We’ve officially come to the end of this trip. Today was our last full day in Ecuador.

We started our day with a fairly early morning at 7:20 am. Glimpsers were awake bright and early, ready for our final day. We headed to Roma Santa for breakfast. Isabel greeted us with a delicious meal of yuca bread, fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs with vegetables. We had a good 45 minutes to eat before being picked up by our bus driver, Don Alonzo. Soon after, we headed to Escuela Martiniano Guerrero.

Upon arriving to the school, we began our third and final CAP (community action project) execution. With limited time allotted today, we eagerly began working on the project. We broke off into our separate working groups; the education mural, mental health mural, bleachers, hopscotch and plant beds. However, we inevitably fused into a single workforce. Completing a second coat on the bleachers was at the forefront of our initial efforts. Our efficiency and sense of teamwork got the task done quickly enough to start the new task- painting the plant beds a fresh coat of blue paint. Although we doubted if we had enough time to get it done, we managed to grant the principal’s wish of livening up the space. However, that doesn’t mean we didn’t face challenges along the way. Much of the surface we were trying to paint was deteriorating and crumbling. Therefore, we had to be meticulous with painting in order to cover the crevices. The hopscotch was equally as challenging. In fact, we had to repaint one of them four times due to curious and impatient little children. Luckily, the largest tasks at hand, the murals, were completed without a hitch. With the creative ingenuity of Jleigh, Lauren, Madison, Briana, and Rhea they managed to bring the message of positivity and determination to life. All components of the CAP project were wrapped up and towards the end a bulk of the effort went toward clean up. After four hours of hard work and dedication, we met with many of the educators and higher ups of the school to present our finalized work. The appreciation they had for what we had done felt rewarding, and reminded us our initial goal of making a positive impact on the school of Martinano Guerrero. We ended with a fun game of soccer and were unexpectedly gifted with a llama keychain from the staff that we can now carry as memorabilia.

We came back for lunch at Roma Santa and recharged after a tiring morning. A few of us brave souls indulged in the Ecuadorian delicacy of sheep intestine soup with a side of lamb blood. After, we headed back to the hotel for a leadership meeting giving the rest of us a time to play card games, pack, sleep, etc. Then, we gathered for the final trip evaluation where we filled out an analysis of the trip for future improvements. Following the analysis, we collectively debriefed and reflected on the CAP project. Stephanie managed to make it fun having the discussion in “donut share” with Spanish music. After, we headed over to the much anticipated offsite dinner at Cena en Lina, a Mexican restaurant. Everybody cleared their plates and had room for dessert, which was served promptly after. We made our way back to the hotel with a final bus ride from Don Alonzo, and made sure to thank him for serving all of our transportation needs. Our last nightly meeting was like the usual, but this time bittersweet. Our time together is coming to a close but it is never going to leave us. Thank you for everyone who made this trip possible. We will always hold Riobamba close to our hearts.

Overall, I enjoyed being leader of the day (LDD) during one our last full day. It allowed me to appreciate this experience even more and also made it easier for me because of all the past leaders that paved the way. Our dedicated group of glimpsers made being a leader very easy because they all demonstrated leadership in a their own way. I was able to step out of my comfort zone today and learn how to guide others, which I can forever thank Global Glimpse for. Although, its unfortunate this experience has to come to an end, I excited to come back home and see you everyone back at home and in Ethiopia, I can’t wait to tell you guys all about it. – Elizabeth Eshetu

The path that has been pathed by the earlier LDDs gave me a good pace to start but there was still much to figure out. I learned that sometimes it can be uncomfortable to approach a group of people and have to tell the what to do but it’s something that needs to be done when you’re leading. Despite that, there was never a time when a truly hard decision had to be made, the whole group did what needed to be done for the best productivity. I can’t wait to be back in the states, seeing you mom and dad very soon, I told you I’d be back Rhys (and Zara).