I am spending this summer in the city of Quito located in Ecuador. Why? Well let me explain.
My college offers an amazing opportunity to 10-15 students each year called a GO (Global Outreach) Fellowship. What a GO Fellowship is is an all-expense paid opportunity to travel to any country in the world during a summer for the purpose of doing service for a community within that country. Applicants are tasked with finding a volunteer organization, finding a type of volunteer opportunity, and creating a proposal with a $4000 budget. After submitting the application and references, the pool is minimized to the top applicants and an interview is offered. If selected, the recipient must promise to document their journey and promote the GO Fellowship to the student body the following school year.
I was (thankfully) selected as a recipient of the award and I am spending nine weeks working for an organization that cares for children with disabilities in Quito. I will be posting weekly updates on my experiences in Ecuador.
Pre-departure.
Sunday:
Sunday, I arrived in Ecuador around 3pm. Taking the plane for the first time by myself from Dallas to Miami to Quito was not as bad as I thought it would be (although I made a few dumb mistakes). When I finally arrived, I met with my host mother and father at the airport and they were (and still continue to be) an ABSOLUTE DREAM. They are very kind, caring, funny, helpful, and patient people. I will admit that I had some race-related apprehensions. I know it may sound dumb, but after looking into race-relations in Ecuador, I had to admit that I was the slightest bit nervous that my host family would resent me because I am Black. Absolutely NOT the case. Also, I would have to say that I attracted a lot of attention from men on the street who (unlike in the U.S.) have no shame in openly staring or catcalling. But I digress. I met the other people who would be staying with me in the house. One (we’ll call her “L”) is a volunteer for the same organization as me who I was grateful to have as a guide and resource. She is from Minnesota and is a mother of five. However, I have to say that she and I have a relationship similar to me and my other friends that are my age, so things are not as awkward as you would think they’d be. Another was a 19-year-old girl who grew up in France, but currently lives in Switzerland and is perfectly fluent in Spanish. She was here for Spanish schooling purposes. And the last two were a mother and daughter from New Mexico who are very kind and also in Ecuador for Spanish schooling purposes. I had to admit that the first day, I felt really awkward and a little homesick, knowing that because of my deplorable sense of direction, I was pretty-much stranded in the city and nervous about volunteering at 8am the next day.
Monday:
Monday was my first day volunteering at the organization and I will be honest—I was totally miserable. The work was tedious, dirty, and exhausting, my Spanish was not as good as I thought it was and therefore I was always confused as to what to do. And I did not like the food I was given at all. Speaking of food, I am not a big fan of the Ecuadorian diet. Lunch and dinner are typically a type of sopa (soup) followed by a main course. I was shocked my first night in Ecuador when for dinner, my host mother gave me an actual full plate of food after I struggled with an unappetizing bowl of lukewarm soup. Also, THEIR FOOD IS SO BLAND. It kills me because I LOVE spicy food. Ugh.
Still talking about Monday, I became acquainted with Ecuadorian pedestrian and bus life. ECUADORIANS ARE CRAZY DRIVERS AND PEDESTRIANS. People will run across streets, narrowly avoiding cars going at full speed and that cars never slow down for them. They simply honk and hope for the best. Additionally, the bus system is incredibly flawed. All sorts of people (young and elderly alike) will push through people without so much as an “perdon” (excuse me) in order to cram into a bus until there is absolutely no room for movement. And bus drivers barely stop to let people off or on, so you really have to move with urgency and be rude in order to get to where you need to.
Tuesday:
Tuesday was drastically better than Monday for several reasons. First off, I met this extremely attractive and sweet Ecuadorian volunteer who had just started. We hit it off very well (although his English was as bad as my Spanish which, to me, makes for some very funny romcom-like situations) and he essentially asked to show me around the city and take me to some parties at some point, to which I gave a resounding “HELL YES.” Lol. Additionally, I had gotten to know the kids I worked with very well. Generally, I take care of the nine younger children who generally cannot walk and have no capacity to take care of themselves (with the exception of three). I realized that I had never in my life really had such contact with people with disabilities before. Sure, I had cousins and relatives of friends who had disabilities and I played with or talked with them to some extent. But in terms of feeding, changing diapers, and brushing teeth? Never. And I have to say that I was extremely proud of myself to be able to look past getting slobbered on, poop on my hands, and having food coughed up on me in order to take care of the kids. Also, the day was a lot more fun because they were celebrating Dia de los Ninos and had fun activities that we helped the children partake in. I very-much enjoyed myself.
Wednesday:
Wednesday was a little hectic at first. We had to find a theater that everyone was meeting at because the children had to rehearse for a play that was being put on on Friday and we were very lost. However, we eventually found our way and had a great time helping the children perform on stage. Other than the fact that one of the kids who had a habit of licking his hands slammed his hand against my face in order to try and break my glasses (he didn’t), Wednesday went pretty well.
