensábamos que tenían los expats aquí. Ahora las cosas han cambiado mucho desde que empezamos nuestro grupo y aún más imagino desde que vos empezaste el tuyo porque el tuyo es más antiguo que el nuestro. Y entonces mi pregunta es, ¿cómo te sentís respecto al panorama actual de los innumerables grupos de Facebook que existen específicamente para ayudar a los expats aquí en Cuenca?
Jeff12:09
Bueno, una cosa es que siento que hay mucha duplicación. Cuando llegué aquí por primera vez, había dos o tres grupos generales de expats, ahora ni siquiera puedo contarlos, son demasiados.
Jason12:25
La barrera de entrada es tan baja que cualquiera puede en dos segundos crear un nuevo grupo.
Jason12:33
¿Cómo te sentís respecto a la calidad de la información en esos grupos y supongo que hay alguna limitación en este momento que ves?
Jeff12:39
Bueno, hay limitaciones en todos los grupos realmente, incluyendo el mío. Quiero decir, como admin activo en el grupo, trato de asegurarme de que cualquier información que se comparta sea precisa.
Jason12:51
Eso es complicado y consume mucho tiempo.
Jeff12:52
Es complicado especialmente si alguien más en tu grupo, ya sabés, da información incorrecta, ya sabés, tenés que encontrar una manera diplomática de tratar de corregir eso, pero he visto en otros grupos, algunos de los cuales me han sacado porque estaban dando información incorrecta como sobre la ley de arriendos y diferentes cosas culturales y eso me parece frustrante. Cuando visito esos otros grupos veo algo de la información que simplemente no es precisa y eso puede estar basado quizás en una experiencia con un facilitador, un médico, un hospital o una compañía de seguros.
Jason13:44
Eso puede ser difícil de equilibrar, porque ya sabés, obviamente, todo el mundo tiene una opinión. La opinión de todos es válida, pero si solo tenés una muestra de, ya sabés, uno, entonces es bastante difícil darle mucho peso a eso. Supongo que eso es algo que a veces se pasa por alto, ya sabés, cuál es el tamaño de la muestra y cosas así. Así que creo que hay algunas limitaciones especialmente con la desinformación que existe por ahí. Pero al mismo tiempo, también creo que actúan como un muy buen punto de partida. Y así que, yo no le sugeriría a nadie que base su decisión únicamente en, ya sabés, referencias no confiables y desconocidas en muchos casos, pero al menos te va a dar un punto de partida, así que creo que hay valor en eso.
Jeff14:27
Bueno, soy un admin bastante activo en el sentido de que sí miro la información que la gente está publicando y hago tanto chequeo de datos como puedo, y tanto control de daños como puedo. Pero una de las cosas que hago es escribir preventivamente muchos artículos o simplemente, ya sabés, diferentes publicaciones para difundir información y tratar de que haya buena información desde el principio para que la gente tenga algo con qué trabajar.
Jason14:56
Así que, Jeff, entiendo hasta cierto punto la cantidad de esfuerzo que se necesita para moderar algunos de estos grupos de Facebook, la cantidad de mediación que terminás haciendo, ya sabés, entre los miembros. No creo que mucha gente realmente entienda cuánto tiempo y cuántas horas-hombre se invierten en moderar estos grupos y así que la pregunta para mí es ¿por qué? Ya sabés, ¿qué obtiene Jeff de esto? Y también voy a asumir que simplemente ayuda a mejorar tu sentido de comunidad aquí y mi pregunta entonces es ¿cómo mejora el sentido de comunidad?
