Culture Week in Ecuador

Please enjoy this beautifully written piece by Paula Polglase that perfectly describes the AWB experience I had in Guayaquil, Ecuador earlier this month with an amazing group of JMU students!
http://www.jmu.edu/news/2014/01/27-alternative-winter-break.shtml

2014 Alternative Winter Break in Guayaquil ~ Ecuador

A lagoon in Cajas National Park

Escuela Semillita is a K-12 school located near the Pacific coast of Ecuador in a suburban community of Guayaquil, the country’s largest and most populous city.  I recently returned from an Alternative Winter Break trip to serve the community of Escuela Semillita with a team of JMU students (Alyssa, Cassandra, Dana, Jake, Kelly, Laura, Lauren, Megan, and Shelby with student co-leaders Paige Ganger and Jackie Sams) in a wonderful cultural exchange and community service adventure.  We witnessed and experienced a community that was genuinely happy and full of life.  From their oldest to their youngest, they did all they could to make our stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.

We began our journey to Semillita in the morning with a car ride to the Dulles airport and with two connecting flights to Ecuador, arriving after midnight - it was a long day of traveling.  After being introduced to our tour guide, Don Jorge, we drove to Escuela Semillita, the place that would be our home base for the week, for a few hours of sleep.  Later that day we took a tour of the school and then of the city.  The people of Guayaquil refer to the city as the Pearl of the Pacific.  The beauty and warmth of its people and landscapes have been inspirational to many who have captured its essence in different artistic expressions.

Our days at Escuela Semillita were a combination of cultural immersion, service work, and touring.  On the first morning of school, we were introduced to the entire school in an assembly.  It was then that we presented the funds to inaugurate a scholarship in memory of one of the school's founders who passed away a couple of years ago.  The donated $600 is enough to fund one financially stressed and academically deserving student for a year of study.  We worked at the school, practiced Spanish, answered a lot of curious questions, and saw various cultural and historical sights in the city and surrounding area.  We even wore some participants out with walking.

The team helped to serve the people of Semillita by sweeping and scrubbing the classrooms. We also took supplies to the children, helped them with their art projects, played tag and other games, and prepared for "Jornadas Culturales", an event put on by the school where students were tasked with creating visual aids and giving presentations on specific topics to people who come around to their "stand."  We also enjoyed group presentations such as plays and dances.  On Friday our group contributed by chanting the JMU fight song for the entire school!  We also joined the teachers' dance, folkloric style complete with period dress.  It was such a fun event and we were overjoyed to have participated.

Although the majority of our time was spent in service with the children, we also enjoyed many of the cultural and environmental wonders of Ecuador.  We spent the first day sightseeing in Guayaquil, we ended our week visiting the beautiful beaches of the Pacific Ocean, and on Tuesday we drove into the spectacularly scenic Ecuadorian Andes mountains to Cuenca where we got to experience "La Sierra," Ecuador's mountainous region.  On Thursday afternoon, after school, we did some sight-seeing in the city and went shopping in Guayaquil as well.

The student leaders were responsible for the trip logistics, team development, communicating with the partner service agency "Semillita," and facilitating group reflection sessions.  I accompanied as the Learning Partner, to lend support to the trip as a "mature influence" to encourage students to make wise decisions and in this case as one who can communicate easily with the native population.  I participated in all team activities and took lots of photos each day of our eventful adventures to help in documenting our service in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

It's not every day we go into a poverty-ridden nation and experience a community like Semillita.  It reminds us to appreciate our abundances.  The people there were surprisingly happy despite their relative poverty, and were exceedingly grateful for the little help we provided.  The students all agreed this was a life-changing experience that taught them more than they would ever learn in a college classroom.  I always love hearing the students come to that conclusion unanimously.  To the students, these trips are once in a lifetime.  To me, I find each year and each trip I am able to be a part of more rewarding than the last.  I'm so thankful that we had such a great trip.  The good people of Escuela Semillita were very welcoming and warm and we easily became friends with the community that surrounded us.  While it was hard to say goodbye to our new friends, it was good to come back home to our family and friends.

