CARE-Vilcabamba-Peru

This blog will have to be written in sections due to the fact that I haven’t posted in about a million years. That being said...

CARE: 

Yesterday was my last day of work at CARE International in Ecuador and after spending practically every day there for the past four months, I’m surprised to say that I haven’t written about my NGO experience hardly at all. Most of my time at CARE was spent in their Quito office, but I also had the opportunity to visit some projects in the field. Because there weren’t any current activities in the area of democracy and governance (my department at CARE), I ended up going to a province in Ecuador called Cayambe to observe CARE’s work within the theme of Education. 

The first projects I visited were aimed at developing better teaching methods in the subject areas of math and composition. The teachers all seemed to be really open to the work that CARE was doing and enthusiastic to learn and improve their schools. It was also fun to see all of the kids and to realize how happy they were to be learning and to be with their friends. 

CARE is also doing a lot of work with sexual education, so the second time I went to Cayambe was to observe a workshop for teachers on sexuality and sexual health. This one was great to participate in because there was a lot of emphasis on movement and self-awareness. The instructor did a wonderful job of making people laugh and at removing any awkwardness or preconceived beliefs that might have been present before the session began. 

As mentioned above, however, most of my time at CARE was spent in the office. Although our space for democracy was on the top floor with low ceilings and was insanely claustrophobic, I loved the people I worked with and usually looked forward to coming in every day. My best friend there, Marion (another intern) and I would always go to lunch at a delicious little place called Mr. Bagel. My Spanish improved a ton through our daily outings because Marion is French and her Spanish is better than her English. It’s hard to sum up my time at CARE because I learned so much and did so many things. I think that more than anything I’m going to miss the warm atmosphere and just chatting with people in the lunchroom about whatever. I’m also going to miss my boss, Belén, who taught me so much about CARE and NGOs in general. I’ll be back there for a day on the 28th, so I’ll have the opportunity to take some pictures of the office and of all of my colleagues to post.

Vilcabamba/Peru

My dream came true! Finally, after eight long months of waiting, I got the opportunity to travel to the famed valley of longevity. There were eight of us altogether and we basically just spent three days relaxing in our hotel, getting massages and enjoying the fantastic scenery. 

On our second day there, we did the most incredible hike I’ve ever done in my life. We started low in the mountains with wildflowers and butterflies completely surrounding us, and then the trail sharply ascended to a ridgeline for the next two hours. This part of the hike was a little scary at times because there were huge drop-offs on either side of us with a trail that was as narrow as two feet in width at times. The last part of the hike descended into the forest again and followed a river all the way back to the main road. 

Because the bus-ride from Vilcabamba to Quito is roughly 20 hours, we decided to break it up by stopping for a night in Cuenca (the city where I spent Christmas with my family). We strolled around the beautiful churches, got a bite to eat and tried to take it easy before making the second part of our long haul home the next day.

That trip was a couple weeks ago now but it feels like much longer. Right now I’m in the process of packing up all of my things so I can take off for Peru this evening. I have to move everything I have to the house of a friend because the contract for my apartment runs out on the 16th of May and I don’t get back until the 27th. After that, I have about three days in Quito before going back to Eugene. It’s insane how fast it all went, and I’m not sure if I’m ready to come home, but I also miss my family and friends and am actually a little excited to start back up with school at the UO. 

Right now I’m trying to focus on the next few weeks that I’ll have in Peru - Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines. With so many adventures coming up in the near future, it’s hard to think about Oregon. Many apologies that this blog wasn’t more developed and was a little sporadic, but I think it reflects my current state of mind: unfocused and confused. Hasta pronto friends.