Jeff15:28
Bueno, he llegado a conocer a mucha de esta gente y he hecho muchos amigos. También quiero darle un reconocimiento a mi equipo de admins. Tengo otras tres personas que me ayudan mucho, así que eso es muy importante para cualquier grupo más grande. Pero lo que yo obtengo de esto es que soy una especie de ayudador compulsivo, ya sabés, es algo basado en mis 25 años en educación de adultos. Simplemente disfruto compartir información y cosas que sé que ayudarán. Lo que realmente me motiva es que quería un grupo que ayudara a los expats a ser expats más exitosos, ya sabés, que no cometan muchos de los errores que yo cometí. Muchas de mis publicaciones terminan siendo yo relatando algo que hice que no debería haber hecho o que desearía haber hecho diferente. Me gusta pensar que es útil
Jason 16:37
It definitely helps with that purpose. So moving on now to your experience as a rental agent, you know that's obviously something we have a lot of crossover with. We do a lot of rentals here at YapaTree. So what I would love to know first is what were the main lessons that you'd learned throughout your time as a rental agent here in Cuenca and just to be clear, you're no longer offering this service?
Jeff 17:00
No. Well, for one thing, it's very different from renting in the US you know where they have these standardized contracts that you just signed without reading here you really have to read the lease. One thing I found out was that most of the time when a rental agent is working for the owner the agent supplies the lease. And I've spent a lot of my time rewriting leases and making them fair to both parties. Actually, one of the things that is kind of a maxim of mine, it's not 100 true, but I like to think that there are no bad landlords, just bad leases, 'cause it's, you know, which isn't really true there are bad land landlords out there, but you know.
Jason 17:50
Don't start off on the right foot of the good lease.
Jeff 17:53
Right, a good lease is what insulates you from some of the…
Jason 17:58
One of our big learnings is expectation setting is probably the most important part of where a lot of agents just don't do a particularly good job with the tenants and with the landlords too. That's the other side of the equation that a lot of expats don't necessarily see, but it's not necessarily easy on the landlord's side because they have their expectations as well and so you're really trying to manage those. How did you deal with that side of things, dealing with the landlords in particular, I know that your Spanish is very good, but still, I'm assuming at the time there was still a little bit of a gap or can you just walk me through that?
Jeff 18:35
Well, my Spanish is fair, it's decent anyway. Well, it was a gringo working with a Venezuelan partner. And you know, the Venezuelans have a bit of a challenge here being accepted by the local people and so you can imagine, you know, a gringo and a Venezuelan, showing up at your door and say, do you mind if we list your house, I think.
Jason 19:01
It's with a Colombian as well from the same challenges sometimes.
Jeff 19:05
Yes, that was more of a part-time thing but my regular partner was Venezuelan and at one time we actually got run off the property by an old man who didn't like expats or Venezuelans. I mean he literally ran us off the property and said don't come back, you know so.
Jason 19:24
But in general, did you find landlords were workable or did you just find that there was some certain key challenges that just kept coming up and up?
Jeff 19:32
Well of course they they're not always keen on paying a commission for the help but a lot of them do realize the value of having someone promoting their property and are more than happy to do that. So I mean the biggest challenge really was just finding the properties to list and.
Jason 19:59
Very manual, right is that your experience as well?
Jeff 20:02
Yes, very manual spent a lot of time driving around, walking around looking for properties. So yeah, it was pretty time labor-intensive.
Jason 20:15
Yeah, absolutely we call it pounding the pavement and it really is. I do know Jeff as well that you've spent a lot of time studying the various neighborhoods that you've pulled together the map of Cuenca neighbourhoods, which we've used a lot at YapaTree so thanks for that great resource. But my question is really, what's your advice on choosing a particular neighborhood for newer expats?
Jeff 20:39
One of the most important things that seem to be an issue for expats here is noise and knowing what to look for and what to look out for. Things like you know if you're upstairs in a house that you're considering renting, you want to look out the window and see who's next door might be a machine shop or a cuy ranch or something like that. Some friends of mine actually moved into a place where there was an empty storefront and they thought oh this is a nice quiet area until they started having cock fights there on Friday and Saturday night.
Jason 21:24
Hidden noise issues are the tough ones, especially like you think somewhere could be really nice.