Thursday:
By Thursday, I felt pretty down with how everything worked. I was communicating better with the organization staff and other volunteers, and we spent the day pretty much doing what we did on Monday—only with a lot more new volunteers. I helped the children with physical therapy, aroma therapy, and tactile therapy, and played with them outside. Although all but one of them cannot talk, I felt like at this point, the children knew that I was a friend who cared very deeply for their well-being. I am always gentle with them, rocking them, or even just stroking their heads in order to be a source of comfort. I carry them with me, baby-talk, and basically treat them as if they were my own. I could say at this point that I absolutely loved being with the children, despite the fact that it took so much energy for me to work with them.
Around dinner time, me and my host family gal pals went to the historical part of Quito and had dinner complete with local special drinks in a nice restaurant with dark lighting and moody live music. It was a great experience except for the fact that I forgot my camera and the bill was deceivingly crazy expensive.
Thursday was also my first experience going to a discoteca (or club). Ecuador has blocks with rows of clubs lining every street in an area called Foch down a street called Amazones. I went with L (I told you our relationship was pretty chill) and had an okay time. I say okay because it wasn’t really my scene. I was hit on and danced with a few guys, but for the most part, I felt out of it. (Sidenote: Apparently, when a guy offers you a glass of alcohol on the dancefloor, it’s an invitation to dance—NOT just a random act of kindness. I had no idea, so it turns out that I inadvertently rejected quite a few advances). Also, I was stared at and catcalled A LOT on the way to the discoteca, which made me uncomfortable. My drunk state turned sour by the end of the night, and I asked L to walk home with me. I would try again the following night.
Friday:
We didn’t have to go to the organization that morning because the play was later that day and that was what we were really needed for. So instead, that morning we went to a day care high up near the mountain peaks so that L could look at other volunteer options. The children were ages three and four and absolutely adorable, but I didn’t feel like I’d feel as impacted working with them as with the kids I was already working with. So I knew I couldn’t volunteer there. Eventually, after taking the wrong bus, we went back home and then went to the theater to dress up and set-up for the performance. It went great and I had a lot of fun.
Afterward, I hit the discotecas again. Only this time, we tried one that was apparently the most popular for Ecuadorians and foreigners alike called “Bungalow.” To be blunt, I hated it. I didn’t like the crowd and the only music they played was techno. So we went to a few other places and I still did not enjoy myself. It was while we were walking to a restaurant in the area that two guys came up and tried to hit it off with us. My guy (we’ll call him “G”) was an extremely attractive (he reminds me of Eli Roth) Israeli 27-year-old engineer who was in Ecuador on business and seemed to really have his life together. L and her guy didn’t hit it off well and it was apparent that he was being childish about her rejection. So he coaxed G to leave with him to “meet some friends.” But eventually when I was at the restaurant, G came back because he wanted to talk to me and L left us alone to hit the club again. We hit it off very well and eventually, me and L went to his realllllly fancy schmancy hotel to hang out. We stayed until the very early hours of the morning and came back home.
Saturday:
Saturday was a very chill day. Like I said before, we came back during the early hours of the morning in time for breakfast. So after breakfast, I went to bed. L annoyingly came to my room to coax me out of bed, but I repeatedly said no to any type of adventure she wanted to partake in. So she left and I went back to sleep. I woke up later and she came back while I was getting ready. I honestly wanted space from her, because by this point, I realized that her personality reallllllllly got on my nerves, so I said I’d go get lunch and come back later. I took my time so that when I came back, it was too late to do anything (lol) then went back to sleep. After I woke up and had dinner, L helped me contact G after a day of me deliberating whether or not I actually wanted to call the number he gave me. I eventually decided to go for it since he’d only be in Ecuador for one more week anyway (for, you see, I hate commitments and relationships and avoid them at all costs). He surprisingly asked me out on a date on Sunday night, which ended Saturday on a high note. I’ll let y’all know how everything goes in my next post! 🙂
Sidenotes:
I learned that people in Ecuador seriously love Texas. Like, Texas seems to be the most well-known state and whenever people ask me where I’m from and I say Texas (compared to when other people say other states), THEY GO CRAZY. I honestly feel like a mini-celebrity.
Alcohol is crazy expensive here for the most part. Like, I’m talking $70-$200 for a simple bottle of wine.
I was complimented on my hair by this attractive guy outside a club. I’m wearing my hair in a braidout puff while here and the guy (who had 3c curls) was like “where are you from? Your hair is beautiful!” Just a little uplifting news for my fellow 4c’s out there. 😉
Speaking of hair, my hair loves the Ecuadorian climate and water. It’s thriving, y’all. Thank God.
L is starting to get on my nerves for several reasons:
- SHE DOES NOT EVER STOP TALKING. LIKE EVER.
- She is very condescending, points out people that she thinks is gay, and actually thinks that being gay is a choice. Like, seriously.
- She has such high standards and constantly compares Ecuador to the States. Like, it’s fucking Ecuador, not Minnesota. Sorry that things are so different and it makes you uncomfortable. Get the fuck over it.
I don’t know how to handle her anymore. If anyone has suggestions, please let me know.
Until next time! 🙂
criminalscribble 