Happy 56th Anniversary to my G-rents!

8.7.10

Today is my grandparents 56th wedding anniversary, so happy for them!! Love you Lois and Phil hehe!

This past week we were separated into groups based on programs and went on what is called a technical trip. It's pretty much going to other sites of current volunteers and giving charlas/workshops on various topics, talking to them about their projects, and kind of getting a sense of what other people do on a daily basis.

Overall it was a great week. My group and I had a really good time, gave a lot of Sex Ed. charlas to teenagers, and we traveled mostly in Guayaquil and surrounding areas, so we had nice warm weather! I personally loved the Sex Ed. charlas, because the kids are more interested for the most part, they like to show us what they know, and like to ask questions. At first it was frustrating to try and control a group of loud and talkative adolescents, but after a while we realized that they were so talkative because they were interested in the subject and were eager to talk about what they knew about sexual activity and HIV/AIDS/STDs, etc. However, we also talked about how it’s so important to have a good relationship with the youth and to have their trust because of the nature of the subject, and so they have the confidence to ask questions and speak openly about their experiences in order to provide them with the information. Some cultural beliefs revolving around sex and sexuality come from religious beliefs. An example of this might be that masturbating can cause mental damage, because if it is done too often, one could become addicted and this is not a healthy activity to engage in.

We were charla-ed out by the end of the week but definitely gained some good experience from it all. Our group was more for youth entreprenuership and adolescent learning combined, but not a whole lot of the charlas helped us in this regard. It was awesome to spend time with a specific group of volunteers too and get to know each other better. It was an exhausting week but very energizing, and we had a TON of ice cream, cakes, sweets, you name it, we ate it, multiple times of day, and WE LOVED IT!

The picture above is our group taking a tour of a mangrove, pretty sweet.