Ecuador

While I was at the University of Miami, I tried to visit as many Central and South American countries as I could before graduating, and Ecuador was one of them. I had a tennis friend from the coastal city of Guayaquil who told me that if I visited, he’d put me in touch with his friends. That was reason enough to go.

To be honest, Guayaquil itself wasn’t my favorite city, but that hardly mattered. My friend introduced me to twin brothers, Agustín and Antonio, who welcomed me like an old friend. They came from a very well-connected family and immediately took me under their wing, introducing me to their friends and showing me around the city.

One moment that stuck with me came during a drive through Guayaquil. A friend of theirs, who was not a police officer, switched on sirens mounted on his vehicle, allowing us to move through traffic in a way that completely caught me off guard. It was one of those moments that reminded me that every country has its own unwritten rules and social dynamics. It offered an eye-opening glimpse into how influence and privilege can shape everyday life in ways I had never experienced before.