First Days in Ecuador

Anthropologist Margaret Mead famously reminded us: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

This adage might inspire you, cling to your inner-idealist for a fleeting moment, or make you roll your eyes, but it has persistently begged for my attention since I first came across it last year. I have a few thoughts that seem to reappear day after day, like that street dog I once fed that now diffidently awaits my generosity, probing me with his hopeful, albeit sickly-looking eyes, challenging me to confront my own values and decide for myself how I will act.

Like the street dog, I could choose to ignore my fascination with Margaret Mead’s words and continue on the Path to the American Dream. Or, I could act and feed my dream to somehow “change the world”, because I can’t stand to see how it is starving in so many ways. I chose to take this semester off and (if I may employ another hackneyed expression) take the road less travelled; specifically, the Pan American highway to Cuenca, Ecuador.

After a somewhat tumultuous few days of dealing with airline drama and bus trips, I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived last week in Cuenca, a clean, historic, intriguing city with a pleasant 70°F average temperature. Even more exciting for me (an agriculture major with a penchant for farmers’ markets) is the huge outdoor market selling every type of fruit/vegetable/animal product you could ever imagine, just minutes’ walk away!

I could continue listing reasons I love Ecuador already, but their significance pales in comparison with the relational aspect of my stay here so far. From my neighbor on the plane who invited me to visit her family in Ambato, to my neighbors here in Cuenca who have made sure I feel welcome and safe, people have been incredibly kind. The Ascend staffers are “muy amable” and always try to help me with my Spanish, which is often laughable at this point. At the school in one of the communities where we work, we were greeted with an enthusiastic chorus of “Buenos Días!” and left with stomachs full of bread and tea after a planning meeting with the director. With community-based projects such as Ascend’s, relationships are of utmost importance. The genuine kindness of the people here reminds me that the small group of thoughtful, committed people who will change our world is made up of neither US (the Americans) nor THEM (the Ecuadorians) – it is all of us together who are contributing ideas, resources, friendship, and hope in some of the places where it is much needed.

I look forward to spending the next six months here in Ecuador, working on a variety of projects and getting to know the staff, the city, and the communities!

Que le vaya bien -

Jessie Gunter, Intern, Spring 2011

Introducing my new home: Riobamba, Ecuador

Streets of Riobamba, Ecuador; Ascend office on the right

Why am I interning for Ascend?

I’ve been inspired to explore the field of international development since my last inter

nship in China as an ESL teacher. Working with insufficient teaching materials and lacking appropriate classroom resources, I realized there must be a change in the school and community in whole in order for the students to learn more effectively. Simply throwing a foreign English teacher into a classroom will not do; I knew once I leave, my students will not be receiving the same quality of English education. Despite the circumstances, I was still inspired by the difference I was able to make, but I knew in order to make a real difference in education, the entire community must be involved with the change.

What attracted me to Ascend is its philosophy of empowerment- instead of simply giving money and aid, Ascend provides the tools and resources to a community to ascend out of poverty themselves. This approach promotes sustainability and enables communities to be self-sufficient, and I know my contribution to Ascend will be long-lasting, and I will be able to make a real difference in the long run.

What do I hope to gain from this internship?

Right off the bat will be fluency in Spanish. As this internship is entirely in Spanish, I have been forced to crawl out of my shell and challenge myself in ways I would’ve never imagined. Soon I will have the opportunity to condu

ct numerous surveys (in Spanish!) asking locals in the communities about their family, health, education, business,

income, etc. for data and information to jumpstart our projects. Is it going to be frightening? Yes, but will it rewarding? Absolutely. I have been told to “ALWAYS try to challenge [myself] by taking on tasks that might scare the living daylights out of you” and so far even though I’ve only taken baby steps, I can already see results, and I am excited for the challenges ahead.

I also hope to hone my teaching skills as I will have the opportunity to teach English classes again or other topics to locals in communities. I will also gain experience in event planning as interns are responsible for the Annual Gala that will take place next month. So far invitations, flyers, and posters have been designed, and our next steps will be to venture out into Riobamba to advertise the event, make a site visit of the hotel where the Gala will be held, ask locals for business sponsorships, and selling as many tickets as we can.

Lastly, I’m learning about the many aspects of how a non-profit organization runs, and I am also gaining vast cultural knowledge of working with Latin American people and culture. As an Anthropology major

I’m fascinated by these kinds of cultural exchanges, and this Ascend internship will allow me to see first-hand how the two worlds work together.

How am I acclimating to my new “home”? What are some similarities and differences?

Aside from the language barrier, my transition to Ecuador has been quite pleasant. The weather in Riobamba is typical to my Northern California weather back home- sunny during the day, chilly at night. The city is surrounded by beautiful mountains and I have a great view of the famous Mt. Chimborazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador. For me, adjusting to the Ecuadorian cuisine has been the best part; the food here surprisingly resembles the Chinese diet that I grew up with- lots of soup, lots of rice, lots of chicken, and lots and of fruit.

Typical Foods

..and lots and lots of fruits and fruit drinks

What I have been doing so far:

Last week I had the opportunity to join the Ascend staff in a meeting in the city of Puyo to discuss collaboration work with various other organizations for the community of Guamote.

Puyo Meeting

Currently, Anna and I are working on the following:

Preparation of encuestas (surveys) as we prepare to go out to the communities

Preparation for the Annual Gala in March

Preparation of ESL materials for upcoming English classes in the communities

Stay tuned for more!

Alexandra Liu

In-country Ecuador Intern