Fellow Stories

Bliss

Lucas Weber

2015-03-05

As he looks out above the clouds, everything makes sense. The beauty of, not only Ecuador, but the earth has never been more clear. Then I open my eyes to reality. I am sitting with my back against a palm tree in Riobamba. Sarah and I just spent our last minutes before we set off...

Friends

Briana Merrigan

2015-03-03

Last week my region had our second training seminar with another region that we hadn’t seen for about five months. Catching up on our lives, I was frequently asked the question, ‰ÛÏSo‰Û_ do you have friends in your community?‰Û Along with many others, I shamelessly responded, ‰ÛÏHaha definitely not.‰Û But returning to Colta Monjas Alto...

Four Months Later, Still Living in Exceptions

Lindsay Saligman

2015-03-03

My very first blog post, back from when I was living in Quito in September, was about how my host evangelical competitively swimming upper middle class family in Quito seemed to be more of an exception to a rule when it came to Ecuadoreans. Four months later, as I contemplate my current Ecuadorean community, I...

Virgen del Cisne

Aliya Habib

2015-03-03

November 17th, 2014 If you walk 21.5 kilometers in my shoes, then you shouldprobably also wake up at midnight to take a five-hour car ride south to the province of Loja. At 5:20am we stepped out of our car and started walking past a church and market that was selling food, hats, clothes, shoes, toys,...

Video Blog: Centro Tucan Turstico Promotional Video

Ian Frank

2015-02-23

Video Blog: Centro Tucan Turstico Promotional Video

Ian Frank

2015-02-21

We Got In Trouble… And I Liked It

Aliana Ruxin

2015-02-18

It was a lazy Saturday, mÌÁs o menos. I rose around 6 AM, normal time. Breakfast was lentil soup with a special treat: warm milk, straight from cow that Abuelita milked before the sun painted the greens of the fields and blues of the mountains with the colors of daylight. And then MamÌ_, PapÌ_ and...

The bigger picture

Danielle Spencer

2015-02-13

I found myself lost in the middle of Quito. We were five gringos with maps out trying to find the next point on the map to check off for the chance to win a mystery prize at the end of the race. Task 1: Find a place for “Almuerzo” that costs no more than 2.75$....

Untitled Part II

Bella Bjornstad

2015-02-10

Since my last blog, I have dug deep into the experiences that were sparking those thoughts. I don’t like cynicism, I think it’s a cop out, an easy say to wiggle out from under our responsibility to each other. And the same thing goes for pessimism. So, under these extraordinary circumstances, I have had the...

Pre-departure Training Video Log

Ian Frank

2015-02-10

Please check out Ian Frank’s Pre-departure Training Video Log (VLOG)!

What Happens When Five Kichwa Kids From a Poor Rural Amazonian Community Visit Quito….

Lindsay Saligman

2015-02-07

A few weeks ago, there was the grand opening of some museum in Quito, so naturally, the Ecuadorean government had to invite cute little indigenous children to sing a traditional song in traditional clothing for the opening ceremony. They took the cute little indigenous children from my community, Santa Rita, specifically from the 7th grade...

Alumni Post: Finding Balance

Lauren Guido

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...