Ciao, It’s Yasmine and Dwayne here, welcome to the day of working like a local. We woke up at a STAGGERING 6:30. Bright, early, and cold. Correction, Yasmine woke ME up at 6:30. For today’s activities we headed to Mercado San Alfonso (The first established market in Riobamba.) There we met and worked alongside the vendors. Us glimpsers were spread throughout the market experiencing different jobs that the locals do every day. Some were peeling peas, shucking corn, selling leche y queso, bagging limes, and more. Something that stuck out to us the most was the sense of community and trust within the market. The vendors were always greeting each other and especially something that was unfamiliar to us was the vendors trusting other vendors to watch their stand. This amazed us as we saw the sense of community they had built there. Something I am most proud of is my peers being open-minded and their genuine curiosity for an environment much different from theirs.  Although they were selling alongside each other it wasn’t a competition, but rather teamwork and wanting to help one another. That environment is very different from our own because if you had two companies selling the same item next to each other back home, they are most likely at each other’s throats, but that’s not what we saw in the market. This was an eye-opening experience as we saw this community and the genuine happiness they show each other. Watching them laugh with each other, and working together, it was something we wanted to bring back home with us.

After our experience on the market we were able to lay back and relax where we were able to go the supermarket, work on our CAP projects, or simply nap (Yasmine’s choice of poison). After a long 5 days spent traveling and exploring free time had left us refreshed and ready for the next day.

Being Líder del día was very fun but let’s be honest, overwhelming. Let’s start with having to wake everyone up. Some of us just HATE waking up early. We knew there were challenges with the job, but we were ready to take it on, and I can say we made a great team. It’s probably good to mention we both weren’t feeling well (mostly Yasmine) but we were able to work together and figure out what the other needed so we could be the best leaders for our delegation. Being leaders today has definitely allowed us to explore our limits and consider what we need at the moment, as well as step down and up whenever the other needs. We were extremely grateful for our peers being understanding and patient with us as we explored the role.

Check out these pics from today, SHOUT OUT to Kevin for these amazing photos and always being our personal VERY PROFESSIONAL photographer.

Ciao (from Dwayne) Buenas Noches (from Yasmine).