I’m nearing my 6-month mark of living here in Cosanga on August 24^th. I can both believe it and not believe it at the same time. My surroundings feel familiar at times, but then I see a tree that I’ve never seen before or hear a word that I hadn’t understood before and I remember that I am far from a familiar place. I am becoming comfortable with living here, but it is still much different from the life I was living (but of course). In the past months, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know people from so many different countries. Sustainable Roots brings people from all over the world to help with the projects that we have going on. We’ve had people here from the US, Canada, Austria, Chile, Mexico, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and one gal is coming in a week from the UK. This has just been since I’ve been here, too! It is such an amazing opportunity to learn more about the cultures and ways of life in different areas of the globe. It makes me want to continue traveling. Right now, I’m living for the next 4 months with Florence and Johan. Florence is the environmental volunteer who is kicking serious ass in the gardens here; she is from France. Johan is my co-education volunteer who has a great perspective on teaching English since it is a second language for him; he is from Sweden. Both have been introducing me to the differences of where they live and a bit of their languages as well. So, not only am I learning Spanish, but I’m learning Kichwa (the native language here), Swedish, and French… although I have a long way to go with all the languages. I like when they are talking on the phone, not knowing a word, but listening to the natural flow of their native language is beautiful. My conversational Spanish is getting better and better each day, but I still have a long way to go. At this point, I can express myself and understand (most of) what others are saying. About a month ago, I was given a wonderful compliment after hosting a meeting for 58 people at our house where I had to stand up in front of everyone and give a short presentation. A lady from town said that I’m sounding more and more like an Ecuadorian… my Spanish is improving after all!

It’s been quite a long time since my last blog post. I could make up excuses of saying the internet is bad here (which it really is) or that I’ve been busy (which I really have been), but more-so, I’ve been wrapped up in the world around me and forget to outwardly reflect in blog form. I’ll try to be better with updating. I’ll give a short summary as there has been a lot that has been going on over the past months. As more short-term volunteers arrive, more traveling ensues for the pure enjoyment of exploring another country. Additionally, my dad came for 10 days at the end of June which was a high-light of my time here in Ecuador so far. With the other volunteers, I have made it to Quito, Otavalo, Baños, Tena, Masahualli, and Baeza (a small town about 20 minutes away from Cosanga). With my dad, we made it to the coast, spending a wonderful time in a small ocean town called Mompiche. We had a wonderful view, went on a boat tour of the area, and ate some delicious food! The boat tour showed us a tiny islet with crabs, sand dollars and a view of the shoals moving out to sea. If we squinted our eyes, we could see the Galapagos Islands (una broma). We had a thrilling drive back to the high sierra region as there was a landslide causing us to stay in bumper to bumper traffic for 3 hours. We decided to take another way which brought us 2 or 3 hours from our path, winding us up and down switchbacks through the Andes mountains at 2 a.m. I was impressed with my dad’s driving skills as he took hairpin after hairpin turn winding along cliffs and hugging close to giant semi-trucks. Good job, Dad! We made it to Baños for some luxury and zip-lining. We made it to Cosanga and had a weekend of partying. It was fun introducing my dad to where I’m living and the friends I’m making. His trip was short, but it was so wonderful spending time with him. I can’t put into words how grateful and appreciative I am to have a dad like him. I’m looking forward to November when my next visitor comes… Kevin!! 😊

The summer months, better classified as the rainy season here, have been extremely busy. I’ve started wearing many different hats and I have to switch between them frequently. I have been helping short term volunteers get settled and offering support in whatever way necessary while making sure they find the resources they need to get the job done. My hope is that their experience is positive and fruitful in all that they are doing with their time here. With that, we are receiving a variety of skill sets that have evolved many different areas of how we live at the foundation. I have been leading and planning the “Curso Vacacional” programming which is like a summer camp. This has involved working with the town government, gathering supplies, putting together fun and exploratory programming for all ages, and facilitating the exploration of creativity. The first two weeks, we worked with clay that we harvested from the mountains. We made pottery wheels out of ceiling fans and a kiln out of an old tin barrel. Although it didn’t go exactly to plan, it was incredibly fun and their creations were incredible. The second two weeks, we worked with wood. We had to find the right type of wood, clean it, sand it, and lacquer it for the final results. People made tables, chairs, plaques for their walls, necklaces, key chains, and more. This was a lot more fun than the clay because the result was more easily controlled. While some worked with wood the final week, others learned and helped with the cooking class. We made guayaba marmalade, bread, and delicious pizza. We even used our kiln to cook the bread and pizza! During this time, there were constant tasks of buying materials, speaking with the town government, working with community members, changing plans to account for rain or other obstacles, traveling to speak to experts in the field etc. I have learned so much about the pace of life here, what roles officials play, and how I can make sure things get done when they need to happen. This was a huge learning curve for me, but I’m starting to get the hang of it. Last week was our first week of “curso vacacional” for ages 7-18. This is more like a summer camp where we have games, activities, field trips etc. The focus is on our planet Earth and the kids are investigating topics that interest them to present to their families at the end of the month. We are also painting a mural that I have been designing. Cosanga has more bird species than any other place in the world, so the mural is of a bunch of different birds… I will post in progress pictures. The days will be long this month, but fun and exciting with getting to know the kids in a different way than when we are in school. I love seeing each of their personalities growing and changing the longer I am here.

Since being here, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the importance of an open mind and the ability to be flexible. I considered myself someone with an open mind before, but as I’m spending more time here, I’m finding more opportunities to edge the window of my mind wider and wider to the different varieties of life. I am becoming calmer and more patient with myself and others which is turning out to be a great addition to my life. Where I used to worry about things or get stressed about this or that, I am now choosing to accept and change my mindset on the way that I interact with the world around me. The more positive and proactive I am, the more I feel like I have the power to guide my life in the direction of adventure, experience, excitement, and comradery with others. I will admit, there are days that are difficult for me where I miss my comfort zone and the people within it, but those days are the same days where I push my limits and learn more about who I am and how I work when challenges arise. I’ve become gentler with myself, too. Prior to arriving here, I was constantly working and attempting to improve who I was. I wanted to “fix” things and become closer with myself. The demands I gave myself were pressing and the deadlines unfeasible. I have learned that you can’t push yourself to learn something that you have yet to encounter. I would get frustrated with myself that I hadn’t learned the lessons that I wanted to learn. Here I am, a year after accepting that I needed to get help for my depression, 9 months after countless doctors’ appointments and medication changes, 8 months after agreeing to knock down the barriers I built up to reveal a vulnerable essence in need of reconstruction, 7 months after allowing myself to say goodbye to all the comforts I’ve ever known, 6 months after stepping foot in a new country and changing who I am for the rest of my life to say that I accept the challenge. I accept the challenge to let go of control and allow the cadence of life to provide me with the changes I need at the times that they happen. I will no longer resist an idea based on the pretenses that I have created, it is my responsibility to listen and learn from others that are experiencing this life just as I am. The more I engage in the community of people, the closer I get to the thread of life and those who weave it together.

I hope to be better at posting, but if I’m not, give me a little nudge and I’ll get to writing. I love you, my friends. I think of you every day and send my gratitude out to those that have made an impact on my life, which is undoubtedly you!

(picture update soon!)

Here we are getting ready to start the clay portion of Curso Vacacional:

Until next time,

With Love,

Krysta