2014-10-09
Imagine you’re in Quito. Imagine you’ve just arrived on a plane from wherever you’re from. Imagine getting on a bus and heading East. Imagine driving through the valleys of Cumbaya and Tumbaco as you leave the city, and then imagine climbing the Andes mountains until you get so high nothing grows. Then, very suddenly, you’ll...
Read More2014-10-13
If I close my eyes, I can see my home in Chapel Hill and my round dining room table with afternoon light bouncing off the light wood. I can hear my mom’s boots bounding up the steps. I can feel the last turn in the car on the drive to my best friend’s house. I...
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2014-10-13
I write these words on Thursday, October 9, 2014. Yesterday, I wrote that I would write one blog per day, each one concerning a different characteristic of Senegal. I also asked a few friends if they had anything specific they wanted me to talk about. A couple of them mentioned Ebola. Since I wish to...
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2014-10-13
The wise King Solomon once wrote: “So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.” -Ecclesiastes 8:15...
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Escribo estas palabras el miércoles, 8 de octubre de 2014 Aunque considero que yo tengo una Buena capacidad de comprender y respetar los puntos de vista de otras personas, jamás llegué a comprender a la “gente del campo”. Como fui criado en el área urbano toda mi vida, se me hacía muy difícil comprender por...
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2014-10-13
I write these words on Wednesday, October 8th, 2014 Despite having what I believe to be an above-average capability to understand and respect other people’s points of view, I never understood “the country folk”. Being raised in a mainly urban setting for my entire life, it became increasingly hard over the years to comprehend why...
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2014-10-13
A month ago, I would have expected to be somewhere in Senegal right now. But what I’ve taken from these few weeks is that things never – ever – turn out the way one expects. After a busy week of Pre-Departure Training in California, I boarded a plane with four fellow switchers to Quito, Ecuador. Quite a...
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