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Published: September 5th 2011
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As my time in Ecuador draws closer to an end I can take a breath of jungle air and look back over the past year. My time with the charity brought me numerous travel opportunities, encouraged me to interact with the locals, introduced me to the love of my life and showed me that change doesn’t always have to be monumental, whether within oneself or those you can reach. Everything matters.
First off, on a personal note I’ve seen much more of this country, its inhabitants, traditional foods and customs than I had intended when I originally purchased a month-long adventure to Ecuador. I see how the children adore story time, speak what they know of English and try to say what they don’t. I understand more about the luxuries, opportunities and resources that are present in my country and how they have shaped me and allowed me to embark on this eye-opening experience. I can even see it in the numerous international volunteers who pass through. Some arrive complaining about bugs, no hot water and occasional electricity but once they realize we have it much better than most of the members in our surrounding communities they (well some!) can be
overwhelmed by a sense of humility.
The schools were just about the most incredible part of it all, but leave much work to be done. They can have computers, but half of which won’t work; some provide school lunches, but only to a percentage of the children. All seem to lack the resources that we take for granted- class sets of literature, projectors, and even special education teachers. This year the Ecuadorian teacher role is changing. They are being required to stay in school 3 hours after classes end in order to prep for the rest of the week. Some are taking this initiative to employ other means of reaching the children- psychology, problematic behavior, agriculture. Maybe some will take it as time to learn English and maybe incorporate a bilingual program into their schools? One can only hope. Either way, I leave these jungle communities with a mix of sadness and hope…and look forward to the future.
Baeza and Beyond Being out of the jungle house is allowing me to relax. It really is hard to separate work from life especially when so many people depend on you- from children to volunteers. I do already miss the sounds of
the parrots and the ability to walk down the hill with a box of wine to watch what I believe really is one of the prettiest sunsest. However, I was able to take off on several getaways. I swept Jeremy away on a surprise trip to Baeza. From there we stayed in some lovely cabanas and hitchhiked towards the road to Lago Agrio, stopping on the road at an unmarked bridge. Locals had told us to ask around for the Cascada Magica (Magic Waterfall) which we easily walked to. The noise of the rushing water was deafening. To see that much force without any railings, only surrounded by hundreds of rainbows was truly breathtaking. We left and stopped in for a beer at the only bar. Eventually another truck drove by and we hailed it, leaving the bar owner dancing by herself. We reached the entrance to the Cascada San Rafael and hiked down in a mere 20 minutes. It was much larger and more beautiful than the other waterfall but was only seen from a distance. Trails were not made to accommodate hikers rather families carrying picnics. We rode back into Baeza on a standing room only bus and
took in the cloud forest and crazy, titillating views on the ride back to Puyo.
Quivering in Quilotoa Then, the day following my exit from the house, I escaped with a friend from the project to Laguna Quilotoa, a crater lake with beautiful turquoise waters, high cliffs and artic winds. We only spent one night (anything longer surely would have frozen this Floridian body) and marveled at the tourism in the tiny town as well as the local women who would run around with long socks, a knee-length skirt and a shawl while the two of us had to huddle together buried underneath layers and layers of clothing! While the lake was gorgeous I think our favorite part was "happy hour” at our hostel. While we were the only 2 enjoying frosty beers, the hostel’s two children came over to chitchat. Amidst our Kichwa laced Spanish conversations we wound up building card houses- something they had never done! To see the smiles on their faces warmed our hearts to the core. Once we left I returned to Puyo, where I will be staying for the next several weeks, easing the arrival of the new Teaching Coordinator into the start of the school year while Jeremy and I explore a few more localities that are awaiting us. Towards mid-September we will have our final going away parties, and head north. Nothing like a bit of bird watching before we say goodbye to this marvelous country and enter into the coffee region of Colombia. From our flight back to the states in October, things will be a blur…
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