Wednesday, Jan 27, 2016

I’m having a mentally rough day today. I have been trying most of the day to figure out how to get a large video file onto my blog site. I’m sure it’s not difficult but I haven’t figured it out so far. I have on the flip side learned more about ftp, file manager, and wordpress which I need to know moving forward anyway.

But back to my rough day. I think it has to do with spending money on shit that is so over the top priced compared to the US. I’m talking dry goods and staples…toilet paper, paper towels, pepper, coffee, bread…and ANYTHING that is a brand name from the US. It’s not like I didn’t know this coming here, but I didn’t know it as intimately as I’m learning now.

We bought a cheap plastic, oscillating fan today that was $30 bucks on sale. It would be $20…tops…at Walmart…without any sale. I’ve decided that I am going to take pictures of random stuff in the grocery/department store with their prices displayed so you can see what I am talking about.

So after being in a low mood most all day, it finally hit me what I am paying significantly less for and why I came to live here in Ecuador in the first place. I can see the ocean on my balcony all day long. I can see sunsets that are so beautiful I don’t have words to describe. I can have my feet in sand and surf in less than 2 minutes walking out my front door. And I can do this for a little more per month than I charge for rent in my 900 sq ft townhome back home in the states with no view, no balcony, no ocean breeze, and no beach. To live where I am by the beach, in the place I am, with the view I have would have been impossible for me to do long term in the states with my current resources.

This is what I have to hang on to and not get all pissed off about the stuff I pay more for here, but even then I usually have options. I can buy fresh fruits, vegetables, and fish for almost nothing each day at the farmers market. I can take a cab when I don’t feel like walking for a buck almost anywhere in this town. I can get on an executive air conditioned bus with wifi and movies that drives me five hours to Guayaquil for $8. I don’t need a car and I don’t have the expense of maintenance and insurance. There are a lot of offsets.

I’m grateful that I’m with my wife and younger son in a place that is new and interesting; beautiful in so many ways, and so full of contrasts in other ways. I’m learning a language I have always wanted to learn, and speaking with new and different people each day.

I am living the life I have chosen to pursue. So… I was in a pissy mood this morning, and I find myself peaceful by evening. I can live with that today!