Jeff 21:28
Like living next to a park that has bailoterapia either early in the morning or late at night that's a big issue. Some types of churches, and different schools living next to or across from a vacant lot can be a big wake up. You know suddenly they start building. I know people who've bought very nice condos and then in the vacant lot across the street, they built a taller one so suddenly they have no view anymore. So I tell people to avoid vacant lots, you know, because you know they're not going to stay empty for very long.
Jason 22:07
It's also important how big that lot is as well. And so this is something that we come up with a lot and so some lots obviously you can do certain amount on, but for example to have a big building you need a certain size lot in order for that to happen so I completely agree but at the same time I'll probably take that a little bit step a step further and just be you know really clear on what is possible to be built in this certain neighborhood just so you've got some sort of idea as to what to expect potentially in the future.
Jason 22:36
And I've personally found, like operating the rental business, there's a lot of challenges here, a bunch of different challenges, some cultural, many cultural to be honest with you, that's probably been my biggest challenge. I'm very much interested in the challenges that you faced and whether or not you'd actually recommend going down this path or potentially being a rental agent here in Cuenca.
Jeff 23:03
In a word, no. I wouldn't. I wouldn't recommend it to any expat, really. Unless they just needed the income, which was my case. I came down here with enough of an income to support one person and then all of a sudden I was in a family of five. So I had to look for some way to supplement that income.
Jason 23:23
But there are some expats and this is the question that we're answering really is if you need to generate some sort of income here, is this a path that you would suggest we do come across this a little bit.
Jeff 23:33
It's certainly as long as you have a decent level of Spanish, you understand the rental laws, and have a pretty good feel for cultural differences here and how to approach people because approaches can be very important. I refer to it as the dance. You know you need to, you know there needs to be some compliments there needs to be some building we were.
Jason 24:01
Talking about before with the introductions and making sure they're always proper.
Jeff 24:04
Right all of that's extremely important so you know for somebody who is up for that challenge it can be an interesting job. I won't say I didn't enjoy it, but it was challenging at times. You know, sometimes you have a client that just doesn't like anything and you know.
Jason 24:33
Showing them 20 different apartments and nothing.
Jeff 24:34
Right. If I wish the light was a foot over this way or the tile on the bathroom was a different color so yeah.
Jason 24:42
And especially in the rental market, it moves so quickly that if you don't have a yes pretty much straight away, then that apartment's going to go right and then you're back at square one with properties that maybe instead of nine out of 10 boxes tick 7 out of 10.
Jeff 24:55
Right
Jason 24:56
We always suggest to people if you find a place and it's gonna work for you do need to act relatively quickly. Don't take the first property that comes to you and if you do like a property, chances are next time you know give it a couple of days if it's a good property, it's just not gonna be there. That's the reality of the rental market right now. I'm not saying it's always going to be like that.
Jason 25:17
Moving on to some of the personal side of things I know a little bit about some of the health issues you had, especially moving away from Cuenca you spent a bunch of time in Manta and predominantly for that. Can you just walk me through how you managed to overcome some of those health issues because you know, a lot of expats move here and they do have similar issues as well.
Jeff 25:40
Well. For one, I've not exactly overcome all...
Jason 25:44
You're still there with the COVID.
Jeff 25:46
Yes, I got COVID about 20 months ago and I've had a long COVID since then and then I got COVID again just about two months ago and that didn't help matters. Just in those past 20 months, you know I had COVID twice, dengue fever once from a mosquito bite down in Manta, torn hamstring, and developed a lot of different issues related to the long COVID. And just about two weeks ago I had prostate surgery which you know I mean that's how that's kind of personal but I wrote up the whole story of my expat page because you know these are issues that men of a certain age need to be aware of and again I like to put the word out there so people don't make the same mistakes I did. I was told, well, maybe a year and a half ago, "Well, your prostate's a little enlarged and someday you may need surgery." To, "Oh, your prostate's four times normal size. It needs to come out right now."
