VENTURE A HIGHWAY

Here’s a big question: If “home” is where the heart is, then which is home for us ~ Ecuador or America?

I guess the only real answer is both. When we’re here, Cuenca isn’t only where we live our daily lives, but it’s also where we feel most at home with ourselves now. We’ve built a great new life, surrounded by friends we enjoy tremendously and deeply care about. Yet still, the minute we spill off the plane into the States, there’s an instant sense of belonging. We’re in the home so deeply ingrained, it takes only minutes to step right back into its rhythms as if we’d never left. 

This trip back, though, was unique in that we didn’t go straight to back to places most familiar.  We were on our way to a special niece’s wedding in California, a state we know much about, but had never been to. It was the perfect excuse to “play tourist” and do a little traveling.  

We stayed in Pasadena, taking the few days before the nuptials to explore the local sites. We covered the usual ~ Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and the Santa Monica Pier. Jeff also visited a cousin’s alpaca farm. Then it was off to desert-like hills outside of the city to the exquisite Hummingbird Nest Ranch for the wedding. A truly California fairy tale.

But what did each of us just have to see in California? We were limited in time and scope, so for me it was the coast and Carmel, a charming town where a long-ago roommate hailed from. For him it was Yosemite. So with hotels already booked and GPS on the dash, we set out in our comfy Buick Lacrosse rental and got on the way.

The first day we drove up the coast to Morro Bay, landing a room right over the water. There we ate the first of many seafood dinners, looking up at the looming Morro Rock.

The next day we cruised up the gorgeous coast, music blaring, feeling quintissentially California free and easy. Hearst Castle wasn’t to be passed up, so we stopped and enjoyed one of its tours for a couple of hours. We ended up in Santa Cruz for the night, but not before a brief stint in Carmel.

The greatest highlight was the next day at Yosemite. Awe-some. Unfortunately that’s a word I tend to overuse, but incredibly apt here. The majesty of El Capitan and the Half-Dome cliffs seen from Glacier Point in the park left us speechless. There are no words to capture how tiny and humble I felt surrounded by all that natural beauty. How lucky are we? we said to each other. How lucky indeed.

But that wasn’t it. The next day we stood, staring WAY up at the Generals Sherman and Grant, the largest trees by volume in the entire world. We were in Sequoia National Park, being blown away yet again by this fantastic “home” we come from.

At this point, our home in Ecuador seemed light years away. We were about to embark on the second part of the trip - back to the northeast in Connecticut and Rhode Island we’re we’d grown up.  Stay tuned for a little taste of that journey...

And how about you? Where is “home” for you? Where is your heart?

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

It’s a gorgeous sunny morning and Cuenca and I’m sitting out on the terrace watching the world go by below. Boy, it’s good to be home!

We’ve been back from the States a full week now, and life is good. Not that it wasn’t there, but yes, there are definitely distinct contrasts between the two. I hadn’t really thought about them until friends who are planning to move down here asked a simple question: “So, what is it about the States you tend to miss?”

Great question. To answer it, though, I’ll take the opposite tack to start. What is it about CUENCA 
I tended to miss?  Hmmm... that turned about to be an interesting reflection.

WHAT I MISSED ABOUT CUENCA

~  The Laid-back, Slower-paced Life

Everything moves so fast in the States. Fast food. Fast news. Fast everything. People take time to breathe and enjoy life here, retired or not. They leave their jobs every afternoon from 1-3pm for a leisurely lunch with family or friends. They then return to work until anywhere from 6-10pm with a light dinner in between. Sundays are truly family days spent in parks, homes, and restaurants.

~  The Peacefulness.

We’re in the city, and yet just outside our windows is the constant lovely song of the River Tomebamba. Mountains surrounding the city’s valley stretch up before us, reminding us that nature is vibrant and easily accessible. 

~  The People

Generally speaking, Ecuadorians are very soft and genteel. It's a rare encounter to find any harsh words or crassness here. In fact, sometimes it's like stepping back into the American 60’s. People are growing, thriving, and achieving better lives for their children, and yet still manage to hold family and faith above all else. Self-pride and respect for others are alive and well. Are they perfect? No. But there is a refreshing innocence here (though not to be mistaken for naiveté).

And, yes, of course we missed our "Gringo people", for sure!

~  There Aren't Cookie-Cutter Shopping Centers on Every Corner

Enough said.

Oh, come on now, you’re saying. Just answer the question.  

WHAT DO WE MISS ABOUT THE STATES?

~  Friends and Family

I have to admit, that’s a big one for me. We always have a blast when we go back. But thankfully they’re just a Skype, Facetime, or visit away. We may even see each other more now!

~  Shopping

I know, it’s a little contradictory after what I said about the shopping centers. But the U.S. is still the land of plenty, and the prices are unbelievably low for quality goods. The choices are tremendous. Jeff chided me for spending 15 minutes in just the bread aisle. So many options, so little time! What we don’t miss is the cost of services like medical, travel, insurance, and the like. They're extremely reasonable here. In fact, I waited to return to get my hair done - $30 as opposed to $100+ for a cut and color!

