The quote of the day was “The first duty of a man is to think for himself,” and I can say with sincerity that today was among one of the first days where I thought about the impact that our choices have, as
well as the importance of being informed about global affairs.
Today’s topic was Politics and Global Business, a hefty topic– especially because the day was supposed to be for two leaders, and it was just little ole me running the show! Anyway, after waking up at 6:20 a.m. and having to wake up the delegation, we had breakfast before embarking on an hour bus ride to a quinoa factory in Cajabamba run by COPROBICH. Coprobich is a corporation of like-minded farmers who want to promote fair trade and fair prices for local farmers, as they are often exploited by more prominent and money-hungry corporations. As soon as we got there, wet shoes and all, we were presented with a lengthy slideshow surrounding the practices of the corporation, as well as the hardships that they face when selling to international markets. After the presentation, we were led into their factory donned in face masks and hairnets to get a more close up and intimate look at the way that quinoa is processed and packaged.
After the short thirty minute tour of sorts, we all happily supported Coprobich by buying bagged organic quinoa (I bought three!!). I also met this super cool student from France that was interning at the factory for school. She didn’t speak too much English, but she taught me a few French words (je t’aime to all my buddies who wrote to me on the blogs ❤️❤️)! Stuffing our book bags with quinoa, we were transported to a quinoa farm where local farmers grew their crops, and learned more about the process of growing organic crops before having a hearty lunch of soup and beef at Nativa.
For me, the presentation showed me how even the smallest of decisions can manifest into more pronounced issues. To buy a non-organic apple grown with pesticides at Trader Joe’s simply for the sake of frugality was, unbeknownst to me, an action with consequences that had global implications– it hurt the livelihood of local farmers and allowed the corporations that use chemicals to grow their food and corporations that exploit these farmers to burgeon and spread their shady practices to different corners of the world. Understanding this was key to understanding how our consumer practices affect things on a global scale, and the importance of thinking for ourselves to make more informed and globally aware decisions.
After seeing the super adorable indigenous women farmers and learning about the issues of the international market and their exploitation of local farmers in regards to unfair prices and guidelines, I feel much more inclined to skip that apple at Trader Joe’s in favor of an organic and globally conscious piece of fruit.
After we left Nativa, we immediately returned to our hostel in Riobamba and were faced with another presentation, this time about politics in Ecuador. The first speaker spoke about a school in Ecuador that taught young students how to be more effective leaders (sound familiar?) in order to promote an Ecuadorian style of government that was based more on merit and intellectual ability than anything else.
The second presenter also focused on politics, however mostly on the difficulties that women in Ecuador face in regards to participating in politics in Ecuador. The second presenter’s name was Carmen, and she was the first woman elected president of her province in Ecuador. She explained the difficulties that she faced upon entering office, including discrimination on the basis of her gender, and how she faced these issues headstrong in an attempt to encourage other women to participate more in politics despite the discrimination and hardships that they will inevitably face. It caused our delegation to draw parallels between styles of governance in the US and Ecuador, and the progressive approach that these two countries are slowly adopting to combat sexual discrimination in political affairs.
After the two presentations, it was go-time. We only had an hour to complete our English plans, which meant an hour of sheer resilience and manpower to complete the plan as well as the materials that we needed for the day. After an hour of furiously drawing pictures of clothes and BINGO grids, the delegation went on to teach their estudiantes at Colegio Miguel Angel León. For many of us, today went a lot more smoothly than the day before. I almost know all of my students’ names!!!
Tired and burnt out, we returned to the hostel for dinner. It was fairly standard, aside from a mini argument among the students about whether or not the protein we were given was fish or pork. It ended up being fish, but I didn’t care too much anyway– it was super yummy y’all!
Tonight, the takeaway was to be more globally informed in order to make decisions that would prove to be beneficial to the world, rather than promote the atrocious practices of a handful of corporations in the international markets. Before you can lead others, you have to think for yourself, and make choices that you can say with sincerity were made with thought and compassion for others. It’s all a part of being a global citizen!