Jason 27:03
In a space of a year and a half.
Jeff 27:04
Yeah, and so you know.
Jason 27:08
Getting those checks is basically what you're saying.
Jeff 27:09
Right. I don't want to see somebody else have major health problems because you know I didn't share what I know about it. Again that's part of the educator in me who likes to get the word out and help people not make mistakes that I made.
Jason 27:32
How much of an impact has your family had on this and just, you know, helping throughout this period?
Jeff 27:39
Well, they've been incredibly supportive. I mean I honestly don't know how I would have gotten by without the help of my family. The times I've been in the hospital my wife stays there the entire time and I've also I've also gotten a lot of incredible support from the local expat community too. The level of caring and generosity here in the expat community is as far above anything I ever experienced in the US and it's a special thing here. I mean I can't go into a lot of detail but I've gotten a lot of help from local expats here.
Jason 28:24
Awesome and just in terms of the integration side of things, exactly how important do you think learning Spanish is? Do you think it's possible to properly integrate, especially culturally if you come here and you basically have Spanish light or you're basically making an active decision not to learn Spanish? How much is that likely to impact someone?
Jeff 28:49
Well, the example I always give is what if you're at the mall and you collapse and you can't tell the people standing around you, "My heart pills are in my backpack." Or, "I'm diabetic and I need some glucose." That's actually something I experienced at Supermaxi once. A woman had... an expat woman had collapsed and there were like 20 people around her trying to help her and figure out what was wrong and they were all saying well I think it's this or I think it's that. And I came up there and she says I'm diabetic and my glucose went too low and I just collapsed and so and I was able to help in that situation.
Jason 29:30
So you're basically saying like not, yeah obviously it's going to enhance your life, but it can also if you don't even have to know the basics, it can actually be quite detrimental and really quite dangerous in certain circumstances.
Jeff 29:41
Right, but in terms of enhancing your life, I mean it seems like a tiny thing but I used to go to this one shop to buy printer cartridges when I first got here and I wasn't speaking hardly any Spanish at the time. And the first time I went in and worked the courage to ask for the same cartridge in Spanish they sold it to me for like $5 cheaper. So just being able to use Spanish to negotiate prices is a big thing here. Language is culture. I mean you can't really separate the two so if you don't know at least maybe a lower intermediate level of Spanish you're never really going to fully integrate into the culture here and I do know a lot of people who left because they just didn't.
Jason 30:44
Just couldn't get over that hurdle.
Jeff 30:45
Right they just, they just didn't feel like they fit in. So yeah.
Jason 30:48
Well, that's interesting. So yeah, we don't want to beat it down that you have to learn Spanish and everyone's free to make their own decisions, but I do think it's good to know that this is the likelihood. You're only going to get so far if you are actively making that decision not to learn Spanish.
Jeff 31:04
Yeah, whether they'll learn it or not that you're gonna, you know it's a personal decision and a lot of people believe they're too old to learn which I know that's not necessarily true.
Jason 31:23
Not true, but it does get harder right?
Jeff 31:23
It does get harder as you get older, but you know it's.
Jason 31:27
Easy to use that as an excuse as well.
Jeff 31:29
Yeah, but I would say that at a minimum, people should at least learn what I would refer to as survival Spanish, you know, the things that you need to do daily business, to address medical issues that you may have, things like that.
Jason 31:44
And I think that's pretty much achievable for most people though. Like that level of survival Spanish is attainable. So moving on to some of the other things. I really like just the variety of different activities that you've basically been keeping yourself busy with and I'm a little bit the same you know like pottering around different things. One of the ones in particular I enjoyed was the bonsai and growing up my mom was obsessed with the bonsais, absolutely loved them and I would always see her, you know, fussing and finessing and it was a lot it was a huge commitment and she loved it until the day that someone stole all of her bonsais. And obviously, you know, she left it. But it sounds like you enjoyed it but you basically stopped because it was just too difficult to keep them alive ultimately.
