What's this trip really about?

A challenge for me lately has been explaining to my friends and family what kind of trip this is and why I'm doing it. The obvious reason that comes to most people's minds is simply that I'm doing it because I love to travel. Which is totally true, but this trip is about so much more than traveling. This trip is different than the trips I've done in the past, in so many ways. I'm going to be living in a community where I don't know a single soul, do volunteer work in a place I know very little about and live with a host family I won't have contact with before getting there. It's all about stepping into the unknown, out of my comfortable and predictable little life. Yet, I strongly believe that somehow everything will work out. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this summer isn't going to be all fun and games. I'm expecting to be challenged and pushed to my limits, to grow and learn from the people I meet and the obstacles I will face. It's my way of educating myself, of learning about the world.

So a few days ago I found out that I'll be living near the town of Cayambe, in a small community called Convalecencia which literally translates to "convalescence". My mom jokes about how this place might cure me from the travel bug I have (haha, very funny mom!). I also found out a bit about my host family. I know where my host parents work, that I have two host brothers and that they have two dogs, chicks, guinea pigs and rabbits. That's about all I know. I'm going to be working at a day care which is walking distance from my host family's home. I'm very excited at the prospect of working with little kids. I'm curious to see what kind of activities I'll be expected to do with them. I hope I find something to do during the afternoons since the day care closes at 2 pm.

There are now only 9 days left before I leave for Toronto. I'll be staying the night there and flying to Quito early in the morning. It's pretty surreal still. Leaving my friends and family will be sad but this is something I need to do right now. I need to live simply for a while and put my priorities in the right places. It's so easy in our society to forget what's life all about (in my opinion) like the simple pleasures found in lending a helping hand or opening you heart to a new friend. There are so many distractions that we just forget. Anyways, I won't rattle on about this so I'll finish this post by thanking everyone who supported me because I have now reached my fundraising goal!! What a relief :) Thanks millions for helping me make this experience come to life!