Student Perspective: A Group Quest to Ecuador

Earlier this summer Raylea joined a group of students from Louisiana State University to embark on a 10-day Quest to Ecuador. She is a seasoned traveler who has family in Belize, has been to London and studied abroad in Spain, but this was the first time she experienced inter-cultural immersion through volunteer work. We asked her to tell us more about her Quest experience, traveling with a group, certain expectations and favorite stories along the way.

Before they left, the LSU group discussed each night what they hoped to gain from their Quest, to gather a better understanding of what it means to be a global citizen. Raylea explained that this way they were going there knowing what a global citizen was, “how I can make an impact and what I can get from there.” Overall, to learn more about their culture and the life of a child.

“A group of students in the classroom that we taught.”

When the group landed, they traveled to Quito where they would be working at a school for eight days. Raylea described a typical day as waking up around 7 a.m. and eating breakfast which usually included a choice between eggs and/ or ham, and fruit, such as bananas, apples, watermelon, “guanabana” (or “soursop” in English), and kiwi juice, “all sorts of exotic stuff.” After they finished eating, they would head to the bus stop where the bus driver would pick them up.

At the school in Quito, the volunteers worked from 8 a.m. to noon. One of their first projects was painting a mural on one of the walls of the school. In addition, the teachers needed someone to teach English, so Raylea and three other members of their group (more proficient in Spanish) created a lesson plan for the students to teach them some English phrases. Some of these phrases included, “Good morning,” “How are you?” and “My name is…” among others. They also taught the children numbers, colors, animals…but counting caught on the most, due to their prior English teacher who was there briefly.

One of Raylea’s favorite times was recess, not just for the chance to play with the kids, but to get to know them and their story. Kids could run out of class whenever they wanted to, but ironically enough, she described recess time as more structured. The kids taught the volunteers games in Spanish, and the volunteers taught the kids games in English.

“Myself and one of the students named Camilo”

At noon, when the volunteers left the school for the day, they would grab lunch in Plaza Foch at the intersection of Calle Reina Victoria and Mariscal Foch in northern Quito. Then they would do some kind of excursion afterwards or have a class in the afternoon, which ranged from language lessons to salsa classes. Raylea raved about the latter, saying she loved the salsa class and being in the studio learning the steps.

After finishing up their time at the first school in Quito, the group traveled to a more rural region of Ecuador to a largely indigenous town called Otavalo. Here, the group volunteered at a local daycare where they taught the children how to brush their teeth properly. They were given toothbrushes and toothpaste and the volunteers taught a lesson on oral hygiene and proper brushing technique.

One regret Raylea had was that they were only there for an hour or so. It was a very short visit, yet she described how impactful it still was to see that everyone there was so welcoming and happy. They wanted to know their story. She recalled how the kids just wanted to play and have someone there. Before leaving, the group was taught some words in Quechua in the local indigenous language.

Cloud Forest, Ecuador

Towards the end of their trip, one of their scheduled excursions included zip lining in the “cloud forest.” She said the people working there would have them do different moves while flying through the forest, such as the “superman,” which Raylea described as extending your arms and legs. “It felt like soaring through the air,” she recalls. In addition, the group went to a chocolate factory and white water rafting. Fun fact: “only Ecuador and Brazil is where pure chocolate comes from.”

At the end of every day, as a group, they would have a reflection period to discuss the day, what they learned, and to do different activities. One example Raylea gave would be tossing a ball around that was marked with different questions, so when you caught the ball, you had to answer the question(s) your hands landed on. This period was included so that they could discuss the work they were doing and reinforce their experience. Afterwards, the volunteers either found dinner around town or it was provided by United Planet.

When asked to share a personal anecdote from her trip, either a favorite memory or emotional moment, Raylea said simply, “the love of the children.” She explained it as how deeply they connected with them without really knowing them. It was very difficult to leave, she explained, how close they had become in so little time there. The kids asked in Spanish if they were coming back, and she had to say, “no.” It wasn’t just the children either who made it difficult, she said, since the teachers were friends too. Altogether, she described the people at the school as so nice, and on their last day they gave the volunteers gifts and the kids sang for them.

Myself and members of my group in front of Laguna Cuicocha (Guinea Pig Lake) From left to right: Raylea Barrow, Kalena Thomhave, Chauncey Stephens

We began to wrap up our conversation by asking if she would do this trip or another similar trip again. “Yes,” she replied, however she would want to go to the project in Otavalo to experience that one more. She also mentioned that she would like to go to different parts of Ecuador, just to travel and explore more. Finally we asked our last question, and we saved the original dialogue below so you can appreciate exactly what Raylea said.

United Planet: “Any advice for people thinking about volunteering and traveling through United Planet? Things to bring, expectations, words of wisdom…”

Raylea: “Don’t go there thinking you’re going there to save the people you’re serving. It’s not about that. It’s more about connecting and learning about their culture and sharing what you know about yours and bridging the two.”

Thank you for sharing your volunteer experience with us, Raylea! We loved hearing the details of your stories that make them so memorable. If you would like to read more, look through the rest of our blog for more volunteer stories from Quests all over the world! Comments? Leave them below!