Hola Amigos y Amigos!
Day 4 has finally come to an end as most of us are getting ready to go to sleep! I had the honor of leading this astonishingly packed day, as El Lider del Dia (the student leader of the day) and covering its theme, Indigenous Worldview day. The magnitude of how stunning this day is simply indescribable, but I will still make an attempt to illustrate this in words.
The day started off with a major surprise, as we were unaware that two of our student peers were to be featured in an interview on a popular radio talk show. Allen and Katushka demonstrated their courage, as they reflected the spirit of our group to the masses of Riobamba. Along with this our group was also featured in a widely read newspaper, Los Andes, who wrote an amazing article describing our group and the goals we hope to achieve. We all received copies of this edition, and eagerly await to bring our copies back home to share with everyone. Along with this two members of our group , Christian and myself, were also personally interviewed for a second newspaper, and await its release tomorrow.
At the indigenous town of Cacha, our group found ourselves learning about the indigenous culture. We were greeted with great hospitality, and were explained in vivid detail of how theses people lived in the past. The two major experiences that we were exposed to, were breathtaking. First, we found ourselves in the midst of a traditional cleansing ceremony, performed by a renowned professor who specializes in this field. I found myself to be the main subject of this experience after volunteering, while the rest of the group received a similar cleansing. Afterwards we found ourselves to be having a traditional lunch in this town, that we ate with our bare hands! Overall, this venture into discovering the ways of the indigenous people will be unforgettable.
As the day progressed, we found ourselves bonding to the degree which covalent bonds could be observed by the best scientists. This mainly occurred as many of us were confident enough to exceed the expectations of our comfort zones. Through soccer, workouts, and games, we all seemed to have found a new side of us.
As the day came to a close, we learned of very saddening and unfortunate news. The Director of International Programs, who graciously accompanied us on this first week of the first delegation in Ecuador, had to fly back to Oakland, to continue supervising all international sites. We also became aware that we were also her first delegation, and for this, we are honored to have had her presence throughout part of journey in this beautiful country.
Shout outs!
- “The Guinea Pigs here are so large!!”- Licette
- “I’ve been so well fed! Don’t Worry LOL. I’ll call you guys tomorrow. I miss you mom, Padi, and Ambar!”-Jordan Sandoval
- “I miss you mom and dad but I am having so much fun! Can’t wait to show you pictures! xoxo” – Erica Anderson
- “Looking forward to calling you tomorrow ( fam + Alondra). I’m excited to tell you about everything we’ve done!”- Arjun Savel
- ” The food here has not failed to impress me since day 1. I was feeling a little under the weather, but I am feeling so much better now! Probably since the food here is organic. I’ll make sure to call you guys tomorrow. ” – Emanuel Morales
- “Hey family! I am having a lot of fun in Ecuador! I miss you guys. I can’t wait to tell you guys all about the trip. Love you!- Abbie
- “Helloaselin ( I apologize if I misspelled that) family! I’ve been going on a ton of tours, and this is only the beginning. I really wish I had a camera on me right now, the views of the city are outstanding. Ill see you all soon. “-Anthony
Yay looking forward to hearing your voice, Arjun! Nice writing eman, Diep would be proud!
What a wonderful blog! I am so excited to hear the wonderful things you are experiencing. It does truly sound magical.
Props to the photographer! Beautiful shot!
Nice post eman. Have you guys started running? Surely your Xcountry team can learn from this experience. How’s it to run a mile at 9000ft? Is it hard?
Yes beautiful post, Emmanuel. You really need to show Mr Diep!
Emmanuel and Arjun, reading Ray’s trip blog: he has two parrots and a German Shepard pup at his hostel in Matagalpa! I know Ray’s enjoying the puppy 🙂
So glad you’re really drinking in these important experiences.
Very glad we’ll get to hear your voice tomorrow Arjun!
I hope you’re enjoying your trip in Ecuador.
So far away and yet so close.
Groeten uit België en een dikke knuffel.
Charlotte,
Tante en Nonkel.
HOPE Y’ALL ARE HAVING THE TIME OF YOUR LIVES ARJ AND EMAN!
Jordan!! Hello from your Sequoia People in Nicaragua!!! We are having a great time and enjoying Nicaragua!!! It is pouring rain today, but it is a relief from the heat.
See you soon!!! Mrs. Rutigliano, Sarai and Genaro!!!!
We are very proud of you Katty! Keep up the good work.!!!
Thank you for being such a wonderful delegation full of so much energy and motivation!! Keep supporting, encouraging, and learning from one another. It was an absolute pleasure being with all of you for the first few days and am grateful for the opportunity to have had all of you as my first delegation with GG!
Love it! Sounds most interesting! Have fun Eman and Arj! I wish I had this opportunity a year ago! Have fun in and good luck training for XC in Ecuador!
Thanks Abdul
Woooot covalent bonds. 🙂 I’m so excited to hear about such great group chemistry (couldn’t resist) as well as the way yall are interacting with the local community. It is such an honor to be introduced to this area and to be so widely publicized is awesome! A special shout out to Katushka and Christian for stepping up… now you see why I was sure to make you have to talk in front of everyone, lol. Seriously, so proud of yall! Ps: Jenifer and Arianna… yall know I’m proud of you too. 😉