Ecuador Now!
Good Friday and Good Fanesca!
by Megan B., 2011 Volunteer
Megan shares her observations of a Good Friday in Quito! 
"It was just as cool as everyone said it would be! There are cucuruchos – the men dressed in purple robes. There are men that carry a huge cross made from two trees. They would shake under the weight of it and they had to carry them more than a couple of miles! There were men walking bare chested self flagellating! Women are not allowed to wear the cucurucho hats, they wear lacey veils as they walk. And when Mary showed up, there are police men surrounding her to keep people from trying to touch the statue and the robes on the statue. She is really popular! After watching the procession that lasted for hours, we came home to Marcia’s fanesca. For days I had seen beans soaking around the house and seen strange grains in the cabinets. She worked really hard on it and invited lots of people over so they could experience the fun! It was a really nice afternoon and the soup was DELICIOUS!"
Ecuador Surprises Me
Volunteer Tony Arguello reflects on the hardships and beauty he has encounted in Ecuador: "Living in Ecuador for seven months has broadened my horizons. It has pulverized me, hardened me, and allowed me to soften up again. I have felt like the proverbial butterfly over these last seven months. My previous conceptions about life and living have been bent, broken, and mended back together. I am not the same person who stepped onto the plane in Miami last August. I am a more complex mixture of experience, emotion and understanding than I could have ever dreamed possible." Read more here!
Winemaker turned WorldTeach Volunteer!
2011 volunteer Anthony Arguello is featured in a Colorado newspaper, the Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel. Read about his motivation for joining WorldTeach, his innovative fundraising ideas, and the personal goals he set before embarking on his service here!
WorldTeach Volunteer makes Headlines!
Allison Hoefener's piece on her Ecua-experience thus far was featured in her hometown newspaper, The Times Village Herald. Read the full article here!
Puertoviejo 5k
by Ethan Bernstein, Yearlong Volunteer 2011
I have always been a superstitious person. Although it is impossible to justify, I am convinced that wearing an official race day T-shirt for the race itself invites bad luck. Ecuadorians, who will tell you that their grandmother died because a moth entered their home, do not believe in cross-country superstition. I discovered this while running in Portoviejo’s first ever 5k. In the field of 250 people, I was the only person not wearing the official T-shirt, hat, and bracelets. “Yes, hello there,” I thought as everyone contemplated my ‘I heart Montañita’ tank-top, “I’m the confused gringo that didn’t get the memo about race day apparel.” One of my favorite things about Portoviejo is that there are no tourists. Other Ecuadorian cities are inundated with foreign backpackers and surfers, so the locals take little interest in them. In la ciudad de los reales tamarindos, people love conversation and stop me on the street to ask what brings me to their hometown. It is a wonderful way to practice Spanish and interact with the locals. Continue Reading Here...
Ecuador in the News
Ecuador has been making a splash in the news lately with their proposal to "save the lungs of the world," Yasuni National Park, from oil drilling through fundraising.
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BBC reports: "The Yasuni National Park, known as "the lungs of the world" and one of the most bio-diverse places on earth, is under threat from oil drilling. The race is on to find the funds required to develop new sustainable energy programmes that would leave the oil-and the forest - untouched." Read the full article here!
First Impressions of Cuenca
Overwhelming and exciting at the same time, nothing compares to the first moments a volunteer steps off the plane and begins his or her year abroad. Year Long Volunteer, Eric Haase, describes how he is settling into his placement in Cuenca. Highlights of his first few days include getting to know his new students and assessing their speaking and writing abilities, exploring the amazing sights and sounds at the markets downtown, as well as sharing meals and falling into life with his host family. To follow Eric's adventures in Ecuador throughout this year read his personal blog Eric Goes to Ecuador.
Read archived posts of Ecuador NOW!