Last night I lay underneath my mosquito net in an unknown corner of the world. I listened to a baby cry, no, scream a few houses away. My hosts Eduardo and Nancy climbed up to the newly added second floor and by the creaking sounds I knew immediately that if they had in mind anything besides sleep I would soon know about it. In the next bed Willington, my 6-year-old godson let out a adorable child-like snoring sound. The huge rooster in the backyard let out a loud “crookaooaooo” despite the hour of 10 p.m. This is how I ended my Independence Day. No fireworks, no celebration, just the sounds of a world that is strange and familiar all at once.

I lived as a volunteer in southwestern Ecuador from late 2006 into late 2007. I used my vacation time to come back and visit the friends I had to leave behind. Unfortunately it is as if not a single day has passed. Not much has changed about the hard, scrappy existence of my friends in this slum, a place called “little tree” that is ironically short on trees. Considering the stress of my present job I am not sure this was the best course for a relaxing break. I have so far broken out in hives, collected a myriad of stomach parasites, and had more mosquito and ant bites in the last five days than in the last year. But I have also slept deeply every single night dreaming and making up for the hours and hours of sleep debt owed.

Ecuador is a tiny country, about the size of Nevada. The popularly elected president Rafeal Correa grows more and more socialist every day. There are more government programs implemented and more mandates that come down from Quito the farther into his term Correa gets. The people of Arbolito generally think well of these programs that artificially control the price of rice, gasoline ($1.80 a gallon for as long as I can remember), and durable goods. These prices are manipulated to favor the agricultural community out in the abandoned Ecuadorian countryside where the nearest market could be two or three hours away by horse. The poor her think that this is just the world being righted by the hand of government to favor those who have never been cared for, those who cannot read or write but feed the rest of their country. There are social programs cropping up as well, the most intersting of which is that juniors in high school have to teach a mandatory class to older people who can´t read or write. If you don´t teach you can´t graduate onto senior year.

And despite the fact that it looks like Correa will be the first president to complete an entire 4 year term in over 25 years, the problems of this tiny country are immense. Corruption is rampant. Crime and violence are omipresent threats. One of my good friends here, a single working mother of five told me the horrific story of her brother´s murder last night. While stumbling home drunk (alcholism is also a widespread issue) he was attacked with a machete. The robbers cut his throat, his face, and his chest . He might have recovered from the injuries if he lived in the city or in the outlying slums. But Sam was from the campo, the countryside, where he had a chicken farm. It took an entire day for an ambulance to arrive. And another before he was in a hospital. By the time his family reached his side, he had bled to death. And as Francisca told the story it wasn´t the violence that seemed to shock or stick with her. It was the cost of paying the ambulance, the morgue, the funaral home and buying a casket. Her children went without necessary things the month her brother was killed and they ate rice and potatoes because of the cost of giving him a proper burial.

My best friend told me once that I was glorifying life in Ecuador. She was right. Now that I am back her I remember profoundly exactly how awful it was. All I remembered were the good times. Coming back here forced the worst of times back into my memory.And for me they are memories but for those who live here they are daily reality. For that, I will always admire these things about Ecuadorians. They are practical, they are patient and they are indefatigable in their faith. I have been gone from Ecuador an entire year and I still don´t know what I am supposed to do with the life I lived here and the things I learned. And until I figure it out, I should remember that everything is poco a poco (littly by little) and that things happen si Dios quiere (if God wants.)

Chao from Ecuador!