Hey everyone,
Niya and Nikki here again. We were leaders of the day for today and got to show off our talents at the nightly meeting. Niya wrote a great poem about the trip and the students; you can read it below. Nikki showed the students a step she did in college.
Today was a “free day” for the students, so they got to go out on their own to explore Riobamba. We woke them up and had breakfast together at Roma Santa with Isabel and Nelson. Before we let the students go on their way, they had to check out and give us an itinerary of their plans for the day. Some students returned to the market to visit their mamitas, and they were excited to be recognized, see them, and reconnect with them! They explored a couple of cultural and art museums and even tried ice cream with cheese. We came back together as a group and went to our last dinner with Isabel. The students gifted her with flowers. It was sooo sweet. We ended the night with dinner and dancing with Nelson, then headed back to the hotel for our last nightly meeting.
We love all the comments and share them with the students every night. We hope they bring back many souvenirs for you guys. See you all soon.
-Nikki & Niya
RB3A 2023 (Niya’s Poem)
I want you to know
That I will miss each one of you
And I hope that you
Will miss me too
We have talented artists
Like Kiana and Haiden
There’s Will, Yaretzy, Michell, Gianna and Mayra
Who are our Spanish translators
Our social butterflies Quentin and Charlie
Then there’s Eden, Katie, Lola, and Emily
Who make sure to check in with how we feeling
We have our quiet and kind two
Elizabeth and Aidan
And those who are more talkative
With an opinion for us
Which would be Sammy…and Ella
Big love to our GGLs and PCs
Nikki, Niya, Anabell, and Jossy
Of course we can’t forget
About our other two friends
That would be Oralie and Suselin
I really hope that you remember
Our time together
The laughs we shared
And of course all the food
The cultural experiences
And the places we went to
So make sure to always look at your pictures
Because they are your memories
That’s what they are for
To remember our time
In Riobamba, Ecuador!
So bittersweet! I feel like I know Isabel and Nelson and we can tell how important they have been to you and this experience. I know we are excited to see you all but I know it will be hard to say good bye to Ecuador and each other. Enjoy your last couple of days and make more great memories. And take more pics!! Love, Will’s mom (we miss you Will!)
Thank you Niya, Nikki, Isabel, Nelson and their mamitas, you are wonderful for providing such a precious experience for the studends. GGLs had shown marvelous leadership. I enjoy to read your blog every evening. What a pitty it comes to an end. It is an forgettable memory not only for all the young adventurers but for me too.
Welcome back 🙂
Katie, I can’t wait to see your nice souvenirs 🙂 Love you 媽媽
A BIG, BIG shout out and thanks to both Niya & Nikki for leading this trip and taking good care of our kids. You’ve been with them since hour #1 of this journey and have not stopped working hard since. We greatly appreciate everything you two have done!
We have truly enjoyed reading your blog for the past 2 weeks. Enjoy your last night in Riobamba and take this time to reflect on your great adventures together. So happy that you all got to embark on this cultural experience that will hopefully push you to want to explore more on what the world has to offer.
Thank you for showing our students the importance of learning about other cultures and how to be conscientious global citizens. Warms my heart to see how they have grown. Just from our two brief phone calls with Gianna, we can hear how much she has enjoyed herself. See you all soon!
So this was your last day full day in Riobamba!!! As much as you will miss your time in Ecuador, we will miss reading your blogs! Every night we have looked forward to hearing about your day and then searching for Eden in the photos! It is such a joy to see you all connecting, growing, and being inspired. We had no idea how much you would be doing!! What you have experienced is amazing and something that will stay with you forever!! Eden, we look forward to having you home soon with stories and details of your many adventures. We hope that you have learned a bit from Isabel and will cook a few Ecuadorean dishes for us!! But please no guinea pig or llama 😉 Thanks so much to Niya, Nikki, Josseling, Anabel, Isabel, Edison, Nelson, Victor, and all the other wonderful adult leaders that have contributed to making this trip so very special!
With much love and gratitude to all,
Julie-Ann and Tim
Eden, we can not wait to have you back home!! Love and miss you lots!!
Awww so sweet, so touching! Love the poem and all the pictures to catch some glimpses of your extraordinary adventures. What a wonderful end to a memorable trip! I’m praying for safe travels for all of you.
Will missssss you Elizabeth as I’m getting ready to fly out in a few hours! Please FT me when you’re able asap.
THANK YOUUUUU to our wonderful leaders, Niya and Nikki. You go Soror Nikki for steppin’! Love seeing your jacket as you reppin’! Oo-oop!
Love you Elizabeth, Mom
Aww, last day in Ecuador with a beautiful poem. I will miss reading these blogs to keep up with what everyone is doing.
So sad that it’s coming to an end, but very excited that Kiana is coming back home.
Thank you for taking us along the journey! It has been a pleasure seeing the daily blog posts and the photos inside them. I’m happy that everyone got to experience what Ecuador has to offer. Wishing everyone a comfortable flight, these 2 weeks flew past all of us!
We can’t wait to see you Emily!
Oh my gosh , thank you for including me in your poem even though I did not make it to Ecuador with you guys unfortunately 💖. Also , I was so grateful for whoever helped me out when I got in trouble at the airport consisting of our regional staffs , our leaders , my peers and even their parents 🙇🏻♀️ .
It is a beautiful poem , I believe that our delegation was having so much fun and unforgettable experiences !
Thank you to our leaders , Ms.Niya and Ms.Nikki for supporting me at the airport .
Thank you Ms.Carissa for being by my side to solve the issue .
Thank you one of my peers’ mother who tried her best to give me a hand.
Thank you one of my peers who offered me access to his internet .
If I was not mistaken , it was Michelle who translated Spanish for me , thank you !
And Kiana , thank you for being my first ever friend in the trip 🫶🏻 , offering me help when I needed . I won’t forget you and our delegation 🙆🏻♀️ .
Hopefully , you all are resting well after the trip . Sincerely thanks !
Oralie L. ☀️ – RB3A (2023)