perspectives

This past Saturday I visited Mindo, a tourist town located on the outskirts of the rainforest about two hours north of Quito. The trip started when one of my roommates friends, who is in Quito for six weeks with the state dept, asked if I would be interested in going. I had wanted to go to Mindo for a while, and was able to rearrange my schedule slightly to fit in the tip. As someone who has only traveled through south America by bus (with a few plane rides dispersed throughout) I knew of only one way to get to the small town, by going to the local bus terminal, paying the $5 roundtrip and hopping on one of the many buses headed towards Mindo, or passing through it. Since my friend was the one who thought of the idea, he took charge of making tentative plans and emailed me on Friday with an itinerary to take a private car from Quito, a private tour of the jungle surrounding Mindo, and some options for activities. While I was not completely opposed to his plan, I mentioned my idea of hopping on the bus and planning out the trip once we were there (as everyone else I who I have spoken with has done while visiting the jungle town).
While my friend seemed slightly apprehensive about my plan, he liked the idea of spending a third of the money he had budgeted and left the planning in my hands. We ended up having an amazing trip, went zip lining over the forest, hiked to nearby waterfalls, and enjoyed an amazing BBQ in the town for lunch. My friend was amazed by the modern appearance of the busses (they resemble a greyhound bus in the states), and thanked me for planning everything.
His viewpoint reminded me of how perspective can narrow ones understanding of life around them, and reminded me of how different my perspective is compared to the refugee population I am working with. Sometimes things that frustrated me (particularly with miscommunication) are due to a lack of understanding, and my inability to see things from a different angle.