Matty Phillips

My host family was mainly Martha, a hilarious, sensitive and loving woman, as well as her son and her extended family and two dogs, Grouch and Max.

Sometimes, Grouch would get off his lazy butt and follow me making the 2-mile walk into town…!

Martha’s family is very big, in a long line of Ecuadorians native to Puyo and Baños, a smaller nearby city. Her family has lived in the house for several generations and is working to develop it into a garden for visitors to walk through.

The garden is filled with over 500 species of orchids. The orchids would bloom at different times of the year, only for a few days each! It was my job as a volunteer to take photos when a new orchid was in bloom, clear out any weeds, and give the orchids the right nutritional supplements. The family plans to use these pictures to create a digital way for guests to see all the fully-bloomed orchids during a visit.

Having been raised on a farm myself, I found outdoor work simple to sustain, despite how much rain we got! My host family even told me to come in from the rain, then bought a large pair of black boots for me to use. (Bananas for scale.)

I cohabitated with other volunteers from the U.S. and Colombia, though interestingly enough we were all the first to volunteer with Martha. We took day trips, went to get food, and stayed up late talking Spanish in the kitchen.

On my very first night at the house, some of us were asked to help create dolls for the community kids. Let’s give it a shot!

At times it was testing to live in Puyo. I didn’t get much opportunity to speak English, so my expression was limited at first. Though after being forced to speak Spanish – about ranging topics from relationships, to family, even to religion – for only a few weeks straight, I found my taxi ride to the airport a more fluid Spanish conversation. My host family was always supportive and understanding.

I quickly learned to love Ecuadorian food, which usually consists of cooked plantain, rice, fresh fish, chicken, beans, and vegetables, as well as delicious desserts – my favorite to try was colada morada (a purple corn drink) with cake.

I also had a bit of a learning curve. For example, the bus to town would always zip past me. My host family told me I need to wave it down as it’ll stop anywhere to pick you up – as long as you have 40 cents.

It was an emotional goodbye with Martha, who I still keep up with over WhatsApp instant messages. She asks if my cooking has gotten any better, if I’ve decided to settle down my life yet, and of course, when I plan to come back to Puyo. I’ll be hit with some intense nostalgia when I do get to return.