New Kid in Town

Shortly before we left for the States back in November I received a surprise email inviting me to appear on a local radio station. The show’s host had seen an article in the newspaper here about the Tuesday night Gringos & Friends I helped organize and thought an interview with me would be interesting to her listeners.

I told her upfront my limited Spanish wasn’t up to the task, and that we needed to postpone until our return to Cuenca. So this past Sunday morning, with my bilingual neighbor in tow, the interview finally took place.

Most of the questions were about my personal experiences here, but she threw one at me asking, “Do gringos feel that the citizens of Cuenca are treating them fairly?” I responded that I am just one man and could not speak for the whole gringo community.

That is the way I have always attempted to conduct myself since our arrival last May. We got off the plane in Cuenca just like every other expat, totally excited and confused about starting a new life here. Long-time followers of this blog know I started it back in Las Vegas during our preparation to relocate and have continued to chronicle our misadventures as strangers in a strange land.

I am honored and gratified that many of you have found my writing style to be both informative and entertaining, and that readership has grown beyond belief. A blog about Cuenca, Ecuador being read by tons of folks all over the world?? Who knew???

And locally, because of the exposure and popularity of my blog, I’ve been blessed to receive invitations from La Tarde and Cuenca High Life to write columns for their publications. Neither was solicited, just like the radio interview, but for a journalism major to finally receive a little recognition 39 years after receiving his diploma, por que no??

So does all this activity make Edd Staton, with eight months in town, the self-appointed resident “gringo expert” in Cuenca? Absolutely not! It’s true I get a lot of emails from readers requesting information, and I help all I can. I believe people write to me not because they think I know everything but because through this blog they know I’m not “selling” anything and trust me to give them honest feedback.

Let me apologize to any of you residents here or readers who mistakenly assume I have set myself up as some sort of Cuenca guru. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This blog is called “eddsaid” for a reason—the thoughts contained herein are mine alone and not intended to speak for anyone else.

And none of the blessings that have happened over these past months—the popularity of my blog, the writing opportunities, the radio show-- were in any way orchestrated as part of some “master plan.” Like I said earlier, we got off the plane, and things have just------happened.

For that no apology is forthcoming. I am totally thankful for the incredible opportunities that have come my way, and I look forward to experiencing many more as our life in Cuenca continues to unfold and reveal itself.

If you’re wondering why this blog post was written you will unfortunately have to continue to wonder.

If you know, you know.