Global Education

Apr 13 2022

We wrapped up our semester with a weekend full of reflections, discussions, relaxing and fun at El Refugio where we had the decompression and processing time we needed to close out our time together here in Ecuador. Thanks to those...

Apr 13 2022

There are only a few kaki lima, or street food stands, near the campus of Universitas Nusa Cendana (UNDANA) where I am located for my service assignment, and outside my neighborhood along the busy coastal road the little mobile stalls...

Apr 13 2022

These photos are from a short adventure I had about a week and a half ago with one of the friends I have made here, Titan, and one of the teachers at the university that has been helping me navigate...

Apr 13 2022

During my placement at Interfide, I was given the opportunity to visit some highschools and help with the “The Power of Goodness” program. The power of goodness is a workshop that Interfide does that teaches people how to love your...

Apr 13 2022

It’s difficult to pick one experience that sums up my time here in Indonesia. I think the difference between here and the U.S. is the pace of life here in Indonesia. The morning after I was dropped off at STT...

Apr 13 2022

At this point you are likely wondering “what on earth is a ‘kebun’ “? Well luckily I am here to enlighten you: “kebun” is the Bahasa Indonesia word for farm, plantation, garden, gardener, and many others. It is one of...

Apr 08 2022

During the service portion of SST, I have been volunteering at a foundation called Su Cambio Por El Cambio (SCXC) in a little town called San Simon. SCXC’s primary missions are to provide a safe after school environment for local...

Apr 05 2022

While our SST group was in Philadelphia, we were all assigned Indonesian language buddies to help us practice our bahasa Indonesia. Me and Antoinette were assigned Yaya. We talked to her quite a bit in Philadelphia, and made plans to...

Apr 05 2022

When I was living with my Indonesian host mother in Philly, Bu Wendy, she mentioned that Indonesian parents are generally more strict about their children’s whereabouts. During one conversation in particular I noted that it seemed like Indonesian kids and...

Apr 05 2022

On Wednesday of this past week during my service placement in Timor I got to visit a seaweed farm. This was an interesting visit and I was able to discuss and learn quite a bit throughout the day. I could...

Mar 30 2022

In January, I took a 3-day trip with my host family in Quito, Paola (host-mom) and Sammy (host-sister). It took 2.5 hours to get to Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas. We took the Cordillera de Los Andes road. This very...

Mar 30 2022

These pictures are from my 1st day of teaching English class in Indonesia. I have 2 classes, one lower and one higher level course. I have found as I have begun to teach here that I actually enjoy teaching. It’s...

Mar 30 2022

My first day waking up at my SST placement began at 5 in the morning with the sound of a guitar outside my door. It was somber and I threw on a shirt for morning worship and devotions. Though I…

Mar 28 2022

Before we left for SST, we were told to prepare some gifts for our host family. The suggestion we got was to prepare some things from Goshen or our College. But at that time the bookstore was already closed. I...

Mar 26 2022

Nina and I keep in touch regularly with the students via phone calls and texts, but we especially enjoyed visiting students at their service internship placements throughout the last few weeks. We continue to be so grateful for the many...

Mar 21 2022

Soccer games with the family, an example of so many things I’ve experienced and learned throughout only six short weeks in Ecuador. Every Sunday except those during which we were out of town visiting Mindo or Tena, my host dad...

Mar 16 2022

There are a lot of hard things in Quito. For instance, my walk to the Fundación, where we have our classes, is up a very steep hill. My little commute is one of the best parts of my day, however,...

Mar 13 2022

The names of the people in the photos are me (Antoinette Mpawenayo), my host grandma in Philly (Popo) and my roommate (Courtney Templeton). The two photos are important to me because they show an amazing relationship that Popo and I...

Mar 13 2022

As the saying goes it’s always sunny in Philadelphia, however, that doesn’t mean it’s not cold. So, here we are another frigid day, but sunny, in downtown Philadelphia. Now, you may be wondering from the photos why we are gardening...

Mar 13 2022

This is a photo of Ben and I with our host parents Pak David and Ibu Eva at the 17 anniversary of PPC (Philadelphia Praise Center). On this day we attended church with our host parents to celebrate the 17th...

Mar 13 2022

This a photo of my host family I was staying with for the previous 5 weeks. From left to right is Oliver (the baby), Kevin, Sandy, Trey (my roommate), Joy and I. Although I do not have a picture from...

Mar 13 2022

One of the highlights of my SST experience was celebrating Chinese new year with my host family. This was my first time celebrating Chinese New Year, and I didn’t know quite what to expect. Pastor Aldo had mentioned when we...

Mar 13 2022

In Philly, I stayed with Hendy and Marina and their three kids Judah (middle) , Levi (left), and Asher (right). Staying with Indonesian host families was a great opportunity to practice our bahasa and learn more about Indonesian culture before...

Mar 13 2022

This initially started off with my host mom, Sandy, asking one evening if my classmate, Brady, and I are going to be busy the following Monday night. I had to regretfully remind her that we were going to have class.…