2011-09-22
I keep postponing my blog writing until I can say something truly profound and mind-altering, but I just can’t wait any longer! Most of the things I’ve experienced so far are the love of Ecuadorians. From short to tall, from Quito to Cayambe, I’m always met with excitement and a warm presence. This is my...
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2011-11-02
I’m the first to admit that my Spanish speaking skills are not that great. I’m also the first to admit that I possess incredibly perfectionist tendencies. The combination of these two led to a month and a half of silence: I only spoke when asked direct questions, or felt threatened. My silence ended about twenty...
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2011-12-01
At the end of Fall Training at Stanford University, I learned I’d be working with CARE-International in Cayambe, Ecuador, instituting sexual health projects. Despite all warnings received from Global Citizen Year staff and friends and family at home, I started to make assumptions. I thought I’d be teaching sex ed. I thought I’d be handing...
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2012-01-18
Here is a journal entry from December when I traveled an hour to get data for a CARE nutrition project. I hope it captures a little of the growth that I am beginning to see in myself. ___ 7 de diciembre This is a new experience. I rode the bus from Cayambe to Olmedo solo...
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2012-03-20
I’m a dreamer, and this dream began watching smiling faces gulp down yogurt. CARE’s investment of cows in three of our partner schools already betters student’s nutrition with the always handy supply of fresh milk. After a two-day workshop on milk products, their nutrition will not only be even better, but their parents will now...
Read More2012-05-08
Please enjoy this short video about my time teaching dance classes with the help of my apprenticeship host, CARE-International. Click the link below or partake in the smaller version. I’ll let the video speak for me! http://youtu.be/9pgGKYQuzpw
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2012-06-23
Before my gap year in Ecuador, I believed my capacity for moral imagination was above average. I constantly told myself, “I’m so empathetic that I naturally enter the other’s shoes!” As a slightly cocky high-school graduate, maybe this was true. However, I had challenged myself to become a global citizen. During the first week of...
Read More2011-07-05
For more than 10 generations, my family has lived in the state of Georgia. Why am I, an artistic 18-year-old from Atlanta, the first person in my family to venture out and experience the world? I believe that is the reason I am taking this gap year: to discover what makes me feel so different...
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