Ascend Ecuador: 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.