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Annabel Large: Student Report from 2015 Alternative Fall Break in Ecuador

Group picture at Day Care Center in Ecuador
The group takes a picture at Semillas Esperanza. Back row from left: Heath Skelton and Erica Youngquist; front row from left: Taylor Weiskittel and Annabel Large

Annabel Large at Cruz Loma Mountain
Annabel Large at Cruz Loma Mountain with an elevation of 13,200 feet.

I’ve stayed in the east Tennessee and west Virginia area all my life and have never done much traveling. When I expressed interest in flying 2,500 miles away and staying with a group of complete strangers in a foreign country, my parents thought I had gone nuts. However, when I saw the flyer for the Global Initiatives service trip to Quito, Ecuador, I didn’t have any worries; I just knew that I had to have this experience. And what an experience I had!

Ecuador itself is a vastly different country than the United States. The people use US currency, but instead of US presidents, the coins have distinguished Ecuadorians on the back! The quality of restaurant food was far superior to anything I had ever eaten back in the states and it was surprisingly easy for me to find vegetarian cuisine. To this day, I still dream about curried mushrooms with yogurt sauce! Taxes and tip were already included in the restaurants’ menu prices, which made eating out that much easier. If only the United States could incorporate that into their eateries!

The trip was centered around helping out a government–run day care center. We did everything from erecting fences and safety netting to painting rooms and, of course, playing with the children. It was incredible to see how kids with so little could have such vibrancy and joy for life. They were like little, Spanish–speaking firecrackers!

Safety Netting on Day Care
The group installed safety netting along the stairs of the day care center.

Of course, we did much more than work. Some highlights include walking along the Equator, visiting an indigenous market and bartering with the local merchants, visiting the museum and house of a local artist/activist, and doing a tour of the architecture found in the old part of the city. To wrap up our week, we took a teleférico (or cable car) to the top of a mountain. From there, we could see the entirety of Quito spread out before us like a little Lego town.

That one week in Ecuador was the pinnacle of my summer and an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. I have officially been bitten by the travel bug and am now patiently waiting for my next adventure. To any person who has trepidations about international travel, I encourage you to push aside your worries and dive right on in!

Sculpture at the Fundacion Guayasamin Museum
Sculpture at the Fundacion Guayasamin Museum in Equito, Ecuador.