How I ended up in Ecuador

One of the questions that usually follows people finding out I live in Ecuador, is how I ended up there, and what I did.  So. . .just a brief bio on all that.

I had always wanted to live abroad, initially I wanted to go to Africa, but the airfare was very expensive, so I choose Ecuador instead after reading about it.

I was twenty, working as an Emergency Medical Tech in Milwaukee, and I was on a waiting list at a community college for nursing school.  So I decided to go to Ecuador for 10 months, and then return for school.  At the end of my 10 months, a friend who as an engineer encouraged me to stay for a big building project so I could work in first aid.  He had recruited a lot of my local friends, and well, I couldn't pass up the opportunity.  Funny thing is, the only one I helped was myself.  I broke my finger the first week.

But I ended up staying for three years, and getting married.  (Still married to the guy!)  We have two daughters now, ages 11 and 5, and if they ever wanted to do that, the answer would be NO!  If they insisted, I'd pack up and go with them.  I'm sure my husband would follow. 

In retrospect, it's really amazing nothing REALLY bad happened to me, 'cuz bad stuff did happen.  It just could have been worse. 

Part of the adventurer spirit came from wanting to have something interesting to write about someday, so I think a lot of you writers out there get that.