
Life in El Juncal is definitely different.Ā Here I am, an ambitious, overeager, slightlyĀ awkward white girl trying to assimilate into a tight-knit, laid backĀ Afro-Ecuadorean community.Ā The driveĀ down from Ibarra, the city about an hour out, was truly incredible.Ā I stared out with window with naĆÆve awe, as IĀ soaked up the beauty and foreign-ness of the vast hills and valleys.Ā El Juncal is a tiny town nestled into a greenĀ valley, surrounded by breathtaking mountains.
Every day I think about how lucky I am in my placement.Ā My family is a bit unconventional, but I loveĀ them nonetheless. My mom, Olga, is a 32-year-old community powerhouse.Ā She has two children, works at her motherāsĀ meat and veggie store in town, volunteers at the local community center, runs aĀ womenās group and youth group, helps out at the church, and goes to school inĀ Ibarra all day every Saturday to earn her high school degree.Ā On top of it all, she has a killer sense ofĀ humor and makes me feel like Iām actually at home.Ā Her bellowing cackle fills the house wheneverĀ I accidentally say Iām pregnant (note: embarasada does not mean embarrassedā¦)Ā or when I make a lame joke about my glowing white skin. My host dad, Favio, isĀ Italian, so weāre the only two white people for miles.Ā I donāt see him too much because he travels aĀ lot for work, but the moments Iāve shared with him have been nothing butĀ positive.Ā My second day here in JuncalĀ he took it upon himself to show me all the important places in the community,Ā and politely explained to everyone that though we are both white, we are not,Ā in fact, related.Ā When heās home, bothĀ Spanish and Italian are thrown around all over the place, mixed in with myĀ confused tongue slips in English – itās a lot.Ā I also have a fifteen-year-old host sister, Anahi, who Iām still workingĀ on getting close to.Ā Olga warned me thatĀ she doesnāt talk much, but Iām determined to break past the teenage angst andĀ make a real friend.Ā I often catchĀ glimpses of her true self when sheās singing along to Daddy Yankee in her room,Ā or when she laughs at my dumb sense of humor.Ā Then thereās Mikela, the obvious queen bee of the household.Ā Two years old, moody, fierce, and playful.Ā I generally wake up to either her screams ofĀ anger, or screams of laughter. Depends on the day.
I still have yet to actually start work.Ā This means that my days here are prettyĀ unpredictable, and exciting.Ā Last nightĀ I went to the youth group meeting here in Juncal, nervous about actuallyĀ socializing with people my own age.Ā IāveĀ also helped my mom with her English homework, peeled beans while holding aĀ conversation about differences in societal norms, bucket bathed in theĀ backyard, watched a group of twenty middle-aged women joyfully play a kidsāĀ name game, danced with eighty year olds, and conversed with completeĀ strangers.Ā As I walk down the unpaved,Ā dusty streets of Juncal, Iām greeted by everyone with a warm smile and anĀ enthusiastic ābuenas tardes.āĀ NothingĀ warms my heart more than hearing the five-year-olds I befriended on my firstĀ day here scream āLibby! LIBBY!ā as I walk by them day to day.Ā As much as I love Evanston and will alwaysĀ feel at home there, the sense of community I feel here is greater than anythingĀ else Iāve experienced.
Donāt worry, I will actually have a job and be productiveĀ starting this week!Ā Iāll be teachingĀ English at theĀ elementary school, teaching a computer class to women in theĀ community, starting an after school homework program for kids, working with anĀ old folks group, and teaching English to a group of adults. As you can see,Ā itās a lot.Ā Iām both excited and nervousĀ to actually get myself out there and get these projects underway.Ā Iāve had a bit too much down time, where myĀ thoughts get to me and I start missing friends, family, and my fellowĀ fellows.Ā I sometimes log onto FacebookĀ and see pictures of friends at college parties, football games, and coffeeĀ shops.Ā In all reality, itās weirdĀ thinking that life back in the States is essentially the same, while my worldĀ has been turned upside down.Ā CultureĀ shock is real, but I know thereās no place Iād rather be than right here.