I left Quito last Friday to head out towards the coast to a small fishers town called Puerto El Morro. It was really weird watching flying from a bustling city where everyone wears up to date clothes and has cars and all that to this small coastal town that is impoverished. The line of wealth here is really quite distinct and sad but for me it wasn´t the first ime i had been exposed to this sort of thing. Honduras is the same way and even worse. Puerto is really awesome. We are staying at a hotel/hostel/house thing. I am in a room with 6 girls and literally no space for suitcase but we make it work. We´re living like the locals as we say. Our group is working on constructing an organic garden, a library and painting murals on the walls of the school. The school is in Puerto and goes up to 9th grade, after that the kids have to pay to go to school in the neighbooring town which is 1 dollar by bus to get to each day. The kids are in school so it´s interesting to see how the school system works. I will have to write more later I´m out of time on the computer. but so far so good i love it here.
hasta luego mis amigos
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Las amistades son como un arco iris, brillan para todo el mundo
I found this phrase hanging above the computer at our school in Quito, and I love it. This is one of the reasons I love traveling, to make friendship with people that you would otherwise have never known, and then letting those friendships shine to the world.
On another note not really related to my life directly in Quito but to life in general that I´m learning while staying in Quito, is that life is beautiful when you walk not run. Everything sorrounding Quito is beautiful- mountains, houses built into the hills, the clouds, the sun, the people, the parks, but when running through Quito it´s hard to notice that beauty. I feel like in America most people are on the go 24\7 and never take the time to take in the beauty of their country. When walking to school this afternoon I really noted this particular point in the life of Ecuadorenos, they walk and cherish time. The two girls I was walking with were basically running and I was hanging back trying to just take in the fact that I´m in Quito. Like I want to stop and talk to the people that are sitting on the street, I want to know their stories, and take the time to really get to know the people of Quito and not just run through the 5 weeks that I´m here. I also took note that both bunisess and schools let out for lunch breaks. The city is bussling at 12:30 but people aren´t rushing like they would be in the U.S. For the most part they are simplying walking enjoying the company of the friends they´re with (something else I learned, the people here cherish their friendships, ALOT!). I hope that one day americans can simply enjoy life and slow the heck down. Not everything is about the future but more about the present.
On another note not really related to my life directly in Quito but to life in general that I´m learning while staying in Quito, is that life is beautiful when you walk not run. Everything sorrounding Quito is beautiful- mountains, houses built into the hills, the clouds, the sun, the people, the parks, but when running through Quito it´s hard to notice that beauty. I feel like in America most people are on the go 24\7 and never take the time to take in the beauty of their country. When walking to school this afternoon I really noted this particular point in the life of Ecuadorenos, they walk and cherish time. The two girls I was walking with were basically running and I was hanging back trying to just take in the fact that I´m in Quito. Like I want to stop and talk to the people that are sitting on the street, I want to know their stories, and take the time to really get to know the people of Quito and not just run through the 5 weeks that I´m here. I also took note that both bunisess and schools let out for lunch breaks. The city is bussling at 12:30 but people aren´t rushing like they would be in the U.S. For the most part they are simplying walking enjoying the company of the friends they´re with (something else I learned, the people here cherish their friendships, ALOT!). I hope that one day americans can simply enjoy life and slow the heck down. Not everything is about the future but more about the present.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Quito,Quito Quito
Hola desde Quito! Ecuador esta fantastico!
I´m officially in love with Quito. It´s the best mix of city and tranquility. The city is surrounded by huge mountains on all sides and its gorgeous. Oh and music plays everywhere because as mi madre told me, la musica es la vida. I am living for the week with two other volunteers with a host mother. Our madre is really cool--she has the best life and an interesting take on life. She was talking to us about the difference in lifestyle of American´s go go go and the Spanish lifestyle of relaxation, and i completing agree with her. I think that´s why I like Spanish culture so much, its not all about tomorrow but more about today. She was also talking politics to me, yes I was in love and understood it all!!! There´s a craxy racist dog named Ricky that lives with us as well.
As for the adventures around the city we took a historic tour of Quito yesterday and got to see a lot of the culture of the city, watch a dance competition at a hight school, and climb to the top of the basilica (look it up the place is awesome) and did a little salsa dancing at the top! After our tour we had our first dance lesson....lets just saw it was interesting. A lot of sweating and hip swinging and running into each other! But we got to practice our moves last night with our dance instructors at the discotec (and they played danzo kaduro and prrrrum----pretty much made my night!)