P.S. once again, thank you to all who wrote me a comment on the blogs! i enjoy hearing them every night. to mom, pops, auntie and vi, im having a blast over here in ecuador and i miss you all very dearly. food here is great, but i miss cooking back at home. i can’t wait to hear all of your voices and see all of your smiles again. love you guys! ❤️❤️
P.S.S. there aren’t too many shops to buy shirts and stuff around here, so i’ll be bringing home a bunch of knick knacks an d keychains for you guys if i end up not finding any. hope that’s okay, peace out y’all!
Nice blog mah dude. No lie I screamed when I saw by brandy nguyen. I swear I’ve read it probably about 10 times because I miss you like crazy and I love the way you write. I’m intrigued. Hurry back home so I can fatten you up and tell you about my two weeks without you. SPOILER! It’s basically work, work and more work. I’m working 7 days straight this week cause I gotta keep myself company while you’re away. Also I’m going back to school next Monday and I’m not looking forward to it. 🙁 But enough about me. Continue cherishing your last days in Ecuador and stay safe! Remember to make as many memories possible and I can wait for your return! 😀
I can’t wait for you to come home and teach us all you’ve learned! Help your family be better global citizens! Miss you and love you Cammer. I hope you found my hidden note! ? When you have a chance email!
[email protected]. We keep missing the calls. ?❤️
Hey Cammy AKA Bar!!!!!!
I miss ya tons. I’m so proud of you because even though I haven’t heard what you’ve been doing in Ecuador, I know you’re doing amazing things with your kind heart and hardworking spirit. I can’t wait to see you when you get back and I hope you have a great rest of your trip.
Hi Sam! I can’t wait for tonight’s blog….yayyyy. I ❤️ seen all the pictures and reading the blogs, you all write so good!!!! Keep up the good Work ??
Te queremos Sam ?
I continue to be very impressed by the daily updates. This is a fantastic group, and it is clear that you are getting a experience you won’t soon forget. Lauren, we think of you all the time and can’t wait to see you in less than a week. Mom
I am so impressed with all of your rich experiences over the past few days – cherish them and make them permanent in your growing minds and hearts – they will serve you and others well in the future 🙂
Still missing you Lauren – but also so excited for you, and the stories you will tell when you get home 🙂 . Warriors victory parade tomorrow – KD named MVP ! Emma says hi from her and everyone at Decathalon.
Take care and have fun – Dad
Brandy keepin’ it real with the French girl information. lol.
Action, action, action. Your GG itinerary is astonishing in the number and quality of activities each day. Always on the move, your delegation is going way deeper than any self-directed immersion experience one could imagine. Hands on, face-to-face learning about the issues and causes in Ecuador. And the higher level thinking is not just about Ecuador but how these lessons apply from a global perspective.
I read daily in your blog posts how your global concepts are being challenged and your consciousness is deepening. With these lessons you are no doubt preparing to become better, smarter citizens of the world.
Along with the knowledge comes the responsibility, you ask, “what can I do?” For starters you can build the heck out of that shelter. lol.
Keilana (and Blue Apron) first brought quinoa into our household and our diets, ours is from Peru. I know when she gets home she’s going to look up the country’s agriculture, the supply chain (packaging company, the distribution company, etc.) and assess whether we vote for them with our consumer dollars. She has already shown concern for sustainability and corporate social responsibility of products I pick off the shelves. Now my concern is we may have an empty shopping cart at the end of our grocery run. jk.
Hi Brandy – enjoyed very much your blog and thanks for the explicit summary of your day. Glad you and all the team learned how quinoa is processed and all about how business works versus how things run in the US.
Give a big hug to my girl Katelyn and tell her all her family misses her!
Thanks again for your post today as it was very interesting, full of essence and very fun to read!
Hello con Brandy,
Well written and informative blogs by you and by other students. Thank you for sharing your daily experiences with us. Not only you’re learning from these hands on experiences over there, but we’re here at home, also learn from reading y’all daily are blogs. Thank you ?
Keep up the great works, Brandy! We all miss you a lot. Your little cousin (not really little anymore ?) Christian was so excited that he thought you are coming home tomorrow, but sad it’s not until next week ? Can’t wait to hear more about your wonderful trip! Love you con and very proud of you!!!!❤️
Auntie Tu