thoughts of Ecuador

Ecuador is a funny place really, here are some thoughts regarding my experiences this far. You know when I start a blog like this I am going to rambe, so reader beware.
First of all, I still resent the fact that there are US citizens claiming to be Canadians, which by the way gives us Canadians a bad rep. I understand why they do this, but I don't have to like it. We have been called American by a number of people and we calmly correct those people. It is quite shocking that when we say we are Canadian, the whole tone towards us changes. It is almost like an aggression stops and a tolerance begins.
We certainly have found that we are prejudiced against by some Ecuadorians, (Rachelle has found that more with the women, I think that they feel quite threatened by a super blonde, white girl), also the macho attitude can be wearing at times. If the men start, I either let other men deal with it or walk away.
So I guess everyone, including myself have their prejudices. I'd like to think that I look at people more than the prejudice against a whole group of people but sometimes I feel myself not doing that at all. I find myself so arogant as to thinking I am above all that when I really failingly not. This is where I think of myself as one of those limited people who can't see beyond their own nose to other more important things of life. The individual.
This is why is it is so important to find those people who make you want to be a better person.
I had found one of those people when I was living in Enderby. He was a wonderful man with marvelous excentricities. Charlie Matjeka was one of my heros. He was a hero by example, by listening and giving advise when he thought he would be heard and sometimes when he wouldn't. When he passed away, I felt part of my inspiration and heart go with him.
Recently, I have found another hero. This lady is truely the most generous of people I have found. She has taken into her world a baby, who is now 8 years old, (whose mother died in child birth and who father was distraught afterward), as she says, he is her son. In that process of having him as her family, then his extended family wanting to be in his life too, she has created a large extended family including either street kids or children from poor families and their families. She has provided medical care, education, and endless love to ensure they never feel abliged to her or feel bad in anyway of having to pay her back. (She makes sure they keep their pride and self worth. This is the skill of a true hero, never leave them without their self value and a way to live without you when you are gone.)
This weekend, we went to visit her house and farm in Puyo. We went to a chinese shadow puppet show with some of the kids. Some of these kids had never been to a theater before, as it is normally way too expensive just for food never mind theater. For me, part of the joy was looking at their eyes glued with joy of the whole experience.
Before the theater,we had lunch with some of the gang. We had brought treats: of store bought cookies, crackers and general junk food with us to share with everyone(because we are not purists, and god help us, but we can be bad example for nutrition) for after. We ate the jungle style food of chicken and rice and small amount of veggies cooked in leaves over an open fire. After lunch, the delight with which they ate the treats was heart lifting and fun loving.
We then talked, (sometimes thankfully either Eliza or Rachelle translated for me). We talked of prejudices, of how many people treat others, how some of the Ecuadorians treat the "Jungle" people and how the world needs to remember equality. Much in the buddist way. Some of the kids were experiencing some of those issues in school recently and it was a sore spot. It was then that I had to remember my own faults and limited thinking and talked with them openly about my prejudice about the Americans,( remembering that Eliza is american). It was in many ways an appology but it was more of a reminder that I require a mind opening and to be more loving, accepting and forgiving of others and also myself. Sometimes, we have to remember our humanity and our fault of being born human.
Knowing Eliza with her huge heart, how could anyone not love her or what she does with others. She is not doing it for the reward, she it doing it because she loves, no strings attached. Wow, no strings attached. How often do we have strings attached when it refers to love. How often do we have predisposed ideas of how some one behaves in order to love them. Yikes, the mind wanders and ponders, doesn't it.
Here is another thought, particularly about how Eliza loves, she loves the world. She purchased land and is working to make it back into jungle. The problem in the area, as with most of the threatened Amazon, is it is being cut down for timber or cultivation. What do you expect the poor and hungery to do. However, it is causing a huge HUGE problem. Of course, there is also world industry and global warming. OK, there are those who don't believe it but you don't live here. Puyo was jungle. Eliza moved there ,in the 1980's. Then, when she was talking with the elders, they were saying it used to rain never endingly and had changed. She said in the 80's they were having regular and frequent heavy rains. When we went to visit, they had just had rain, finally. They hadn't had it for quite a while. This is the jungle, there should be unbelievable humidity not infrequent humidity.
Soooo, she has a fellow walk her land and protect the fences and any animals there. Here is the sad thing, they had a caiman there living in her pond. I went there with my camera to make more photos, the caiman was gone. They think he was taken either for food or what ever.
This is the sad thing about the amazon, people are hungry and the jungle is changing, so sad things happen. She is still holding in her heart for a world change. So is Lois, he is involved in a land preservation program. He is a scientist who has taken with others the responcibility to care for the land and help the locals find other ways to make a living. It is an uphill battle, and it takes special people to do that.
This reminds me of when I was doing therapy for profoundly disabled children. The people that worked with them had the biggest hearts and patience that I have ever seen. They gave love to those kids when no one else would, or accept the kids when others would be fearful of them or treat those them badly. Those care workers had it in their hearts to love unconditionally to those who needed it. Those people were also my heros. Again ,I was humbled, I don't mind being humbled if it helps me on my lifes journey, even if I don't like it or the process. I have been very blessed in my life to have inspiring people to show me the way. They, for the most part, teach me but also love me too, no matter how hard I make it for them to love me. Some of my heros are still here, some are not in my life right now and some are gone, though they have never truely left me, because I hold them in my heart. I just will have to keep working on trying to be a better person until I get it right.
Live well, bien viaje
Robin