Final retreat in Ecuador

By Hillary Harder

On Sunday, July 26, our students returned to Quito from their service communities and we began our final retreat together! The afternoon was full of joyful reunions as each student arrived at our Quito home, la Casa de Espiritualidad. In the evening, we had a birthday celebration for Maille and Dayanara, who both have birthdays in July.

On Monday, students completed their final presentations for the Immersive Community Research Project. The ICR is the main academic focus during the service term, and consists of interviews and observational study in the service community. Each student chose a particular theme or topic related to their service project location and interviewed at least three community members about it. Then, based on their interview notes, personal observations, and research on the topic, students wrote a final paper and prepared a presentation summarizing their project and what they learned from their research.

The students did outstanding work on their ICR projects! Each presentation highlighted the intersections between the students’ passions and interests and the unique dynamics of each of their service communities. Topics included:

• The relationship between Western and traditional medicine in community health practices in Riobamba (Dayanara)
• Comparisons and contrasts between the Andean cosmovision and Catholic principles of social service work at a community organization in San Simon (Luca)
• Promoting community, safety, and human rights among the Deaf community in Quito (Maille)
• Community-centered broadcasting at the community radio station in Salinas (Mackenzie)
• The importance of equal access to music education for youth in Riobamba (Kate)

During our day at la Casa de Espiritualidad, we also enjoyed meals with some of our Ecuadorian partners to catch up, express our thanks, and say goodbye. Our Spanish professors, Silvia and Fernanda, came for lunch and we shared lots of memories and laughter. For supper we were joined by our in-country coordinator, Klever, who had prepared a fun and meaningful activity: having saved the sticky notes from Orientation way back in May where students wrote their hopes and fears for SST, he handed them out and asked them to reflect on where they are now with those emotions and experiences. We deeply appreciated this opportunity to say goodbye to these partners who have done so much for our group, and thank them for all of their time, energy, and care.

On Tuesday, we loaded into the bus and headed to our final retreat destination: la Casa de Retiro Francisco de Sales, a beautiful retreat center outside Quito. The peaceful walkways, hammocks, swimming pool, and spacious facilities provided the perfect place to decompress and complete our final activities together.

A typical SST final retreat consists of several components, and ours was no different. First, there is a culminating course to complete: GLST 305, the SST Integration Capstone. This course centers around two main themes – identity and social responsibility – and consists of activities, discussions, and written assignments that prompt students to reflect on how their ideas on both of these have shifted during their time in Ecuador, and what they want to carry forward back into their lives in the United States.

The retreat also includes exercises designed to help students dig into the topic of reentry into the United States. We had them create a poster listing things they’ll miss about Ecuador and things they’re ready for at home; pick a corner of the room with a sign reading either “excited,” “nervous,” “sad,” or “unsure” in response to prompts reflecting different aspects of going home; and engage in role-plays simulating things like their first 48 hours back in the United States, or conversations with hypothetical people with varying degrees of understanding of what it means to have been abroad for three months.

Our students did an amazing job fully engaging in all of these activities. Despite the multitude of emotions they were holding with so much transition happening all around them, they were able to stay fully present with one another and offer their characteristic thoughtfulness and insights in this process that is so necessary to navigating the return home after SST. And, as always, there was lots of laughter and deep care in the room during these sessions.

Finally, our retreat was about togetherness and fun! We enjoyed delicious meals together, spent hours around a campfire one evening telling stories and sharing memories, went swimming during the sunny afternoons, and spent time simply talking and laughing together.

Last night, we loaded into the bus for the last time and took the students to the airport. With hugs and goodbyes all around, we sent them off on their return journey, feeling both like no time at all had passed since we greeted them at that very place in May, and that so many rich memories had been made and so many experiences fully lived into. As we waved goodbye, our hearts were full of gratitude for the deep relationships and indelible learning that this time in Ecuador offered all of us, together.