I’ve been home twice since moving to
Ecuador almost 2 years ago, and I remember each time being a little bit
surprising, but this time felt overwhelming.
The US is a colorful place. Ecuador was
colorful, literally. Dresses, blouses, shoes, buildings, all were bright, beautiful,
hand sewn, chipped, hand-painted colors. But the US is colorful in a more
figurative way. I had an “Oh yea, now I remember” moment stepping off the plane
in Houston and seeing people of all shapes and sizes, vertically and
horizontally, a variety of hair styles and dress, even body language, that I
haven’t seen in almost 2 years. The
options, the bright lights, the organized lines- all reminders that I’m back on
Amurhican soil. Not bad, just
different. I will say though, that being
in the line for security, immigration and customs, it felt like we were all in
trouble before we even reached the front of the line. I know these folks don’t
have a very glamorous job but there were definitely some of them either having
a power trip or a really bad morning and we were taking the brunt of it. Passport in hand, laptops in a separate bin,
ipads stored, nothing in your pockets, no smiling, let’s go, move it, move it,
move it.
But before boarding my midnight flight out
of Quito, Paúl and our friends organized a really nice BBQ for my going-away
and I was quickly and frequently reminded throughout the day of what special,
thoughtful, and genuinely good friends I have been able to have around me these
past few months in Quito. Let me back up
just a bit- back a few months as our project in Tena was wrapping itself up,
both due to circumstances of politics within the hospital and due to having
reached the projected goal of creating a sustainable clinic that the hospital
could take on and continue, Nicole and I began to explore our options of where
the next project would be. She is married and has a kid in Ecuador, so she
wasn’t planning to leave, and I just wasn’t ready to go yet. It just so turned out that a clinic in Quito
that she had done some work with previously was looking to revamp their
pediatric therapy department and looking for some help to do so. Perfect! So I stayed in Tena a bit longer to
finish distributing the equipment I had been working on, got some more quality
river time in, but started to pack my bags to move to the big city in the
mountains. Also during this time, I met Paúl, which I think most of you know by
this point. J
Leaving Tena and its amazingly chill way of
life wasn’t easy, but I was ready for the next step, and I’m so glad that I did.
This new foundation where we began to work and collaborate was such a positive
experience of working with people eager to learn and expand, and who were
grateful for our time and help. Although my time with this group was short, I
left on a much more positive note than I had in Tena.
On the personal side of things, leaving
Ecuador was much harder than I thought it would be. Back in November I felt
like I was ready to move on, ready for the next chapter, but wasn’t sure where
or what that actually was going to be.
Over the past 6 months, I have been able to form some friendships I
didn’t see coming. I was able to get
even closer to a couple of girls I had become friends with towards the end of
my time in Tena, one was still in Tena but would come to visit in Quito (Tamlyn
from Zimbabwe) and one living in Quito (Jen from Indiana). These 2 girls were the best dancing buddies,
soundboards, and emotional support systems a girl could hope for! Being with
Paúl, I have met some of his friends and their girlfriends, and we have all
shared some of my best memories of Ecuador. Between a Paul McCartney concert,
flat tire on the way down to an old volcano crater, ultimate Frisbee games on
Sundays followed by greasy cheeseburgers and watching soccer games, and dinner
parties with silly games and too much wine I feel so fortunate to have these
people in my life. We are an
international group representing the US, England, Spain and Ecuador, which is a
beautiful thing, but it also means we have no idea where everyone will end up
over the next 2-5 years. Great to know I
have so many people around the world I can and should visit, but hard to know
when our paths will ever physically cross again.
So now that I’m home, now what? I will be
with my family for a week, sorting through mail and boxes, and then Paúl will
be here with me for a week while we organize our life together. He has to return to Ecuador to finish out his
school year teaching before he comes back in July. And I will move up to Davis first to get started
at my new job at a pediatric clinic.
It’s all come full circle- I left the US in
the first place for a new adventure and with the goal of getting enough
pediatric experience to be able to work in this field here in the US. Mission
accomplished! But it all was much more than that. I left Ecuador with a full
yet heavy heart. I am SO grateful for all the friendships made, the smiles on
kids faces as they discovered new things (like riding a bike for the first
time), the giggles of my little sister and brother while playing on my bed as
the rain poured down outside, the refreshing rivers to cool off in just a $0.25
bus ride away, the moments when I could stop to admire the way the big huge
fluffy clouds danced between the Andes mountains and hovered over the craters
of the volcanoes. I know Ecuador will
always be there, and technology allows us to stay in touch with people around
the world, but I also know that this was, in fact, a once in a lifetime
experience that I will carry with me always.
