Instead of lots of cats and chickens like there are in Hawai'i, there are lots of dogs, cows, and llamas!
However, moving here did take some getting used to. For example, I really miss the four seasons of Pennsylvania! Also, our town is made up of a lot of dirt roads which can blow up dust, sometimes there isn't any water in our houses, and lately there have been a lot of forest fires due to the dry weather. Here in Ecuador, they face lots of environmental injustices like this, especially because of all the mining companies that want to use Ecuador's rich resources.
While occurrences like this are difficult for the communities here, the way that communities view these challenges is very different than what I have seen in my homestate. Community always comes first here, and there is a lot of joy day-to-day, through things like music, festivals, dancing, and food. Living and learning here has been so much fun. I have a wonderful host family who takes me to lots of fun Ecuadorian festivals and teaches me traditional recipes. My teachers and classmates are great too; some are from the U.S., but most are from Ecuador. Right now, we are helping build a garden full of medicinal plants that the communites can use to make cosmetics and medicines. I look forward to sharing with you all the awesome things I have learned. Always stay curious! You will never run out of things to learn.
Finally, I'll leave you with some fun facts about me:
