20150703_154650

Everyone from RB1B made it safe to Quito! Glimpsers from the Bay Area partner schools and partner organizations, and the first ever NY Glimpsers have also arrived – it is truly an incredible group and their adventures are about to begin!

After a long day of travel, the second delegation of Global Glimpse arrived, and Quito welcomed them with a nice breeze and clear skies. Mountains don’t show up too easily to international visitors, but they did this time, the mountains knew they were no strangers.

All the fears and uncertainties that landed with them turned into excitement and curiosity. Meeting new people, immersing in a different culture, and getting out of our comfort zones are definetly not easy things to do. Since the first moment the Glimpsers started to think about leaving their homes to experience the world with an open mind, they demonstrated for the first time the courage a leader must have.

We started the day by waking up late (9 am!) in order to get enough rest. After a very tasty breakfast with fruits, granola, fresh juice and tea, the day started with a few orientation seminars meant to create the foundations for a life changing journey. The mental warm up for today’s theme (History) reminded me of the fact that we cannot move forward to a better future without knowing our past. Learning about Ecuador’s history helped our glimpsers to understand some differences and similarities between Ecuador and the US.

The delegation shared their first impressions of Ecuador, which I think are all true. They said the landscape is breathtaking and its people are warm and welcoming. Yes, Ecuadorians are really nice people, very proud of our culture and we love all types of curious and friendly people too.

We could not leave Quito without visiting its historical area. Magestic churches and traditional plazas are populated by food vendors, locals running to get the bus and visitors from all over the world.

We could appreciate beautiful old houses still alive because of the hard work of dreamers like “Mama Alicia”, the Founder of Casa Victoria. This is a unique project where kids from low income families who emigrated from the rural areas to the city of Quito can have a  place to spend time when they are not in school. This is not just a safe place to stay, this is where they recive the support and care that they need in order to grow up with more opportunities in life and feel they are not left out of society. Can you imagine a place where you can do your homework with someone helping you, having arts and crafts classes and playing with a bunch of other kids in your similar situation? On top of that you, can take books to your home from one of the prettiest small libraries I’ve ever seen, after having a homemade hot meal? I don’t to imagine it because I experienced it today at Casa Victoria.

A grou20150703_153954p of 6 or 7 glimpers decided to read stories with some of the kids at the library today. That was my rose of the day. Language was not a boundary and what I saw just warmed my heart and I realized the importance of my job. Connecting people and helping them get together. Today I said I want to help the students to find the meaning of their lives and I know that is very  ambitious  but not imposible.

The fun will start tomorrow when we start early in the morning to continue our journey closer to the sun – Chimborazo and Riobamba awaits us.

The first Leader of the day checking out.

Fernanda – Program Coordinator in Ecuador