Not to be dramatic, but last week was life-changing. I spent it in Yungilla, Ecuador on a service trip through my school. It was a wild ride.

With the cold I had previously along with the high altitudes, it was a challenge. But, it made me learn more about myself and an endurance I never tested. It was an amazing journey, and I made a lot of great friends. I was able to do things I never thought I would such as lugging 80 lb logs up a mountain, riding horses (yes! That’s me in that picture!), and walking the Inca trails. The best part was talking in my very broken Spanish to the community members of Yungilla and various people throughout Ecuador.

While norms are different there, people are people. Their basic needs and wants are the same. They crave love, acceptance, and seek happiness. How they do it varies, but, at their core, they are the same as people in the US. They differ in that they find love, acceptance, and happiness in more simpler terms.

Love

Love is everywhere. They love people, their animals, and, importantly, their land. Ecuadorians consider their land equivalent to a human in terms of rights according to their government. They treat it as such. The people find a use for everything, even the used plastic bottles we put in recycling. They make bracelets out of them. All of them appreciate everything around them from the toilet paper to the wood they make swings from. No one throws anything out. They simply find a new use for it. They find love in everything around them.

Acceptance

I stayed in a community called Yungilla. So, Quito probably differs. However, Yungilla has a close, tight-knit community that is both beautiful and slightly problematic. It’s lovely in that they support each other. Everything is a team effort. One person accidentally hit a water line. Water was bursting out, and they had to shut off the water for the entire community. No one was blamed, and they worked together to fix the problem.

However, the town is limited in their exposure to other thoughts and ideas. Huge mountains separate Yungilla from Quito. So, they don’t have people coming in to share different points of view. Further, because the community is so small, everyone knows everything about everyone. There are no secrets, and there is no way to avoid judgment. One of the community members married someone from the UK. She came to live in Yungilla with him. They are still judged 10 years later. They don’t get invited to parties and still live somewhat as outsiders, despite him living in Yungilla all his life.

Acceptance is still somewhat archaic in that they accept their community – to an extent. It can be taken away when someone doesn’t do what the community expects or wants.

Happiness

Like with love, happiness is simple. It is found in the little things. “No pasa nada.” They don’t worry about small things. If a tree they were cutting down for firewood falls down the mountain to no return, oh well! They laugh about it. They almost fall off a huge cliff? Laugh because that was a close one. Happiness comes from everything around them. That’s the biggest thing I learned on that trip. There is no point in getting hung up on the small trivial problems. I learned to appreciate the small things and the world around me. Like I said, this trip changed my life.

About Marissa Musings: Marissa Musings are short blog posts that derive from an outpouring of random thoughts. My brain can be a very crazy place. Enjoy with caution.