Saying Goodbye

I'm a fairly nostalgic person, and I truly believe that each person that I've met in my life has affected who I am in some way, even if that effect is tiny. Sometimes, I even get sad at the idea that's I'll never see a waitress at a restaurant again if she was a particularly good waitress. Life is all about relationships.

The last day of school was really fun, but saying goodbye to the community of Cahuazhun Grande was a little hard for me. Because of the different perception of time and structure in the community, many children left at random times of the day, especially if they weren't participating in the soccer games that were planned for the last day. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to my four-year-old friend Mateo because he left right away while I was still in class with the older kids, and it was rather heartbreaking. Luckily, I got to spend time and take photos with the kids in my class and watch a few good games of fútbol. I even found out that the oldest kids really did like Sam, Deirdre and I, despite their adolescent attitudes throughout the two weeks. One girl, Mercy, even said she would miss us. I'll never forget how the students would excitedly wait for each day when we arrived. We were all showered with hugs and beckons to play games; the children will filled with so much love.

I appreciate my time at Cahuazhun Grande so much. I got to spend so much time with nature, learn about the Andean way of life, and share little pieces of home when my class asked me about myself. Not only did it teach me so many beautiful things about rural Ecuadorian culture, but it also made me realize that I enjoy spending time and working with children. Furthermore, I got to exercise my knowledge of the Spanish language, something that always makes me feel like I've grown academically and personally. My days in Cahuazhun Grande at El Centro Educativo Miguel Ignacio Cordero are an experience that I'll always carry with me.

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Con la naturaleza: El Cajas Parque Nacional

I'd like to think that I've had a lot of beautiful experiences in my life. Watching my favorite romance movie Before Sunrise, eating rice soup with my parents on Sunday morning, checking out the view of Columbus from the 11th floor of Thompson Library, or laughing with my friends late at night over a cup of coffee that is too sweet are all experiences that I consider to be incredibly beautiful.

Today, I visited El Cajas National Park, and it makes my list of beautiful life experiences. It was a four hour hike through the Andes mountains at about 13,000 feet; by the end, I was covered in mud, lightheaded, sore, and happy.

Our tour guide Moises was not only knowledgeable about the diverse plant life and many lagoons throughout the park, but he was also fantastic at telling us corny puns and jokes. For example, he told us a joke about a preacher who gave a service in Spanish, even though it was his second language. Instead of saying "Vamos a orar," (Let us pray) he said "Vamos a orinar" (Let us urinate). Thanks for the joke, Moises.

Speaking of lagoons, there are 235 lagoons in the park and 700 bodies of water! Moises challenged us to memorize the names of the five lagoons we saw.

My personal favorite part of the day was walking through the magic forest. We suddenly found ourselves in a thick set of trees unlike any I had seen before. The tree bark was thin and felt like paper, and the trunks were thin and curvy. It truly felt magical.

The other fantastic part of the hike was getting to know some of the  plants. A lot of them are used for medicinal purposes by indigenous groups. They were gorgeous and ubiquitous!

Throughout the day, I couldn't help but say aloud, "Wow, this is so beautiful." We even had a picnic on the top of the mountain.

After the exhausting and fulfilling hike, we went to a restaurant and got trout, the fish that live in the lagoons. It was a tasty end to a very special day.

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A Typical Day in Cahuazhun Grande

I wake up at seven a.m. I walk quietly across the tile floor from my bedroom to the bathroom and prepare myself for the day. I say "Buenos días" to my host mom and enjoy a breakfast of bread, manjar (a delectable version of milk-based caramel), blackberry jam, tea and a banana shake. My housemates and I head out the door and take the massive flight of stairs to the university. We file onto a bus and enjoy the curviest and most breathtaking ride up a mountain for an hour and a half. Finally, we reach Cahuazhun Grande, a tiny community marked by one small road sign.

The children are frolicking on the concrete pad outside of the classroom building, young and younger mingling amongst each other. They're excited to see us, the youngest latching onto our arms and the oldest ready to play a game of soccer. We're excited to see them, too. I hear a chorus of "¿Como estás?" and "Buenos días, amigos!"

After our greetings, we all make our way to our classrooms. My groupmates Sam and Deidre and I go to the 9th and 10th grade classrooms, where we greet our teacher Maribel and several teenagers, in their blue uniform sweaters, long skirts and socks for girls and blue khakis for boys. Each day brings a new task: we teach them the digestive system, for example, or we explain American celebrations, our we take turns introducing ourselves in English.

After a seemingly short time in class, it's time for "recreo," or recess, my favorite part of the day. I get to see the chiquititos, the tiniest children. I spend a good part of recreo with the littlest ones, picking them up and twirling them around, chasing them and playing games like "Lobito," the little wolf game. I spend another part of it on a walk with some older kids, and I have conversations with them about their families and school.

When recreo is over, we finish class with some younger kids. Sometimes, they make crafts, like a heart keychain for their moms. Other times, they run and giggle and yell relentlessly, and I don't know what to do, and for some reason, that's okay.

