Day Three: Nuestros retos//Our challenges

From huffing and puffing upstairs to language barriers, our AB team has been working hard to overcome the challenges that we face in Cuenca and in the community we are serving alongside. In the classrooms and on the streets, each of us struggle with our own personal insecurities about our levels of Spanish proficiency.  Whether a member has been speaking Spanish their entire life or has a very basic skill level, we all agree that speaking Spanish to native Spanish speakers can at times be daunting especially in the presence of large classes of students. 

In the beginning, our group members silently and independently struggled with their individual insecurities. However through group reflection, we were united by these insecurities and by the knowledge that we all could relate to one another's Spanish struggles. Even though not all of our group members are Spanish speakers, we all have shown great enthusiasm in trying to speak and learn the language and that enthusiasm is powered by our group's ability to collaborate and seek help openly.

In the community, the varying schedules and classrooms shared by multiple grades makes successfully creating and carrying out lesson plans difficult. Our preprepared lessons are not always applicable to the needs of the school on a certain day, but our members have proven to be very flexible in creating new lessons that fulfill the community's needs. We each had our own worries that the language barrier that exists between us and the children and teachers of the school would hinder our ability to form relationships and perform effective service. With the looming threat of canceled school because of a national holiday hanging over us, we worried we would not have enough time to connect with the community we are serving alongside. 

However, regardless of our language ability and our time restraint, we have found the children and teachers to be understanding and kind. Despite our winded attempts at playing soccer and our eternal search for toilet paper, we have all found our niche at the school. From talking about "guy stuff" with the older boys to receiving love letters from the younger students, we have each found a part of the community that is uniquely special to us. 

This AB trip has of course had its challenges, but our group has found that together as a group and together with the Azuay community we are able to learn and serve to the best of our ability. 

Day Five: What next?

Today was an exciting day, in many respects. Though a national school closure prevented us from going to Efrain Naula today, we were able to spend some quality time here in Cuenca. For one, we went ziplining and for many of us it was our first time. Many a yelp and squirming leg could be seen canvassing the scenery of the Andes mountains. Afterwards, we got to check out some incredible views of the city. Secondly, we had a meaningful conversation about how we will move forward as a team based on what we've experienced here in Ecuador. This to me was the most exciting and impactful part of our time here.

Many of us are left feeling frustrated. Though we were able to serve as resources to the teachers here during our short time in the schools, we  wanted more. We wanted more time to learn about the community. We wanted more time to be in the community. We wanted more time to ask questions and delve deeper into the issues surrounding indigenous education. And we want to know what else we can do, once we return home. These feelings are impactful because they will carry our service forward, beyond these 10 days. We are left with an impetus to do more.

We ended the day with a celebration dinner for our team- having completed our week of service in the school together. We stuffed our faces with all sorts of foods typical of Ecuadorian culture. Tomorrow we are off to Efrain Naula one last time to celebrate our incredible time together. We are all hoping to use this time to ask more questions ame continue learning about issues in indigenous education.

Day Two: Futbol and Love Letters

After a great night's sleep and a nutritious breakfast with our host families, we headed back to Huantugloma for another day of interacting with the students. Expecting to engage in a day of cultura and art, we found ourselves put into the same classes we interacted with yesterday. As we have learned so far, flexibility is key and we were more than happy to be with the students we had already met.

After feeling out the attitudes and circumstances of the students yesterday, we found ourselves more prepared to teach lessons. Given that this was our second day at the school, many of the kids were more responsive to our presence and seemed more eager to engage in our lessons. Through various activities - in drawing, playing games, and counting numbers - our students were able to learn more about English and we were able to get them interested in what we had to teach them.

One of the biggest takeaways from today's outing included relationship-building among ourselves and our students. Yesterday, many of the students were resistant and, in some cases, quite shy; today, on the other hand, our students participated in a large game of futbol, played interactive games, and even wrote one of our participants love letters. One student in particular - little Melissa - spent the day politely stealing our food, lovingly throwing flowers at us, and giving each of us much-needed attention individually. Overall, we felt as if today was critical in building our friendships with the students and we hope to continue bonding with them during the week.

When we came back to the University, we met with an associate who told us about Maki Fair-Trade, a business that carries artisan products made by local toquilleros. We learned that the purpose of the company is to enable the women creating the artisan products to gain fair payment; typically, intermediary companies exploit these women and don't give them a fair percent of their sales. We then visited the store and purchased many items, including.... absolutely all of their Pacari chocolate.