Jeff 32:31
Well, I mean that was an issue. I definitely have more that have died than are still alive. But I mean Bonsais are very particular, they get accustomed to a particular space, a certain amount of water, a certain amount of light, and if you suddenly change things on them... The way you have to create them, the way the root system is, they're just extremely delicate so any changes and they tend to react badly and because I moved a number of times and I would take the plants with me, I'd lose two or three every time.
Jeff 33:08
Did you take some to Manta with you?
Jeff 33:10
No, I didn't take any plants down there, but I didn't really quit because they were dying on me it was more it had kind of run its course. I wanted to move on to different things, but there was also the issue of the pricing of the plants. You used to be able to go to a nursery and you pick up a small plant that looks like, yeah that's got bonsai potential and it cost $2 or $3 and then suddenly all the nurseries caught on and now those same plants were costing $10 or $12 and so I just got to the point where it...
Jason 33:54
You didn't want to pay four times.
Jeff 33:56
No, and again, I was ready to move on to other things. It was right about the time that I got married and had a new family so I had to start focusing on other things.
Jason 34:09
Have you visited the Nayon neighborhood in Quito, just outside of Quito?
Jeff 34:13
No, I haven't.
Jason 34:14
Next time you go to Quito, check it out. I know you're not really into bonsais anymore, but I'm sure you'll appreciate the variety and the prices there too. There are some really quality prices. We go there quite a bit every time we're in Quito.
Jeff 34:27
There's actually a place on Diez de Agosto close to ETAPA that it's a bonsai shop. They have a lot of bonsais there for sale and the prices are fairly decent and they have a lot of supplies for people who want to get into that hobby so.
Jason 34:41
There is a little bonsai club here I believe, but I think it's only in Spanish. Do you know of any?
Jeff 34:46
I've heard of it and I know that they've had some big shows and things here, but I never attended any of them. But no, I still, you know, love the bonsai. I still have a few of them but you know I just have other things that occupy my time.
Jason 35:02
What about orchids? Have you moved on to orchids at all?
Jeff 35:05
No, I haven't gotten that brave yet no.
Jason 35:09
I'm the same.
Jeff 35:09
I love them though. I've been to that shop down by Gualaceo where they have all the orchids. They're beautiful.
Jason 35:16
Go check out Uzhupud Gardens. The same owners from Ecuagenera, they're now owning Uzhupud gardens and so there's just orchids everywhere there. It is amazing and it's great to see what the possibilities are. Of course, when we take those plants home they don't tend to survive as long or thrive in the same way, but that's a challenge that we're working on too.
Jason 35:38
One of the other things that I really enjoyed was you have this mentality of fixing as opposed to throwing away and buying new and that very much fits with the Cuencano way of life and I really like that. What got you into that and I guess why do you continue to do that? Because I know we don't have Amazon here now but it's got a lot easier to purchase a lot of the little creature comforts that you may like.
Jeff 36:12
Well, I mean, one was just seeing how they do it here. I mean you go into Supermaxi and Coral and there's a whole aisle of blender parts you know and if and if you walk around El Centro, there are shops to fix pretty much anything whereas you go to La Rapida with a pair of old beaten up practically destroyed running shoes and they can make them almost new again. So, that was kind of part of my inspiration. And then the rest of it was just a necessity. You know, when I'm back in the States, I go to Home Depot or Lowe's and I go through those gray metal drawers where they have all the tiny bits of specialized hardware that you can't find here to bring a lot of that back with me so I can use it for different projects or repairing different things but yeah, and the quality of goods here is not that great. A lot of them are imported for places where quality is not all that important, you know. Microphone stands for instance, I can't tell you how many microphone stands I've prepared for either for myself or for other people because they tend to last about 3 months and then they fall apart. There's a certain level of satisfaction in taking something that's broken.
