Per usual, I start to slack on my blog the longer I’ve been somewhere. Nothing like waiting until the last day of the month to post. I’d say this time I have a pretty good excuse—immediately following the holidays we had 2 large groups of volunteers here in Anconcito. Although before I share about my first experience with volunteers at FIMRC, I have one last trip to recap—Quito. Quito is the capital of Ecuador and located in the mountains north of Guayaquil. With so many days off over New Years, I decided the 10-hour bus ride was worth it. My first day I explored the different neighborhoods and simply enjoyed the gorgeous surroundings. I absolutely loved being back in the mountains! Ultimately, I stumbled upon a market and ended up buying some fresh veggies to prepare a home-cooked meal. While I’m quite grateful for all the time I save not having to cook in Anconcito, I sure do miss making my own meals. The following day I hopped back on a bus, but this time heading towards Otavalo, a small town famous for its artisan market. Ecuadorian handicrafts are incredibly vibrant and quite different from those I saw in Peru. While many of the stalls may sell similar products, it was actually surprisingly easy to spend hours exploring the market. Of course, I also had to bargain for a few things to take home! Before getting back on the bus, I took a short detour to a nearby waterfall. Seeing as it was a holiday weekend, it was over-flooded with people so I didn’t spend much time there before hopping back on the bus to Quito. New Year’s Eve ended up being another relaxing day in the city, for me at least. The streets were not only filled with people but with stands selling colorful wigs, yellow and red undergarments (yellow to bring good fortune and red for love), and firecrackers. In Ecuador, it's also tradition to burn life size effigy dolls at midnight. Many año viejos are made to look like politicians, celebrities, cartoon characters, etc. One of the main streets in Quito was lined with various displays of año viejos which I’m assuming were created by local businesses or nearby towns. 2019! I’m not big on new years resolutions but I did decide to start the new year off with some physical activity—a morning bike ride through the park and then a hike up to the gondola for a ride to the top of the mountain. Well not exactly the top but to a beautiful view point above the city. My trip to Quito was the perfect way to relax before diving back in to work in Anconcito. It doesn’t much feel like work though as I truly look forward to every day. Not only am I surrounded by wonderful co-workers who are incredibly supportive, but I also get to be a part of so many diverse activities. As an intern, part of my responsibility is to help plan and assist with volunteer activities. While it’s great to be able to give others a glimpse of the experience I get to have, a week is simply not enough time. I did get to see more projects in action though (school gardens, health fairs, chicos and chicas classes, etc.) and was even able to take it on from more of a leadership role. Every day I feel more and more integrated here—not only in projects that FIMRC has created, but in the community. I’m truly grateful for the time that I get to spend here and while having volunteers may have been stressful, it really brought to light how much I’ve learned and how special this experience is.
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