Today was global business and politics day. I chose this day to be leader del dia because business is something I`ve grown up around, it`s what I want to major in, and its dear to my heart.

We woke up bright and early at 7am with help from the very noisy neighborhood rooster. We had breakfast at our usual café Del Tren. From there we took a short walk to Casa de la Mujer or “The house of Women”. Here met met some amazing and courageous women who shared their passions and stories with us. Casa de la Mujer is a house of women`s rights, advocacy, entrepreneurship, health, and so much more. They provide services for women of all ages, races and sexual orientations. Some of these services include judicial and law help, a boost to start businesses, references to health services, political support and even just a place for stories to be heard. A woman who really struck me was a powerful and inspiring grandma named Ana Maria. Not only does she voluntarily service on the board there, but also serves on the United Nations commission for indigenous peoples and their rights. These group of women even helped pass a law back in the 90`s, in which required at least 5% of women to participate in Ecuadorian Congress. Today women and men serve almost an equal 50:50% and without these women and their support this wouldn’t have been possible. I presented them with a Global Glimpse gift and thanked them for having us at their “house”. Here in Ecuador we have been very much loved and accepted into many families here. Today Casa de la Mujer is added onto that growing list.

From there we took a 45 minute drive through rural communities, with bus views of satisfying rows of corn, quinoa and scattered agave plants. We were on our way to Coprobich, an international quinoa exportation company who works with local indigenous farmers. They specialize in working with over 540 farmers who produce organic quinoa, which is most popularly consumed in Europe. They work with fair trade guidelines which ensure their farmers are getting a fair pay for their work. We had a short sweet and very informative presentation, before visiting their quinoa processing rooms. We had lunch and then it was back on the bus to prep for English teaching.

It was now day 3/5 of our English tutoring classes. It gets easier as we go and we’re finally getting the hang of being teachers. We conclude the classes on Wednesday and will miss our students dearly. Following the classes we had a lovely dinner of steak, French fries, salad and some of our more daring glimpsers tried an eastern Ecuadorian delicacy. Rather than tell you, you’ll see the pictures below.

It was over all a good day and being the leader was a lot easier than I thought. Shout out to those who I love back home who couldn’t wait to read my blog!

(photos coming tomorrow)