So basically If I don´t return from Ecuador it´s because I love it. Chao :)
I´m officially in love with Quito. It´s the best mix of city and tranquility. The city is surrounded by huge mountains on all sides and its gorgeous. Oh and music plays everywhere because as mi madre told me, la musica es la vida. I am living for the week with two other volunteers with a host mother. Our madre is really cool--she has the best life and an interesting take on life. She was talking to us about the difference in lifestyle of American´s go go go and the Spanish lifestyle of relaxation, and i completing agree with her. I think that´s why I like Spanish culture so much, its not all about tomorrow but more about today. She was also talking politics to me, yes I was in love and understood it all!!! There´s a craxy racist dog named Ricky that lives with us as well.
As for the adventures around the city we took a historic tour of Quito yesterday and got to see a lot of the culture of the city, watch a dance competition at a hight school, and climb to the top of the basilica (look it up the place is awesome) and did a little salsa dancing at the top! After our tour we had our first dance lesson....lets just saw it was interesting. A lot of sweating and hip swinging and running into each other! But we got to practice our moves last night with our dance instructors at the discotec (and they played danzo kaduro and prrrrum----pretty much made my night!)
So basically If I don´t return from Ecuador it´s because I love it. Chao :)
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
And so it begins
"When you're happy like a fool
Let it take you over
When everything is out
You gotta take it in"
If you've never heard this song it's from "Good Life" by OneRepublic. Good song. It describes my feelings right about now as I get ready to leave for Ecuador. I'm so excited that I can barely hold it in and I'm ready to take all of Ecuador in! Some people have asked me what motivates me to do this and I can give one simple answer-->Because the smiles you see on people's faces after you help them is the best feeling in the world. It's even better when that smile comes from someone of another culture that is teaching you. They smile because you help them, I smile because I've learned something from them that I could never have learned anywhere else.It's all about the smiles :) :D
On another note, a friend of mine from school, Dominique, just got back from volunteering in Guatemala and she had the time of her life from what she's told me. She facebook chatted me this morning and we were talking about volunteering/working internationally and helping people and how we are in love with it all. She got me so excited for the life ahead of us both . I mean I'm going to Ecuador on Friday, I'm going back to Honduras at the end of July, and I'm applying to study abroad. I have friends that are at this exact moment in another country or have been recently to another country and gotten to meet people, learn from them, and experience their culture. All of us together are showing my generation's potential to make huge global waves in the right direction!How could anyone not be excited?!?!?
Yes, well the next time I write, it will be from Ecuador! Hasta luego mis amigos!
Let it take you over
When everything is out
You gotta take it in"
If you've never heard this song it's from "Good Life" by OneRepublic. Good song. It describes my feelings right about now as I get ready to leave for Ecuador. I'm so excited that I can barely hold it in and I'm ready to take all of Ecuador in! Some people have asked me what motivates me to do this and I can give one simple answer-->Because the smiles you see on people's faces after you help them is the best feeling in the world. It's even better when that smile comes from someone of another culture that is teaching you. They smile because you help them, I smile because I've learned something from them that I could never have learned anywhere else.It's all about the smiles :) :D
On another note, a friend of mine from school, Dominique, just got back from volunteering in Guatemala and she had the time of her life from what she's told me. She facebook chatted me this morning and we were talking about volunteering/working internationally and helping people and how we are in love with it all. She got me so excited for the life ahead of us both . I mean I'm going to Ecuador on Friday, I'm going back to Honduras at the end of July, and I'm applying to study abroad. I have friends that are at this exact moment in another country or have been recently to another country and gotten to meet people, learn from them, and experience their culture. All of us together are showing my generation's potential to make huge global waves in the right direction!How could anyone not be excited?!?!?
Yes, well the next time I write, it will be from Ecuador! Hasta luego mis amigos!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Hola todos!
So by now most everyone knows that I love to travel and help people while doing it. For me traveling is all about seeing things in a new light and breaking down the walls of narrow-mindedness that exist in our society. There is so much more to the world than the United States. I'm creating this blog so everyone can keep up with my adventures and begin to break down their own wall of narrow-mindedness through my encounter with all the amazing people of this world. Disfruta (:
So by now most everyone knows that I love to travel and help people while doing it. For me traveling is all about seeing things in a new light and breaking down the walls of narrow-mindedness that exist in our society. There is so much more to the world than the United States. I'm creating this blog so everyone can keep up with my adventures and begin to break down their own wall of narrow-mindedness through my encounter with all the amazing people of this world. Disfruta (:
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