Summer '17

Well it’s been too long, again. I feel like I need to write that as my introduction to these posts more and more often. Since the last post, things have been predictably crazy. When we left the US and decided to move overseas the first time, we told our school at the time and went about spending the next three months getting shots, sending shipments, and a day in Miami getting our visas. It wasn’t that much different this time around. Perhaps the biggest difference was the sheer length of our to-do list.

In one of our most recent posts, we detailed how we decided to forgo our shipment, and all that the hassle that entailed. After Shannon’s mom left with our suitcases, we were still left with quite a few things in our apartment. After all of the farewell parties, school paperwork, and selling all of our stuff, our next task was sorting through the rest of what was left. We had finite suitcases left, and...well...a lot more stuff than suitcase space. Out came the piles. We had to ask ourselves questions like, “What MUST come with us? What can we do without? What will we bring if we have extra space?” Spoiler alert, there was no extra space. Our “if there is space” pile went right into the donation pile. Then we repeated this process two or three more times until our piles were small enough to fit in our suitcases.

Once our bags were packed, we finally got to enjoy a bit of our summer. Shannon’s sister Meagan and her boyfriend, Ian, came to visit us after we got out of school. Shannon planned an elaborate farewell tour victory lap week of events. It was a really cool way to see a lot of our favorite things about the country before leaving for good.

When they arrived, we went to a hacienda near Cotopaxi National Park. We marveled at the abundant hummingbirds, (some as large as seagulls) and the volcano itself. We then had a classically trained chef bring us course after course in a hybrid Ecuadorian-European fusion food tasting. We were seated in a candle lit open room with a roaring fire, and a snow-capped volcano looming outside of the window. Our party was the only one in the massive dining hall. The chef drove up from Quito, about an hour and a half away, to prepare the feast just for us. It included things like shaved smoked trout in a nest of plantains (literally woven into a nest), wildberry salads, and local fruit sorbets. The dude literally went outside while we were waiting on a course to pick fresh herbs from the hacienda outside, in his fancy chef outfit and all. It was without a doubt the best meal I have ever had.

The next day, we woke up early and drove to Papallachta, a favorite spot of Shannon and I. We threw on our rain jackets and boots and set out for the infamous Papallachta hike. It’s usually rainy, and almost exclusively downhill. It starts at about 16,500 feet above sea level and works its way down. It’s a hike we have done about 5-6 times over the past three years, and one that we really enjoy. As we took our taxi up to the top of the mountain to begin, I realized that...maybe the weather was a little too intense for the gear we brought with us. Outfitted in rain jackets and thin pants was not enough. As we began our hike, the wind was howling, and a layer of snow settled in on the mountain, covering most of the path that we needed to follow. We powered through it and as we moved into hour two and three of the hike and we lost elevation, the snow dissipated as well. The hike was cold, wet, beautiful, and fun. We arrived and filled our bellies with fried trout, and took the rest of the day to soak in the volcanically heated hot springs. It was pretty great.

After a day of rest, we set out for our third and final trip (for now) to the Galapagos. While there, we spent a few days on the beach, a few days snorkeling, and some time exploring the beauty of the islands. Despite being our third time there, the beauty of the islands and animals will never cease to amaze us. We visited some islands we hadn’t been to before and saw some big sharks, which we hadn’t before. We were able to see quite a few sea lions, unlike our trip in April as well. April is mating time for the sea lions, so they were all on separate islands doing that. As a result, during this visit, we were surrounded by tiny baby sea lions. There are few things in the world as cute as a baby sea lion. I’m very glad we had the opportunity to go to the Galapagos so many times. That quickly became Shannon and my favorite place in the world. It will always be a very special place for us.

After our trip to the Galapagos, it was time for us to say farewell to Ecuador and head back up to Florida. As soon as we got to Florida, we had to begin our month-long PD courses for our new school. We began right away. When we arrived, we spent a few days in Orlando visiting friends and family before Shannon had to go to Miami for her annual PTC PD session. Also in the middle of all of this, we were also juggling the requirements and errands that had to be run for our visa to Saudi Arabia. We had to arrange for blood tests, urine tests, medical appointments, criminal background checks, acquiring new paperwork, and paperwork that was lost in transit to D.C. for our visa processing. After a week in Miami, I went back to pick Shannon up. After another few days in Orlando, we packed our bags again and took a flight to visit some of my family in Washington D.C. for what was to be a whirlwind summer.

