Adapted from a journal entry on 9/30/19:
I have now been in Ecuador for a full month. It has been a month of learning (a lot), miscommunication (less than I expected), and a whole bunch of personal growth. I ended last month with a stressful day of travel and I started this month in brand new place.
At the beginning of this month I was in the company of about 50 people I had met the week before. Soon 50 turned to 25 which turned to 1. But then 1 turned to 7; I met my family. In my host family there is Mamí Maria who makes sure I’m always well fed, Papí Miguel who uses herbal medicine to make sure I’m feeling my best, my 3 host siblings–Fernanda who lets me tag along on her adventures, Lenin who goes out of his way to make sure I am having a good time, Diana who makes sure I understand everything, and Diana’s 4 (almost 5) year old son, Dylan, who likes to ask me “que significa ____ en inglés?” Finally there are the two dogs–Negro and Misi (Misi ironically means cat in Kichwa; the local indeginous language). It is with this family that I have already been pushed into my stretch zone enough times that it is beginning to feel more like my comfort zone.
Left to right: Dylan, Fernanda, Diana, Maya, Lenin
Everyday I am thankful for my host family who somehow thought it would be a good idea to host a foreigner for seven months, I am thankful for the Global Citizen Year staff for providing a 24/7 support network, and I am thankful for each person who has supported me thus far in my Global Citizen Year. Most importantly I am thankful for Abby Falik who had a vision, and that vision is what brought me to Ecuador.
One month down…here’s to another 6 months of learning, growing, striving and thriving!
