Things I Notice at the U.S. Embassy

The United States Embassy in north Quito provides Citizen Services to U.S. Expats and assists Ecuadorian nationals seeking visas into the U.S.

The Embassy sits on a large piece of land far away from the national strikers' meetup spot in south Mariscal sector.

I have been going to the Embassy periodically for about a year for emergency preparedness meetings and to get papers notarized.  The notaries there are the only ones in Quito who can notarize documents for use in the U.S.

Here's what I noticed during my notarization visit this week...

5.  A new security measure ... For the first time, I was asked to remove snacks and a beverage from the small sports bag I usually take on Embassy visits.  They held these items until I was ready to exit the Embassy.

4.  Arriving one hour early on a beautiful Quito afternoon, I asked the guard if I could wait in the covered outdoor seating section.  He allowed it.

3.  The handicap buttons do not work for opening doors electronically.   The doors to the different buildings are remarkably heavy.  I'm not complaining...they just are.

2.  For notarization -- and possibly other services -- the Embassy cashier now accepts debit cards.  That's new.  They used to require cash.

1.  And the #1 thing I noticed at the Embassy....

The TV in the Citizen Services waiting room was showing a local Ecuadorian channel.  While I was there, it was an Ecuadorian entertainment show featuring an interview with "La Barbie de Ecuador," with subtitling in Spanish saying she almost lost her life due to her vanidad (vanity).  The sound was turned down so low that I never learned exactly how that (almost) happened.

cccmedia in Quito