I am obsessed with Ecuador. I just adore it. The people, the culture, the language. Today has been a day filled with Spanish and it has been a day of forward progress. I can confidently say I have never learned as much about a single subject and gotten so much better at a single activity as I did in Spanish today. I arose this morning at 6:20 am with the sun, read Hebrews 1 in my English Bible and then in my Spanish Bible—what an incredible start to the day. This is truly indicative of my life at present. Relying on English but adoring Spanish and seeing God working in it all. Mi mama prepared bananas and papaya with yogurt and sweet rice crispees on top. It was waiting in a bowl on the table as she cheerfully greeted me. She then poured my some hot coffee with hot milk—ideal. At 7:30 my friends Emilia and Wick picked me up and we enjoyed our 30 minute fast walk to class using every moment of it and having tired legs by the end of the day.
At school we studied Spanish, 4 students (Elizabeth Smith being one J) and a teacher in a classroom from 8-12. It was intensive but so informative. More than a weeks worth of college Spanish in a morning. During our break at 10am, Elizabeth and I found an adorable shop that sells small gala apples, needless to say I have had 3 today. I then made the long trek home with my friends and enjoyed a bean soup, a salad with fresh avocado and tomato, and rice and pasta for lunch. Ecuadorians love carbohydrates and see nothing wrong with the main course being rice and pasta. At lunch I was much more talkative and sustained conversation entirely in Spanish for over 45 minutes learning about my host mom’s daughter (Melina), her husband (Renaldo), and their 14 year old son (Martin)’s life. I talked about my sister, brother, mom, dad, describing them in as much detail as my limited vocabulary would allow. Renaldo plays the guitar and writes songs while Martin’s favorite class is recess (typical). I was in the BEST mood walking back to school in the afternoon with my new Spanish conversation skills. I am thinking in Spanish all the time and am struggling to switch back and forth between English and Spanish. Tonight I studied Spanish vocab for a while—I am so eager to learn. What a refreshing perspective and mindset on education. I just cannot get enough.
In the afternoon we had development discussions about SEC’s Logistical Model and ultimately were put into our groups of 9 students where we function as a virtual NGO (VNGO). My group, team impacto, was given the problem of AIDS in Africa and asked to address the problem in an innovative way establishing desired outcome, beneficiaries, indicators of success, inputs, outputs, and activities. It was a thought-provoking exercise without a doubt. Co-founder of SEC then shared wisdom with us emphasizing the importance of looking at the real needs of people before trying to address them. He said key components of success for a socially minded organizations is moving past sympathy to empathy, finding a balance between community interest and self interest and ownership vs. leadership. He stresses how people are central to any organization and it is crucial to take the extra five minutes whenever they are called for regardless of whether you feel like you have five more minutes to give. He talked about not taking short-cuts, having big visions but being detail oriented. Leadership with humility and the ability to take risks with wise preparation and consideration is needed. Persistency, patience, and perseverance are key characteristics of an effective leader. Man, there is so much more. It is a lot to chew on in one day and I am slowly processing.
Tonight, a group of us went to a local restaurant called Café Ecalyptus. They have 2 stories, multiple fire places, live music, and a balcony overlooking the city. It was a blast to just spend time relaxing with my new friends and have absolutely nowhere else to be.
Needless to say, I am very happy. Thanks for reading.
Hasta luego,
Cate
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