4months in 4months out

Hello my fellow reader, I am excited to share with all of you that I have got through my first semester here in Ecuador. I do however, have 4 more months to go. Since my four months here I have talked about culture shock, racism, the September 30 event when the President cause more than a little uproar, how to budget, etc. but what I have not really got into is the affect Ecuador has had on me. When I first got here I must admit that I wanted so bad to go home. I felt like this was not for me and that this experience was going to hurt me. Some say it was culture shock, and part of me believes that. Here I am in a foreign country with no kind of training on the language to get around. It was so hard trying to deal with that. Sometimes I wanted to stay in bed and just wait for night fall. I, however, found ambition to get up every day and work at not only the language but getting to know people and this culture which was my goal also. Now I am at a level in Spanish where I can hold a conversation, and with four more months to go I hope to be fluent. One thing that I will take back to the States with me is the knowledge of what another country tries so hard to get that in the United States is so much easier to get; jobs, homes, cars, welfare, government help, rights, acknowledgement. All these things I took for granted are now different to me. I know that the United States is suffering, I am not saying we are all mighty and powerful, but what I am saying is compared to Ecuador we are very rich in everything. We have more opportunities than we allow ourselves to believe. I want to be that person that understand the wealth we have and to really grasp the opportunity we have in the States because, if we do not then someone else will, then we notice what we had but only once it is gone. I do not want to wait until then, no one should. This experience will follow me throughout my life. It has transformed me into a totally different person. I want more for myself than I ever wanted because I know it is possible to obtain. I know that at the age of twenty-one, if I could go to another country for the first time for an entire academic school year, that anything else that comes my way is just simply a little road block, or stepping stone to get me to the next level. I said goodbye to some really great people that I met along this experience. I will never forget what they have brought into my life. I not only learned about Ecuador, but I learned about Mexico, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Australia, and even Africa. These have changed my lives and if it was not for this experience I would have never realize what I have and the choice to be someone so grand and important. I hope to change someones life throughout this journey we call life. I hope that one day I can live up to my potential and be satisfied with the out come. Continue reading my blogs in 2011. Happy New Years and Happy Holidays to all...

Futbol

Man oh man excitement runs through my body as I type this blog up. I have experience one of the best things of Ecuador. A futbol game!! I never been to a futbol (Spanish for soccer) game not even at my College in the States, but after experiencing what I did today I have such a greater appreciation for the sport its self. Thousands of people gather in the stadium to watch Barcelona (an Ecuadorean team) play against Quito. It was a very important game seeing as how if Barcelona lost they would be done for the season, but if they won they would be put in third place. Crazy part is when Barcelona and Quito played before, Barcelona lost, so the spirit was high in the stadium. In the end Barcelona won!! I was hugging people I did not even know, fireworks went off in the stadium, songs were being song in Spanish it was such a cultural enhancement for me. I loved it!

Pictures of Hogar de Cristo

Giving back

Before I made this journey to a different country, I always thought about what this experience was going to do for me. What I could gain from this experience, what I could learn, but not once did I actually think what I could bring to this country, these beautiful here. Never once did I think about how I could change someone else life just by being here. Even though I did not think like that, now I can say maybe just maybe I can or have already impacted someone life. November the 20th a group of us international students volunteered for Hogar de Criso. Hogar de Cristo is a place that not only provide homes, but build the homes from the ground up for the most neediest people in Ecuador. If you are not aware 80% of Ecuador's population is poor. There is no middle class here. You are rich or poor, and with such a big gap the people at the bottom are the people that a treat with no respect and ignored in an economy that is trying so hard to become greater. The thing is the poor people are being forgotten, as they never really got anything from their country in the first place, but now it is even worst with only 20% of this country population growing. Hogar de Cristo is a place that looks out for those poor people, for those who are being left behind. The house cost about 800 dollars and last about 8 years minimum. Now I sure you saying what kind of house is that, but to those who have nothing and nowhere to sleep this is their palace and quite frankly with all the hard work that is put into it feels like a palace to those who build them. At Hogar de Cristo they manufacture the parts for the houses there and then send them off to the location and volunteers like us go out and start literally with the ground itself, but by the end of the day it is a rewarding experience when those kids, or families run in their home and can finally say they have a place to lay their head. It was the hardest work I ever did in my life because it meant so much to me. Hogar de Cristo is a blessing for those that cannot even phantom what a home looks like. They give back to their country. Donations pay for mostly everything and it is what keeps this place going. If you want to donate contact me and I can get it all done. Email me at eryka.sandridge@gmail.com the thing about donations is that the amount is not what is important as the thought of giving is. Realize in the states we see twenty dollars easily everyday come and go now imagine seeing twenty dollars every month!!! Can you even phantom that in your mind what it would be to live off $240.00 a month. Well these people here can and that is the amount for the working people. That is the minimum wage for people who do the same jobs as we do in the states, so know ten dollars can go a long way here. Give to your hearts content... Here are photos...I will put up more besides these...DONATE IF POSSIBLE. "THROUGH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE"