How Does Anyone Get Any Sleep Around Here?

There's no way to avoid it. I just have to admit it. Ecuador is just noisier than the States. Sure there are exceedingly quiet, peaceful places here, especially out in the countryside or tucked away in the mountains. And there are plenty of noisy places in the States (I remember visiting my dad in San Francisco and being woken up twice at night - once around 2 a.m. by a drunk woman yelling at her boyfriend and then again around 5:30 a.m. by the garbage truck just outside the window). But on the whole, I think that most inhabited places in Ecuador are much louder than your average city in the States.

From my apartment, for example, at just about any time I can hear car horns, barking dogs or car alarms (sometimes all three at once) off and on for hours on end. Then on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights these sounds are accompanied by loud music and laughter from at least one (usually more) neighborhood parties. Sometimes there is a concert at the stadium, which is about 1/2 a mile away but loud enough to sound like it is coming from the room next door. Then, for some reason that I have yet to understand, someone in the neighborhood likes to set off loud, very loud - sometimes extremely loud - fireworks. This happens usually in the evening, but sometimes I hear them in the early morning. I was told that the fireworks were related to religious celebrations (a Saint's Day, for example), but they seem to continue throughout the year, with no rhyme or reason, so I have theorized that someone got a hold of a cheap box of fireworks and is just setting them off randomly whenever they feel like it (and I'm desperately hoping that they will run out soon). And speaking of religious celebrations, the local church always blasts music early on Sunday mornings to remind people to come to Mass.

People think nothing of setting up a huge stage, equipped with a full sound system, on any neighborhood street and blasting live music until the dawn in support their cause of the moment - be it political or just for fun. Apparently either nobody complains or nobody listens to the complaints. During the day, walking on the streets, one hears loud music emanating from about every other store.

There is a high school across the street from my house and every morning around 7 a.m. the students assemble in the courtyard to listen to their morning pep talk, which is broadcast over an extremely loud PA system. At the end of the school year these morning lectures are followed up by even louder rallies in the afternoon, often with live music. Oh yeah, and they have fireworks too.

In my experience Ecuadorians have a much higher tolerance for noise than I do. But it seems to be more than that. I think that, for some people, the background noise is familiar, almost reassuring. The other day we went to visit my mother-in-law and noticed that a small amusement park had set up in the empty lot near her house. There were several worn-out kiddie rides, a few games, some greasy food stalls, and a huge loud speaker blasting out salsa music, so loud that it could not be ignored. I asked my mother-in-law if the music bothered her and she replied, almost defensively, that no, the music da alegria al barrio (brings happiness to the neighborhood).

I, to, have become accustomed to all the background noises here. I am still unable to sleep with a lot of noise (unlike my husband who can fall asleep, in broad daylight, on the couch in a roomful of people, with the TV blasting in the background). But I have a huge stash of silicone earplugs that I brought from the States which keep me from experiencing acute sleep deprivation. And the other day I heard a loud party down the street and I found myself feeling almost comforted that there were other people out there, having a good time. Also, through force of will, I have learned to ignore the neighbor's extremely annoying barking dog. Hey, if Ecuadorians can learn to live with constant noise, I can to, right?