Friday, Apr 7, 2017
Time
I can’t believe how fast this week has gone by. It seems like only a couple of nights ago we were in Montanita at Savannah del Mar for dinner, but it has been a full week already. It was the first time for us to visit this beach bar where dinner is a Brazilian BBQ of sausage and chorizo, sirloin, pork ribs, chicken, and garlic potatoes. It’s all cooked over open flame and is truly a meat lovers delight.
Time Together
Our dining music was the rhythmic bass of the waves, each swell falling in a crescendo onto the beach, and only 50 feet from where I am eating. What a great South American night!
Beach Time
Honestly, it is hard for me to fully take in the spectacular views of the ocean and its beach. Two things I get to enjoy every day. Although I love having my feet in the sand, I don’t even have to be on the beach itself to enjoy it!
Easton practicing knots
Work Time
Easton is headed to Alaska in a couple of weeks to find a job on a fishing boat for the summer. He has a contact there, our friend Michelle. She is helping Easton connect with Skippers and other people who may be able to help him secure a position.
In the mean time he has spent a lot of time on YouTube watching and learning about working on a fishing boat. This even includes how to tie the right knots. We went to the hardware store the other day to have some keys made, and Easton just sat out front with his rope practicing his knots. I love this kid.
Writing Time
I wrote a “Postcard” for International Living (IL). If you aren’t familiar with them, it is an online magazine focused on people becoming “expats” and living abroad. I have to admit, the idea to live abroad was planted in my own brain by a subscription I had to IL Postcards. That was more than 10 years ago.
What I have come to believe about IL since then, is it leans heavily toward a one-sided picture of how great life is living in far away and exotic locations. It’s not always great, not everything is affordable, and there can be some major inconveniences. I told the editor my concern about this before I wrote anything to submit. He told me that the “Postcard” section of the magazine is meant to pique people’s interest and get them thinking about what life might be like living oversees. It intentionally focuses on the “good” aspects of overseas living.
Fair enough. It seems to have piqued my interest more than 10 years ago, and look at me now…here I am. I believe it is important to keep things real though, and maybe a “Postcard” doesn’t have the space to share the good, the bad, and the ugly together, but my blog does. If you have a friend that is only reading travel magazines like IL, maybe suggest they tune in here too. I try to present a fair picture of what it is really like to live in a gorgeous, non-first world foreign country…with not only its ups and downs, but mine too. 😉
Learning Time
Chase, Easton, and I had more Spanish classes this week. We had a different teacher and when asked why, we were told that we were ready for more advanced learning. Really? Maybe Chase and Easton are, but my brain is still reeling from our last set of classes!
Have you ever had dreams where you are clinging onto something, fingers slipping, and if you let go it means certain death? Well welcome to my experience in Spanish class. This week though we intentionally had class every other day, instead of daily. It was the only way I was going to be able to hang on.
Play Time
“Our” dog continues to come by and visit us. We are calling her “Mama”, named after a lovable dog we met in San Clemente last Christmas who would follow us around the town. I was able to get some pics of “our” Mama to share with you.
Just call me Mama…
Out of Time
I want to write something insightful but it’s not in me today. I have been rigorous with my schedule this week. I’ve committed specific time each day to studying Spanish, work on my ebook, write, exercise, coach, and do Pharmacy CE for my license renewal. It seems like I should have plenty of time each day to do all these things, but it feels like I barely can get it all in. Why is that?
What I know to be true is that we all have the same 24 hours each day to create the life we want to be living. For me, I live in the tension of creating the life I want to be living, while remembering to enjoy the life I have. Can you relate? I believe this tension is universal regardless of who you are or where you live.
How do you feel about this tension? As I reflect on it now this comes to my mind…plan the routes, be present in the moments, and enjoy the journey. Somehow thinking about my “schedule” in these terms makes me feel lighter, and not so weighted by the tasks at hand.
Chau.
Your blog is far more insightful than your IL postcard! You left out some pretty significant details such as the earthquake and how unhappy the weather made you in Cuenca. The magazine is definitely skewed. Nevertheless, I really like the point of your postcard. If you’re not happy with the current day-in-day-out routine, don’t be afraid to try something different. Looking forward to that something different early next year.