We have lunch and I ask my peers how their days were. In fact, everyone's experience is very different than my own, but we learn similar things: the American concept of time and discipline is very different, and the people of Cahuazhun Grande are very happy.

We listen to a lecture by the teachers of the school on various topics, such as Andean cosmology, herbal medicines or Andean agriculture. We appreciate the sharing of ideas and we learn a lot from our partners at the school each and everyday.

I board the bus at around 2:30 p.m., absolutely exhausted. It was a good day in the community.

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The seven most cool, awesome and neat things I have done after being in Ecuador for five days

1) Cahuazhun Grande

Cahuazhun Grande is the indigenous community in which the entire Ohio State group attends classes of children of ages 2-15. It's been so fulfilling to get to know the kids and watch my peers and I form relationships with them. Playing games and going on walks with them has so fun, and I am looking forward to the coming week!

2) Mitad del Mundo 

We saw the middle of the world, and the GPS verified equator, the namesake of this beautiful country! We balanced an egg on a nail, witnessed water drain with no swirl, and learned about the black markets for shrunken heads and how they are made.

3) Host family fun

I have been enjoying living with María Dolores and her adorable two-year old daughter María Alejandra, my classmates Chasmine and Andrew, and our housemate Jenn, a woman from Canada who is traveling around South America and taking dance and Spanish classes. We enjoy dinner together every night. I have never lived with this many people before, so the food and conversations will be memories I won't forget.

4) Cuenca Nightlife

Our conversation partner Gaby and my housemate Jenn took some of us to a dance club in Cuenca. Unlike American dance clubs, that are wall-to-wall with people dancing to electronic and hip-hop music, it was a night of Latin music and salsa dancing. Fellowship and fun, it was an amazing way to end the week!

5) Piedras de agua

Mud Baths. Guanabana juice. Steam boxes. An incredible view. The BEST day.

6) Speaking Spanish

I have had so much Spanish practice! I find the Ecuadorian accent very easy to understand, and I have some great conversations. It is still frustrating when I can't fully communicate, but I am learning more everyday.

7) Colonial Churches

We have seen SO MANY GORGEOUS COLONIAL CHURCHES. One of them is the largest in South America, and it is only a few blocks from our house.

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Dos días desde que despegamos

Last summer, I went to Valparaíso, Chile for a Spanish language program which fulfilled an immersion within my Spanish major at Ohio State. I practiced Spanish, the beautiful language that I had spent many years learning in the classroom, made some amazing friends from all over the world, and increased my cultural competency. I still miss the empanadas pino, the metro ride to class, the warm and friendly people, and the gorgeous view of the Pacific Ocean that met the edge of the city. This study abroad experience further inspired my personal goals to see the world and develop my Spanish language skills. When I landed in the U.S., my mind was on any possible way to acquire more stamps on my passport.

Street art in Valpo

In September, a good friend of mine forwarded me an e-mail about a service-learning trip to Ecuador, coordinated by the Higher Education and Student Affairs program at Ohio State. It was described in the e-mail as follows:

"The unique element of this experience is the focus placed on the knowledge, wisdom and voice of children and elders in a nearby community. While the Ohio State undergraduates and graduate students will provide language tutoring and complete work on other community-defined projects, the most important work will be listening and learning from the young people and their elders about how culture is exchanged and community stories and knowledge are preserved and handed on to future generations. Ohio State University students will learn how to create those spaces for sharing and empowering the voice of the young people. The graduate students will also learn to facilitate international experiences and examine the complexities of administering service-learning abroad."

Ohio State

I remember thinking that the program was meant to be. I plan to pursue a master's degree in Higher Education, and this program would have us travel with several graduate students in Ohio State's HESA program. It was in Ecuador, a new corner of South America that I hadn't yet seen apart from a CBS Sunday Morning special about American expats who retire to Cuenca because of quality real estate. The price of the program was affordable due to an unexpected grant that I planned on saving for an academic experience. Lastly, and most importantly, the program incorporated a service partnership, something that I didn't have the chance to experience in my relatively selfish, albeit personally beneficial, trip to Chile. I applied to the program not knowing what to expect, and a few weeks later, I found out that I was actually going to Ecuador for the month May. 

As a part of the program, the undergraduate students were required to take a Leadership in Community Service class, in which we spent a lot of time learning about leadership theory, routinely serving our communities at various community partnership sites, and reflecting on how our experiences were affecting the sites, either positively or negatively. We have also gotten the chance to get to know each other through the class, and I am looking forward to building relationships with my peers as we begin to build a partnership with the indigenous school in Cahuazhun Grande. I have already enjoyed being in a group of students who are also passionate about education in some form or another, yet all of very different past international experiences.

A Google Image of Cuenca

We leave in two days! The departure date is creeping up so quickly.
Anticipations: Practicing Spanish, meeting the university students at the University of Cuenca, my host family (a pastry chef and her two-year-old daughter!), and the students at Cahuazhun Grande, food, flight, all of the adventure that comes with travel.
Concerns: altitude sickness, general travel sickness, and packing correctly.

Check back to this blog for photos, stories, and more throughout my time in Cuenca! 

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