Archive - August 31, 2023

  By Joel Mullen (Ecuador 1970-  ) Special to the Standard-Examiner | Aug 30, 2023 • In the next three months, 12 Utahns who are joining the Peace Corps will each ship off to spend two years at a site in a country that has requested Americans to live and work among them. I envy their coming adventures and experiences in learning new languages, cultures, foods, geographical landscapes, histories, and especially getting to befriend those they otherwise would never have gotten to know. In 1970, I was a new Peace Corps recruit in Ecuador. On the ride into town from Quito’s Mariscal Sucre International Airport, I marveled at how young men jumped on and off moving city buses. They were daring and competent. Over my next few months in Ecuador, I became adept at running for public transportation, eventually expanding my skills to jump and run for my favorite train from . . .