Within just a couple of weeks, we´ll be at our 3-month mark of life in Ecuador (¿¡time!?!?!). You may be wondering why it´s taking me so long to get to a second blog post. The answer is, well, while writing this I just got interrupted by a loud ¡A VER! from the kids next door. So, foursquare, pelota, and life in general sometimes get in the way. I wouldn´t want it any other way. La vida in Ecuador has taken time and adjustment, but I have slowly started to feel more and more at home within my neighborhood, Arbolito and my worksite in Una Sola Fuerza. An important part of my life here is always being ready for something to change. I am constantly on my toes ready to adapt to whatever new bus schedules, work changes, or new guests have entered our lives. Since the last time I´ve posted, I´ve been able to do a lot more exploring, learning, and connecting. My day begins literally whenever I want it to. I have been gifted the ability in Ecuador to slow down, away from the fast-paced, go go go mentality I so regularly lived in the States. Through this, I´ve been able to focus on what really matters. Because class in Una Sola Fuerza doesn´t typically begin until about 2:30, I have all morning to get a little extra sleep, move my body and practice my jump roping, and most importantly visit neighbors. A huge part of Rostro de Cristo´s mission is our ministry of presence. We choose to be rather than to do, to work towards living in solidarity with our neighbors through a simple lifestyle. I am not here in Ecuador to fix or solve anything, but rather to create mutual relationships and provide extra support as a human to the daily highs and lows of the community. Around 1:00pm, I put on my Rostro de Cristo t-shirt, load up on bug spray and sunscreen, and board the bus for my one hour (más o menos) journey to Una Sola Fuerza for work. As the niños y niñas arrive, we gather our materials and begin instruction. One of the goals of La Fundación Vida Digna is to get the kids up to their grade level. We have primarily been working on reading, as many are still practicing their vowels and phenomes. A chorus of ´´MA ME MI MO MU´´ can be heard from miles away as we work on our enunciation and confidence in our ability to recognize letters. I´ve never studied how to teach, but through the struggles of instruction, I am beginning to understand that any little progress is important and should be celebrated (even when that little progress takes time). The niños y niñas are so bright and capable, and their desire to learn is inspiring. After instruction, we have Recreo where we get to play, run around, and release some of our energy. The seesaw has been an area of excitement lately. The kids love to pile on one side in order to ´´win´´ by pushing their side the ground. One day, it ended up being the classic boys versus girls battle. The girls used all their might to get their side of the seesaw on the ground, as we yelled´´¡Mujeres fuertes!´´ y ´´¡Si se puede!´´ With a little bit of my help, the girls pushed their side to the ground in victory. It was a moment of laughter and awe that remains one of my favorite moments at Semillitas. Between 5:30-6:00pm, our day comes to close with hugs goodbye as I make my way to the bus stop. My ride back to Arbolito comes with exhaustion and heavy eyes, but I always force myself to watch the sunsets. With bright orange suns and pink clouds, being close to the equator has its perks. Nothing can compare. Besides my work schedule at Semillitas, I´ve been able to do a lot more in my free time here in Ecua. We´ve done some hiking and swimming at Siete Cascadas (Seven Waterfalls) in Naranjal, checked off the tourist attractions of Guayaquil like Las Peñas and Iguana Park, gone to a wedding, rescued a cat out of our mango tree (she now has a home with our Jefe), *tried* to master more Ecuadorian cuisine, celebrated a lot of birthdays in the neighborhood, and grown in community with my fellow volunteers. There´s been a couple of joyrides on our guard´s bike, some nasty soccer wounds, lots of siestas in our hammocks, dance parties, and few sunburns along the way. There have been some painful moments, lonely moments, feelings of uselessness. We´ve had to say goodbye to new friends we thought we had more time with. I have never gotten more hugs in my life than I have in the past 2.5 months. My Spanish gets a little better every day. My community mate Sophie has a new Spanish catch phrase every week. I laugh myself to tears regularly. My Vida en Ecuador is weird, awkward, hilarious, troubling, refreshing, joyful, challenging, life-giving, confusing, welcoming, ¡CALOR¡, sweaty, and loving. And it is full of the graces of God. A Note on Current Events in Ecuador A couple of weekends ago, we volunteers of Arbolito visited our fellow Rostro de Cristo Volunteers in the community of Monte Sinai, about 45 minutes away from our home. It was such a great opportunity to spend time together with the six other volunteers and get to know the neighbors that mean so much to them. Monte Sinai gets its name from literally being surrounded by montañas. A staple to the neighborhood is