The next adventure: Ecuador

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It had been too long since Spain. Too long since I had last taken myself completely out of context to learn more about myself, my country, humanity, and the world.

Now in our 4th year of medical school, we had a bit of travelling time before graduating and moving on to residency. So Audrey and I scoured the internet looking for a medical-volunteering program in a South American country where we could practice our Spanish and learn more about the culture of many of our South American patients. We found CFHI (Child Family Health International, www.cfhi.org) which offered us a month-long trip to Ecuador in the name of "service-learning." We would stay in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, for a week of Spanish language classes, then we would head down south to a small town called Puyo on the edge of the Amazon rainforest. In Puyo we would work in hospitals and clinics, and make medical trips to small jungle communities. Aleks was going to have a week of vacation time in April, so he got to join us in Quito before we plunged into the jungle. In Quito and Puyo we would stay with Ecuatorian families, seeing Ecuatorian culture from the inside.

Over the month, I took over 1,600 photos (Audrey took another 3,000!) and kept a journal of my experiences. Internet was sometimes hard to come by in Ecuador, so I didn't publish my blog as I went; I knew you would wait patiently for me to return and share my stories with you. Since I'm writing this after returning home, I can almost guarantee that the story won't always be chronologically linear. But hopefully it will paint a picture of the tattered, beautiful country that is Ecuador, of its people, of its cultures, of its triumphs and of its failures. And somewhere in the background of this painting, in the mirror of Las Meninas, is a reflection of our own tattered, beautiful country, of our people, of our cultures, of our triumphs and our failures. As much as I learned about Ecuador, I think I learned an equal amount about my own native land.

So here is my story of Ecuador. To whet your appetite, it's a story of crime, poverty, and parasites. Of bananas, religion, and famous guitarists. Of Conquistadors, cocaine, and Colombians. I hope you enjoy it. Úpi.

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Photos

Ecuador
This flag of Ecuador is pretty symbolic of the country. Beautiful, vibrant, diverse, and yes, tattered. Today's Ecuador is tattered by poverty, crime, political and economic instability. What's the solution to Ecuador's problems? It depends on what you think its problems are.