~Prompt Service
One thing about Latin America is that life is slow and easy - whether you want it to be or not. You learn to take things in stride, and expect things to take a while to be accomplished. Jeff and I cracked up in Rhode Island at the Secretary of State's office when they actually apologized to us for having to wait a little over 20 minutes. That would be quite rare around these parts.

~  Certain foods

Yes, we miss lobster, clams, and all of our favorite restaurants, so we get our fill of everything that makes our U.S. home “home, (and unfortunately wind up with all the extra pounds to show it!) Still, the only things we insist on bringing back are Montreal Steak seasoning and maple syrup. Believe it or not, the rest we can pretty much live without (if we have to).

So there it is, folks. What do you think you would you miss if you left your country? And if you have already, what’s on your list?

THE RIDE TO RESIDENCY

Yes, I'm finally back once again, and apologize for not having written. Sure hope you've hung in there with me! We've been off to the States for a month, full of travels and fun, and with sketchy internet at best. You can expect a new blog every week or two now. That's a promise!

Many tales could be told since I’ve last written, but one of the most exciting - and anxiety-producing - is that we’ve finally been granted our Ecuadorian Residency. This means we can now come and go legally. Yahoo! The timing couldn’t be better, seeing as how our visas are about to run out.

But alas, it seems that everyone who’s been through this process has a gory story to tell, and we’re no exception. Our only advantage is that we’d been through it before in Costa Rica, and at least had some idea as to what to expect. Tons of homework was done online to make sure we knew all the Ecuadorean requirements before coming down. Naturally, we were convinced we had all the necessary documents in hand.

Ah, but this is still Latin America. Requirements in these parts seems to come and go on an ever-changing basis. It’s probably the same way for immigrants to the United States, but all I know is that anyone who’s brave enough to tread these waters has to keep a positive, patient perspective. 

Our journey has taken us seven months, with several nail-biting changes in between. It began with being hooked up with a very well-known lawyer in Quito whose specialty is immigration. We spoke to her by phone, and were given a list of all documents to be sent to her. Just here two weeks, we were thrilled to be on our way. At that time the expectation was a 3 to 6 month wait, and for us that was nothing compared to the three full years it took in Costa Rica.

But of course, nothing is as smooth as you'd think. We’ve definitely learned throughout this process to be our own advocates. Leave nothing to chance, and don’t expect the lawyer or representative you’ve hired to be proactive in communicating with you along the way. We contacted ours many times throughout, and thankfully we did, because each time we were "Oh! by the way", told of yet some other document needing to be submitted, or a new reason for a delay.

Another glitch was that a new Director of Immigration came onto the scene, which seemed to put everything at a standstill until he settled in. Rumors wafted about regarding new procedures and expectations, some of which couldn't be fulfilled so easily.  And here we were, about to leave the country. Our 6-month visa was almost up, and if this took much longer, we’d need to get it renewed to give us another three months to assure us legal status upon return. That was finally confirmed that with our lawyer, the one who not once reached out to advise us, despite many emails and phone calls. We scrambled, but got it done.

We pushed her a little more to get our residency approved before we went away. This is because you have only one month to respond once it’s been granted, and can lose it if you don’t get your new visa stamped into your passport at the Foreign Ministry within that time. Of course, ours was in fact granted just before we left. Not that our lawyer informed us of this. Oh no. We found out through a banker who knows her personally and called on our behalf.

So now what do we do? we thought. What if we lose it? We were going to Connecticut, and asked our lawyer to arrange for it to be done at the Ecuadorian Consulate there. The letter she wrote was somehow never sent there, and even if it had, they apparently didn't have the authority to do so. Yikes! We then went back and forth on the phone with her secretaries and tried to get it to Boston. That wasn’t to be, either. Finally, we were told we could get it done as soon as we got back. So now our passports are in Quito, and should be stamped with our visas this week.

That means it's time to celebrate, right? Wrong. Turns out that a new law just came into effect regarding the final step of being legal - getting our “cedulas”. These are numbered I.D. cards akin to all-important Social Security numbers in America. In order to pick them up, we’ll now need to produce marriage and birth certificates apostilled (authenticated) by our Secretary of State offices. That wouldn’t have been a problem if we’d known while we were back there. But no, that was never mentioned throughout all our messages back and forth to the lawyer. So now we have to figure out a way to get those taken care of. In the meantime, we just have to wait to get our officially stamped passports back in hand. We’re shaking in our boots until that happens! 

Do you have a residency story? I’ve heard of a few breezy success stories, but many more with pitfalls and challenges. There seem to be a few well-known advocates and lawyers specializing in immigration, some of whom are highly recommended and others who are not. It makes me wonder if an updated list should be compiled. I know that ours came with 5-stars, and yet it seems she now has so many clients she can’t possibly do her job as expected. Add that to the constant wave of crazy changes in requirements, and it’s bound to be an uphill battle. But we’re almost there. And for that I’m incredibly grateful.