A love story can also be born on social networks. In this case it is an Australian, Jordan Hauenschild who started chatting via Instagram with Pitiruk, a 24-year-old Ecuadorian.
The 26-year-old had a TikTok video of how they met. It all started when the Australian found her Instagram profile and sent her a message because she was interested in knowing about her culture. They chatted for months until they decided to meet in person and set the scene in the beautiful Ecuadorian Amazon, Pitiruk’s home.
“I came across this wonderful man who was publishing amazing content in a country I knew nothing about. I was very intrigued by how people still live this way of life and to some extent I knew that there were tribes in the Amazon, but I had never taken the time to learn about it (…) You never know, you may end up finding the magic you never knew existed. “He just so happened to have mine on the other side of the world, in a country I had never heard of and whose language I don’t speak,”Jordan told news.com.au.
The couple began to talk, with more frequent chats and video calls sharing how each one lived, their customs and their very different daily lives.
Pitiuruk and his family live in Puyo, Pastaza province where they offer guided tours to show their culture. Finally, Jordan traveled more than 30 hours by plane and five by bus to meet her love.
“I just couldn’t believe it was real. “It was my first time in Ecuador and I just wanted to make sure I was really respectful, but I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face,” he told the aforementioned portal.
They spent their weeks sharing and living with Pitiuruk, despite not speaking the same language they managed to understand each other through their body language. “If the spark is there, it doesn’t matter if you can’t speak each other’s language. I’ve never had a connection like that with someone where they know exactly where I stand.”
Jordan mentioned that Pitiuruk’s family welcomed her with open arms “‘Our jungle is your jungle,’ they told me.” After magical days, the young woman had to return to Australia and when she published her story on TikTok it went viral that even an Australian travel agency, Flight Centre, offered to finance the young woman’s next trip to Ecuador.
To complete their budget for transportation and maintenance for about three months, they started a campaign to raise funds in GoFundMe. “Jordan aims to contribute to the Guayusa Runa family during his possible 3-month stay in Ecuador, but cannot continue with the flights offered without additional financial support,” the post reads.
