Gracefully Clumsy

Happy Halfway! Wednesday the 25th marked the halfway point for the Thinking Beyond Borders Latin America Fall Gap Semester 2017 group. We didn't have a celebration since we were in the middle of the Salkantay Trek (check out my latest vlog on it here) but we did end up in Machu Piccu. I've also been thinking a lot recently. This marks our 6 week together as a group and 6 weeks, for me at least, marks the longest period of time I've ever been away from home by myself. Sleep away camps in middle school only ever lasted a week, summer programs in high school expanded to 3 or 5 weeks, but 6 weeks is a different entity altogether. I've had the opportunity to Facetime family and friends and yes, I miss them. But I'm having a great time and loving every minute. So... I'll see you in 6 weeks. Hey, it's only halfway :)

Hi, my name is Grace. I want to go vegetarian. I wrote that opening as a joke placeholder a week ago, but it´s not a bad attention grabber, is it? On to the story. Here in Minas we live on a farm. We work on the farm too. A couple weeks ago I woke up and after talking to Paula at breakfast she told me that one of the pigs they keep gave birth to four piglets. That night as we were feeding the pigs I saw the piglets. They were cold and huddled together in a corner of the concrete cage they live in and will probably live in until the day they die. They will never know the feeling of dirt or grass. I went to summer camp on Sprout Creek Farm for three years and I know that the kind way they treat animals is rare for America and that even if I thought a little farm in Ecuador was bad it was definetly worse back home. It started with my roommate Madison. She and her entire family at home are vegan. It´s for ethical reasons (like stated above), but also for ecological and human health

Today is our last full day in San Jose de Minas so I´d like to use this blog post to reflect on my few weeks here. Uncle Greg, this is for you. We begin every day by waking up around 6. Then I turn the alarm off and sleep in for 10 more minutes (can you blame me?) Madison and I live at the top of the hill in a green two-story house with orange lining (I would include pictures, but am writing this in an internet cafe). Our room is on the bottom floor. It opens up into a kitchen but it´s not the main kitchen we use. We head upstairs for breakfast. The whole family is there. Paula and Luz Clarita are scrambling to get ready for school and eat breakfast not to mention take care of the baby. Zoila prepares something similar for us every day. We begin with tea, then eat either eggs, bread, or eggs and bread, and we finish it off with a fruit juice. Next, we´re off to school. As explained in my other blogpost it´s about a 20 minute walk from our house on the hill to school. Also you

Today is October 11th. It officially marks the start of our journey as a whole group. Since I´ve been with these people for a whole month now and have gotten to know them really well, I figured it was about time you did too. The Program Leaders (PLs): Isaac - A Bostonian schoolteacher with a passion for ultimate frisbee and changing the world. Kelly - A patient, yet energetic teacher with a deep love for culture, travel, and thrift shopping. The Students: Chris - A fellow film kid who just wants to reach the people. Eddie - Just a tough kid from Chicago. Jack - The oldest of our group, he´s already done a year at Georgetown, and like all of us is here to learn about and maybe change the world. Sam - A guitar-wielding, acapella-singing, wave-riding, slope-hitting Massachutsian ready to take on the world. Nathan - A Wisconsonian kid who likes to cook, play poker, and swim. Madison - My vegan roomate with spunk and a passion for righting the world´s wrongs. Erika - A

Confession time: I have not yet read "Conversations With Great Teachers" by Bill Smoot. However, because of the time I have spent in Ecuador studying the flaws in education and various pedagogy I know that it will be one of the first things I do upon returning to the States. I also know that I still have two more months before I can discuss the Ecuadorian education system with Mr. Smoot and Artemis, or any of my Castilleja teachers as a matter of fact, so here is some of what I'v e found to be so different between Castilleja and Colegio Municipal: In Thinking Beyond Borders Seminars we' ve been reading and discussing "Pedagogy of The Oppressed" by Paulo Freire and "Whatever It Takes" by Paul Tough. So far we' ve talked about what an opressive education looks like, how education shapes us, and the role of teachers in the classroom. We' ve talked about teaching and being student-centered vs. teacher-centered and the differences between

It was Wednesday, October 4th. While in Ecuador our focus is on Education so to better understand varying pedagogy and the flaws in the education system all 17 of us have been separated into the various primary and secondary schools in San Jose de Minas to help teach English. I am working in El Colegio Municipal. It´s grades 8, 9, 10 (which more closely correlates to an American system middle school grades 6, 7, and 8) and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Year of Bachillerato (kinda like Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior year of American high school). There are 6 of us working there: Madison, Avery, Gabi, Chris, Kamea, and I. This post is not about our experience in the school, however. Although, it´s coming soon. Madison was helping to teach a different subject and Gabi, Chris, and Kamea had all taken the morning shift. So that left Me... and Avery? It took a while for Avery to show up and once she did, explained that she had experienced a sever allergic reaction the night before and had gon