It was the summer of 1969.

I was 16 years old.

I spent the summer in Ecuador as an

exchange student.

I lived in the city of Riobamba, in the of the Andes mountains.

I stayed with the Granda family.

I became very close to my Ecuatorian family.

Oswaldo Roberto

Lilián

DiegoFabián

“Mami”

“Papi”

This was our house and the street where we lived.

More pictures of our casa.

From the top of our roof, there was a beautiful view of Chimborazo.

Carmen, Lili’s best friend.

I loved the breathtaking landscape around Riobamba!

Riobamba in 1969.

What did I do that summer...?

....shopped at the local market with Oswaldo, Lili, and Carmen...

....played tennis, went to the park, visited with two other exchange

students, got together with friends....

...laughed...

...went to parties...

....visited the “quinta,” took walks, had picnics, bought handicrafts....

...and watched as the poor and indigenous worked hard.

One week-end we went to the town of Baños to bathe in the warm,

volcano-warmed, mineral waters.

On the way home, we stopped at a waterfall....

We always had a lot of fun together....

I traveled to Guayaquil to visit the family of a boy I knew.

I also spent time in Quito, at Carmen’s house.

Carmen’s friends took me to the Equatorial

line, just north of Quito.

One foot in the northern hemisphere, one in the southern.

I do not believe that I could have had a more perfect

experience than I did.

40 years later, I still remember that summer very vividly and

with great affection.

Luckily, in my line of work, I’m not likely to ever forget.

September 2006: Roberto visiting me in the classroom where I teach Spanish.

Made with and in honor of all of the wonderful people of Latin

America, but especially my dear Ecuatorian family – who will forever remain “mi familia.”

Music: “Quiéreme mucho” from the album “Latino Americano” by Franck Pourcel. (This music was frequently heard in the Granda household that summer.)

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