Jason 37:32
What's given you the most satisfaction? Is there, you know, one little project or, you know, one repair job that you've done that you're like, wow, I've surprised myself here?
Jeff 37:40
Well, pretty much all of them I would say I've been, you know, it's always a huge sense of satisfaction to say you know to take something that's not functional, making it functional again. And yeah, it's just something I've always enjoyed but I never did it anywhere near the level. You know, like the little $10 shopping cart you buy at Coral, the wheels fall off of those after a couple months but I found a way to fix those and you know it's yeah, it's just personally satisfying being able to do that.
Jason 38:13
What about your walking sticks? Are you still manufacturing those?
Jeff 38:17
No, that was kind of a passing fancy too. I did those for a while and sold some, and still have some, but you know when I go hiking I need one as like a third leg to help me keep my balance and keep me from falling down the hill but that, you know, that was fun while it lasted but it was, you know, again, I decided just to move on to other things.
Jason 38:46
Awesome and just moving on a little bit. So I don't want to beat the introvert thing to death, but that is a key challenge and my question is you've you started off as an introvert, you mean you still introvert a person but you were very much guarded towards keeping your anonymity at one point but now you basically are seemingly saying let the floodgates open. And I guess what change internally has occurred throughout that process like how do you now perceive yourself now that you're, I guess less anonymous?
Jeff 39:21
Well, the anonymity thing wasn't really so much of a choice as just kind of a natural aspect of being an introvert and it's not that we don't like people we're just a little more selective about people that we decide to hang out with and we have difficulty maintaining too many connections at once so we tend to keep our circle of friends you know close friends I should say small. I have a lot of friends here but you know in terms of really close friends you know that that's a fairly small circle but I wouldn't say that my introversion has really changed here I'm still the same person. Like for instance if I'm a trivia at Common Grounds, there may be 60 or 70 other people in the room, but I'm only focused on the three other people on my team. You know, everything else is this kind of background noise, so.
Jason 40:29
Is that the same when you're performing in the band because that seems to be next level in terms of a challenge?
Jeff 40:34
Exactly. I tend to, you know, I'm focusing on the band, focusing on the music. I mean I'm aware there's an audience there and I do get pre-show jitters like anybody else but once we get going it's all about the music so you know focusing on each other in the band, making sure we're you know we're doing what we're supposed to be doing. We also have fairly dedicated core fans that come to our shows so it's almost kind of like a family reunion, it's not that intimidating, so.
Jason 41:08
And you have been in multiple bands throughout your time here. How has that whole process, you know being in different bands, would you say that really helped you overcome you know some of the cultural difficulties which everyone faces when we come here because your first band for example, I know was it two, three Ecuadorians that you're playing with?
Jeff 41:30
Oh yeah, that was about it was about six or eight months after I got here. I had just purchased a pair of bongos and a pair of congas and an Ecuadorian band was looking for a percussionist, they put the ad in English in Gringo Post and I contacted the guy, and next thing I knew I was out in Sayausi practicing with them. But they couldn't get or keep a vocalist so the band ended up folding after a while but it was fun. It was my first real kind of immersion experience in Ecuadorian culture.
Jason 42:08
And looking back, so you said they were looking for a vocalist and I know at the time that wasn't something that you specialized in or practiced. Looking back, do you think you could have participated as a vocalist?
Jeff 42:25
I don't think my level of Spanish was good enough, or I don't think I could have gotten the accent close enough to really have pulled that off. Plus it wasn't really something I'd even considered at the time. I mean, I was 60 years old before I ever sang in front of another living soul knowingly so this is all kind of new for me still.
Jason 42:49
Very good. And just moving into the music theme a little bit more, how did music help you to just reinvent yourself in general, so give you maybe a different feeling or different perception of yourself?
