Image Of A Memory

"Such a shame to complain
When all of our yesterdays have gone away
Holdin' on
An image of a memory, another song
All of our yesterdays have gone now
Call me up
When you need a shoulder to prop you up
All of yesterdays have gone now"
 - All Of Our Yesterdays, by Mac Demarco


Differences between living in the US versus living in Ecuador:


I still have to tell myself that it's okay to flush the paper down the toilet rather than throw it in the trash can. (the plumbing can't handle toilet paper in South America)

I remind myself that I don't have to forcefully spit out water from the shower or after brushing my teeth: the pipes are fine, I won't get sick. I can drink water from the tap. In the same way, I don't have to first purify fruits and vegetables and dry them obsessively. A little water on them or the dishes won't hurt anyone, here.

I'm still learning how to use the different credit card chip readers.

(What's an average tip amount these days?)

If I'm late to a group thing I can sit down quietly rather than go around and greet everyone there, which to me always felt like an interruption, but to them is expected. It's rude not to greet everyone anyone you arrive and leave.

Handshakes and hugs, not besitos. (though gaging which is expected from the person facing me can be a challenge at times, don't you think? Going in for a hug and seeing, too late, the look on someone's face that says they weren't expecting it / don't want it is painful.)

Chocolate chips here are cheap, while fruit can be expensive. I go to the grocery store and everything seems backwards. I'm not clutching a bag of pretzels excitedly because they've been imported for a short amount of time, and I'm also not purchasing dragon fruit or papayas very readily because what I could once get three of on the street for a dollar is now an exotic treat.

Cost of living is generally more expensive here. Going to see a movie is easily twice the price in the US, and suddenly I'm hit once again with insurance and car payments and a monthly phone plan and rent which is 3-4 times more and fluctuating gas prices. The rate at which money disappears, just on basic expenses, can be staggering.

I don't have to be on high alert when in public: the guy crossing the street towards me probably won't rob me, a pick-pocket likely won't swipe my phone if it's in my back pocket, and if I don't wear a cross-body purse it's okay, because odds are no one in this area is going to try and yank it off me. I can set my purse down in public, walk away, (example: putting it on a picnic table and leaving it while on the playground with a friend and her child) and it's likely going to be okay! Revolutionary.

I love driving and miss walking - a quandary.

I can visit parks with rivers running through them, right inside the city! I can go running next to water and animals and no black-exhaust-spewing buses rumbling past. What is this life?

Sometimes I miss the mountains, especially seeing the snow-capped peaks appear on a cloud-free day. They are breath-taking and utterly inspiring. Then I see the open Texas sky, spreading out as the most perfect canvas for sunrises, sunsets, and even approaching storms, every direction transforming with the weather or the time of day, and I am undone with wonder.



It's not better or worse in any place, just different. I love some differences more than others, yet can appreciate them all the same. Too often, I take this life for granted; what I have, what I've been able to experience, what I get to call my everyday. So I am thankful. For where I've been and now get to be, but especially who I get to share life with, I'm thankful.