I recently started volunteering with one of the Manna Project’s partners, Chaupitena. Chaupitena is a local public school in the Chillos Valley for K-12 children. At Chaupitena, I serve as a teaching assistant for two English classes. Working in an…
“O come, all ye faithful, come let us adore him…silver bells, silver bells…O, holy night…” Every time I sit down to write a new blog post, this is my background music. Don’t get me wrong, I love the tunes in…
It as been a month today since I have been in Cape Town! WOW! I still have to pinch myself that this is real! It is the most beautiful, calm day right now. I woke up to it raining (woohoo!),…
As I open the door to Manna Project every afternoon, I hear the running footsteps of excited children racing up the stairs to get inside. We exchange our usual “buenas tardes” and “cómo estás” and I hear about the kids’…
The Placement During week two of my stay, along came picture day at Sunrise. All buttoned up and ready to smile, the little miniature people were rounded up by the teachers and set atop a chair to match the height…
There’s a creepy path by my apartment building. It exists under an overpass, enclosed by claustrophobic metal gates, punctuated by odd little alcoves that seem to only exist as trash receptacles for careless litterers. Ordinary objects become haunting when they…
One of the responsibilities of Program Directors at the Manna Project is to coordinate and run spring break service trips. During the first week of March, I will be responsible for coordinating eleven Vanderbilt University students who will stay in…
Molo Unjani! (Hello, how are you in Xhosa) Last week was my first week of work and it was wonderful and challenging and unpredictable. Our residents have been teaching me Xhosa, and I can proudly say I know about 10…
This is what it sounds like. Feel free to listen as you read this short description of—you guessed it—Kathmandu traffic. Parked About 10% of the time, traffic in the heart of Kathmandu is parked. Taxis, buses, motorcycles, and tuk-tuks alike…
Ansanm n’ap vanse. Together we move forward. My high school freshman year RTI teacher had a sign by the door of her classroom saying, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”…