10 Wills & 10 Won’ts

As our time here winds down and we’re out and about I find myself saying either ‘I’m going to miss that’ or ‘I’m sure not going to miss that’. So, I decided to share some of each with you.

Things I’ll Miss about Ecuador

1. Being surrounded by the scenic green hills & mountains
2. Adorable Quichua babies peeking out with wide, dark, innocent eyes.
3. Ancient stucco Spanish architecture
4. Making my way through the vegetable market on the way to a Bible study
5. The ‘old’ Otavalo town square ‘Parque Bolivar’ before they ‘improved it’
6. Renting a large awesome house with a fireplace for only $180/month
7. Being greeted with ‘Buenos Dias’ or ‘Buenos Tardes’ on the streets by everyone who makes eye contact
8. Seeing all the colourful handcrafts displayed everywhere
9. Seeing oxen and/or pigs, etc. being led (or not) down the middle of the roads
10. Walking cobblestone streets through picturesque ancient villages

Things I Won’t Miss about Ecuador

1. Being cold every time a cloud passes over and every evening from 4pm on
2. Being gagged by clouds of black exhaust from the zillions of buses that don’t have pollution control devices
3. Trying to appreciate how gorgeous it could be if it weren’t for all the trash spoiling every view
4. Dodging excrement from dogs and… well, I won’t go there
5. Trying to hold my breath while walking by certain long walls on the way to town (see 1Kings 14:10) 😉
6. Terrifying rides on overcrowded, questionable buses with loco drivers through treacherous winding mountain passages
7. Endlessly jumping through government hoops only to find there are brick walls on the other side
8. The ‘too-tight’ and ‘too bare’ popular fashion.
9. The mindset of most where there seems to be no concept of keeping an appointment or planning ahead for anything
10. Constantly trying to evade the ubiquitous amoeba (and sometimes failing) 🙁

Of course, while we’re in this system of things, there will be ugly things about any place on Earth. Won’t it be wonderful when there won’t any longer be lists of ‘Things I won’t miss’ about any place!