你好啊! Bonjour! Guten tag! ¡Hola!
It’s Candice Ng, aka kandi here, a member of Riobamba team 1 of Global Glimpse! Today is June 9th, and guess what?! I actually was able to wake up at 6 AM today as the leader of the day! 媽咪, 爹哋, (Mom and Dad in Cantonese) aren’t you proud of me for waking up THAT early in the morning? :). Anyhow, as leader of the day, I woke up my fellow glimpsers at 6:30 AM, then we ate breakfast at 7 AM. For breakfast, we had sweet cornbread tamales with a cinnamon chocolate hot drink- it was quite a new experience for me. Then, we had some fruit (kiwi, papayas, bananas, etc.) and granola with some strawberry flavored yogurt. It was very delicious ~ After breakfast, we had a community action project seminar, which Diego, one of our amazing global glimpse staff, led. He taught us about the 3D’s: discovery, design, and delivery, which would help us decide which idea to work on. He also taught us about thinking critically about who, when, and why: the questions we should be aware of while working on our project. It was a very helpful seminar. Oh! Did I tell you about the weather? This morning, it was raining a lot, so the ground was a bit wet for some time afterwards, but it ended up being alright. 🙂

After the seminar, I led the mental warm up for Education, discussing the importance of education in a person’s life, how it is the main foundation of a person’s social status and also an important part of developing a person’s critical thinking. The school we visited was called Carlos Garbay School, which was a school of 348 students with special needs. So, during the mental warm up that I led, it was very important to me that we also talk about challenges that special needs students face both in Ecuador, and globally. I felt very determined while talking about this, and it was nice to talk together with fellow youth about such important topics that are often forgotten in our busy daily lives, that can be quite self-centered at times.At around 9:20 AM, we made our way to Carlos Garbay school, through private transportation of a school bus. Quickly after our arrival, we met a few of the school staff, and also the director of the school- Principal María. They were very kind to us and gave us a meaningful and informative presentation on their school. I learned that this school had an elementary, middle, and high school area that treated many kids with all types of special needs, totaling to about 348 students. After that, we went on a school tour. This was a very memorable – if not the most, one of the most important and heart-striking movements of this trip so far. Lorena (I think that was her name), our tour guide led us around the school while Diego translated and Mr. Chan (Jason) also supervised us. First, we walked through a few classrooms, while Lorena introduced us to the rooms and what they did in those areas. I clearly remember one room in particular, the children’s room in the start of the tour. The walls were a shade of orange and I can still clearly see myself standing and looking at the stuffed bears and half-finished ceiling. The wall had one set of 3-D cards that had 3 visual parts on each card, and Joy told us that they was their main way of teaching the students, and that they were in need of such learning materials. As we moved on with the tour, we went to a big gym area that was quite nice, and it was their area for teaching P.E. The staff members who worked there were so kind to us, introducing us with patience and genuine sincerity.

Throughout the tour, we visited many different classrooms where there were special needs students of various needs, and when I saw them, my heart truly was broken. As I saw their innocent and beautiful faces, the main thought in my head was, “Aren’t we all human? Why is life so unfair sometimes?” The children were still laughing and smiling like there were no fears in the world ahead of them even though they had so many hardships to face in their lives. They waved “Hola” to us with a kindness in their eyes, treating strangers with no animosity or hostility, but with a smile and a shine in their bright eyes. This, to me, is determination and a kind of beauty that is incredible in strength. This reminded me of that one blooming pink rose we saw in the garden of the school, resilient and headstrong among the darkness and hopelessness that it grows from. We also visited a room where parents also worked with teachers to make objects that could be toys for their children in stimulation, and that was very nice to see how the parents were learning knowledge too! We also went to a clothes room where the students made clothes in various ways, such as knitting, sewing, and more. Their embroidery was very beautiful to witness. We visited an area where students were taught life skills, and then we also got to visit a woodwork room. In the woodwork room, we encountered some students and also two volunteers who helped out. That was very heart-warming to see that other people also cared for the children in need. Perhaps the most incredible and memorable part of this tour to me was the when a physically disabled student spoke to us, introducing himself to us, and telling us how incredibly grateful he was for our volunteering. At this moment, I was so touched by his resilience and hope. He was so grateful for such a simple reason, and this, I will always remember- this moment I will treasure in my heart to be a thankful person. (Thank you! ( I will ask for us name and remember it always, but I’m pretty sure it starts with a J). This school trip was such a powerful experience that reminded me to love and embrace compassion in life, and to be kind and loving to others, especially those in need. After the school tour, we visited the farm of the school.

At the farm of the school, where 9 high school student boys of Carlos Garbay worked and spent part of their days working in the fields to raise crops to grow and sell for income, and also taking care of animals, like rabbits, chickens, and guinea pigs to sell as food for income. A main topic of this trip was sustainability. The staff and boys raised the crops organically and also worked hard to maintain the beautiful gardens. We visited their greenhouse and tomatoes and other crops, and also saw their classroom. Here, we learned about one idea of a project that we could work on, which was to build a hut in the middle of the farm area where the students and others who came to help the farm could rest in with the shade. I remember a moment where I told the boy holding a rabbit, “¡Qué adorable!” which means “How adorable!” and he gave me such a sweet smile that I will remember. :). The farm was such a soothing place to be at, and although it got quite sunny and warm, the generosity and kindness of the teachers there made me feel glad and forget a bit about the heat.
For lunch, we went to a restaurant near our hostel named, “Nativa,” where they served us quinoa soup with cheese and cucumber, and then a main course of rice with chicken and salted potatoes. It was so healthy and delicious! There was a side dish of salad with purple potatoes that was very new but also yummy to me! The drink was a pineapple smoothie and the dessert was a little dish that tasted like mayonnaise. It was like a cream dessert. Then we returned to the hostel, where we talked about which project to do, and although it was a close vote between the school and farm project, the farm project was decided as the project idea. There will be more to come about the farm hut project in the future blog as to come~ For dinner, we had beef with rice and some veggies. It was quite yummy too! We also celebrated Mari’s birthday- Happy birthday Mari! Then we had our nightly meeting where we talked about the school, and it was so nice to see others care. Today was a tiring day, but definitely one I will remember in my heart. Gracias to everyone for making it awesome!

P.S.: HAPPY EARLY FATHER’s DAY 爹哋! 媽咪爹哋愛你地呀!你哋唔使擔心我啦, 我得架! 我是勇敢的悠悠! ❤️恩恩我都掛住你啊!To my VIPs and friends ( you know who you are): I miss you and I can’t wait to be back in SF soon! xo 🙂 ☺️