Families

My Ecuador Host family 

Family is a funny thing. We all have one and we all hold a certain position within our own. However, there are times when families welcome in an outsider and consider them one of their own. Sometimes it is hard to find your place within a new family, and sometimes you fit right it. I have had the fortune of being welcomed into many families and am thankful to each one for the time that I had with them and was welcomes with open arms.

             

While living in Ecuador I am staying with a family. They consist of a mother (Maria), a father (José), and two twin boys (Mateo and Tomas). Like every other family they have their own special quirks and dynamic that make them unique. However, in the end families all represent the same thing: Love.

This past weekend I went on a trip with my host family to their beach house. I think it is important to

build these relationships so I went on this trip as an opportunity to bond and get to know them better. Language barriers are always a frustrating part of the experience because it limits my ability to share and open up to them, which is something I tend to do quite easily and freely in my own language.  It was really nice getting away from the city and seeing them in their own element, but something unexpected happened. While being immersed in this new family, I began to miss my own.  As I watched my family interact and as I joined in I missed the feeling of ease that comes when I’m with my own family. I don’t have to try, I don’t have to watch what I say, I can be free to be within the comfort of what is familiar. That is not to say that it is always easy. Family life is hard. But even when it’s hard, the hardness is familiar.

My host Mom in Grenada

            During my time in Ecuador I have found myself being more reflective and reminiscing on the past 5 years. Maybe it is because I know that soon this life style will be coming to an end and I’m in for the 9 to 5 wake up call. Regardless, I have looked back and remembered all of the families that have touched my heart throughout this experience and am so thankful I had them. It is these families that have made these experiences so wonderful and complete. With that being said it also makes me look forward to the future, because regardless of where I end up I know I have a family that will welcome me in. Whether it’s Israel, Grenada, Ecuador, I know I have a home.  However, in the end nothing compares to my home  <3

America. But South.

I did a photo shoot for all of Kallari's
products. This is a picture of one of their
artisanal chocolates and cocoa beans.

My first month in Ecuador has been nothing short of amazing. I am blessed to be here with an incredible group of people, I have an extremely welcoming host family, and once again am fortunate to be in an internship that I love! Now that I have an idea of what I am interested, aka social enterprises, I looked for social business to intern with while in Ecuador this semester. 

My professor ended up placing me with Kallari, a fair-trade chocolate and coffee cooperative. While Kallari’s headquarters in the town of Tena, where the work with indigenous groups to grow and produce the products, they have a café in town where I am working as their marketing and events coordinator. First of all, if you know me then you know I love to plan. Having the opportunity to plan their events has allowed me take ownership of several projects and help bring in revenue for the organization. 

The first event I organized was a chocolate tasting where we paired four of Kallari’s artisanal chocolate with four locally made artisanal alcohols. While it was stressful and chaotic the event was a hit! I was so awesome to see the staff at the café so excited and proud that they had pulled it off. While there is a significant language barrier and it’s not always easy for us to communicate I understand how appreciative they are for the work I’m doing and they have welcomed me in with open arms. All of the people that work in the café are members of the indigenous community in Tena, so it’s cool to see how the organization is employing this community and functioning as a whole. 

I also am having the chance to get to know these people on a personal level, last weekend was the annual chocolate fair in Ecuador and 

Me with all of my coworkers at the chocolate fair in Tena

it happens in Tena. Everyone wanted me to come and see the event and one of my coworkers insisted that I stay with her family! Every time I travel I’m amazed at the ability to make connections with people with out language, and how humbling it is to be welcomed into someone’s home. Working with this organization is not only a great opportunity for me to gain real skills and understand how a social enterprise works, but also get to know the people that the enterprise benefits and see how it effects their lives. 
 

Thailand in a Nut Shell

So in terms of keeping up with this blog, I dropped the ball in Thailand. So far writing this blog has mainly been about my cultural experiences abroad. However, Thailand wasn’t exactly a cultural experience for me in the same way it has been in the past. While I was living in a different country, meeting many new people, and having amazing experiences they were all within a safe cultural bubble of grad school. While I think culturally experiences are important, that isn’t necessarily what Thailand was about for me. Going back to school was to figure out a new direction and understand what I want to do within this field. While I have been working with youth for the majority of my life, I was feeling that it was time for a change.

