LIVING LIKE A LOCAL (No. 2)

“It’s not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize accept, and celebrate those differences” – Audre Lorde

Today, was our “Live Like a Local” day! We split into four groups, each group was with a different family. Although we didn’t get the same experience as the other Lideres del Dia (Leaders of the Day), today we both experienced life-changing moments with familias de Ecuador.

Liz:

La familia que conocimos hoy solo tiene una mama y sus tres hijos. Cuando llegamos nos recibio con una sonrisa, nuestro grupo se sintio muy bienvenido. Empezamos cortando hierba para darle de comer a sus cuys y mientras haciamos eso nos estaba contando un poco de su dia a dia. Nos dijo que tiene que trabajar todos los dias desde las 4:00 de la manana porque su trabajo el cual es ordenar vacas queda a una hora. Su hijo de 13 anos es el que se encarga de los otros dos, desde darles el desayuno, cambiarlo, y llevarlos a tomar el bus para la escuela. Su historia me impacto mucho porque es solo ella la que tiene que traer el dinero y cuidar de sus hijos al mismo tiempo. Lo que me gusto mucho es que ella le encanta trabajar en el campo y hace todo lo que puede para que sus hijos tengan que comer y que vestir.

The family I met today was a mother and her three children. When we arrived, we were greeted with a smile, our group felt very welcomed. We started cutting grass to feed the guinea pigs and while we were doing that she was telling us a little about her day-to-day. She told us that she has to work every day from 4:00 in the morning because her job, which is to sort cows, is one hour away. Her 13-year-old son is the one who takes care of the other two, from giving them breakfast, changing them, and taking them to take the bus to school. Her story impacted me a lot because it is only she who has to bring the money and take care of her children at the same time. What I really liked is that she loves working in the fields and does everything she can so that her children have what they need to eat and wear.

Kai:

When we got to my family’s house we didn’t know what to expect. The family of 6 was living in a hut that they made themselves, however, it was cozy and the kids and parents were all welcoming. The dad who worked construction recently broke his leg and shoulder and could not work. The mother sold mousses (a foamy ice cream-looking dessert that tests amazing) in the nearby market and yet the whole family stayed home to see us. After talking to the parents for a bit and playing some Jenga we went outside. We played lots of games with the kids, volleyball, hide and go seek, ball tag, and freeze tag. We found a dog skull and the little girl went up, snatched it, and pulled out a tooth! The little boy loved playing the games and we taught him a handshake. The 1-year-old was adorable.

We have one hour left of free time so we are closing here. We’ll leave you with the next Leaders of the Day, Narain and Adam.