Today, most groceries stores are too big for one person to take care of. Because of this, the customer has to find the items he or she wants by him/herself. Most often, the customer would take a shopping basket or shopping cart and put the items he or she wants to buy into the basket or cart. For some items, like meat and seafood, the customer still has to have an employee get or prepare the item. Once the customer is done shopping, he or she then brings the items to the "checkout", where a person called a cashier scans the customer's items into a cash register (or a computer as part of a point of sale system) and then takes the customer's payment. Supermarkets typically accept payment by cash, debit cards, and/or credit cards. Recently, there are so-called self-checkout systems where the customer scans the items on his or her own.
Many large supermarkets also have a loyalty program, where a customer can earn points by purchasing products. When a customer has enough points, a discount or reward is given. These programs are meant to make customers come back to the same store again and again.
Ecuador
Ecuador is a small country in South America. It used to be part of the Spanish Empire. Spain was interested in finding gold in Ecuador. Before Spain, Ecuador was part of the Inca Empire.
The President of Ecuador is Guillermo Lasso since 2021.
Ecuador produces bananas and cocoa.
Ecuador is along the equator. There are jungles and mountains such as the Andes mountains. Ecuador has many active volcanoes and also one of the highest densities of volcanoes in the world. Ecuador's coast is on the Pacific Ocean.
The capital of the country is Quito. This city is high up in the Andes, which makes it hard for some new visitors to breathe. The biggest city is Guayaquil on the coast. Cuenca is famous for its old buildings and colonial architecture.
Peru borders Ecuador to the south, and Colombia borders it to the north. The Galápagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean are also part of Ecuador and are famous for lots of animals. Charles Darwin travelled to the Galápagos Islands.
In 2011, 14,440,000 people lived in Ecuador. These people are 65% Mestizo, 25% Amerindian, 7% white, and 3% black. About 27% of the people live below the national poverty line.
The official language is Spanish. Many other indigenous languages are spoken. Most of the people in Ecuador are Roman Catholics, although Ecuador has religious freedom and people can follow any religion they choose.
Ecuador is divided into 24 provinces. Each has its own administrative capital.
The provinces are divided into cantons. The cantons are divided into parishes.
The Historic Center of Quito, Ecuador is one of the largest, least-altered and best-preserved historic centers in the Americas. This center was, together with the historic centre of Kraków in Poland, the first to be declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 18 September 1978. The Historic Centre of Quito is in the center south of the capital on an area of 320 hectares (790 acres), and is considered one of the most important historic areas in Latin America.There are about 130 monumental buildings (which hosts a variety of pictorial art and sculpture, mostly of religious inspired in a multi-faceted range of schools and styles) and 5,000 properties registered in the municipal inventory of heritage properties.
Carondelet Palace (Spanish: Palacio de Carondelet) is the seat of government of the Republic of Ecuador in the historical center of Quito. Axis is the nerve of the public space known as Independence Square or Plaza Grande (colonial name), around which were built in addition the Archbishop's Palace, the Municipal Palace, the Hotel Plaza Grande and the Metropolitan Cathedral. The history of this emblematic building dating back to colonial times, around 1570, with the acquisition of the former royal houses in the city of Quito
During the Republican era, almost all the presidents (constitutional, internees and dictators) have dispatched from this building, which is the seat of Government of the Republic of Ecuador. In addition to the administrative units in the third level of the Palace is the presidential residence, a luxurious colonial-style apartment in which they live the President and his family. Rafael Correa, president since 2007, considering that Carondelet Palace and its agencies are Ecuadoran heritages, converted the presidential compound into a museum accessible to all who wish to visit it. To this end, areas were organized to locate objects within their cultural contexts to make them accessible to the world. Several rooms and spaces within the palace are used for this purpose.
Construction began in 1605, with Mastrilli laying the first stone. The building was not completed until 1765. La Compañía is among the best-known churches in Quito because of its large central nave, which is profusely decorated with gold leaf, gilded plaster and wood carvings. Inspired by two Roman Jesuit churches—the Chiesa del Gesù and the Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola—La Compañía is one of the most significant works of Spanish Baroque architecture in South America.
Also known as Big Square (Spanish: Plaza de la Independencia, Plaza Grande). Historic public square of Quito (Ecuador), in the heart of the old city. This is the central square of the city and one of the symbols of the executive power of the nation. Its main feature is the monument to the independence heroes of August 10, 1809, date remembered as the First Cry of Independence of the Royal Audience of Quito from Spanish monarchy. The environment of the square is flanked by the Carondelet Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Archbishop's Palace, the Municipal Palace and the Plaza Grande Hotel.
The "Iglesia y Monasterio de San Francisco" (English: Church and Monastery of St. Francis), colloquially known as El San Francisco, is a colonial-styled church and monastery in Quito, Ecuador. Construction of the building began a few weeks after the founding of the city in 1534 and ended in 1604. The founder of the church was Franciscan missionary Jodoco Ricke.
The building's construction began around 1550, sixteen years after Quito was founded by Spanish conquistadors, and was finished in approximately 1680. The building was officially inaugurated in 1605. It is not known who designed the original plans for the complex, though the most-accepted theory is that they were sent from Spain, based on the topographical study of Ricke and Gosseal. It is also possible that architects came from Spain for the construction of the monastery, or that Ricke and Gosseal managed the entire construction.
In colonial times, the Church of El Sagrario was one of the largest architectural marvels of Quito. The construction is of the Italian Renaissance style and was built in the late 17th century. It has a screen that supports its sculptures and decorations. This structure was built by Bernardo de Legarda. Its central arch leads to a dome decorated with frescoes of biblical scenes featuring archangels, work by Francisco Albán. The altarpiece was gilded by Legarda. It is on Calle García Moreno, near the Cathedral.