Highly unqualified…and loving it.
Abi Bethke
June 2, 2017
Since September I've been kind of baffled, and I've never really blogged about it. Baffled by the fact that I was a teacher for 7 months. Even though I just graduated from high school…this is something that hit home even stronger when I came back to Wisconsin. I had no degree, no experience, just barley...
Read MoreThe Day After
Abi Bethke
May 30, 2017
I wrote this blog post the day after I left Cañar in my notebook while we were all still in Quito. I didn’t get a chance to type it up that same day (parasites were slowly killing me), and I just imagined I would get back to it a little bit later when my stomach...
Read MoreFear of the Faded Accent
Abi Bethke
March 10, 2017
Written on March 9th, 2017. Tomorrow would be my dad’s 47th birthday. I just got off the phone with my grandma…after she sent me a text saying she felt sad but also grateful to have been so lucky. After getting over the grief that comes within the first two years, that is the ever lasting...
Read MoreProfesorita Abi
Abi Bethke
December 21, 2016
In the beginning, hearing “Profe Abi,” “Profesorita,” or “Senorita Abi” made me a little uncomfortable. I had no idea what kind of apprenticeship I initially wanted when I joined Global Citizen Year. There were really no expectations. I knew teaching English was of course a possibility, encompassing the majority of apprenticeships, but during the interview...
Read More“Ellos son como una familia real.”
Abi Bethke
November 18, 2016
This will sound incredibly cheesy, but I never could’ve imagined finding another family I feel so comfortable with when I initially signed up for Global Citizen Year. Yes, I definitely had hopeful expectations of really getting close with these people, especially considering I’d be staying with them for 7 months…but after only 2 months of...
Read MoreAnd the Journey Awaits…
Abi Bethke
September 11, 2016
Well, I’ve now been in Quito for two weeks and with Global Citizen Year for three. It is still baffling to hear myself say this, but the fellows I’ve met here feel like lifelong friends. After 3 weeks. I think that definitely has to do with how co-dependent we are on each other right now....
Read MoreUncertainty and Unexpected Discoveries
Abi Bethke
August 27, 2016
I feel like I’ve been hesitant to write this blog post for a long time, because for months and months, I had absolutely no idea what I was diving into. I knew a dear friend who had done Global Citizen Year and spent eight months in Ecuador, and that was my only connection to the...
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