Fellow Stories

A Three Day Waterfight

JuliaGrace Walker

2018-02-27

Welcome to Carnaval! My host family began counting down the days  in October. Every time we wash our clothes (by hand in the cement sink), someone in my family would throw water on me and scream “Carnaval”.  I honestly dreaded it and I thought I would hate it. The idea of strangers randomly soaking you...

A Letter To My Past and Future Self

Shukura Babirye

2018-02-27

This is a letter in response to what I wrote myself during the Stanford week right before starting this interesting journey. Dear Shukura (August 2017), I know you hoped that I would be completely fluent in Spanish but I am not. I really have improved and I am  getting closer everyday and try my hardest...

Crossing Cultures

Jordan Kendall

2018-02-22

 Throughout my childhood, the only things I can recall remembering about Latin American culture are these: Latin America is the same thing as Mexico Latinos are all lazy Latinos are often criminals Latinos in the US are all illegal immigrants My younger self unsuspectingly accepted these generalizations as true due to the miniscule exposure I...

I love to blog. I blog all the time.

Khuda Burdi

2018-02-20

No Such Thing as Over-Romanticism

Regina Markert

2018-02-18

My days here are numbered. I don’t have a penchant for drama without irony, but I can’t help but feel the clock tick and the sun setting on my time here in Ecuador. I love a good sunset (who doesn’t), and my atardecer here is burning brighter than ever. As I reflect on the past...

Walking With a Purpose

Allison Vaught

2018-02-16

Over the past five months living in Ecuador, I have become a strong, confident, and passionate woman. When I first arrived in Ecuador in September I was a girl, scared, and unsure of what was to come. Then as the months went by I started to find myself taking on new challenges, learning new customs,...

Meet my Family!

Summer Khan

2018-02-16

My immediate family consists of my host mother, sister and brother. We live in a town called Pimampiro, the farthest north community placement in all of Ecuador. It known as “Tierra del Sol”, because it’s pretty much always sunny except for the occasional 15 minute rainstorm. We sit at the top of some mountains near...

Welcome Back, Queso

Toluwani Roberts

2018-02-15

My January and February have been bien full with travel. So far, I’ve adventured in Baños, Cuenca, Cañar, and recently, in Puyo, a community in the Amazon. There are so many stories to share; too many to fit into this post. Instead, I’ve decided to highlight a few moments. Wed., Jan. 24 | Turucu It...

An Open Letter to Who stole Neji:(Photo)

Rene Ramos

2018-02-15

An Open Letter to Who Stole Neji

Rene Ramos

2018-02-15

You barely got away. If I, or anyone else, had come back just an hour earlier you would have never gotten the chance to take Neji. Now that you have what you wanted though, there’s not much I can do. I know you don’t care that Neji had a family. I bet by now you’ve...

The Cultural Masterlist

Sadie Troup

2018-02-15

  (me, very happy the day after Carnaval looking at the aftermath on the walls in Peguche)           Hey everybody! This blog post is going to be more of a list of resources and references for both you guys and myself of the future when I’m starting to miss my life...

The Ecua-women in my life

Leandra Pedretti

2018-02-06

I ask my abuela if she still loves her husband. We are walking along the cobblestoned streets of Cuenca, winding our way around colonial buildings, flower markets and our first personal conversation. I remember thinking how beautiful it was, the affection that lingered in all of our words. She has already asked me why I...