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A Member of the Family

I have fallen in love twice now. In the past year, I have spent almost three months in Ecuador. That is to say, I have spent a quarter of the past 365 days here in ¨El Mitad del Mundo.¨ Last summer, I was here for a month with Global Routes constructing bleachers and bathrooms for the communal soccer field and living with a host family. As an independent project of sorts, I, along with a friend, taught English in the local elementary school. I am sitting here on the same golden, embroidered colored sofa as last year as I am typing this, but now I fill this seat as a member of the family. Here I am called many things, from Jay to gringo to pollito, but my complete name is Jayshawn Anderson. I am a San Francisco native who has attended boarding school for the past four years in Connecticut at The Hotchkiss School.

I never imagined myself daring to take a gap year, but towards the end of my senior year the thought hit me as my college plans were finally falling into place. A year off in Brazil seemed tantalizing, but the idea of being behind a year in college did not sit well with me. What won me over was the opportunity to do something so exotic during a time when life is supposed to be so uniform. I look at this opportunity as one of the few chances I will have in my lifetime to freely explore. With college, grad school, and the dreaded work days that follow looming, I truly believe this to be a once in a lifetime experience. Learning Portuguese and immersing myself into the rich Brazilian culture will give me lifelong skills that will prove to be valuable in the future, making my decision for a gap year completely worth it.

Jayshawn Anderson

About Jayshawn Anderson


Jayshawn has recently been involved with the community in a small town in Ecuador. He has visited twice in the past year to help teach English and computer classes. He is passionate about the issue of wealth inequality in the United States, and does not believe that economic growth should remain restricted to the 1%.

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