My first week in Quito, Ecuador is already over without me realizing what actually is happening right now. I have been on a 12-hour flight, followed by jet lag, and my uncontrolled sleeping in the first few days did not help either, but now my inner time zone has also arrived here in South America. Additionally I had a three-day camp by VASE, the local exchange organization of the network ICYE, with 31 Germans, 3 Austrians, 3 Swiss, 2 Englishmen, an Irish and a danish girl. The commonly spoken language was of course immediately clear – English ;). There were minor complaints, because too much German was spoken :*).
The topics were almost equal to those on the preparatory seminar, including the usual questions about expectations, fears, desires and so on, but there were also very interesting topics. Once we talked about important data relating to the Ecuadorian society and culture, with the help of the so-called iceberg model, and the highlights were the two evenings. On the first night of the camp there was a welcoming ceremony with two women, who are educating people in traditional medicine, in which we were greeted with smoke and wind, fire, water, earth and tobacco and received bracelets as a talisman and stones, which should help with the healing of diseases. The ceremony lasted all evening and we were all very tired, but it was definitely worth it! The highlight of the second evening was a salsa lesson. Of course, with a local and the corresponding music. The dancing was great fun and I have already learned much more difficult dances, though of course only basics were taught in the lesson.
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