Quito, Ecuador

 

Quito has been amazing and so busy! Walking around the Old Town, taking Spanish lessons, lectures on the history of Ecuador, watching Top Gun, and game nights...I will miss the city, but I can't wait to start the adventure in Atahualpa! Leaving today at 2:30! 

Creativity in Quito

Having a blast in Quito! Ecuador has such a rich history and culture. This morning a few of us decided to add some flair to the work boots we will be using at work sites.

Costa Rica

More to come, stay tuned! Pura vida!

So Ready!

Three Days Until Departure!

“These are not cultures destined to fade away. On the contrary, in virtually every instance, these peoples are being torn from their past and propelled into an uncertain future because of specific political and economic decisions made by powerful outside entities. The ultimate tragedy, as anthropologist David Maybury-Lewis has written, is not that archaic societies are disappearing but rather that vibrant, dynamic living cultures and languages are being forced out of existence. It is not change that threatens the integrity of cultures; it is power, the crude face of domination. Genocide, the physical elimination of a people, is universally condemned by all nations. Ethnocide, the destruction of a people’s way of life, is too often embraced as appropriate development policy.”

—	Wade Davis  Book of Peoples of the World: A Guide to Cultures

Scanning 2.4 Billion Eyes, India Tries to Connect Poor to Growth

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/world/asia/02india.html?_r=1

Why the Gap Year?

Why the gap year, you ask? With Thinking Beyond Borders, not only will I be traveling to some amazing places, I'll be engaged in a curriculum and working with some great NGOs as well. Over these eight months, along with ten other students and three program leaders, I will be learning about the global issues and solutions of communities around the world. Service projects include ecotourism and reforestation in Ecuador, helping caregivers with patients in South Africa, teaching and women's empowerment in India, and helping farmers harvest in China. Upon our return to the United States, we will be partnering with other youth organizations and exploring the roles of Congress, the World Bank, and others in the role they play in today's world.