I’ve been back in Ohio for a little more than two weeks now. Some observations:
I was surprised that we didn’t get customs declaration forms to fill out on the airplane. I did get questioned by a Customs and Border Protection agent, but I didn’t have to fill out any form declaring what I’d purchased in Ecuador or that I hadn’t been on a farm during my time there. He did ask about any food or seeds I might have brought back with me, the length and purpose of my trip, etc., but I was surprised that they didn’t use the form.
Things haven’t changed a lot in Ohio since I left. My mother has made some new artwork, including the sculpture seen in this photo.
Things are running again with my Rotary club. Our speaker last night was Paul Dusseault, a Canadian Rotarian whom I met in Cuenca. He was at the Tomebamba Club, one of three Rotary clubs in Cuenca, to discuss efforts to organize cataract surgery in Ecuador.
Perhaps the biggest difficulty in readjusting to life in Ohio was remembering that I could drop toilet paper in the toilet instead of placing it in a wastebasket. In Latin America, plumbing usually can’t take the paper without backing up, so you only flush human waste and put the paper in a wastebasket. Thankfully, I did remember not to use the wastebasket method in Ohio, but I had to think about it during my first week or so. Now it just comes naturally to me to drop the used paper in the toilet.
I am hoping to have a visa to live in Ecuador by summer and be down there by fall. I’m working with Gringo Visas to get that processed.