I agree with you Jen. Probably can’t sign many people up for an IL properties tour writing about Ecuador’s earthquakes! I am interested in writing articles for other magazines though, and getting published in IL helps me meet requirements as a “published author”. Thanks for reading my blog Jen!
Todd
Hey Jen,
I just went back and looked at MY final revision for that IL Postcard. They didn’t include this paragraph…
“And guess what? Sometimes things change. After living in our perfect little town for 4 months, a major earthquake occurred on April 16th forcing us to relocate. We moved to Cuenca in the sierras and began a new experience in this UNESCO World Heritage Trust city.”
WTF right? It seemed weird to me I would leave that out.
I get that IL may not want to include something like that, but I wish they would at least give me a heads up. …and this was my concern writing for them. Sigh, I have two other Postcards in their cue…hmmmm.
Sorry, Todd! What a disappointment. Definitely leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I don’t subscribe to IL or their postcards and have found blogs and expat forums and FaceBook groups the way to go. I enjoy your writing, so I hope other opportunities open up for you and you can leave IL in your dust!
It’s good to know that even though you were introduced to Ecuador through the rose-colored glasses of IL, you have still found a new home there.
I walk away a little wiser about editors and impact of what’s written, and what’s not written. Thanks for hanging in Jen!
Todd
Hey Todd, have really enjoyed your blog over the past 6-8 months since I discovered it. I caught your IL postcard and I was going to ask you about the earthquake. Now I know, disappointed in IL but not surprised. Part of why I enjoy your blog is the honesty, including the earthquake and the Cuenca weather. We are experienced enough travelers to know that nowhere is perfect. I’m an IL subscriber when I first signed up couldn’t believe their heavy sales pitches and obvious cheerleading. I still would prefer them to be more balanced but I guess their main goal is to sell seminars. Now after a couple of years I’ve made peace with them and use it for one purpose. To put a location on my radar for further research.
We are headed out on our own adventure starting late summer/early fall. Going to do the nomad thing for a year or two. Ecuador was originally high on the list but we’ve decided to give preference to countries where the strong dollar is an advantage. Who knows where the dollar will be in 6 months so we may still make it to Ecuador. While we have an itinerary outline we are going to take it week by week.
Hey Ian,
I hear ya’ on the whole IL thing. I agree with how you have chosen to use it. Smart!
Is Columbia on your list? That was actually my original choice before Ecuador, but I didn’t have the balls to do it. I have friends from Columbia who told me it isn’t like “Pablo Escobar” any longer and it’s safe. Without having a lick of Spanish though, it felt too risky to try first. In hindsight, I bet it would have worked out just fine. Heidi and I are still planning on going there for an extended period of time after we have the ability to be out of Ecuador per our visa requirements.
Thanks for you comments Ian!
Todd
Hey Todd. Yes Colombia is on our list we just had friends come back from Medellin and they loved it. The plan is, after a few month road trip in the US. Spend the next year or two checking out expat destinations. Spend six months in Latin America, starting with Lake Atitlan Guatemala for one month of immersion Spanish tutoring. Then Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, finishing up in Mexico. The following six months in Europe primarily Eastern Europe but also Spain and Portugal. If we are not sick of moving around by then head over to South East Asia for 6 months. At which point we make our decision. We’ve started a blog expatornot.com. It will be relatively quiet for the next few months until we head out.
Wow, that sounds like a great “road” trip Ian. Love the time you made for Spanish immersion. It will make navigating Latin America so much better. I just checked out your blog too. Nice man! Sounds like your adventure is about ready to begin. Good luck!
Todd
Thanks Todd. Guatemala wasn’t even on our original radar but I read about this school that was to good to pass up. Four hours of an individual tutor 5 days a week, 7 days per week of homestay, and 3 meals a day for 6 days a week. $225 per person per week. So we can do a month all in for about $1800.
I bet it will be a great experience Ian. The price is fantastic!