With thankfulness and appreciation for this opportunity to witness the love of God and His mercy through His people, I am,

~Rosie McArthur, AWB Learning Partner

Photos:
Day One:  We traveled to Guayaquil in Ecuador
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510287488639.1073741838.7824851&type=3

Day Two:
In the morning, we visited the Iguana Park for a real unique South American experience.  Also Malecón 2000, and Las Peñas & Cerro Santa Ana.  In the afternoon, we visited Malecón del Estero Salado.
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510315567369.1073741839.7824851&type=3

Day Three:  
In the morning we worked with the children in the school of Semillita, and in the afternoon we visited Hormiga farm the land of plentiful fruits.
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510387872469.1073741840.7824851&type=3

Day Four:
We went to The sierra.  Cuenca, Ecuador’s third-largest city and the economic center of the southern sierra, has long been known for a rich intellectual, artistic, and philosophical tradition that matches its colonial architecture.
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510479588669.1073741841.7824851&type=3

Day Five:
Cultural week at Escuela Semillita!  In the morning we worked with the children
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510515032639.1073741842.7824851&type=3

Video:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10101523663762479&set=vb.7824851&type=2&theater

Day Six:
Cultural week at Escuela Semillita!  In the morning we worked with the children
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510533031569.1073741843.7824851&type=3

Day Seven:
Cultural week at Escuela Semillita!  In the morning we worked with the children
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510570830819.1073741844.7824851&type=3

Videos:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10101509415790529&set=vb.7824851&type=2&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=496170403820801&set=vb.100002835385003&type=2&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=695208753853219&set=p.695208753853219&type=2&theater

Last Day:
Going home!
https://www.facebook.com/mcarthrc/media_set?set=a.10101510595072239.1073741845.7824851&type=3

2013 Alternative Spring Break in Parismina, Costa Rica

Costa Rica Group Shot taken at Parismina (left to right back): Cory Dorazio, & Petey Parker
(left to right front): Rosie McArthur, Jamie Kamiya, Savannah Fersner, Katie O'Donnell, Julia Uglietta, Annie DeRosa, LeAnna Hines, Chelsea Coffman, and Dana Grierson.
In the very front is the Director and Investigator at the ASTOP, Mr. Jerry Cruz

We had a fantastic ASB week in Parismina, Costa Rica, working as volunteers for ASTOP (Asociacion Salvemos las Tortugas de Parismina, or Save the Turtles of Parismina), a group striving to help save endangered sea turtles in the nature reserve.

On Saturday, March 2nd, we arrived in San Jose and stayed at a hostel called Trotamundos. The next morning we traveled to Parismina, first by bus, then by boat.

We picked up trash and debris from the beach, made nests, set up nets to keep pests (crabs, dogs) out of the hatchery, including cutting bamboo for it. At night, we patrolled the beach watching for turtles and predators, but didn't come across either. Other activities included playing soccer and volleyball with the village children. They provided great food and comfortable accommodations.

(ASTOP office)

Coordinator Jerry McKinley Cruz told us that there are seven species of sea turtles in the world and all of them are considered threatened or endangered due to poaching, predation, habitat disturbance and degradation, and in-water threats. He emphasized the world’s sea turtles are highly susceptible to human and environmental threats and are in urgent need of global protection. As volunteers, we can help protect these endangered species.

According to ASTOP, in 2001, a group of local teenagers who could not bear the fact that sea turtles and their eggs were caught and collected illegally by poachers, took action. These youngsters started to patrol at night as the Leatherback, Green and Hawksbill turtles came to lay eggs on the Parismina beach in the hatching season. They started the Association and developed a volunteer plus homestay program and also arranged an educational visit program, in order to attract volunteers from around the world. The volunteers also help boost the local economy.

(The night guard reporting cabin)

It was great to be at the warm beach at the beginning of March while contributing to a worthy cause. One guy in our group hopped in the sea as soon as he saw it. We got to work in a beautiful tropical setting. Down time were very relaxing and the hammocks felt great. The local people were very warm and welcoming. The food was delicious and healthy with an abundance of fruits. Everyone was in good spirits throughout our stay and made new friends. It was a great trip.

ASB 2013 ~ASTOP in Parismina, Costa Rica

Costa Rica ASB 2013

The week that will lasts a lifetime... ♥

The dollar is worth 500 colones, you just have to double the number on the bill to come up with how many dollars it's worth.  Easy.

The 5 is worth a penny, 25 is a nickle, 50 is worth a dime, 100 is 20¢ and the 500 is a dollar.

ASTOP meeting at TDU. Lots of such and such ; )

ASB 2012

Casa Familiar - San Ysidro, San Diego, CA

Focus on Immigration Resettlement

A week provided community service and a learning experience for all the participants. We focused our attention in working alongside the agency of Casa Familiar and provided assistance to the residents of the community of San Ysidro. The experience also included interactions with the residents of San Ysidro, through the different centers that Casa Familiar oversees. We also got a short tour of the border with Mexico that is between San Ysidro, CA and Tijuana, Mexico (stayed in the U.S. side of the border).

