2013-02-28
One day my Ecuadorean family told me we were going to move the bones of my mom’s dead father and first husband. I was like, okay, it’s some kind of ceremony where we rest their coffins somewhere else. I was right about the ceremony part. After work, I go home and much of my extended family is getting ready...
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2013-02-28
As the bus chugs up the side of Volcán Imbabura I catch myself associating the rhythmic whining sounds of overworked gears with the Little Engine That Could’s positive motto, “I think I can, I think I can”; only I’m really hoping we make it up in one try. The bus bounces over the jutting rocks...
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2013-02-27
A mother and her child. They epitomize intimacy in our society. But what regardless of what they symbolize, our modern world has built barriers between this mother-child relationship. Not brick walls nor iron gates, but baby carriages and and diapers have created barricades in the relationship. In Senegal, the women here have not yet abandoned...
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2013-02-27
Here is a glimpse into my typical day: 7:00 AM Phone alarm goes off but I remain in bed 7:30 AM I roll out of bed and take a shower, eat my breakfast, try to look decent, etc. etc. 8:15 AM I am off to work at the local preschool, Jardin d’Enfant Soeur Marie Agathe...
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2013-02-27
The day before I left Dakar, I stopped by the local supermarket for some last minute shopping to buy what I “needed” to bring to the village, my home for the next six months. I placed that word in quotations because my “needs” differ so much from those of the villagers. At Casino, the supermarket,...
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2013-02-27
HIGH, LOW, HIGH GO! Chimborazo has not been the easiest place to live. Basically the last 4 months have been a struggle. From people switching families, difficulty with apprenticeships and weight gain. But through all these struggles we have grown closer as a group. In our group we refer to the good things as “highs” and the not so...
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2013-02-27
About a week ago at my homestay in Palmarin, Senegal, a small yellow bird probably made one of the worst decisions of its life. This little fellow flew into my house, perhaps out of curiosity, only to be captured by my little siblings. When my 11-year-old sister caught it in mid-flight, my initial thought was,...
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