Farewell! Thank you all for accompanying me on this journey. We have learned about new words, new foods, new traditions and new environments. We learned about each other and about others.
As I leave Ecuador, I take with my all the stories and memories of the communities I stayed with. I take with me the things I learned, as well as the things I relearned.
I rediscovered the importance of community and how much you can achieve when you work in a team. I relearned a lot of healthy habits, such as getting enough outside time, eating fresh foods, spending time with loved ones, and making time for play and reflection. My time in Ecuador reminded me that we are all a very important part of nature, not something that is separated from it. It is our responsibility to take care of nature, and thus, ourselves.
I take with me the resistance of Pintag Amaru, the community I stayed with in the Andes, which is working to restore their ancestral knowledge and practices. Included in this group are the host families, especially our honorary mothers, who organized such a strong community in order to receive the seven international students (including me) into their houses. Through listening to the stories of these families, I learned that a strong community can face any challenge together.