Alternative Spring Break Service in Macas, Ecuador at the Fundecoipa Foundation ~ Shuar Station MUSAP

Ecuador Group Shot taken at The Shuar Jungle
(left to right back): Jason Beckendorf, Geoff Miles, Mike Ariale, Jill Coffey, Dawn Savage, Julia Childers, Forrest Graham, Evan McGrew, Rosie McArthur
(left to right front): Shuar coordinator German Vargas, Erica Calys, Stephanie LeBlanc, and Amy Betcher

JMU students Amy Betcher, Erica Calys, Jill Coffey, Forrest Graham, Stephanie LeBlanc, Dawn Savage, Mike Ariale, Jason Beckendorf, and Evan McGrew joined Geoff Miles and Julia Childers, the student co-leaders who put this service adventure together. I was fortunate to be along as the Learning Partner, facilitating communications, playing mom, and taking lots of pictures. Our mission was to serve the people of the indigenous MUSAP community during spring break.

We arrived to, and spent the first night in, Quito. I have a niece living there who put us up, thus avoiding hotel costs. In the morning she accompanied all of us to the terminal to get the bus to get to Puyo. It was “Carnaval” time (corresponds to Mardi Gras) the weekend of our arrival, so we had to be cautious of water balloons being tossed. We took a six hour bus trip to Puyo, where people from the foundation were waiting to guide us to the Shuar Station MUSAP. That night we stayed in their big lodge along the main road Via Puyo Macas.

The next morning, we took a strenuous hike some three miles into the rainforest along a narrow challenging trail to the area where we spent the rest our time working in the jungle. Our home was a small Shuar house which is built with materials from the jungle. Throughout the week, our students woke up early every morning to work. We helped clear some jungle floor for a recreational field, and another nearby space for a garden, in which we planted crops, mostly yuccas, potatoes, and plantains. We brought supplies to the community, which we distributed: clothing, school supplies, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and medical supplies.

The people of the Shuar Station Musap were very welcoming, warm, helpful, appreciative, and easy to talk to. While not laboring, we enjoyed playing soccer and playing with the children. The students got some Spanish and Shuar lessons, (The indigenous people speak their own dialect, as well as Spanish). We were given lessons in Shuar dancing and some food preparation. We had many breathtaking views while exploring the forest, and we were taken on a raft ride across the Pastaza River to a waterfall. We learned about many dangerous insects, and larvae that we saw them eating alive! We ate mostly typical foods such as palm hearts, plantains, yucca, potatoes, tuna, eggs, sweet herb tea, and fruits from the jungle (like guava). We all learned a lot while in the jungle of Ecuador!

At the end of the week, we hiked back out to the lodge near the road for our final night with the Shuar. Friday, we returned to Quito via bus, hooked up with my niece, and took a brief jaunt in the city. We visited the Artisan Market and had a meal in a nearby restaurant. There's more to Ecuador than the jungle! After carpeting my niece’s floor with our bags and bodies on our final night in Ecuador, we were up bright and early and off to the airport for our bittersweet departure.

I have been astounded by the energy, commitment, enthusiasm, motivation, and bonding that has taken place over the week. This trip was an once-in-a-lifetime experience that was shared with some of the best and brightest students at James Madison University. Reflecting at the end of our trip, the incredibly eye opening experience helped to put our lives in perspective. We realized firsthand that our way of life is not ubiquitous throughout the globe, and that no matter how you may describe others' circumstances, we all find comfort and happiness in the way of life we were raised to know. We were quick to recognize that it is much more profound learning firsthand than hearing about it and only imagining.

The trip was really incredible!

~Rosie McArthur, ASB Learning Partner

Here we come Ecuador!

This year spring break is in the east of Ecuador the rainforest jungle known as El Oriente. http://www.fundecoipa.com/ with the Shuar Station "MUSAP"

Musap, in the Shuar language means (magical plant that brings your love) continue the change to defend mother nature.

In 1996 the leader, Ernesto Vargas, his wife Marcia Tanchimia and their 12 children decided to transform the land of 275 hectors into a Station in order to be dedicated to the conservation and protect the rich history of their ancestors and to offer their children a healthy environment, enjoy what nature has given them as their shuar customs and live in harmony with the jungle.

We will be working in the jungle and we will sleep in a small Shuar house (Ayamtae) which is built with materials from the jungle, it is next to the Pastaza River.