Yesterday

Before I even started thinking about applying to Peace Corps, before I landed here in Ecuador, two volunteers carried out their two years' service in Guasmo Sur. The first one arrived in 2006, and the second in 2008. Those were my freshman and junior/senior years of college, respectively. It's strange to think that before Peace Corps was on my radar, other volunteers were already here, living and working and meeting people.

People I would eventually come to meet and work with and live among. These volunteers paved the way for me, and I am very grateful to them. They did a fantastic job, working hard and coming up with creative ideas, so that by the time I got here, people knew what to expect from a volunteer.

Yesterday I got the chance to meet one of these wonderful women. We spent the afternoon together, comparing notes on our experiences as volunteers and walking the streets of Guayaquil. For me, it was as if I were looking at both my past and future in one person: she was able to recount for me the way things were three years ago when she was here, and she also described how her two years in Guasmo Sur shaped and changed her to become the person she is today, doing the work she is doing today. It was spine-tingling, I tell you.

As we walked towards my house, she exclaimed when she realized where I live - a mere block away from her old home. The store my host family owns used to be her go-to grocery stop. She rushed right in and greeted my host father, who greeted her right back.

It's amazing how she knows the same city I do, but in slightly different ways than I. And the city knows her, too.

At the end of the day, it was a relief to sink my head onto the pillow and fall asleep securely in the present. Being almost midway through our service, my training class will soon enough have to start thinking and planning seriously for next steps after Peace Corps. But for now I'm enjoying the luxury of taking one day at a time and not worrying too much about tomorrow...