Livin It Large In Ecuador: June 2014

I never thought saying goodbye would be so hard. For the past 8 months, I have made Quito my home. And now, I must say goodbye, not knowing if I will have the chance to return. When I left West Chester, I knew I would be back - that I would see my family and friends again and that my home would always be there waiting for me. But with leaving Quito, I am facing the unknown, something that makes me uneasy. I don't know if I'll see these people that I have called my best friends for the last year again, or if I'll be able to visit the ACF shelter again, or if I'll be able to visit my favorite coffee shop again. I am leaving today with both fear of the unknown, but also esperanza that I will return to Quito once again.

Finally, I have visited all four geographical regions of Ecuador. Up until last week, I had visited la Sierra (Andes mountains), la Costa (the coast) y los Galapagos, and was only missing el Oriente (the jungle). With a final Timmy medical brigade, I was able to check el Oriente off my list.

One day after returning from Perú, I left for Chontapunta, a very small "town" within the Amazon jungle, to work on one last Timmy brigade before heading home to the states. As always, I absolutely LOVED the experience! We stayed in wood cabins in the middle of the jungle, with freezing water and electricity only between 6pm and 10pm and absolutely no wifi - it was quite the "Amazon experience". The clinics were very similar to those of my past brigades, though I did see much more acute problems and infections, rather than mainly chronic issues. While interpreting, I saw patients with a anthrax, snake bites, and lots of parasites, to name a few. Needless to say, everyday at clinic was fun and interesting.

As the brigade was 10 days long instead of 7, we had a rest day half-way through. And what better way to spend the day than to go rafting on some of the most well-known white water rapids of the world. It was amazing, enough said!

Another amazing Timmy trip is in the books. Hopefully, I have the chance to return to Ecuador on another Timmy trip in the future!