The following post features student writing.

Hi! It’s David and Dylan. We chose the Ecuador and Galápagos community service trip because it was the perfect opportunity to immerse ourselves in an indigenous culture as well as give back to a community much less fortunate than our own. Staying in such a small village allows us to form connections with the kids and families and learn about Ecuador’s rich culture. Our favorite part of the trip has been getting to form friendships and inside jokes with people in the community, including two kids who live next door to where we are staying, Justin and Tupac.

Recently, we have begun working on our community service projects in our village, Chilcapamba. Our main service project is building a water tank in order to help the individuals in our village and the surrounding village who do not have access to water, gain access. These past two days we have worked arduously to dig a nine-foot deep hole. Each day we wake up at 7:30 to take full advantage of the sunlight and work most hours of the day. After finishing work we have a competition to get back to our house. Blake and Jaimie, our leaders, will drive down the long hill and pick up the first people they see, motivating us to walk quickly.

One major aspect of our trip is developing and completing an independent project. We will be working on projects such as learning to cook traditional meals and teaching kids English. These projects will allow us to explore more cultural aspects of our village and we will be starting up in the next couple of days.

Tomorrow morning we are going to a parade to celebrate the founding of Cotacachi, the closest town to our village. It is a major celebration to recognize the independence of Cotacachi, just as we celebrate the fourth of July. We are excited for the completion of our first projects and for the many adventures to come!

– David & Dylan