Social Customs

When meeting people...

The most common greeting is a handshake with direct eye contact and a smile.

While shaking hands, use the appropriate greeting for the time of day: "buenos dias"(good morning), "buenas tardes" (good afternoon), or "buenas noches" (good evening).

Always refer to people by the appropriate honorific title (Senor or Senora) and their surname.

When eating breakfast/lunch/dinner...
able manners are Continental -- the fork is held in the left hand and the knife in the right while eating.

Guests are served first.

The host says "buen provecho" ("enjoy" or "have a good meal") as an invitation to start eating.

Food is always eaten with utensils. Even fruit is eaten with a knife and fork.

it is considered good manners to help the guest prepare the table

they like table conversations! so try and be talkative or else it might offend the host

Ecuadorians don’t consider it polite to leave food on your plate after the meal. If you don’t finish your meal completely, they will think you didn’t like the meal or that it didn’t taste good.

don’t forget to thank your hosts. It is advisable to say the dinner was delicious, even if you didn’t like it much, or that you really enjoyed their company

Other random customs

“No Hay”: a “jazz hands” wave with the right hand isn’t a hello – it means “no hay,” – there isn’t any – whether that’s another seat on the bus, food in the kitchen or chips in the corner store.

most taxi drivers will try and charge more for a foreigner so try and bargain before you take off.  The minium fare is usually one dollar, no matter what the meter says and it costs more at night