Ecuador | Ama La Vida
"Today's going to be the best day of your life" - some of the first words I heard after stumbling into this unknown country after hours in an airplane thousands of miles above land and sea. As I looked out the window of the bus, I saw Quito, the light of America, illuminated before me and as the lights blurred past us, I could never have predicted what was before me those next 7-8 days. I didn't know that I would come into contact with so many people and never would I have guessed that I would fall in love with this culture that embraced diversity, nature, and history. From Day 1 I was pushed into an environment where I was expected to greet everyone I met, stranger or future acquaintance, with "buenos dias" or "alipuncha" - a custom I never had to take part of in the United States as I had been conditioned to avoid all eye contact with strangers and pass them by without a word or a simple acknowledgment. But here was this community that I was thrown into that treated everyone as family and accepted us although we were a bunch of Asian teenagers from the States that were deathly afraid of bugs and doused themselves in mosquito repellent and sunblock. As each day passed in Ecuador, not only did I begin to find a second home, but a second family.
The light of America was not the only thing that illuminated the night as the stars and the blue moon visible in the Amazon Rainforest opened my eyes to the wonders of nature and how precious it was. As I panted and sweated my way through an hour hike on the first day of our stay in the jungle, I thought I was going to pass out and knock down a couple of my peers with me (I never really was the athletic type), but as I pushed forward to catch up to Omar and Gabe in front of me and as Casey followed close behind, I knew I couldn't give up. And just when I thought that I would keel over due to exhaustion, we stopped and I witnessed one of the most stunning and beautiful views I ever could in my life as the Napo River and the greenery were spread out in front of me - showing me the magic that nature possessed. Hearing the sounds of the birds cawing, the wind blowing, the river flowing, and the people gasping, I smiled and felt bliss. And with my camera, I attempted to capture the magnificence that I saw that day but no picture can ever do justice to the abundance of trees, the glistening water, or the breathtaking sunset.
During our stay at the Minga Lodge, our not-so-little family bonded like no other as we protected each other, cheered each other on, and lent a helping hand wherever we could during meals or in the jungle. As some of us screamed at the sight of a frog in our shower or the slight snap of a twig outside, we were there for each other in the good and the bad as we complimented each other in strengths and weaknesses. At first, we constantly asked "Do you need help?" or "What can I help you with?" but as the hours passed, words were unnecessary as we naturally began to lift each other up and push each other forward. As I bonded with these once just acquaintances, during this trip they became inseparable from me as we randomly burst out into song during 8 hour bus rides and danced to the beat on a moving party bus during our famous and long-awaited discoteca. But our family didn't just consist of the 21 people who initially went on the trip, it slowly grew to include Yacu, my role model and our legend, and Victor, our wise guide, and everyone we encountered on the way that worked at the Minga Lodge, that insisted that we try new foods, or that taught us something new. As I encountered more and more people, I learned that we cannot live this life alone - we are a minga (team) - and we need others to share our ups and downs and support each other during the trials and tribulations that will undoubtedly travail us. But life is so much bigger than a couple of bumps in the road because it IS the road and it's our choice to let those speedbumps slow us down indefinitely or shock us momentarily as we continue this epic journey that never fails to amaze.
For a family that started its adventure at the LAX airport, we quickly became a part of nature as we ascended mountains, tackled mud, headbutted rocks, met little creatures, and felt the cold of the waterfalls. And through it all - the shoveling, the running, the hiking, the sweating, the screaming - we learned the importance of nature and its omnipresent role in our lives as it provided for us unconditionally with food, shelter, and water. But as I talked to Yacu, Victor, Carolina, and Shannon, people who cared and dedicated their lives to advocating nature and its preservation, my heart ached as their fear that this wonder called the Amazon could one day disappear, extended to become my own. A force that has existed for billions of years to support hundreds and thousands of species... the thought that it can one day be gone because we as humans have tampered with it beyond repair sends a chill up my spine. But people like Yacu, Victor, Carolina, Shannon, and our service group give me hope. As I greeted and resided with nature during this undeniably eye opening service trip, I left behind the technology that once was a part of me in Cerritos, California, and although at first I thought I would miss my phone and Facebook terribly, I felt at ease with the lack thereof as I looked up at the blue sky, the marshmallow-like clouds, people's faces, and the green around me instead of looking at these wonders through a digital screen. Until I let it go, I never knew the kind of impact that technology was having on me - I wasn't living my life in the now, at that moment. I was living it in the past or the future as I looked back at what could have been, what had already passed, or what I thought would be.
Live life day by day. Ama la vida. One of the lessons that I'll never be able to forget now. Too often in California I was consumed by my work and the stresses of planning for the future, but in Ecuador, I was forced (thankfully) to slow down, think, and enjoy what was around me. Instead of waiting for a new notification to pop up on my screen, I witnessed life AS it was happening around me as I saw, smelled, heard, and felt. Each day was an adventure all on its own, but I was ready for it even without knowing what to expect. As Yacu and I talked, I saw the importance of living my life how it is and letting things come and go without regret or hastiness: everything in my life happens at a certain time for a reason, and although I may not know every little detail, I've learned to embrace it and instead make the most out of every second that I have because each one is so precious and so impactful.
As I left this beautiful, stunning, unforgettable country at the equator, I suppressed any sadness because I knew that wouldn't be my last time in Ecuador - I still had so much to do and so much to see. At 3 AM Wednesday morning, I looked out the window of the bus once again and I recalled the chaotic and exhilirating past week full of serving, singing, dancing, screaming, laughing, hiking, eating, trying, clapping, and bonding. I couldn't believe those past 8 days had passed by so quickly: even now, it feels like just yesterday I was laying in my bunk bed in the lodge covered by a mosquito net, waking up to the sound of nature alive and thriving next to me. Ecuador is a place and an experience I will never forget as it taught me and showed me things irreplaceable by empty words in a textbook or a couple of ill-representative pictures. I will live each day to make it the "best day of my life" and I'll never stop "ama[ing] la vida" - this amazing vida.