2018-06-18
Beyond the Classroom: My Life in Ecuador Or the Alternative title: $6.00 is a Ridiculous Price for a Coffee In Ecuador people don’t wear seatbelts. I learned that right away with my host family as we drove places together each week. We had five people in the family car and it was very foreign not...
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2018-03-21
Días Finales en Ecuador There’s something bittersweet about leaving this beautiful place. My heart breaks thinking about having to say goodbye to my host family who have showed so much patience and love, and who took me in way back in September. Their warmth made me feel comfortable in an uncomfortable (at first) situation. I...
Read More2018-02-16
Over the past five months living in Ecuador, I have become a strong, confident, and passionate woman. When I first arrived in Ecuador in September I was a girl, scared, and unsure of what was to come. Then as the months went by I started to find myself taking on new challenges, learning new customs,...
Read More2018-01-21
Dear Steven Frost, With not much time left as I write this to you on December 18, 2017 I am thinking back on all the laughs and smiles you brought into my life. You are one strong little boy who has experienced a loss that no little boy should ever have to experience when you...
Read More2018-01-09
I will keep pushing myself. Being okay with failures. I’m not a perfect, I’m human. I will continue to love my body. Smile and Laughter are most important. I have flaunts but that’s okay. Tomorrow will be a better day. Take a moment to breathe go with the flow. These children have impacted me the...
Read More2017-12-12
Losing my grandfather while in Ecuador My grandfather was quite a character and was part of what made my family so much fun. He had the best stories, and was immediately accepting of my decision to take a gap year, since he understood; right out of high school he enrolled in the army and served...
Read More2017-12-05
As the days turn into weeks and the weeks turn into months, time has felt like an unknown concept I feel as though every time I blink and turn around twice it’s a new month which means April creeps closer and closer, these past three months I feel that I have experienced the good, the...
Read More2017-09-23
Is the number one challenge I have had to overcome over my past couple weeks in Ecuador. It seems everyone speaks Spanish but me. It makes life difficult because I only speak English and maybe three words of Spanish. So when being told I will learn to speak Spanish and thrive is almost incomprehensible at...
Read More2017-09-16
Today we embark on a new journey in new places, with new people and new communities. As we goodbye to people we love that are family we all have this unspoken connection it’s unspoken because it was forced. As I stand here looking at all of you, I remember a moment when I realized you...
Read More2017-09-13
Little by Little As the sun rises and birds start to chirp the coffee starts to brew, my day starts with a brand new place and new people. I can feel my heart rushing with excitement and nervousness. As I lift my head off the pillow my mind starts to rush with thoughts. Then I remember...
Read More2017-08-05
A Simple Reflection If someone would have told me four years ago that after high school I would be going to be South America to help children, I would have never believed them. I mean, who does that? I was the last person to leave home, move to another country, and work as a volunteer...
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