By Dayanara Aguirre-Mulato During my service placement at the municipal Centro Médico in Riobamba, I had the privilege to be able to work alongside other nurses. Day to day each patient comes in to register for their appointment and I…
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Study AbroadLife on the ward
Study AbroadService visits: opportunities for connection in Ecuador’s “provincias”
By Hillary Harder During the Service term, leaders have the privilege of traveling to visit each student at the home and volunteer assignment where they are spending their time during the second half of SST. For us, that meant traveling…
Study AbroadCycles of life and labor in San Simon
By Luca Bernhardt I start my mornings on the bus, which leaves Guaranda around 7:40-7:48 in the morning. Depending on the day, I might arrive at work by 8:00… or by 8:23. No matter when I arrive though, it’s no…
Study AbroadA packing mishap: concert attire and finding belonging
By Kate Roth While packing for Ecuador, my music-major brain had a legitimate thought of, “Do I need to bring my concert blacks?” For any who are unaware, ‘concert blacks’ refers to the all-black outfit that each ensemble wears for…
Study AbroadAre we really that different?
By Maille Goodwill It’s my first day of Service. I am with a new family, in a new part of the city. My host father tells me we are going to a birthday party for his friend’s daughter. I am…
Study AbroadSlowing down for the sake of productivity
By Mackenzie Miller Before leaving for service, Hillary told us that the goal of service is not productivity. As a chronically busy person, I was concerned. I knew going into SST that I would struggle to slow down. I’m usually…
Study AbroadBeginning Service Term in Ecuador
On Saturday, June 20, our students departed for a new host family and a new setting to begin their Service Term, the second half of SST. Stay tuned for more updates about the communities in which the students are living and the volunteer work they're doing with nonprofits, community organizations, and municipal governments!
Study AbroadBelfast: Beauty, Unrest, and Action
Our second weekend at Corrymeela, we hopped on an early bus and train to take on Belfast’s bustling streets and the Belfast Book Festival, which featured homemade ‘zines (handmade magazines) for purchase and for free. The main themes of these...
Study AbroadSaying farewell (for now) to Quito
By Hillary Harder On Friday night, June 19, our group gathered at our Quito headquarters, La Casa de Espiritualidad, to mark the end of our Study period in Quito. We were joined by our host families, professors, and many community…
Study AbroadLearning from experts: studying Ecuadorian sign language and indigenous history
During our six weeks of study in Quito, students had the opportunity to take classes in two specialized areas: Lengua de Señas Ecuatoriana (LSEC), or Ecuadorian sign language; and Indigenous Peoples and Nationalities of Ecuador. This post includes reflections from…
Study AbroadA Visit to Derry/Londonderry
In week two of our trip, our class went on its first train ride in Northern Ireland, and some of us rode a train for the first time! We were on our way to one of Northern Ireland’s more famous...
Study AbroadRathlin Island
At the start of our final week, we traveled from Corrymeela to downtown Ballycastle Harbor to meet the ferry that would take us to Rathlin Island. For some of us, it was our first time on a boat. The ride...
Study AbroadAt the Gateway to the Amazon
By Hillary Harder This week for our final group trip during the Study period, we traveled to the western edge of the Amazon rainforest. This was our first time leaving the central sierra region of Ecuador and traveling to a…
Study AbroadA Visit to Narnia: Dunluce Castle
To begin our second full week here in Northern Ireland, we set out for Dunluce Castle on a rainy Monday morning. Our journey began with our daily walk to Ballycastle to catch the bus. From there, our Translink bus drove...
Study AbroadArts and Artesanía: glimpses of week 5
By Hillary Harder Last week was full of opportunities to take in art in many forms. As our Study period continues, we have been delving into many areas of specialization that Ecuador is particularly known for. Museo Guayasamín On Thursday,…
Study AbroadLife at Corrymeela
When we first arrived, the cliffside view of the coast reassured us that we were really here! Now on days when we don’t have any other excursions, we’ve settled into Corrymeela’s morning schedule of 8:30 breakfast (which always includes fresh...
Study AbroadFirst Translink Trip: Giant’s Causeway
On Friday, May 29th, after making the 30-minute trek from Corrymeela to downtown Ballycastle, we made our first voyage using Northern Ireland’s location public transportation system TransLink. After Jessica purchased 17 tickets we took our seats on the...
Study AbroadLiving History in Cuenca
By Hillary Harder This week our travels took us to the beautiful city of Cuenca in the south of Ecuador! Because it’s a long ways from Quito, we broke up the drive and spread our travels over the whole week,…
Study AbroadVisit from N. Irish author Tony Macaulay
On Saturday night, Northern Irish author Tony Macaulay visited our group to answer student questions and read from his book Paperboy, which the students were assigned to read before the start of the class. Paperboy tells the story of Macaulay’s...
Study AbroadMusic of the People
By Hillary Harder This week in Quito our group experienced a very different type of “guest lecture” – a musical presentation by a band called the Banda de Pueblo Urbano! The banda de pueblo is a long-standing musical tradition in…
Study AbroadVolunteering at Corrymeela
We’re working on more posts about our excursions, but in the meantime, here are some photos from Thursday afternoon. The students completed their first round of volunteer hours at Corrymeela. The weather was beautiful, and they helped harvest vegetables...
Study AbroadSettling in to Corrymeela
Greetings from Northern Ireland and the Corrymeela community! You’ll be hearing from the students soon, but I wanted to update you all that despite a VERY lengthy trip, our reward was a gorgeous sunny arrival at Corrymeela. We’re here, we’ve...
Study AbroadMindo: Cloud forest, Carbon onset, Cascadas, and Chocolate
By Hillary Harder As we reached the end of our second full week in Ecuador, we embarked on our first group trip to the beautiful town of Mindo, located in a cloud forest about two hours northwest of Quito. On…
Study AbroadBuilding Homes and Building Hope
by Mike McHugh “Recovery goes beyond building houses–it helps people regain lost hope and helps them preserve their history, community, and relationships” Shalom Solomon Teferi We wrapped up our time in Lahaina last weekend after working hard for two weeks…
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