Hi! Not completely sure what to write about, but I guess as first student LDD I should set a good precedent. I woke up at 6:30 am today to wake everyone up. Little hassle there, but I freaked out for a bit when one door wouldn’t respond to a wake up call. It was Tony’s door and he went out running. Other than that, it went smoothly. We went to eat breakfast at Cafe el Tren and breakfast was amazing. In every sense of the phrase, it was the bread and butter of breakfasts.
Next, we went to Pucara Tambo, an indigenous center. We got an interesting tour and we all got a cleansing ceremony, seen in the photo. Basically, we smelled and got hit by herbs like rosemary. If that sounds weird, I will say that one of our rules is to accept differences between cultures. Some people got to be checked for bad energies, including me; I was the only one with ¨mucho mal¨. Quite an ill omen, but I got cleansed so I’m safe. Probably. We had hominy and pork, and then we headed back to our residence. Also, we had a really fun class on Ecuadorian dance, though I feel that my experience was more fun than mastery. Not the greatest dancer, but it was cool.
We’re going to do teach English tomorrow and I’m really excited. We’re going to be helping people of all age groups and our adult leaders split us up by language proficiency. I’m kind of struggling with the lesson plans right now, but we’ll see how it goes! The English seminar ended up taking a really long time so I wasn’t able to talk to the new lider del día (leader of the day/LDD) for tomorrow, but we did go to Roma Santa for dinner. The food’s ok but I think the rice at home is a lot better, I guess that’s the larger symptom of homesickness we see in our group.
After that we went home, we did our usual nightly meeting and I ended up passing the torch. We discussed the cutural and historical relevance of indigenous cultures and it really makes you think how privileged we are in the US. Then we had our self-reflection for the day and we ended up talking about how to get to know each other better.
I’m kind of sad because even though we all got closer, apparently Mel won’t be part of our self-reflection group anymore, since she has other Global Glimpse responsibilities. What a shame. Well, I suppose it’s a good idea because now it will be student-led.
I think this is it because it’s pretty late right now and even though I want to write a lot more stuff, I’ve been really tired lately, maybe it’s the change in altitude, but I’ll get used to it. Anyways, it seems like a lot more people are talking and that makes me really hopeful for the future of this trip because some people were quiet yesterday. I’ll tell you guys about it later when I get back.
-Kevin Huynh
(Partially transcribed by Mel because LDD is too tired to type)
Kevin what a wonderful write up to keep as all apprised of today’s events. We look forward to the blogs everyday! So good to see all of you in the pictures having a great time. Don’t stop creating memories as these will stay with you forever. Hello son, love you!
Hello Skyler! i hope you are having a wonderful time as i am without my brother, your baseball team is fine as they won the championship. Hope your having a good time, Adios
Saggy, papas bringing us to some lake and we’re gonna camp until Saturday Ecuador sounds fun. I love u have fun ? Love, haddles
Thank you so much for the details they were much appreciated.
I’m so glad you all are having a wonderful time and are making the effort to bond and get to know each other better.
I also look forward to reading the blogs daily and appreciate you all for writing. Thank you for allowing us to live vicariously through your experiences.
Tamia be sure to open up and talk. Mom loves you very much. Looking forward to hearing from you all tomorrow.
Sakshi, we love looking at the blogs. We’re glad you’re having fun! Make many friends and many memories. We will look forward to hearing all about them! Love you lots!
Hey Kevin !
Great Blog today, hahah I hope you enjoyed being Leader of the day, always fun being the boss. I still remember the day when I volunteered to be the one in the middle of the Cleansing ceremony and got that perfume sprayed in face, so glad you got that opportunity today. I was also told that I had to be careful since I had bad mojo from the Egg test, oops. This was also my LLD chance soooo, Let’s go Hill!!! Make sure to get some running, even 2 weeks of some altitude training can really help your blood become so much more efficient for oxygen capacity. But the most important thing, enjoy your time there, and that goes for all you Falcons !
– Eman
RB1A
P.S. I love these blogs, they keep me going through Finals week !
P.P.S Hey Profe, Great Photo taking!
Hi Hoj!!!
I hope you’re having an eye opening and inspiring experience so far in Ecuador. I miss you and am so curious to hear about everything that you’ve been doing as well as what it’s like there. I can’t wait to see your video and pictures with your new camera. I hope it’s not too cold or rainy there!!!
AWHH THANKS CONNIE U ARE ACTUALLY READING OUR BLOG! im currently at an internet cafe so i have limited time but i miss u dearly! i got u a souvenier (i forgot how to spell already LOL) and will give it to u when i get back! i took many pictures and videos so i will show them to u when i get home!!1! <3 ps i hope korea is treating u well
Nice pics glad you guys are having fun and learning
miss you very much hilda
love you
Put that work in ????
Hi Hilda,
Beautiful pictures, you all look great! We miss you hope to hear from you soon.. Love you? Mom
Glad you’re doing a lot out there Kevin, and nice blog!
A big hello my beautiful Karen and Kelly. I hope you guys are doing great! I hanged out with PHUC and Henry just yesterday after playing tennis. Phuc and Kathy miss you guys! It was a pretty good day, I just can’t wait to read more of the future blogs. Stay strong and have the best time. Love you both.
-Sovanny
really nice pictures ,, hola Aleja te extrano ,pero tambien quiero que sigas gozando del viaje ,diviertete y disfruta ,, Love you so much your Mom Marisol
Hi Kevin,
It is good to hear from you,
I miss you,take care and be safe .
hey Karen!
remember to stay safe and warm. we miss youuu !! hope you’re eating good. have fun ! (:
– mom, dad, betty, victor !!