My uncle picked us up and we had a laid back day at his place catching up and telling stories. I had a
chance to see two of my cousins who were home from their college and jobs respectively. It was amazing to see them. I grew up very close to them both, and a lot of time had passed since we spent any time together. It was really nice to be able to hang out with them as adults. I also enjoyed introducing Shannon to some family members she hadn’t met yet. They loved her, of course. The next day, while in D.C. we met one of my cousins for lunch at a nice ramen restaurant. After that, we went to the Newseum and checked out their exhibits. It is one of my favorite museums in D.C. which is saying something, considering that there are at least 900,000 there. The following morning, we woke up to hop on a train leaving D.C. My uncle was kind enough to wake up early enough to get us to the train station by 6:00am. We rode the subway to Union Station, where we got in line to check in for our train. That’s where we discovered that I screwed up. Our reservations were for 8:00pm, not am...I am an idiot. Oh well. When we finally got on the train, we got some coffee and did some more homework for our online PD class.

When we got to Philly, my sister picked us up and took us to a friends house where we did some more homework, and then went out to dinner for our first wedding anniversary. Nailed it! We made it one year successfully. It’s crazy to think that insane week of chivas, bird fights, and the wedding happened a year ago. Anyway, we enjoyed a nice dinner together. The following day, we went to a Phillies game with a group of friends. On Sunday we woke up, went on a grocery run, and loaded up for our week in the beach house we rented in Ventnor. We spent the next week hosting various friends and family members on the beach. We grilled fresh fish every night, hung out on the beach every day, gobbled up some boardwalk delicacies like saltwater taffy and fudge, and hosted people for once. It’s hard to always be the guest while visiting. It was nice to be able to host other people for a change.

After wrapping up our time in the beach house, we went up to NYC to hang out with Shannon’s
sisters. As soon as we arrived, we set our things down, got changed, and went up to the Village Vanguard for their timeless and infamous Monday night house band performance. We enjoyed a nice cocktail and some great jazz music for a few hours. The next day, we spent some time catching up on our reading and rest. In the evening, we took a train to Brooklyn and went to the J Cole concert. Shannon had arranged for the concert for a birthday present for me. We sat in a fancy suite and enjoyed a great show, along with some food. It was an incredible evening. The next day, we woke up and Shannon, her sister Meagan, and I went to Coney Island where we spent the day trying out the various food delicacies, playing carnival games, and hanging out. The following day, our flight back to Florida was canceled. We spent some extra time with Shannon’s sisters and hung around NYC for the day. I am the rescheduled flight right now heading to Orlando. We will have about a week left in our summer before shipping off to Riyadh. We are both looking forward to NOT traveling much in the next week. We are both excited to go, exhausted from our travels, and ready for the next step. By my estimation, including our trips to Cotopaxi, Papallachta, the Galapagos Islands, Orlando, Miami, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, and back to Florida, we have traveled about 6,139 miles. That’s in about 6 weeks.

We will update everything when we get to Riyadh and we get settled. I’m sure we will have a lot to talk about. It’s been an interesting summer, and it will continue to be one as we transition to a new country on the other half of the world.

Despedida

Despedida Ecuador

As I reflect on the last three years in Ecuador, I find myself filled with gratitude, humility, and a little sadness. It’s hard to believe that three years have passed since we first made the leap into international teaching, and now we are on to our next post. Living in Ecuador changed me in ways I did not expect. I have found that my entire perspective has changed. My world view has expanded in a way I could not have predicted. I feel so grateful that I have had this opportunity, and humbled by the prospect of learning and appreciating even more about the world, its landscapes, its people and their cultures.

So, what did Ecuador teach me?

Family. A different way to look at big families and the joys of large extended families doing everything together. Abuela comes everywhere! She is in the car when you drop the children off at school. She is at home when the children come home from school. She is in the kitchen cooking arroz. She is coming along for grocery shopping and she is going down to the beach with the whole family - even if they have to pick her up in her wheelchair and carry her down there.

