Rice. Beans. Corn.

I find myself at a loss for the correct words to describe just how life-giving the past 5 days in Boston have been :) I'm surrounded by the most passionate, thoughtful, and loving people. Hearing from guest speakers with incredible knowledge. Sharing wonderful, deep conversations with new friends. Being challenged to think about who I am and why I'm here.

One of the most interesting experiences so far happened during mealtimes on Thursday. After 4 days of being fed a whole smorgasbord of delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner options, it's safe to say that the other volunteers and I had developed certain expectations for food. In fact, yesterday morning I was imagining a yummy bowl of cereal as we walked into the hall. Mmmm. Couldn't wait. What we found was this: corn, rice, and beans. My first feeling was surprise. "Well, this is different." But I dug in and soon recovered from the feeling that Mr. Cereal had stood me up. Then the same thing happened at lunch. Again at dinner. Rice. Beans. Corn. If you're wondering what the point was (because yes, rice and beans will be staple foods in Ecuador, but no, we will absolutely not eat them for every meal), here goes: It forced us to examine how we respond to situations where our expectations are not met. It challenged us to just "let it go" and focus on what was real rather than what we had hoped for or wanted. The experience was an incredibly valuable one, but I can't say I'm not a little relieved that rice, beans, and corn are not on the menu today :)