Ecuador Group - Blog #3
by Kimberley Eltherington-Vaughan
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My experience in Ecuador
I have only a few paragraphs to share all of Ecuador with you....and I'm not even sure where to start, so maybe I will share just a few thoughts with you instead of all my adventures...... because adventures are a many!!!
Lessons Learned:
1) There are many ways to communicate and the spoken word is not always the most important- a little charade's goes a long way!
2) Being rich has nothing to do with money and everything to do with family and friends!
3) Your cultural roots will keep you grounded- and respecting another's culture is the greatest gift you will ever give them.
4) That we are never to old to enjoy blowing bubbles- Irene brought bubbles for the children, a marvelous idea... it entertained our ENTIRE family for many hours(its the little things that matter the very most)
5) Being scared of something should motivate you, not cripple you- I said yes...instead of letting my fear talk, I said yes before I could even think and then there I was with an intense fear of heights climbing Mt. MOJANDA (capitals needed to empathize the extreme scariness) horseback riding in the Andes and riding a bus to Otavalo (I needn't say anymore for those of you who came along) but I am sure that I will never fear death so many times in two hours EVER again.
6) I have something to learn from ever person I pass on my journey- We are ALL teachers and we are ALL students and I love learning!!!
7) Shrug it off and RELAX- it really makes life so much easier!!
8) Goat head soup does not taste good and no amount of popcorn will make it better-but if someone makes it for you EAT it and smile, because they went to the trouble of making it.
9) The world would be a lot better place if we saw things as children do: if we didn't care about the colour of skin and the language we spoke, and if we understood just how much a hug can help….and how powerful a smile is.
10) Don't worry about a little dirt or a runny nose- live in the moment and wash your hands later :)
11) Ketchup is not the same as tomato sauce... do not attempt to make spaghetti from it. YUCK!!!
12) OHH yes mustn't forget.... That not everyone see's the need to name a horse, you should expect a very strange look if you enquire as to a horses name....they are all named HORSE!!!
Reflection of lesson number one....
Our final day...the van had arrived and as Irene and I walked away I asked Milton, our brother, to tell our family they have touched our hearts and then I turned away to cry, but then I stopped. My tears were not a weakness, I cried because I was brave enough to feel so strongly, to love these people I knew for only a brief time, my tears where of thanks and sadness and more then anything I was crying tears of happiness. I had finally lived one of my dreams, checked off one of my "to do's" on that unwritten life list, and they had lived it with me. They had welcomed an unknown adventure, our paths meet and they have changed my life in ways I will never be able to thank them for. So I gave them my tears and then........they gave us theirs. Without any words we spoke the same language.
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