Pictures from our Waterfall Hike to Guadual

 







 
















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In Ecuador you do not say “Adios”

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“In every language, there seem to be certain ‘unmentionables’—words of such strong affective connotations that they cannot be used in polite discourse.”  Language in Thought and Action,  S.I Hayakawa and Alan R. Hayakawa What are these so-called unmentionables?  Perhaps your mind goes first to bad words, like the f- word or racial slurs like the n-word, or other derogatory words like the r- word for people who are developmentally  disabled. Or perhaps suppressed words, like those pertaining to menstruation or sex. Or perhaps you are thinking of words that are thought to wield magical powers like saying the word “quiet” on a labor and delivery floor when not much is happening (Don’t do it, the nurses will kill you). In all cultures there are simply words you do not say.  One, surprisingly important unmentionable in Ecuador is the word Adios . Whereas Adios  is commonly used to mean “goodbye” or “see you later” in Mexico, Spain, and much of the rest of the Sp...
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A bit about Ecuador

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Don't feel bad if you don't really know where Ecuador is in the world.  Or if you do not really know very much about Ecuador. It doesn't make the US news that often--which is probably a good thing.  When I received my invitation to Peace Corps Ecuador in 1999, I remember a sense of excitement, a dream of burgeoning adventure, and then a feeling of shame: other than the fact that I presumed it was on the equator, I had no clue where in the world Ecuador was, nor any idea of all the wonders it had to offer. In preparation for our family's year abroad, I thought it might be interesting to try to write a post on the nation of Ecuador. A little geography, a little history, a little anthropology, and some personal commentary. It's obviously far from inclusive. Ecuador is a small South American country sitting squarely on the equator, nestled between Colombia (to the north) and Peru (to the south). At 176,204 square miles, it is slightly smaller than Nevada. When I write t...
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From rationing to releasing

For the last 12 months, we have been rationing our resources. You name it, we have conserved it, apportioned it, and allotted it: from Skippy peanut butter, to Earl Gray tea, to cheddar cheese, to dark chocolate. From Crayola markers to Ticonderoga pencils to embroidery thread to temporary tattoos. From shrinky-dinks to jigsaw puzzles to body wash.  From maple syrup to soy sauce to Scotch tape. I am the chief control freak on this project, and I am afraid I have passed some of my neuroticism onto my kiddos. The thing is every little thing feels more precious when it is not readily replaceable, when Amazon Prime is a pipe dream, when the nearest Target is 5000 miles away. The truth is, everything IS more precious. And yet, now we find ourselves, at the tail end of this journey, and it is time to let go.  It is an admittedly sharp turnabout to go from rationing to releasing.  It is time to bake another big batch of chocolate chip cookies and use up that chocolate. Time to s...
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