From Ecuador, With Love
First full week in Ecuador: check. I’m currently in the final step of my Ecuador orientation: my host family stay. The Huertas live in Fajardo, a tiny rural community that is a ten-minute walk from the Manna Project. When I…
Category Stories
Day One in Ecuador and Meeting Manna
I have officially stepped foot in South America! I arrived at 11:30 pm on Saturday, Jan. 7, but my partner organization had the volunteer pick-up scheduled for 5 pm the following day. Naturally, I wanted to use every minute to…
Nepal: Preparations
It’s the 5th day of the new year and 12 days until I step on the plane to Kathmandu. I’m taking some time to look back on some of the preparations I’ve made for the trip—what I have done so…
Bon Ane!
A few nights ago, while searching for shooting stars in the clear Haitian sky, I was talking with a friend about sharing our stories and how different they would be if told on the same day each year. For example,…
Ecuador in Two Words: “Buen Vivir!”
An Ecuadorian friend recently summed up his country in two words for me: Buen vivir. Buen vivir means “good living” in Spanish, and originally comes from the Quechua words sumac kawsay. Quechua is the most widely spoken indigenous language in…
Sit down, be humble: A South African Embassy Experience
Greetings all!! I am so very excited for this adventure to begin. It has been a bittersweet seven months leading up to my departure (which is happening very soon). I have grown a lot, and become much more self aware…
Everything About Ecuador
T-minus 26 days until I fly to Quito, Ecuador to begin my journey serving on a Lumos award! This little country that sits on the equator line is home to 10% of the biodiversity in the world, 50 volcanoes, the…
#FreedomIs
I am now in my second to last week of my internship at Urban Light, which is bittersweet to say the least. Already the process of saying goodbye to the people and places I’ve come to love has begun. In…
Perspective
Yesterday I had the joy of a gorgeous boat ride on the Caribbean with Disciples’ Village staff a little before the sun set over the island of La Gonave for the evening. It’s amazing how much larger and magnificent the…
Loy Krathong
Last weekend, I participated in a traditional Thai celebration called Loy Krathong. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience! Loy Krathong is held according to the Thai Lunar calendar and falls on the full moon of the twelfth month,…