Ecuadorians are Warm and Generous People

 I thought this was a great addition to the blog today.  Reprinted (with permission) from "50 Things You Should Know Before Moving to Cotacachi, Ecuador" published by Cotacachi Living. 

Ecuadorians are warm and generous people.
If you had to sum up the Ecuadorian philosophy of life in on sentence, it would have to be “The future is uncertain, so live for now.” The North American idea that we have to rush around and accomplish as much as possible so that we can get to a better time in the future is rarely seen here. Ecuadorians take the time to get to know people and always have time for a friendly chat. We feel fortunate to have been invited to the homes of several of our Ecuadorian friends and have always felt like welcome guests. When Ecuadorians get together for a party, they don’t talk about their jobs or their accomplishments. They live in the moment and put their relationships with family and friends in high regard. While they may have little in the way of material things, they have much to teach North Americans about the most important things in life.

I find this to be so true in my life.  My landlord called to me from the back yard this morning so he could give me two cherimoya and a very large avocado.  We chatted for several minutes about the avocado soup I had made the other night and how things were going with the wall that fell down in our back yard.  He and his wife always stop to chat, even if just a little while whenever I see them.

When I got my hair cut on Saturday, Rita (the shop owner) and I didn't just talk about things happening in my life--we discussed our families and she wanted to make sure I liked it here and asked if there was anything she could help me with.   When she discovered where I live, she wanted to know what had happened with Sheila and when I told her she'd be coming back this fall, Rita was very pleased to hear that.

Yes, it's a warm and generous country with warm and generous people.