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!

Third Seminar

I had my third and last seminar last Saturday (I missed the second one). It was mostly for practical information such as how to stay safe and healthy. These seminars really makes it more real for me, I am slowly starting to realize that I'm actually leaving. The countdown is 31 days as of today before I leave. That's INSANE. I'll be done my first year of university in about 2 weeks. Then I have around 2 weeks at home to prepare to leave. Yesterday, I got an email from Fundacion Reto Internacional, which is the program Intercordia is partnered with in Ecuador. I filled two form, one for my host family and one for my work placement. I can't wait to find out where I'll be living, who will be my host family and what will be my work placement! In all, we are 12 Intercordians going to Ecuador. I hope the whole group gets along, I'm sure they're all very interesting people. Oh, I also got my plane ticket! I'm leaving on May 3rd and getting to Ecuador on the 4th. When I get there we'll have a seminar for 3 days and then we're brought to our host families. :):):) I really can't wait!! I've also decided to stay an extra 2 weeks after the program is finished to travel around Ecuador which I'm also really looking forward to. I'll be traveling with a friend from STU who's also participating in Intercordia. It should be quite the adventure to backpack around the country for 2 weeks! I'm pretty close to my fundraising goal too, which is really great. Only 500ish more to go. Well, that's all for now. Ciao :)

My Country Placement

It's official, I will be spending next summer in ECUADOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you tell I'm excited?? :)))) It was my first choice so I couldn't be happier! A big reason why I wanted to go there is because I will have a great opportunity to learn more spanish. But there's also the fact that I like the organization that Intercordia is partnered with there. I can't imagine going somewhere else right now. When I was in Belgium on exchange, I fell in love with the other exchange students from Latin America. They're just so warm, friendly and joyful. They're culture is so rich and welcoming. I fell in love again with Latin America last summer when I went to Brazil. There's just something about those people that make me feel at home somehow. Anyways, I'm relieved now that I know where I'm going. I think we're 11 from Canada going to Ecuador with Intercordia and 2 of us are from STU. It should be quite the experience. I still don't know where exactly I'll be living or where I'll be going. That info should come in the next few months. Well, for now I'll just try to learn as much as I can about Ecuador and hope that I will fall in love with that country as much as I fell in love with Brazil!

Besos,

Ciao!

First Seminar

Yesterday I went to the first Intercordia seminar. It was quite the experience. The whole group felt a mixture of being overwhelmed and excited. We did all sorts of activities to get to know each other. I think we're a great group. We had a presentation on the diiferent country placements. It's a difficult decision but at the same time we know that wherever we'll end up being will be a great adventure. I'm pretty set on Latin America. Not just because it's a great opportunity to work on my spanish but also because I am inexplainably attracted to that part of the world. I would also really like to go to Africa, and I know I will one day, but now is not the time yet. Anyways, we should know our placement in a couple of days which I'm extremely excited about! It will make everything so much more real. Another thing we learned at the seminar is to live each day in the present. Which is hard because I can't wait for it to be May to start this experience. So I'll have to make an effort to just enjoy and concentrate on today. Some of last year's Intercordians were at the seminar to talk about their experience and it was really inspiring. They all lived completely different lives but at the same time they were all deeply affected by their time abroad. I am so grateful to be living this experience, it will certainly be life changing!

About Intercordia Canada

I thought it would be important to explain the Intercordia Program. I really like the values of this program and they are a big part of the reason why I am participating in Intercordia. I have taken the following information off its website.

Intercordia Canada is a non-profit organization that partners with Canadian universities in order to offer students a unique, university accredited, engaged-learning experience. The goal of this innovative learning program is to encourage moral responsiveness, develop respect for diversity and a valuing of other cultures, religions and socio-economic backgrounds that will enable Canadian students to attain a well-educated solidarity with others who are different.

The program partners with my university (St Thomas University in Fredericton) which means I will be taking courses and getting credits for this experience. I am taking one course this semester that will prepare me for my experience abroad and I will be taking another course next semester after having returned to Canada. In total, I will be getting 9 credits that will go towards my Bachelor of Arts Degree. In my opinion, there is no better way to learn than hands on experience like this one.

Here I Go Again.

Dear everyone,

I am once again leaving this summer to another country. This time though, it will be different. I have been accepted in the Intercordia Canada Program. If you are interested about learning more about the program, I have posted a link to its website on this blog. Through this program, I will be spending 3 months next summer in a developping country. I will only know my host country in February, but my first choice would be Ecuador. As for my work placement, I would love to work in an elementary school.

I love to travel and I have been to quite a few countries for an 18 year old. But now I feel like I need to see a completely different kind of place. This time around, I won't be staying in a nice hotel, I won't be doing sightseeing most of the time, I won't be eating at restaurants and I won't be on vacation. This time I'll be living with a host family, maybe sharing a bedroom with a sibling, eating and preparing meals with them, working at a volunteer placement and completely immersing myself in another culture, language and perharps religion. To me, there is nothing more exciting than that. I know there will be very tough times. I'll be away from my friends and family for 3 months, there will be language barriers, culture misunderstandings and much more. I am ready for it though, I am ready to put myself out there and I am confident that I will gain sooo much more than I will loose.

Ok well, that's it for now. I really hope whoever reads this blog enjoys it. Please don't hesitate to write comments or questions.

Thank you to everyone supporting me,

Marissa <3