What I'll actually be doing next year.

In looking back on my posts, I've discovered that the majority (well, all of them, really) are not about my trip to Ecuador. Which was the main purpose of this blog to begin with! So, to give all 6 of my wonderful readers a summary of what exactly I'll be doing next year, and why I chose to do it:

Next month, I will be flying to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time in my life! I will pack two suitcases, a carry-on, and a purse or other small object* and fly to ECUADOR!

Ecuador is a coastal South American country that straddles the equator (hence the name, Ecuador=Equator in Spanish) It gained its independence in 1822 and has since been part of Simón Bolivar's "Republica de Gran Colombia" and later its own Republic. Its history in the last century has generally been characterized by instability: Unstable leadership in the early 1900s, a war with Peru in the 40s, and a succession of military leaders throughout the 70s. The first constitutionally elected president was in '79. Recently, things have settled down, and the legislative body of Ecuador, the Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly, has rewritten the constitution (2007-2008) which now includes the world's first to recognize legally enforceable Rights of Nature, or ecosystem rights, to help protect the wide diversity of endemic species both on the Galápagos and the mainland.

Ecuador is split into 4 sections: La Costa (The coast), La Sierra (The mountains), El Oriente (the Amazon jungles) and El Región Insular (The Galápagos). Its capitol is Quito, which lies in the Sierra, and the region I will be staying in, a city called Otavalo, is also in the Sierra.

Otavalo, population 25,000, is two hours north of Quito, at an elevation of 8,600 feet, and surrounded by mountains (hence, the Sierra region.) It is famous for its market, which has been around since pre-Incan times, and for its textiles.

I will be teaching at a Bahai-inspired school in Otavalo. Bahai-inspired means that the school was created with some of the Bahai ideals in mind. Here is a link to the school's website (its in Spanish, but you can translate it online fairly easily): http://www.bahaiecuador.org/raulpavon/index.html (If you're going to translate a part, click on the "Misión", it describes the mission, vision, and philosophy of the school beautifully!)  The school is preschool to high school aged children and youth, and has about 200 students. I will be teaching (!) younger students English classes, and assisting with the classes for older students. In the afternoons and during times when I'm not teaching, I will be able to help with the Bahai activities in the very active Otavalo cluster, which include Children's spiritual education classes, Junior Youth Empowerment Groups, and teaching projects.  I will be living in an apartment with another lovely youth doing service, Maryam, who is from Arizona.

Beyond that, there are a lot of unknowns. So until I get there, I am just going to pray, learn all I can about the area, pack, and trust in God that I am doing something that will truly help humanity, and give me some insight as well.

Thank you for reading! And stay tuned for the next post: Top 10: Reasons I am going to Ecuador.





*Namely, a ukulele