Fellow Stories

An Introspective into Impacto Vivo

Sophie Auvin

2018-12-07

Thursday, December 6th marked my last day at Impacto Vivo, a local organization providing an after-school program to low-income kids. In this moment I am incredibly conflicted about the project closing and being forced to seek out new opportunities. While I never would have left the organization on my own, part of me is relieved...

Todo orden fue siempre una fantasía (English)

Emiliana Reinoso

2018-12-06

It’s been a little over three months since I’ve been in India. Writing has been difficult, perhaps because, after the daily intensity, I always end the day lying in my bed with multiple thoughts in my head. Sometimes, I would like to leave my mind blank, concentrating the universe in one colour. Purple. The first...

Do you like extreme sports? Come to India then!

Gema Benavides Jimenez

2018-12-06

Adrenaline. A hormone we produce whenever we are nervous or stressed. A hormone that stimulates the release of dopamine in our nervous system, that is to say, it contributes to the release of a substance that causes a feeling of wellbeing. So I guess, that is why some people really enjoy doing extreme sports– to...

Learning By Letting Go

Jack Swartzentruber

2018-12-06

It’s been nearly one hundred days since I’ve been living in India, and I find that the more time I spend here the harder it is for me to write about it. I think there are a couple reasons for this, but it primarily stems from the fact that every time I think I’ve gained...

Chapter 8: My November Christmas

Xandra Coleman

2018-12-06

Brisk knocks on my door awoke me. I agonizingly rolled over to see it was only 7:47 am on a Saturday morning. At the sound of another series of sharp knocks, I rolled out of bed, opened my door, and went to go draw water to wash the coffee cups for breakfast. Sitting on the...

Todo orden fue siempre una fantasía

Emiliana Reinoso

2018-12-04

Spanish/ English Hace un poco más de tres meses que estoy en India. Escribir ha sido difícil, quizás porque después de la intensidad cotidiana, siempre termino el día tirada en mi cama con múltiples pensamientos en mi cabeza. A veces, desearía dejar mi mente en blanco, concentrando el universo en un solo color. Púrpura. La...

Post Card Diaries

Leonie Tollefson

2018-12-04

Aside from teaching and traveling, I’ve kept myself very busy by exploring my new home of Pune! During Diwali break a few weeks ago, I went on a little walk up Parvati Hill with my host family, where I came across some beautiful watercolor postcards of Pune, made by Bhaskar Sagar. They feature the most...

Que chevere: first weeks in Ecuador on video

Ivana Filipovic

2018-12-03

Talking Out the Trash

Maddi Schink

2018-12-03

Exciting news folks … I have a new apprenticeship! After three weeks of unsuccessfully searching for a new opportunity I was interested in pursuing in the nearby city of Cañar, I was feeling frustrated, a little defeated and anxious to have a purpose once again. As someone who is goal-oriented and finds contentment in busy...

Autumn Sweats

Ashley Trejo

2018-12-02

I am wet. I am a sweaty, sweaty, SWEATY person and all those in India must know it by now. While this may be a bit of an overshare, I believe that this speaks of the quality we humans have to adapt to our situations. I have come to learn that my body is in...

Walk Down Memory Alley

Ashley Trejo

2018-12-02

There is a little game I enjoy playing; its called “Let’s see how far back we can remember.” A dumb little game that I like to play once in a while, but over the years the game has become more of a way for me to reminisce on old experiences and relive them. Thankfully, India...

Las Cascadas

Maria Bossert

2018-11-29

One of the highlights of my time in Ecuador has been the multitude and proximity of waterfalls. This fact still often surprises me given that I live in the Sierra, in the country’s Imbabura Province, named for just one of the several massive volcanoes always in the horizon, since my community is nestled amid in...