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.