I have taken a leap southward…believing it is a leap forward… and am now living in Ecuador. Moving here is a journey traveled in so much more than actual miles. It is a journey that’s traveled through thousands of miles in mind and body before ever stepping one foot out the front door. Well, at least that’s how it went down for me and I think this article helps explain it.

And before all that happened in the video….

Figuring it out

It was first a journey to explore what’s up with me. Sorting out “running away from” versus “moving toward” something else.  It has been a journey traveled through the fog of my own uncertainty, the slick roads of confusion and doubt, and the fearful darkness of leaving the road most familiar.  Basically, it’s been a big fucking deal!

There hasn’t just been me either. My wife and younger son have come here too. They have had their own journeys before arriving here. Together, our journeys have impacted each other…again before we ever walked out our front door. But like a great road trip, after all the time planning and preparing, when everyone has finally met up, sat their butts in the car and started driving, magic happens.

It’s that easy closeness that sets in.  Laughing , talking, and long periods of comfortable silence. It’s knowing you are together, and also left alone in your thoughts travelling down a road you have never been on.

MOVING TO ECUADOR

Our new life in Ecuador is being experienced with only the 12 pieces of luggage we brought on this trip. We have already discovered we brought some things we don’t need and left some stuff behind we could use. I believe in my heart that in the process of getting rid of everything we owned…house, cars, furniture, clothes, stuff…and more stuff, we got rid of a lot of our internal luggage…aka baggage..as well.  (But hey, there is still some shit I brought with me that I don’t need, don’t want, and will be looking for the right way to get rid of.  Hopefully it will make for good reading…lucky you ;-p)

Sunset over the Pacific, Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador

WE ARE AMERICANS LIVING IN ECUADOR

So here we are living in Ecuador! We are learning the language, the transportation, the shopping, and the way of life in our little town. I have so many things to learn and figure out, and I am doing it day by day. My intention is to let you into my head and see my journey from there. I guess you have a front seat. Hmmm…better buckle up; I’m told I’m a crazy driver.

The format of this blog will look like this: for the first 365 days, I am going to post something that I am experiencing, doing, or thinking about specific to that day. Basically, it will be a daily journal of my life experiences living in Ecuador.

In addition to the daily entries,  I will post things I find interesting that are topic specific…how to buy things at the market, how to use the local public transportation, what the cost of this or that is, and other things that will give you a feel for what living in this country is like. That will happen when it happens.

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