Expat Life

By Alice Chaummers There was a lot of spooning going on in Parque de la Madre last Friday, at least from this reporter’s vantage point. In case you don’t know, spooning is when a guy snuggles up behind a women, his crotch to her butt, fully clothed (otherwise, it’s called something else). It’s commonly practiced...
Women who have high levels of the antibacterial agent triclosan in their urine have worse bone health than other women, new research indicates. Triclosan, which was recently banned in hand sanitizers, is used in a variety of “consumer goods and personal care products including soaps, hand sanitizers, toothpaste, and mouthwash,” Shaofang Cai, the Second Affiliated Hospital of...
CuencaHighLife editor David Morrill recently sent me a copy of a story he read in the Quito newspaper El Comercio. He said it was quite a sad story yet newsworthy and asked if I would rewrite it in English for our readers. I read the story twice but I heard a different tale. I could...
Although the oldest Generation Xers are only 58, the Gen X population is hot on the heels of the baby boomer generation exiting North America seeking a better life abroad. The Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Gen Ys, and Millennia’s are familiar terms that reflect popular beliefs of differences among North American generations. Demographers, historians, and...
By Sylvan Hardy When Ronny Bustamante and Vera Boonyatarp heard that Cuenca’s Thai Connection restaurant was for sale, the timing couldn’t have been better. “We were living in Quito at the time and were ready to make a change in our lives,” says Ronny. “We had been talking about starting a restaurant and the opportunity...
By Julia Rux Ecuador has so many distinct regions — the Andes with volcanoes, the Amazon/Oriente, the Coast, and the Galapagos — that many expats never get a chance to thoroughly explore. I was intrigued by a new model for travel called Wanderbus that offers the option of hopping on and hopping off a nice...
Does going “gluten-free” mean you’ll automatically lose weight, shrink your “wheat belly” or prevent Alzheimer’s disease? Or as Jimmy Kimmel demonstrated quite hilariously, are you someone who has stopped eating gluten because someone in your Yoga class told you to? (Check out Jimmy’s 2014 segment on Youtube.com where he asked people on the street, “What is...
By Jill Cornfield Retirement may mean different things to different people, but most agree on one thing. It should be stress-free. However, lack of stress usually comes from years of planning and decades of saving — which not everyone can do. The average savings balance in the U.S. is less than $60,000. Few people can...
By Jacqueline Howard Is coffee safe or risky for your heart? Two recent studies appear to contradict each other on this question, which often leaves coffee-lovers scratching their heads. A study presented at the British Cardiovascular Society conference in June 2019 suggests that drinking five cups of coffee a day was no worse for the arteries than...
Editor’s note: This is a first of a series of articles about exploring Latin America. By R.S. Gompertz Coca leaf was the original special ingredient in America’s now favorite soft drink. The “intellectual beverage” was advertised to be a “valuable brain tonic and cure all for nervous affections.” The leaf was eventually made illegal but...

I carry a camera with me nearly everywhere and almost every day. It encourages me to keep my eyes open to possibilities  —  there is always something special happening in Cuenca, my job is to record a moment and share it with you. Here are ten of my favorites taken over the last few weeks.

By Dr. Anna Wilson Soon after my arrival in Cuenca I noticed a phenomenon. I call it the “I’m-a-better-gringo-than-you” chorus. These are self-appointed expat police or behavior modification doctors. It starts when someone reports, on social media or at a social gathering, an adverse event they experienced in Ecuador. For example, shoddy workmanship, obtuse government...

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Week of April 28

General Motors Auto Parts Manufacturer Laments: “Today Marks a Dark Day for the National Industry”.

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Minister Requests Resignations in Termogás Machala, Dubbed ‘Epicenter of Energy Inefficiency’.

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Chevrolet to Cease Car Assembly in Ecuador by August, Production to Halt in Colombia.

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