2015-02-07
It’s a few minutes past 7 a.m., the roosters have been crowing way before the sunrise and the smell of the neighbors burning styrofoam is so pungent that it tickles my nose with every breath. As I open my bamboo-latched hut to see an abundance of tropical fruit trees and lush hills that are rare...
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2014-04-13
Throughout high school I searched for my identity through means of reading books, exercise, self-reflection, making friends based on common interests and goals, and questioning what I want out of my life. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I was peeling and chopping yucca, a white starchy root vegetable that grows wild in...
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2014-02-03
As I reach my four month anniversary of living in Ecuador I realize that my perspectives of what is considered work have been challenged by the work experiences I have endured as well as observed. At my previous apprenticeship I worked at an ecotourism museum called Kamak Maki, which consisted of Kichwa artifacts, a zoo, a medicinal garden, a natural...
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2013-12-16
Today was a big day, I was going to the cacao festival in Tena with my supervisor David. At approximately 5:30am I awoke, surprisingly not to roosters or the Spanish music my family blasts at that hour but instead to a torrential downpour. Upon arriving in the rain to David’s house 3 hours later I was taken aback that...
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2013-11-20
Today I went to my 7 year old cousin’s birthday party in Santa Rosa, a 1K walk from my house. As I walked to my aunt’s house with my grandma I tried making conversation by asking how old my cousin was turning. She thought 8 or 9 but honestly had no idea. I wasn’t surprised that she didn’t...
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2013-11-14
Nueva Esperanza means new hope in Spanish, it also the name of my new community in Napo. Yes, about two weeks ago I moved to a new community, started living with a new family and began working at a different apprenticeship. Why did I relocate my life for the third time in two months? Well, two weeks ago...
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2013-10-22
Although I’ve only lived in Ecuador for a month and a half I feel more open, care free, excepting and independent than ever before. I’ve jumped on moving buses. I’ve followed strangers into remote areas. I’ve bathed, washed clothes, panned for gold & gutted a chicken all in the same river. I’ve stayed up all night listening to roosters and...
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2013-10-10
I’ve never broken a bone or spent a night in the hospital yet when I travel I always tend to have ailments of some kind or another. This trip thus far has been no different yet through my ailments I have learned and discovered so much more of the culture. Thus, in a way I’m happy that my...
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2013-09-13
The day started off well. I hiked Cotopaxi , one of the world’s highest volcanoes, managed to talk to my family almost completely in Spanish , ate dessert with my friend Charlotte and met a well known British puppeteer. After departing from my friend and the puppeteer my biggest fear came true, getting lost at night in Quito. A...
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2013-07-18
Hi, my name is Lauren. I’m from a suburb of Cleveland, and I’m a girl on the move. I have always loved adventures, from biking 110 miles throughout New York City’s five boroughs to rock hopping in the ravine near my house. But there is one activity that has always stayed the same: my commitment to volunteering and giving time...
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