The highlight of the day was that we Global Glimpsers got in groups of 4 or more to explore Riobamba on our first FREE DAY to roam the area. Some of us found a park to play basketball. We needed some fun and physical activity. We have been working very hard. Others went to the market where the indigenous people were selling their crafts. Today in the market we met Riobamba natives that didn’t speak English that were really excited to learn English from us. They asked what schools we taught at and wanted directions to the schools we taught at.Many bought gifts for family members (we won’t say exactly what in order to keep it a surprise!). The biggest challenge that we had during our free day was how to overcome being able to be on our own with no adults and make sure we followed all the instructions that were given. The main theme was making best of our free time and the question of the day was “what can I do to take advantage of today and spend my time wisely?” In the end we all successfully navigated our ways around the city and read maps, asked directions, and worked as team to figure it all out.
Personally, being ELDD was pretty amazing. It showed that I had what it took to be a leader and it made my group members believe and trust in me more. I had to begin by getting the group together for breakfast. I had to also make sure the medical kits were taken. Then, before leaving I had to make sure that everyone had their travel journals with emergency contact info. I had to make sure students signed out before leaving. I also rotated at breakfast to make sure everyone ate before I did. I enjoyed this because people made it seem like being leader on a free day was the most difficult, but it wasn’t.
Finally, at dinner, the group experienced an amazing dish cook by Isabella which tasted amazing. She cooked a fascinating spaghetti dinner dish with a hint of lemon pepper that really bought out the flavor in the meat and in the spaghetti. The group really enjoyed it. We even had a little time at the end of dinner to play a card game with our buddy Nelson (Isabella’s son) who we have become very attached to.
Now, groups have chosen to use their free time to work on their CAP (Community Action Project). We realize
this is the objective of our trip in the first place and the more time we spend on it, the better it will be. We are here to make an impact and help a community who lost their home. We have a short amount of time to do this in. We are determined to make a difference int he time we have.