Kisses! Kisses hello. Kisses goodbye. Parents kissing the children goodbye - several times, all over the face, even when they’re just leaving for a few hours of Pre-K. Kissing strangers. Little boys shyly kissing cheeks of his mother’s friends.

Dancing. There is a reason why Latinos are such good dancers. They listen to salsa and bachata music all day, and at every sort of event. They begin dancing as babies. I have seen this with my own eyes. True, the infants are being held up by adults as their arms and legs are moved for them in tune to the music, but the point is they are learning the rhythm before they can talk. Learning to dance is as much a part of infanthood as is learning to walk. Every single event ends in dancing. The American style “party” - where we sit around and eat chips and drink and talk, and maybe play some cards? Ecuadorians cannot for the life of them understand how we consider that a “party”. How incredibly boring! The word party implies dancing! How can you have a party without dancing?

Early childhood education. If it had not been for this school in Ecuador, I would not have had the

opportunity and experience of working in an elementary school and understanding how young children think and learn. I was slightly terrified in the beginning. (Their fingers are so small!) But after three years I can say that I learned a great deal about early childhood education, the importance of play, conflict resolution, and self confidence at the earliest stages, and how true it is that every child starts out wanting to learn. By the way, I can also say that the voice of a 1st grade teacher is a soft, beautiful, and enchanting thing.

-ita/-ito. The diminutive of everything you hold precious and dear. Would you like some coffee or some cafecito? Do you have a question or a preguntita? Do you need a minute or minuntito? Calling someone fat is actually a term of endearment, if you make it a goridito or gordita. Same with negrita. Is this for the children or the niñitos? Do you want a little bit or poquito? Are you going out with your friends or your amiguitas? Paola is Paolita, Juan is Juanito, Shannon is Shannoncita, and despacio is despacito.

Patience. Living in South America has taught me to have more patience. Not just in consumer goods and services like not having 2-day guaranteed shipping or same-day cable and internet installation and high speed 4G wifi everywhere (or anywhere), but patience in my interactions with people. Stopping to say hello to a coworker in the morning. Starting meetings five minutes late because you have to give everyone a chance to kiss everyone hello. Appreciating that qualities that we exhort in American culture - candor, directness, efficiency are not the gold standard for everyone, and maybe there is something to be gained by being more patient and polite with one another. Understanding that sometimes “mañana” doesn’t always mean, like, literally tomorrow, but tomorrow in the sense of just “not today” - and most of the time, that’s really okay.

Mountains. Before moving to Ecuador I never spent anytime living around, or even really seeing mountains. There is something incredibly peaceful and meditative about being able to look out at the horizon and see miles and miles (or in this case, kilometers and and kilometers) of vast mountain ranges, some snowcapped, some whose peaks are hiding behind clouds, some who block the sun, some who are covered with a green patchwork of agricultural fields, others who are rocky reds and browns. What’s really cool about living in the valley of a mountain range is seeing how the sun changes and reflects off of different surfaces. You can look to the left, and see the face of a mountain that is dark green and grey, shaded by clouds overhead and then look to the right and see a different face of the same mountain that is a vibrant and glowing emerald green and realizing that it’s all the same mountain, but changes colors because of how the sun and clouds are hitting it at a particular time. And then minutes later, the colors change again as the clouds sweep by.

I will always think of Ecuador as a special place. It was my first experience living overseas. It was the place I got engaged, and then married. I think fondly of the school that started this adventure for us - of the friends we made there and the amazing trips we took while living there. And I miss it already. I feel sad to being saying goodbye to Ecuador but so grateful of our time there and of the things I will carry away with me.

Now, as we are just four days away from moving to Saudi Arabia I wonder what this new country and people will teach me and how my world perspective will continue to mature and expand.

And so, Ecuador, as we say “farewell” I dedicate this to you...

From now on I will say good morning to people, even if they’re strangers.
I will appreciate when I see whole families out together - even if they’re just buying eggs, and even if they’re taking up the entire shopping aisle.
I will consider returning to an elementary school one day.
And I promise to dance at parties.

¡Despedida, Ecaudor! ¡Besos y un gran abrazo!

-Shannoncita