2011-09-13
It’s always easy to say something, but to actually experience and know it is a whole different matter. I came to Ecuador knowing I would experience a different way of life, however, I didn’t realize the extent of the challenge I was taking. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m welcoming the challenges of the coming...
Read More
2011-10-28
My brother’s high school I visited was not at all what I was used to, and the most similar aspect of the school day was that teachers taught and students studied. My brother told me that school started at 7. But this was Ecuador time, and people didn’t start arriving, even the teacher, until much...
Read More
2011-11-08
The first week I spent with Ruku Kausai at the Jumandy Caverns was amazing, and a great precursor of what I hope my sixth months will be like. Although I didn’t work much that week, I was able to observe the going on-s of the people and the caverns. During the week I helped out...
Read More
2011-11-11
I awoke to my first morning at the Jumandi Caverns to roosters. Lots of roosters. If I was surprised then, I should have saved it for when I walked out the door. My family was gathering to go to a minga, or a communal meeting for work, and I was going, too. In order to...
Read More
2012-02-17
The following is a journal entry on December 5th, 2011. December 5th, 2011. The sun is beating down, and as usual, it feels like it’s going to be a blistering hot, humid day. It should feel wrong, this abnormally long summer. But it doesn’t; it feels right; it feels like home. Looking back at the...
Read More
2012-03-27
After working on Christmas, I was NOT expecting much that night. My hopes weren’t that high from the day before either where I saw an impromptu street parade and people at several tiendas in Archidona dancing to blaring techno music. That night however, I was pleasantly surprised. That Christmas night couldn’t have ended up more...
Read More
2012-03-27
Imagine yourself walking through a city with narrow cobblestone streets. Buildings flow seamlessly on either side of you, only interrupted by the occasional cast-iron gate leading away into a dusky unknown. A moon floats overhead, but you only know because every so often a beam of light sneaks through the copious covering of clouds to...
Read More
2012-03-27
It was our fourth day in Cuenca, and Tess and I were once completely lost as to what we were doing that day. When we had ventured out of our hostel onto the streets, water balloons, water, and foam had come careening down from the sky like homing missiles. Then, a couple minutes later, we...
Read More
2012-03-30
‘Another dreary morning,’ I thought as I looked out my bedroom window to a gray sky heaving down rain that brought with it the promise of a very muddy walk to the caverns. But I was soon made aware I wasn’t the only person not quite impressed with this particular morning. A few minutes later,...
Read More
2012-03-30
Over the past couple of years of trying to decide what I want to ‘be’ when I’m older, I have simply not been able to. I have however; found one of my goals in life- exploring my passions for culture and languages by travelling, learning, and studying. My first venture in following my passions led...
Read More
2012-07-03
A gap year between high school and college can be whatever you make of it. It could be a transformative experience where you venture off somewhere you’ve never been before to discover yourself. It could be a year where you work to regain focus and passion for learning. It could be a year where you...
Read More2011-07-05
When I was introduced to Global Citizen Year, the program sounded like a challenge and a little bit like a game of tug-of-war. There is a little give and take involved in every exchange, every challenge, that we have to overcome throughout our lives. I’ve experienced this game of tug-of-war several times, but the experience...
Read More