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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.

ecuador newpaper

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.

 

ecuador foodAt 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.

ecuador group 2   ecuador 2

Shout outs!

  1. “The Guinea Pigs here are so large!!”- Licette
  2. “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
  3. “I miss you mom and dad but I am having so much fun! Can’t wait to show you pictures! xoxo” – Erica Anderson
  4. “Looking forward to calling you tomorrow ( fam + Alondra). I’m excited to tell you about everything we’ve done!”- Arjun Savel
  5. ” 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
  6. “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
  7. “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

Ecuador radio