       

Workshop on how to weave baskets
out of plastic wrappers 

     As many of you read, while working in Nepal I became very interested in consumption and the production of waste.  In many western countries trash has become an “out of site, out of mind” situation. However after living in Asia for two years I was forced to look at trash everyday and realize that, waste is a human creation and it needs a human solution. I was blessed with an amazing mentor in Nepal, Gili, who was also very interested in helping solve the problem of garbage and waste. In an effort to help me become more involved in these issues, she taught me how to crochet with plastic bags. When I first was learning it was more of a therapeutic exercise. Gili knew I was having a hard time in my initial months in Nepal and helped me redirect that energy into something productive.  However I soon became obsessed. I was crocheting plastic all day, everyday, some might even argue I was doing it my sleep. I soon became known as the crazy plastic lady around the village. But what also happened was that people became interested! I first used the skill as a way to integrate with the youth. However as time passed women started asking questions. They wanted me to make them bags. I told them that I wouldn’t make them bags, but I would teach them how to make the bags themselves.

My landlord in nepal with her purse she made out of plastic!

 Overtime I began to see the possibilities of this in a development project. To make a bag all someone needs is a needle and access to trash and once the bag is made it has the potential to be sold! While I continued thinking about the possibilities of this idea, I wasn’t sure what it would look like in real life or what the appropriate demographic would be to work with, because while it would have been amazing to work with the Nepali women they did not have time to spare on creative art projects.

      It wasn’t until my semester in Portland that the idea began to take form. First I learned about Social Enterprises, a business  that is working to solve a social problem. That is what I wanted to create. But again with who? Then in Thailand I had the opportunity to intern at Our Choice. As their intern I was helping them look for funding however one day I saw some awesome lime green plastic bags in the office and I asked if I could take them. She said of course but wanted to know why. I showed her some of the pieces I had made, and explained that I just did it for fun. She immediately started asking me questions about whether I would be interested in teaching people how to do it and whether I had access to a market in the states where I could sell them. It was in that instant that I knew I was in the right place at the right time. This was demographic of people! Our choice works with the HIV/AIDS population of Thailand. This group of people is extremely marginalized and it is very hard for them to get work. Therefore the people I wouldn’t be working with would not only have plenty of available time but also needed employment!

The first Vocational Training 

            The project started with me providing two vocational trainings at a local hospital that Our Choice works with. After two-three trainings the group narrowed down to the people who were actually interested in participating. I am officially working with 5 women who all have HIV and have been discriminated against and are out of work because of their. Through this project I am trying to help give them a sustainable living. 

selling Tashé bags at The Jewel and
Lotus pop up shop this summer

Now that I knew the project was actually happening I had to set up a business plan. First thing was the name: Trasheé Designs. I had actually come up with the idea of Trashé in Nepal and fell in love with it and couldn't veer away from it. Then it was making a website and all of the social media that goes along with having a business, aka facebook, instagram, twitter, etc. Then came the hard part: selling the bags. Once I came home from Thialand I did everything I could to sell all the products I came home with as well as find venues to sell products in the future. I am happy to announce that in 2 short months I was sold out of all my products and was able to put in a second order for bags this upcoming spring!

            While I had hopes of finding a path in graduate school, now that I have its even better then I could have imagined. It’s an amazing feeling to be excited about the work you are doing and feel like you are doing something important to help others. To learn more about the project go to trashedesigns.com and hopefully Products will be available to purchase online soon!

            

What You’ve missed

This is what gradschool in portland looks like 

Working for Tevel b’Tzedek allowed me to experience community development and cultural immersion the way I had planned on experiencing in the Peace Corps. As I explored options of how I wanted to turn these experiences into a career I looked to graduate school for the answers. A masters program in International Development at Concordia University jumped out at me and is where I decided to find the answers to the never ending question: What do I want to do with my life?

Over the next two years I will spend one year in Portland, OR and one year abroad with my first and last semester in the states, my second semester in Thailand and my third in Ecuador. As I write this post I have already completed my first semester in Portland and am in the middle of my semester in 

Thailand.  

Being abroad as a graduate student has been quite an adjustment in comparison to the type of traveling I have done the last 3 years. While in the Peace Corps and with Tevel b’Tzedek I was meant to integrate into the culture and be apart of the community, as a student in Thailand I am not having the same cultural exchange. For the time I am here I will live with westerners, have classes with westerners, and for the most part socialize with westerners. The only significant access I have to local Thai’s will be through my internship at Our Choice. 

            Our Choice is an organization that offers services to the HIV/Aids population in Thailand. There are attempting to put into motion several programs and initiatives but unfortunately have run out of funds. Therefore as their intern, my focus thus far has been on fundraising.

Reflection

The last time I posted I was wrapping up my year in Nepal. While my year there was full of ups and downs it is an experience I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Recently a friend asked me, “How did Nepal Change you?” and I found it impossible to provide an answer. The reason being that the experience is now apart of me…it is me. It is impossible to identify concrete character changes; there is no before and after picture of what I was at the beginning of 2013 and what I am now. It is almost easier to flip the question around ask someone else, what about me is different? I no longer can remember what I was before Nepal, because as I said the experience is now apart of me and will be carried with me forever.