We came back from the store and participated in our reflection for the day. Today's activity was mainly based on self-reflection; we discussed our identities and who we are and how these have made us feel on this service trip. This led into a very thoughtful conversation between the participants.

In our remaining days in Ecuador, we really hope to build our relationships with our students and leave our impact on the community.

Day one: Intro to Huantugloma

After a well rested night and a great first day with our host familias, we headed over to meet up U of Cuenca. There, we had a special orientation about the do's and don'ts while staying in Cuenca. Shortly after, we got a quick glance at some parts of the university, like the psychology building. Hosting 6,000 students, the university is quite expansive and diverse.

With our packed lunches made with love by our host moms, we boarded the bus for a one hour journey to the town of Huantugloma. It was a bumpy ride, complete with mountain views and steep cliffs. As we approached the village, we saw the sweets faces of dogs and realized we'd have to hold back the puppy love, as hard as it might be.

When we arrived, we were immediately greeted by the bright and smiling faces of curious schoolchildren. Our tour guide Javier took us to the main building where we had a warm welcome from each one of the teachers. Unfortunately, there are only 4 full time teachers at the Efrain School, and they are severely outnumbered by students. They then introduced us to each of the grade levels, and we were able to exchange names and greetings without a hitch. Initially we were supposed to meet the parents of the students, but this plan was canceled.

Next came the part we had all been waiting for, the reason we traveled to Cuenca -- it was time to teach the kids. Since we weren't sure who was being taught what, we randomly split up into 4 groups. Now this is when we all ended up having different experiences, which is expected when dealing with kids of such diverse age groups. The kids ranged from first to tenth grade and the the subjects we them taught covered everything from math to nutritional science. The language barrier was definitely an obstacle many of us face as we realized our knowledge of Spanish only takes us so far. But as time progressed we were all able to be involved in some way! During recess we got a chance to interact with the kids outside of the classroom. Just like we saw in our own schools, the older kids were to cool to play and went off on their own while the little kids were pulling us in every direction with their energy. Overall, all of us were surprised at how much these kids knew as they all seemed to be adaptable.

After our first goodbyes all of us AB members came back together to take part in a group reflection. Things got deep and we stretched our brains even more as we  focused on thinking about and discussing the definition of service and the act of service and the controversial viewpoints that come along with it.

Ending a little earlier than planned, we boarded the bus home.
One very important thing we learned today is that flexibility is key when teaching. Regardless of what happens, when you have enthusiastic learners and are willing to open up, no lesson is a failure.
As we continue on our journey, we hope to learn more about the strength and weaknesses of the kids and exactly what we can hone into to make a lasting impact on this community.
Tomorrow we'll get to experience their version of recreation day, cultura fisica.

En Route to Cuenca

WELCOME TO ECUADOR!

Our flights to Ecuador were very eventful! On our way to Miami, a woman passed out and luckily a doctor was on board. Everyone was riled up. Because of this we were held back loner in the plane; we had to run to ur connecting flight to Ecuador. On our brisk run to the air tram, one of us fell and had to crawl to the train. Needless to say were all a little stressed. However, as soon as we boarded our plane to Guayaquil, everyone had calmed down.

We arrived in the evening, where we immediately felt the heats humidity. Our guide Sebastian was waiting for us. He is so cool and knowledgable. His English is impecable; he was very sweet and accommodating. After a short rest at our hotel in Guayaquil, we had a quick breakfast. From there we went on a brief walking tour of the city. We went to Simon Bolivar Park also known as Iguana Park. There were so many iguanas, as huge and abundant as squirrels at UMD. We got to see the Cathedral, el Malecan (the boardwalk) and las Penas , a traditional colorful neighborhood of Guayaquil. We climbed 444 steps to get to the highest point of the city, and the view was magnificent!

From there we embarked on our 4 hour drive to Cuenca. We stopped many times for bathroom breaks, snacks, and to pick up a *lit* Regeaton CD's for a jam session that left us all asleep.

Our last stop was at 3 cruces (three cruces) which is at 30,000 ft. high. It was very cold but breathtakingly beautiful. When we arrived at Cuenca, we met our host families. They are so sweet and accommodating.

After settling in we had a reflection to help get to know each other on a deeper level. People began to be vulnerable and more comfortable with each other. This will help us have a meaningful with joyful experience with each other, the community and our host families.

We have already noticed large differences in lifestyle between the two cities. However both have been exciting and welcoming. Everyone is so excited! We can't wait to meet the children and their families to see what the week holds,and immerse ourselves in the Ecuadorian and indigenous cultures.