Former Student Blogger Now Volunteering in Ecuador



Carolyn Kloecker was one of our student bloggers last semester. She wrote about her experiences working with a Girl Scout troop for Latinas in Champaign. She also mentioned several times how excited she was to study abroad in Ecuador next semester.

Well, Carolina is there now, and she sent me this message:

" I started volunteering in Ecuador today! We organize after-school activities for a group of kids in Lumbisi, an indigenous town near Quito. We also help them with their homework and sometimes with English. It's great! I'll be going twice a week, from 3pm-5pm on mondays and wednesdays. Hasta luego!"

Click here to find out more about the study abroad program that Carolina is on. This program is highly recommended for students who are truly interested in doing service in the community. Another former student blogger, Liz Girten, also studied on this program. (My other recommendation is that you study abroad for a whole academic year; you will thank me for the recommendation when you become fluent!)

Comments

  1. Ms. KloeckerJanuary 20, 2009 at 8:50 PM

    Wow thanks so much! Ecuador really is amazing for volunteering. Here we have our own coordinator hired by U of I (Maria Teresa, an adorable older ecuadorian woman) and she knows sooooo many places where you can volunteer, from ecological parks to working with the elderly to working with kids.

    Also, for the particular thing that I'm doing I have a lot of ideas for games and activities that the kids can do, but we could always use more! If anyone has any ideas on what we could do with them (with minimal materials, for example we played red light green light and simon says the first day) please e-mail me! ckloeck1110@gmail.com

    Muchas gracias!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownFebruary 5, 2009 at 10:56 PM

    Hace un año estudié de intercambio en Ecuador por un semestre. Es bien interesante que hasta hoy cada vez que alguien mencione o Ecuador o Quito o cualquiera cosa relacionada me emociona. Por eso, claro que me capturó el interés ese artículo. Lástima que no pudiera ver el enlace con más detalles sobre el programa, pero me parece que es lo mismo que quería hacer yo. Desafortunadamente, o tal vez mejor para mí, no había espacio en el semestre que fui. Pero después de tanta investigación sentía ligada al Ecuador y todavía quería estudiar ahí.

    Con suerte había otra oportunidad por la Universidad de Minnesota. Se llama MSID (Minnesota Studies in International Development) y tiene mucho que ver con el desarrollo sostenible. Las clases eran semejantes a la nuestra de CBL. O sea que pasamos los primeros meses estudiando la cultura, lengua, historia, y economía del país. Después cada estudiante tuvo la oportunidad de trabajar en la comunidad con una organización encontrada por la universidad con fines de continuar el proceso de aprendizaje en la vida cotidiana. Una diferencia entre ese programa y la clase nuestra es que trabajamos en la comunidad todo el día, cada día durante un mes y medio. Al final del semestre escribimos una monografía sobre las investigaciones y conclusiones hechas en la comunidad.

    Yo trabajé en una escuela primaria donde la mayoría de estudiantes eran indígenas. En esa escuela enseñaron a los niños en tres idiomas: español, inglés, y quechua. Era asistente al profesor de Inglés y le ayudé con todo desde mostrando pronunciación hasta calificando los deberes. Lo que más me gustó a mi fue conversar con los niños. Eran tan curiosos. Con cada pregunta querían saber mas de mí cultura y vida pero ellos no se dieron cuenta (como me la dio) de que yo estaba aprendiendo a la vez. A través de las experiencias con los estudiantes y la familia con que vivía, aprendí mucho más de lo que hubiera podido en tan solo la clase.

    Estoy emocionada para empezar el trabajo con niños aquí en Champaign. Será interesante hacer comparaciones entre aquella experiencia y esta. Voy a poder compartir esto con mi clase y es probable que escriba aquí otra vez para decirles a ustedes también.

    La última que les quiero decir es esto, no más. Si hay alguien que piense estudiar en Ecuador, le sugiero que investigue los dos programas. Uno no está mejor que el otro, solo hay dos oportunidades tremendas y deben buscar la cual funciona mejor para si mismo.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 6, 2009 at 6:12 AM

    Melissa,
    Muchísimas gracias por contarnos tu historia. ¡Qué buena experiencia ese trabajo intensivo que hiciste! Los niños se habrán beneficiado mucho de tu participación en la clase. ¿Y el maestro? ¿Te dijo alguna vez qué significaba para él tenerte en la clase con él? Mucha suerte en la clase de este semestre y con los niños de la escuela de aquí.
    Ann

    ReplyDelete

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