Today was a different day here in Salinas de Guaranda (Salinas for short). It was sunny and beautiful unlike the usual rainy weather we have been getting. I was really excited to know what I will be doing today since it was a new work week. I went to the…
Mindo, where my service portion of SST is located, is between the descent from the Andes to the coast. It is one of Ecuador’s most biodiverse places with birdwatching being one of the well-known activities. It is two hours away from the capital of Quito. It’s weather ranges from 60…
So good to see you again! Yadira with her work colleagues in Cayambe Serving up Colada Morado with other volunteers Yadira with her host family Amanda with her work colleagues at the deaf school in…
My service location is in Pedro Vicente Maldonado, a small city about 2 and a half hours drive from Quito in the coastal region of Ecuador. However, the coast is still quite a ways away. To Esmeraldas, the closest coastal city, takes about 3 hours driving. It doesn’t take going…
Cayambe, a very beautiful town in Ecuador that’s 1hr and a half away from the capital of Quito. Cayambe is also the third highest volcano in Ecuador, and not only that, it’s also right in the middle of the earth. It goes right through the equator line. This first picture…
My day began unlike any other I had experienced at Salinas de Guaranda. After a simple breakfast of a boiled egg and tea, I struck out for yet another day of burning music for the local radio station. But I wasn’t met with the usual grey, dreary sky. No rain…
Tena. We invited our friend Eric Camacho who grew up in Dayuma a few hours northeast of Tena to join us for our 3 days here. This first afternoon he shared about what it was like growing up in the amazon basin, his life, education and path…
We had a good final week of classes, wrapping up the “study” portion of the term that makes up our Study-Service term namesake. On Friday evening the students hosted all the host families and other program partners for a despedida, a goodbye celebration. Next week we travel as a group…
As a part of her SST experience, Amanda has been involved in a special sign language track here in Ecuador in which she has been dividing her morning class time between learning spanish and sign language. Beyond her individual class time, her host family has several deaf family members who…
Last spring I was involved in a community development project in the amazon basin, and through that project I met Francisco Guevara, who became a good friend of mine. Francisco is a chef and culinary/gastronomy professor at a University in the city of Ibarra a couple hours…
