The Origin Story

Paul and I met at a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer event in Berkeley, California in the fall of 2004. We were the only RPCVs under fifty there that night, save for a mutual friend who had coordinated the event and a classmate I had dragged along for company. During the course of that evening's conversation and a date or two shortly thereafter, it became crystal clear to me that Paul would be my life partner. And very early in our relationship, in a dark salsa club, trading stories about our families of origin and our Peace Corps experiences, we began to envision the adventure our family is about to embark on. . . now almost 18 years later. 

We would finish our schooling. We would marry. We would have children. We would live somewhere we love and be of service to our community. We would travel the world with our children. And, when the time was right, we would take them somewhere for an immersion experience-- for the opportunity we both so treasured -- to live in another place, to learn another language, to see the world (together) from an entirely different perspective. 

Over the years, the vision has been shelved, argued over, paused, questioned. It has jumped continents. It was even postponed a year by a pandemic. And yet, here we are. On July 4, 2022, vamos al Ecuador. 

Vamos, after multiple iterations, back to La Josefina, a sleepy village in the transition zone at the base of the Andes Mountains. The same village that I called home from 1999-2001 -- where I turned 22, 23, and 24. Where my dear friends and family, including Lucia, Sintia, Cecilia, Hernan, and Soledad are welcoming us with gracious, open arms. Where the leaves grow big enough to use as umbrellas, where the rivers rise in torrential downpours, where cumbia is the dance tune of choice, where bananas and yuca and guanabana abound. We don't expect it to be all easy, but we sure do hope it will be fun!

Dillon is 11. He's not yet snarky and not really even that tweeny. He's sad to miss sixth grade sleepover camp but also excited to have an adventure. He has always enjoyed traveling. Having been in dual immersion primary school since age 5, his Spanish is much more polished than my own, but we hardly hear him use it stateside. We are hoping he finds his voice in Spanish this year. I also expect him to get addicted to his new Kindle and become adept at using a machete. 

Jonah is 7. He's our empath. More emotional, more affected. I suspect that the long time away from 'home' will be hard for him. But he's also a deep thinker, an artist, and a committed caretaker for his sister. As he wraps up first grade (also in dual immersion), his Spanish is coming along nicely. I hope he gets lots of tree climbing, soccer playing, drawing and maker time. I'm sure he, too, will covet a machete. 

Brynna is 5. She's psyched to learn Spanish so she can talk everyone's ears off (like she already does in English). She's still inextricably attached to mommy, and I think extended time together without the distraction and stress of work will feed her little soul (and mine). I hope we can teach her to read this year (she's close), and am already envisioning lots of hours of picking lice out of her curly mop of hair. 

Paul's primary goal this year, in addition to stepping away from long hours of software testing and development, is to not be the only member of our family who cannot speak Spanish. I believe that is a confusing double negative. But I also believe in him.

And me? I hope to take a breath after 2+ years of working on the front line as a family doctor and teacher in pandemic craziness. I hope to reconnect with my Ecuadorian family in deep and meaningful ways. I hope to be able to read as fluently in Spanish as I can converse. And I hope to have the time and space to not only make memories with my family, but also to write. 

I plan to use this space to record some bits of my family's experience during our year in Ecuador. I recognize that we are extremely privileged to be able to do this, and I hope that we can all wield our privilege responsibly. 

In closing, I will share our family's mission statement for our year away:  "Linguistic and cultural immersion for our entire family, with our pace of life guided by exploration rather than by our work".

Vamos al Ecuador!

Paul and Veronica, La Josefina Ecuador 2011