Greetings everyone! My name is Niakale Sow and I am the leader of the day for my fellow peers here today. It’s been quite of an interesting day being that it was a fun day. A fun day here at Riobamba means that the students here are free of work and work-based activities. Who wouldn’t love this kind of day?

So basically, “wake up call” today was for 8:30 a.m., which was a relief because it is the latest we have been able to wake up since day 1. Breakfast was great, our waiters served bread with a side of butter and jam, an omelet, and freshly made guava juice which everyone BODIED! After breakfast, everyone had a brief 15-20 minutes to get ready. Getting ready for today meant, deciding on how much money they would be able to bring for calling families, getting souvenirs, and donating to the CAP project. Calling home, for everyone, was exciting and became a relief to many worries. Getting gifts was also fun and also just the bonding between everyone was great vibes.

Lunch was also great I cannot seem to figure out a way to brag enough about the deliciousness of Ecuadorian food. Very good! Lunch today was White rice, barbeque meatballs, salad, and a side of papaya juice. Everyone enjoyed it and seemed to be really full. After lunch, we went back into town in taxis to La Plaza Roja and El Parke Sukre to do last-minute runarounds. I got a chance to have a wool bracelet made in front of me customized with my mother and my sister’s name. It only took the artist 20 minutes to create. How incredible is that? After, we got back in the taxis and headed back home to hotel La Primavera. During the ride back, my mouth was watering as I waited anxiously for my next plate.

At about 6 pm, we began dinner. Dinner today was spaghetti, ground beef and a side of leaf lettuce and tomato. You could also put hot sauce but I didn’t. After dinner, as the leader on this chill day, I brought everyone into our little conference room and had our nightly meeting. We discussed our experiences so far here in Ecuador, what it takes to be a leader, what it takes to be a good team member, roses and thorns, and any pluses or wishes. Being a leader means that you have courage, you are committed, and compassionate (the 3 C’s of being the best glimpser you can be). It also means that you are a role model and can adapt to any kind of environment and still command respect.

I cannot wait to see what Ecuador has in store for me.

Love,
Niakale Sow