Jeff 43:05
I've always been a big music lover and you know, when I was in the car by myself, you know, I'd be singing what the radio turned up a full blast, you know, but never in front of anybody else. One of the groups that I practice with which also never really came to anything, we never really actually started performing. But the person trying to sing the lead on one song was having problems hitting a couple of notes and they asked me, "Do you want to give it a try?" and you know, "Who me?" But I did and you know I kind of choked down my natural fear of that sort of thing and I did it and they seem to like what I was doing. But you know that ended kind of abruptly and maybe a year or so down the road I was contacted by two of the different members of that initial group and those ended up being like two of the key people in the bands that I've been in where we've actually done live performances and it's really allowed me to explore, you know, the side of me that does love music and there's a lot of satisfaction from knowing that people enjoy.
Jason 44:16
So if someone's musically minded, would you suggest that as a potential outlet here in Cuenca with the different open mics and stuff?
Jeff 44:24
Absolutely, there are endless opportunities for people who are into music here and people who play music. This was quite the opposite when I was in Manta, there was exactly 1 expat band and there was one expat in the band. But there wasn't a music scene down there which was very disappointing for m. But here just about any night of the week, there's a different group playing whether it's an expat band or an Ecuadorian or visiting band from another country. I mean, they're just endless opportunities here to enjoy music either as a performer or as a fan.
Jason 45:07
Maybe even if you don't even know that you're into music, maybe a starting point is the drum circle that you started, you know, many years ago as well.
Jeff 45:14
Yeah, I'd only been here about 3 weeks. I brought down 3 jambais in my suitcase and started a drum circle and pretty much kept it going for six, seven, eight years. Again time and other commitments kind of limited my ability to lead the circles. They actually do them at idiomART now maybe every couple of months or so I still come to those. I still enjoy it.
Jason 45:54
Yeah, awesome. And just moving on to some sort of reflection-type scenarios. So you've been in Ecuador for quite a while now. How has your general perception of Ecuador changed during this time? Especially at the moment. You've seen the news all around the world with the different headlines around security and stuff like that so I don't want to just go down that security path, but that is one example of things that may have changed during your time.
Jeff 46:21
Well yeah, that's definitely, that's probably the saddest part of it for me, that kind of vacuum that was created in the pandemic. It's sort of allowed a lot of different things to develop here and you know increased crime levels and you know gang violence, especially on the coast. I still consider Cuenca a fairly safe city but I'm definitely a lot more careful when I'm...I don't hesitate to walk wherever I want to, but I'm a lot more cautious than I used to be. I mean Cuenca was a very innocent city when I first got here 10 years ago and now not so much. But I still love it here. It's an amazingly beautiful country. Biologically and diverse and the plants and everything and I mean there's still a lot of it I've not seen yet, but I still love Ecuador. I'm kind of an eternal optimist so I keep hoping that things are going to reverse and be like they were and you know, knock on wood.
Jason 47:41
Sure, so obviously you know you're not going anywhere, but were there any times when you did consider leaving, and what sort of what was driving that?
Jeff 47:52
Well, one of the things that I think a lot of expats struggle with here is missing their family members in the US. I have four children, and 10 grandchildren in the US and there's always a bit of a tinge of guilt about not being there for them all the time. I try to communicate with them as much as I can and try to get back as often as I can but that's the one thing that's made me think about maybe I should think about moving back. But, my daughter and one of my sons have been down here to visit and they understand completely after seeing my life here, how much different it is, how much I've grown, how much it's just done for me personally in so many ways they're like all for it now and they say, "You stay there."
Jason 48:48
That's great that's great they're supportive do they visit by chance?
Jeff 48:53
Well, my youngest son's been here once and my daughter's been here twice and they both live here if they could. But their work situation makes it more and family situations make it difficult so.
