Not so proud to be an American

When the elections started and Donald Trump announced that he was running for President, many people would laugh and say to me "guess you must be glad you're leaving the country."  I never laughed.  When I think back on my time living in Spain, the hardest part of that experience for me was that people assumed that by being an American I was a Bush-supporter, even when I was standing next to them in the anti-war marches and protests. So many times I heard, "but you're American, you must support your President." I didn't then, and I won't now.

All day yesterday I had a pit in my stomach, but Paúl was confident, reassuring me that the polls and reliable sources were saying it'd be close, but that Hillary would pull through.  Today I wake with a sense of shame and embarrassment.  More so than I felt with Bush. This time it's not about politics (because he clearly doesn't have any experience to back his "politics").  This time it's about humanity, diversity, equality, opportunity, and the environment.  Isn't THAT what our country is support to stand for?

How can HALF of our entire country truly think that he is the "better option" to "make our country great"? Even if Clinton wasn't your favorite candidate when it came to the issues, I can respect that. I can respect a difference of opinion on how to manage the issues of our country, as there are many, but I cannot respect supporting someone who has notoriously, publicly, and so blatantly been unreliable, disrespectful and careless in his words and actions. We can't just brush this off as "oh, he's just a guy, they're just words".  It's not just words. It's his character. Brushing it off only perpetuals and enables the problem. And we're not just talking about who will head your bowling league or your book club.... this is the leader of our country who will be the face and decision maker of international relations and major policies that will affect you, me, our families, neighbors and children for a long time.

My only hope now is in the government Republicans (with actual experience) who didn't support Trump and can hopefully be the voice of reason to keep him line. Unfortunately, with the Republicans winning the majority in the Senate and now to have the majority in the Supreme Court, this could have some serious consequences for women's rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, human rights, and the environment.

Living out of the country does not make me feel better. I am grateful that most of my family and friends are in California, in liberal areas where I hope they will be less susceptible to hate and discrimination, but I still hurt for the rest of the minorities, underprivileged, underserved people in our country. Today I am ashamed to be American, and here I am again, in a position where I have to answer for the half of the country I can't relate with when people here ask me "why did they vote for him?"  Maybe I'm the naive one, maybe I'm brainwashed- at this point, anything's possible.  Anything helps to try to comprehend how we arrived to this disgraceful point.

Here we are again

When I signed up for my 1-year volunteer assignment to move to the Ecuadorean jungle, live with a host family, and work (for free) in a public hospital with kiddos with various developmental disabilities, I thought "it's only a year".  I had no idea that 1 year would turn into nearly 2 years, a husband, a step-daughter, and a one-way ticket BACK to Ecuador 4 years later!

After a series of unfortunate events, which included getting a passport stolen on our honeymoon resulting in Paúl being sent back to Ecuador to renew his passport and visa before returning to the US to help me with our luggage (short version of the story!), Paúl and I finally hauled our 9 suitcases to SFO and gave teary hugs goodbye to my loving parents at 6am Monday morning (Oct 17th).  The trip was as smooth as 10 hours of flying can be, and we landed in Quito to be greeted by the hustle and bustle of South American city life.  It's been over a year since I've been back to Quito, and although the main skeleton has remained the same, there is much about Quito that has changed.  It seems that Quito is perpetually under construction, although, this time I can say it's for the better. They are creating tunnels and thoroughfares on some of the busiest intersections, which will eventually help the flow of traffic into and out of the city to the surrounding suburbs during rush hour. They are also constructing a subway system that will run north/south through the main valley of the city.  In the meantime- it's chaos. So many roads blocked and diverted, all over the city.   I suppose it must get worse before it gets better, right? My favorite part is that the pedestrian detour runs along the construction site, and at one point, right through it.  Literally.  The taped off walkway ends and directs you through the site to cross to the other side where the caution tape resumes. This would be my nephews idea of a dream come true! :)

What we have to look forward to

Current state of traffic

Pedestrian detour right through the site!

I also have seen that there are a ton of new restaurants, gyms, pilates/yoga studios, and small businesses.  Who knows how long each will last, but we are willing to try them all.  Paúl and I have been scouring the area for a gym that meets our qualifications and is in a convenient location in relation to his job, our house, Izi's school, and Izi's mom's house (as we know that most of our time will be spent shuttling between these 4 places).

In the meantime, life has started full speed ahead. We are getting lots of good time with Izi and getting to participate in school events now that we are in the same city. She also turned 8 this past weekend, so we were both happy to be part of her celebration. She and 2 friends wanted to go to a local play gym place with huge fun slides, bumper cars, a climbing wall, archery range, and (of course) ice cream! :)  They then had a slumber party at her mom's house and we all met up for lunch the next day- she chose sushi! She was all smiles and excited about all the books she got as presents.

Paúl started his teaching job at a local graduate studies university, and he is happy walking to and from work everyday. He is enjoying his students, so far, and glad to be back in the classroom. He also got his group of friends to start meeting up to play an Ecuadorean version of volleyball on Sundays in the huge central park. While he plays, I get to go take the big group aerobic class in the same park- that way we're both happy.

As for me, I am slowly building my clientele of private kiddos and making my connections with local doctors and therapists to get some referrals in.  I am also still working part-time for the same company back in California doing webcam therapy sessions.  Pretty cool that I get to keep that connection and work from home. The time difference, all though small, is a bit of a challenge, but it's nice to still have some income.

I suppose the good thing is that we haven't had much down time since getting here- I know that it's those quiet moments, when I'm home alone, that I start to feel a little homesick. This time is definitely different than any other time I've moved away since I'm doing it with an amazing, supportive, and loving partner. But it's still not home- yet. :)  At this point, where is "home" anyways, right? We've talked about ways we can start to build a new community here (as my brother mentioned at the wedding) ;) so I am confident that with a little time and effort, we'll make it happen.

I think of you all often, and have taken tons of random pictures to share of the day-to-day life. Check them out here

For those of you with smart phones, WhatsApp is the app I use most for texting and calls. My new phone number is +593 98 544 6369. I'd love to hear from any and all of you, however you are comfortable, whether it's emailing, texting, calls or Facebook. :) Snail mail is a bit unreliable here, so I'd encourage against that for now.

Love, Em