Dina S

Untitled I got to Ethiopia just last week, on the Wednesday the 4th to be exact. A couple of days later, we set off to Djibouti for the weekend for an AU Conference. Djibouti, the city that is, is a wonderful city right on the water. However, it is probably the hottest place i have ever been to. Compared to Khartoum, the climate in humid, making it feel like a sauna. The city itself is very much a coastal city and has recently been privatized by the Emirates, giving it a slight Dubai feel. Sadly, it seem that the country is on its way to become a replica of Dubai. This would be great for the quality of life of the average person in Djibouti, but I am very much afraid the culture might be ... read more

The week after the volunteer program ended, I was in the oriente with Daylin and Teresa, one of the volunteers. The Oriente is the Amazon part of Ecuador and we stayed in an area called Cuyabeno, 80 km from the Columbian border. We got there on Saturday the 5th late at night, and our guides weren’t there to meet us as a result of miscommunication. The lodge is so secluded that the guides didn’t get a message about our bus time change. When we were out of the bus, we saw the canoe that was supposed to meet up wasn’t there, so we looked for a person to ask for directions and an old man came up to us claiming the guides sent him. We followed him to his shack, where he needed to get some ... read more

During our last couple of weeks in Otavalo, two volunteers joined our group; Jackie and Jessie. We took advantage of our mornings off, before teaching in the afternoon, to go on short hikes to places close to Otavalo. That week, we went to visit a tree called Lechero that used to be a site for shamans to perform rituals, with Pablo as our guide. It took us a little less than two hours to get to the tree, trekking through farm fields, forest, and cobblestone roads. Alex, Daylin, and I attempted to converse with Pablo in Spanish, and we were successful, although he spent most of the hike snickering at us. As we approached the tree, we automatically understood why it was chosen by the shamans- it stood magnificently on top of a hill, amongst dry ... read more

Quito´s old town is by far one of the only worthwhile places to visit in the capital. Its buildings carry the trace of Ecuador´s colonial era and the prominence of churches reflects Quito´s traditionally Catholic culture. Our first stop was the statue of the Virgen de Quito centering old town, most commonly known as the Panecillo. La Virgen reminds me of pictures of Rio de Janeiro, both overlooking a deeply religious capital. From there, we had a rough idea or the churches and restaurants we wanted to visit. First, we went to Santo Domingo, a Church popular for its plaza, where a statue of Mariscal Sucre stands. Sadly, the inside of the church was being renovated, forcing us to guess what it would look like on a regular day. Although I must say it was interesting ... read more

I was paired with Christopher to teach at Chuchuqui, the furthest village from Otavalo. This meant that most or even all our kids would be indigenous-something I was hoping for. Our first day of classes was nerve raking since I had no teaching experience, especially with kids in intermediate. We drove up a dirty road to the school where the principal-a middle-aged indigenous woman welcomed us. The kids were all sitting on the curb and we took attendance while we waited for the classroom to be unlocked. When the children were asked their name, a faint whisper came out of their mouths, and soon I realized the idea of me writing down their names was not a good one. Confidence would definitely be an issue to work on. ... read more