a giant cross that sits on a large hill that overlooks more mountains. It can be seen from miles away. As a part of our visit, the eleven of us decided to hike the hill to the cross. Led by a Sinai neighbor, we ventured through the tall, dry brush in the sweltering sun, dodging prickly branches and shrubs. Our Sinai neighbor brought along her young daughters, and eventually the brush began cutting up one of the little girl´s little legs, so my community mate Maddie lifted her on to her back. Maddie hiked in front of me, wiping sweat from her forehead and adjusting the small child on her back every few steps. And at the sight of this, I felt something inside of me. The image of a woman carrying her child to the cross, struggling through scorching heat, the child slipping as a result, with the hopes of reaching somewhere safe, somewhere that might guarantee rest, somewhere the child could play. After a while, Maddie and I switched and the little girl jumped on my back to give Maddie a rest. My breathing picked up and sweat dripped into my eyes as the little girl clasped her hands around my neck. It was a hard, tiring hike to the top of that hill to reach that cross. And in those last 20 minutes where Maddie and I carried that little child, I could only imagine the struggle of voyaging miles and miles, across countries, over mountains, in the sweltering heat, with a child on your back. I can only imagine how much struggle one must endure to decide to make that voyage. I can only imagine how much strength, courage, and love one must have for that child. I can only imagine. After a beautiful visit to the other half of our Rostro de Cristo familia, the Arbs volunteers made our way home. And Arbolito welcomed us home with open arms. Consequently, the next day was recognized by the Church as World Day for Migrants and Refugees. Some background on Ecuador: in general, there are large populations of Colombian and Venezuelan migrants and refugees. There is also significant internal immigration to the outskirts of large cities (see first post: invasion communities, i.e. Arbolito, Una Sola Fuerza, Monte Sinai). On August 26, 2019, Ecuador joined neighboring developing Latin American countries in requiring visas for Venezuelan refugees fleeing violence and hunger. We have seen the effects of migration on a daily basis on our bus rides to and from work as Venezuelan refugees sell caramelos, trying to establish themselves, as well as the impact on close neighbors who also have family fleeing violence. Our experience as foreign volunteers comes nowhere close to the actual, firsthand experience. But on this World Day for Migrants and Refugees, my community reflected on this subject and how our United States origins affect the matter. I never quite learned in my education an in-depth explanation on the United States impact on Latin America. To those interested, I strongly recommend the book Harvest of Empire for a comprehensive, but relatively compacted, breakdown of our country´s history in Latin America. Open Veins of Latin America is another much longer, but very useful resource in understanding our history. Some of you may also be aware of another political situation in Ecuador. Just last week, Presidente Moreno removed a subsidy on gas in the country. This subsidy was originally established because Ecuador cultivated and filtered its own oil. However, by removing it, gas prices skyrocketed. A gallon of gasoline went from just over $1.00 to $2.25—prices you might see in the United States. This decision affects everyone— rich, poor, the few in between—and was a huge betrayal to Ecuadorian citizens. As a result, transportation companies (taxis, buses, public transportation) have gone on strike. Many people, including myself and community mates, have not been able to get to work. Protests and marches have been pulled together all over the country. Some have grown dangerous and violent; many have stayed peaceful. Some bridges and streets around Guayaquil have been closed. Many Ecuadorians are calling for peace—but also justice. All eleven volunteers of Rostro de Cristo in both Arbolito and Monte Sinai are perfectly safe in our communities. Most tiendas are partially closed or have limited produce, but for the most part, we have been given this time to spend with each other and our neighbors. Right now, as a foreigner in Ecuador, I am here not to judge. Ecuador is not some dangerous, third-world country to be afraid of. Right now, people are hurt and betrayed and seeking justice and fairness—so that they can feed their families, live life comfortably and survive. Right now, as a foreigner in Ecuador, I am here to listen to my Ecuadorian friends and to learn from them. If you would like to read more information on the situation in Ecuador, attached are some links that give more comprehensive details. Indigenous-Led Anti-Austerity Protests Shut Down Quito Forcing Ecuadorian Government to Move Capital Ecuador’s President Moves Seat of Government to Escape Protests Ecuador unrest: Protesters raise heat on defiant Moreno Paz y amor, Steph
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