Sunday, February 21, 2016

Cuenca!

I enjoyed my weekend in Cuenca! Cuenca is a quaint city located in the southern region of the Andes Mountains. It reminded me of a European city, with its cobble stone streets and small shoppes. I left Friday morning for Cuenca, but on the way we stopped at Cajas National Park. We were able to hike in the park and it was beautiful! On Saturday, we spent the whole day exploring the city. This morning, on our way back to Guayaquil, we stopped at Ingapirca.  Ingapirca is like a small Machu Picchu. We were able to see the Inca ruins still left on the Inca Trail. It was really interesting to learn about the Inca Empire, its history and traditions.

I can't believe I only have one week left of my first bimester! I'm already almost half way through my stay in Ecuador! After I get through this week of exams, I have a week vacation. I just bought my ticket to spend the week in the Galápagos Islands! I am so excited!











Sunday, February 14, 2016

Service Update

It's been about a month now since I started volunteering at El Centro Integral de Equinoterapia. It's been a really great experience so far, but I've definitely had some setbacks.  The first being which the uncertainty of transportation. There is a bus that comes to pick up volunteers and patients to bring them to the center, but sometimes the bus simply doesn't show up.  Many times I've had to find other ways to get there, which makes getting into a routine a little difficult. But, I think I now have an established Plan B.  Also, just figuring out my role as a volunteer has taken some time.  It doesn't seem like all the workers at the center are open to having outside assistance.  In my service class I'm taking, we've talked a lot about how foreign volunteers and their intentions may be misperceived, so I'm trying to keep this in mind.  But, now that I have been consistently volunteering in the music therapy room I have been able to build relationships with my co-workers and the children. Obviously, being with the kids is the best part, but I have really enjoyed working with the music therapists.  They are welcoming and appreciate me being there. The other day, they were running out of things to do with the kids, so I taught my co-workers and the kids the Hokey-Pokey. It was a lot of fun! The other therapists said I saved the morning and it was a really good feeling to know I was able to help in some way. I'm looking forward to continue building relationships at the center.






Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Carnival!

This week, I had Monday and Tuesday off to celebrate Carnival, also known as what we call "Fat Tuesday." Here in Ecuador, no one works and everyone celebrates. I was able to travel to Baños, which is about 5-6 hours from Guayaquil.  Baños is a small town where most travelers go to participate in extreme sports, like rafting, bungie jumping, and zip lining. Other than the sports, Baños is a cool city to explore with a lot of restaurants and markets. It's absolutely beautiful because it is surrounded by mountains. You really feel like you are in South America when there. There were many people there to celebrate Carnival. The streets were full all weekend of people throwing shaving cream and water balloons at each other! It went on for days! It was a fun cultural experience. From Baños I took a day trip to Ambato where there was a big parade full of flowers and dancers. I'm glad I got to experience Carnival in Ecuador!