Jason 49:07
Absolutely but I also, I've heard from several expats that have basically said the same thing that yeah, they missed their grandkids in particular, but kind of funny in a way but they would go back, you know, make the effort, move back to the States to be closer to the grandkids. But then the grandkids basically give some sort of response like you're smothering me. They're like I love you and I love spending time with you. But you know, maybe holidays are sort of where it's at and so some expats have actually come back after that because they're a little bit disappointed with that. Have you experienced anything like that or no, not yet?
Jeff 49:42
Well, I mean, I actually experienced that before I moved here. I mean, all of my children are grown and have children - grown children of their own and just finding time to get together with them all. It's like you said you know holidays, special events, the summer picnic, something like that. Other than that you know they have lives of their own so it's just not always easy to get together so I probably see them almost as much from here as I did when I lived there.
Jason 50:14
Yeah, very good. And like looking back is there some aspect of you know, let's call this transformation that the reinvention that really surprised you?
Jeff 50:28
Probably mostly the music aspect. I mean, I never in a million years would have imagined myself being part of the band, let alone actually singing lead vocals on different songs and things like that. It still kind of blows my mind that I've gotten to that point because it's just something I never would have considered. I had a bad experience with a junior high school music teacher. He put me on the spot and that just kind of shot any desire I ever had to be openly musical in front of other people. But yeah that's one of the things that's really surprised me and it's become a passion of mine that's really kind of one of my main focus these days is focusing on music.
Jason 51:24
And Jeff, if there was one piece of advice that you could give to your youngest self before you moved to Ecuador, what would that be?
Jeff 51:31
It would be to not wait. You know if you have the means and you're able to get away, come here as soon as you can because you know I was able to come here at age about 56/57 because I had a military retirement and that just barely covered the minimum pension requirements. I've heard this from a bunch of expats but you know working is for suckers. If you come down here and start enjoying your retirement at an earlier age, I highly recommend that and that's why I probably would have been here a few years earlier if somebody had given me that advice.
Jason 52:20
Just giving you a bit of a nudge a few years beforehand so you know that's really good. Especially if you're saying you know your effective cost of living is a third oh yeah, that really means that you can retire early under most circumstances so that's really good advice. And the very last question is just looking forward, what challenges lie ahead for you and what goals do you still want to achieve here in Cuenca and Ecuador in general?
Jeff 52:47
Well, some of the challenges are already related. I've had a string of health challenges. Again it's a good thing I'm an optimist because I believe things will continue to get better. Regarding some of my future goals. I wasn't satisfied just doing percussion and vocals. I decided especially when the COVID lockdown hit, to get my hands on an old guitar and started using YouTube videos to try and teach myself, I'm not very good but I'm getting better and my goal is to eventually get to the point where I can you know accompany myself and maybe do some open mics. Yeah, it'll broaden my opportunities in terms of you know staying involved with the music scene here. And I've since bought a mandolin and a ukulele and some harmonicas so now I play poorly on a number of instruments but I keep working on them.
Jason 54:02
Sounds like music brings you the most joy at this stage of your life. Yeah, you're gonna explore that more by the sounds of it.
Jeff 54:08
Of yeah, it's definitely a passion of mine. One that I intend to keep pursuing as long as I can.
Jason 54:14
Awesome, Jeff. Well, thank you very much for your time today. I've got a lot of value out of our chat and I'm sure our audience has as well. But if someone wants to get in touch with you, what's the best way for them to do that through your Facebook group or something else?
Jeff 54:27
Yeah, probably through my Facebook group, Expats Without Agendas. They can message me there or if they have my phone number, they can WhatsApp me.
Jason 54:41
Awesome. Thank you very much for your time today.
Jeff 54:43
Thank you for having me.
Jason 54:45
Super and remember, if you do want to make a donation to one of Cuenca's deserving nonprofits, feel free to do so on our website. I'll provide the link in the description. You likely already know that YapaTree has a very active real estate business, so feel free to get in contact if you're in the market to rent or buy. And thanks a million for watching. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this new podcast format. Do feel free to email me at jason@yapatree.com. Ciao Ciao.