I've now been in Ecuador for a little over 6 months. I feel like I have settled in to the rhythms and customs here. I have weekly routines, and the holiday season has arrived. I now know what homesick feels like. The last few days have been rough, but I know the cure for the blues: Gratitude! When I count my blessings instead of sheep, I have peace and my heart lightens. So here are 11 things that prove I am blessed to be here.
1. The View
Each morning, even the ones where I wait until the very last minute to get out of bed, the first thing I do is look out my kitchen window. The combination of the mountains and the clouds as the sun rises is always lovely. Even when the sky is gray and it's raining, it's beautiful. I don't think I will ever get tired of looking out my window and seeing mountains.
2. My "Commute"
I don't have a car here, and I don't need one. Every day, I have the pleasure of walking to and from both of my jobs. My apartment is roughly 15 minutes walking distance from both of my jobs, and they are roughly 10 minutes from each other. Since I regularly come home for my lunch break, I get about an hour of walking in every day. At first, I missed my radio time in the car, but now I walk with even more pep as I listen to music with my headphones. It is a joy to breathe in the fresh air, soak in the sunlight, and get a little exercise every day.
3. Fresh bread
It's a good thing that I am walking as much as I am, because there are at least 5 panaderias (bakeries) within a 5 minute radius of my apartment. Fresh bread is the best! The next building over from my place is a bakery and I've made friends with the owners. They're a young couple and their two little girls sometimes practice English with me when I stop by. They've been teaching me the names of each type of bread. You wouldn't believe how many kinds of bread there are! So far, I enjoy empanadas de manjar the most.
4. Creamy Ice-Cream
Another temptation is to eat all kinds of ice-cream. There are many great ice-cream specialty stores nearby as well. I'm doing my best to monitor my intake. Oh and of course- it's very inexpensive.
5. Eating out is Affordable
Speaking of inexpensive, I can eat out for lunch for anywhere between $2.50 and $4.00. I do enjoy cooking, but most days I'm too exhausted to have to create something during my lunch break. Thank God that most restaurants serve "Almuerzo." For "Almuerzo" customers get a choice between 2 kinds of soup as a starter and 2 kinds of main dishes that almost always include some kind of rice and meat. I love this convenience and I'm actually getting used to eating soup on a regular basis!
6. Seeing Friends throughout the Day
I work in the same building, at the same academy, as many of my friends. At the end of the work day, there's a good chance that I'll get to see them. Obviously, there are crazy days when I don't see them. However, there are also days when we leave work at the same time and get to grab coffee together or have a bite to eat. This is one of the biggest blessings to me. I love having quality time with them.
Aside from working with friends, I have made new friends from church who work at restaurants. If I ever want to get out of my apartment or catch up with people, all I have to do is walk a few blocks down the road and stop by their restaurant. Two nights ago, I decided to drop by my friend Tiffany's restaurant. We ended up talking for over 2 hours. God has made it abundantly clear that I'm not alone.
7. Quickly Getting Involved in Church
Loja city has many evangelical protestant churches, but God led me to "La Semilla de Mostaza" fairly quickly. It was only the second church that I visited. It's not always the best idea to tell God what to do, but I had told God that I would invest in the church who had someone invite me to lunch afterwards. I didn't know it at the time, but it's actually fairly rare for Lojanos to go out to eat with anyone who is not in their family on Sunday afternoon. When I visited "La Semilla de Mostaza," I met some nice people after the service who made polite chit-chat. All the same, I was about to leave a little disappointed, when my now-friends Pati and Xavier introduced themselves and asked if I would like to walk home with them. They were headed the same direction. We ended up grabbing lunch and spending a good part of the afternoon together. Since then, I have taken a weekend hiking trip with the youth group (which actually consists of mostly twenty-something-year-olds), and I regularly see my new friends at Bible study and on Sunday mornings.8. Living Alone
When I was planning for Ecuador, I knew that I would most likely live by myself instead of living with roommates. It was an intimidating and scary idea for me. The first week was an adjustment, but now I truly enjoy it. I control the cleanliness of the place. I decide the decorations. If I want to sit in silence, I can. If I want to jam out and sing at the top of my lungs, I can. There is a lot of freedom to living by myself and I'm grateful for it!
9. Washing Clothes by Hand
Not everyone who lives in Loja washes their clothes by hand: some have washing machines; some go a "lavanderia" (laundry mat); and others have house workers to do house chores for them. For me- I thoroughly enjoy washing my clothes by hand. Every week on Saturday, I use a "washing station" on my apartment terrace to wash my clothes. It only takes about an hour to do- then the clothes are hung up on a clothes-line until dry. It's gentler on the clothes, it's very cheap, I get some sun, and it's therapeutic.
10.The Weather
It is now November, and by my estimations, today the temperature fluctuated between the 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. That has been the norm since the beginning of October. I miss the changing of the fall leaves and pumpkin spice lattes of Kansas during this season, but I have no complaints about the lovely weather of Loja.11. I'm not Leaving Anytime Soon
For a little while there, I had been experiencing many roadblocks in the process of getting my work visa. I had started to give up hope that I could stay because all the doors seemed to be shut in my face. After worrying about it longer than I should have- I remembered how good God is and I found my peace. A month went by, and I still had no answers. But praise God because recently, the doors have been opened again. I am paid legally, and I am moving forward in the process to getting my work visa. The process isn't over yet, but my hope has been restored. If it is the Lord's will, I won't be leaving anytime soon!
