Fundraiser

Before I return home, I would like to leave el Centro de Equinoterapia with a gift to thank them for all the good work they do. Since I have been working in the music therapy room, I hope to be able to buy them new instruments. If you would like to donate, please visit my GoFundMe page. Thank you!!

https://www.gofundme.com/jxvcwvwc

Family Visit!

It was so special to have my family come visit me this week! They definitely experienced the Ecuadorean adventure! I was sad saying goodbye to them, but feeling a little home sick now was definitely worth an amazing week with them.

The best part of their visit was having my family meet my host family! It was so kind of my host family to invite my parents and brother over for a brunch after mass. Then, later in the week we celebrated my little brother's 6th birthday all together!

My mom has inspired me to travel, learn Spanish, and volunteer, so it was so special to bring my mom to my service placement with me!

We had a great beach trip to Ayampe. It was so nice to relax and spend time together!

We waited almost 2 hours for this meal, but it was worth the wait! The food was delicious and so fresh! We literally watched the chef go outside with his machete and cut us ripe vegetables for our meal!

On our last day together, we visited the town of Bucay and hiked to a waterfall. It reminded us of all our visits to Ithaca to see Terrence!

Thank you Mom, Dad, and Terrence for coming to see me. It was so nice to share with you my life in Ecuador. See you in 6 weeks!!

Galápagos!

I had a great time visiting the Galápagos Islands this week! I left last Saturday and got back yesterday. For the majority of the week I stayed on the island of Santa Cruz, the most developed island. Here, I saw some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. The water was so clear and blue. It was obvious that all the visitors of the islands respected the wild life and environment. My favorite part of my visit to the island of Santa Cruz was the snorkeling tour I went on. I swam with giant sea tortoises and sea lions! It was incredible! I wish I had an underwater camera. On Wednesday, we took a two hour boat ride over to another island, Isla Isabela.  I spent one night here. Unfortunately, our first day was rainy, but I enjoyed exploring this island because it was very private, not many tourists were here as compared to Santa Cruz. I wish I had more time to explore this island, but it was probably good I had already purchased my boat ticket back because there weren't any ATMs! I made it back to the other island with 4 cents to spare! I definitely learned my lesson to do a little more research before I decide to take a boat over to a secluded island!

It was a really great experience traveling to the Galápagos as a student. Everything was really expensive and I had to figure out how to travel on a budget. We searched for reasonably priced hostels and tried to eat one big meal a day to save money on food. Someday, I would love to go back when I have the financial means to do more tours and see more islands. But, as a student, I think I was able to see a lot and I had a really great time! I couldn't have left Ecuador without visiting the Galápagos Islands!

I climbed through lava tunnels! 

I got a fresh fruit smoothie here every day. They were delicious!!

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!

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.