Servicio en Shuid

¡Hola!

I'm sending this a little late since we didn't have a WiFi connection for the past few days, but I'm excited to share my adventures with you now. On Monday morning, we set out to complete our service project in a small town called Shuid. Shuid is in the Chimborazo province and needed us to build a community kitchen to supplement their school. An organization called Free The Children set us up to work in the community.


The first part of the morning was a game of soccer with the kiddos of Shuid, which was really fun! I didn't realize how good these kids were until they started actually playing (they let us score two goals before they turned into really good players). We interacted with the community members and eventually began our service project. For one group, it was digging a trench, but I was in the group that made concrete. We had a lot of fun and really became a family through all of the hard work we put into the community. We created part of the floor for the kitchen, and finishing the part was incredibly rewarding.


We had about an hour of free time before dinner. After that, we enjoyed a hard-earned dinner and covered our highlights (a nightly ritual on Mac trips) over a campfire. Our chaperones brought marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers, so we had s'mores in the highlands of Ecuador!

The view from our room as soon as I woke up.


This is Cristina, one of the kids I met in Shuid. She is 8 years old and was very shy, a result of the Hacienda system (put in place by the Spaniards, but still has a legacy today).


Where we played soccer- it was totally full of kiddos when we were playing.


The completed cemented area! We did the part that is still dark brown in this picture.


One of the many beautiful flowers we've seen in Ecuador


The view at nighttime. Normally this is all fogged up, so we can't see the city at night.


Gathering 'round the campfire and enjoying the night


Something I learned today: Take away the complexity of things and just enjoy simplicity. There's no need to get caught up in 

Amy