Most of SST is not glamorous. There are times of incredible joy and sadness, comedic moments, and discomfort certainly, but the majority of the time is very normal. For example: doing laundry. My host family doesn’t have a washing machine, so we have to do our laundry by hand.
Hello again Summer 2023 Ecuador SST blog readers. It’s been a couple of weeks since we checked in with you and my has it been busy. There is a myth that circulates about SST leadership regarding a time of relaxation leaders enjoy while students are on service. Contrary to that…
As you may have noticed if you have been following along with this blog or if you have had the opportunity to experience SST firsthand yourself, you know that it is simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting, fulfilling and draining, beautiful and challenging, daily sunrise and sunset on a rollercoaster of emotion. …
In the first of two multi-region treks, this week we headed up through a freezing cold mountain pass at nearly 14,000 feet east of Quito and descended quickly down the eastern flank of the Andes mountains into the beginning of the Amazon rainforest. As we descended out of the mountains…
Whew…….what a week in Ecuador. Typically, our more eventful moments together are interspersed with travel around the country during the study portion of SST. However, this week, although our activities were mostly in and around Quito, it was a time of wildly diverse experiences that brought us close to both…
One of the many unique elements of Ecuador is the unusually diverse and high proportion of the population that is fully indigenous to this region. With as many as 16 distinct people groups and another 18 subsets of those groups, the Ecuadorian indigenous population plays a significant role in the…
We ended the second full week of SST on an eventful note, spending a few days in the beautiful Ecuadorian cloud forest. The transition from the high-altitude valley in Quito, through a short stretch of dry dusty mountainsides, followed by a downward descent into the lush cloud forest is a…
As the first full week of classes wrapped up this past Friday, students headed home to spend the weekend with their families. They had the unique opportunity to celebrate Mother’s Day with their new host mothers, and the chance to celebrate the scope of motherhood around the globe. The first…
A new group of students has landed in Ecuador, just south of the Equator. Students often debate amongst themselves just what it means to “go on SST”. In the lore of SST, there are stories of physical hardship, living far from anything familiar. Those stories include showering with a bucket,…
One of the sacred elements of the SST structure is the final retreat in which students regather from their service locations for a final time together of rest and reflection before returning home. In Ecuador, our retreat location has been housed at El Refugio “The Refuge”, a retreat center just…
