2019-10-07
When I arrived at my home for this year, I was immediately welcomed into the Morocho-Guapacasa family by all of my new relatives… Well, almost all of them. There was one family member who made it clear from the start that he did not like me one bit. He yapped loudly, growled at me, and...
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2019-10-06
This blog post is going to feature more pictures as I realized that the last two posts were quite wordy…. I was walking around Gualaceo today taking short video clips for my work (I am volunteering in the tourism office of the municipality for all who don’t know). One thing that surprised me about Ecuador...
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2019-10-06
“How is Africa?” Over the last month/5 weeks/36 days… this question has flooded my texts, phone calls, and DMs. At first, I somehow found the words to answer, but they never felt like they fully expressed an answer to that question. I answered, but it didn’t feel like the honest or true answer. Sitting in...
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2019-10-06
It seemed as if the sun awoke from a slumber today, and alarmed by its neglect these past few days, determined to overcompensate. Which is to say, today was brutally, stiflingly hot, a heat unique to the sierras, the result of literally being closer to the sun. And this heat coincided with a series of...
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2019-10-06
This past weekend marked my first full month with my host family (only seven left!). It always surprises me how quickly the initial adjustment period can pass. Just days into my stay at Stanford (for Global Launch) and at the Tostan Training Center (for in-country orientation) I remarked, “It feels like we’ve been here forever.”...
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2019-10-05
It is often that case that, on the brink of an epiphany, I discover – to perhaps a greater shock – that I have already been living this newly discovered truth, deep inside me and imperceptible in any tangible form. And thus, when I finally understood that I would never again return to Geneva, I...
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2019-10-05
Picture (c) Charlie …is the title of a book by Tracy Kidder and one of the most inspiring reads I’ve had in the past year. It describes the life of Doctor Paul Farmer and, among other things, his quest to eliminate tuberculosis and serve the poor in Haiti. I can really recommend reading...
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