By: Rachel Corley
I am, by nature, a bit of a nervous person. I have the tendency to spend a lot of time inside my comfort zone, and I have never been the best at putting myself out there to meet new people. At the same time, I love traveling, learning about new cultures, and serving others, so when I was accepted as a MPI Summer Intern I was extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity. The nerves didn’t really kick in until I am in the airport about to board my flight to Quito.
Fast forward a few days, and I am about to start my first shift at the front desk at the Centro (the Center, the building where we worked). While I was looking forward to all of the jobs I was given, this was the one I was looking forward to the least: I was going to have to answer questions I might not have good answers to, in a language that I was not entirely comfortable speaking (while I have studied Spanish for many years, I have little experience outside a classroom). Luckily for me, one of my fellow interns knew I was nervous, and she volunteered to sit with me for the first hour of my shift to “show me the ropes.”
Fast forward again, and I am five minutes into my first shift on my own at the front desk. A community member walks into the office and asks me about the English classes and Conversation Club Manna offers. I instantly begin to panic a bit as I try to think of the right words to respond with, and he notices my hesitation. He then tells me that he is trying to practice his English and asks if we can continue the conversation half in Spanish and half in English. After answering his questions about Manna, we just begin to chat, him telling me about Ecuador and me telling him about the United States, about any topic from music to food to family. We ended up talking for an hour.
When I look back now at my time in Ecuador, what stands out to me the most are the people I meet there. All of the other interns and MPI staff were dedicated and kind, just like my friend who helped me during my first shift. All of the community members were welcoming and friendly, just like the man I spoke with during my first shift on my own. During my time in Ecuador, I was able to gain skills that will help me professionally, practice my Spanish, and get a new understanding of what holistic community development looks like, but I feel the area in which I was able to grow the most was as a person. I wholeheartedly believe that this growth was due to the people I met along the way.