First off, what is a Chonero?? If its not too obvious, a Chonero (or Chonera) is anyone from Chone. What is Chone?? Chone is a small town in the coastal region of Ecuador on the Chone river. As said by the doctor I worked with the last three weeks: "Chone es al cuidad de las naranjas, las mujeres hermosas, y los hombres celosos" (Chone is the city of Oranges, beautiful women, and jealous men). I couldn't agree more. Oranges are definitely a big deal in Chone (along with bananas) and the women in Chone are very beautiful.
Perfect example above of the beautiful women in Chone (Nurse Roxana and Secretary Yajaira). But back to what it means to be Chonero. I can't help but draw a parallel between Choneros and the stereotypical American Redneck (no disrespect to the Chonero). What I mean by this is that Choneros are a very hard working group and they're very proud of how hard they work and they're very proud to be from Chone. When you ask them where they're from they always answer "cien porcento chonero". Thats about where the parallel ends. Choneros are some of the nicest, outgoing people I have met in Ecuador. Everyone knows everyone, and they love to stop me on the street just to ask how my day is going, where i'm from, and what i'm doing in Chone. My last week in Chone i'm pretty sure I was the only white person within a ten mile radius, so I got stared at on a constant basis, but after a while I became immune to it.
In comparison to other regions of Ecuador, Choneros have a very relaxed lifestyle and consider themselves much different than other Ecuadorians. Those who live in Chone work hard and live life to its fullest (sounds so cliché, but these are direct Chonero words). When they get up, they get up, "cuando se levanta, se levanta". They believe this lifestyle is better for the health and in no way do I disagree. They work hard all day, and then relax in the afternoon and night. Most of this is coming from a lengthy conversation I had with a man in the hospital in Chone whose daughter was recovering from surgery. He talked about the country and everything out there was better than the city. The chickens range free of fences and chemicals. He went on about how the fruit grows bigger and tastes better. It was a great experience to see someone so passionate and proud of something so simple. By "United States Standards" Choneros have next to nothing but they are some of the happiest, most content people I have had the pleasure to meet. Its nice to see how happy someone can be without the nicest car, the biggest house, and the fanciest toys.
Above is my Chone family. Pepe is a perfect example of 100% Chonero. He was a taxi driver in Chone for 30 years and makes for some great conversations during dinner. I'm not sure if he meant to but he never failed to make me laugh everyday. Mariana is a great cook and taught me some great ways to cook up bananas. I have to give her a shout out now for the great food, hospitality, and hand-washed/hang-dryed clothes. Theres only one thing I wont miss about Chone, which is the damn bug bites. I don't know how, but they always seemed to find me and eat up legs and feet!!
Cristina is another member of the family. Quite possibly the cutest 5 year old girl on this planet. She speaks better spanish than I do, and loved to make faces at me while I was eating dinner. I wish I could adopt her but I doubt her dad would go for that.
This was part of the Pediatric crew I worked with every morning. Everyone was great in Pediatrics. They were always willing to teach and very easy to get along with. Right behind me is Dra. Díaz who makes the whole program in Chone possible. She is a great doctor and a great teacher. She, along with Dra. Tejado to her left, are great people and respected members of Chone. I spent a lot of time with Dra. Díaz at the hospital, in consults, and we spent some good time translating WHO guidelines for Dengue Fever that were in english. Now I consider myself a Dengue Fever expert.
This is Dr. Vera and Dr. Robosky (left to right) orthopedic/trauma surgeons. I spent a lot of time with these guys. I got to see everything from amputations, to compound fractures, to repairing tendons. Not only are they great Docs, but quite the characters too. They're pretty funny guys. They were really great about teaching and keeping me involved during the surgeries. I won't lie, they were difficult to understand and at first very intimidating (not on purpose).
This is an example of one of the many surgeries I got to see with Dr. Vera and Robosky. Coming from a construction background its funny how much Orthopedic surgery is just like construction, just much more meticulous.
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