A spine of soaring snow-covered peaks rises from the Andean highlands, descending to the east into the lush rainforests of the Amazon basin, and to the west to a steamy tropical coastline. Ecuador s Spanish heritage is evident in the old center of the capital city, Quito, which the United Nations has designated as a World Heritage Site for its gorgeous concentration of colonial architecture. The pervasive ethnic influence in Ecuador is indigenous. Native dress, music, and food permeate the landscape with an exotic flavor, from the Amazon to the tiny highland villages of the Andes. In the midst of this surprisingly rich beauty, poverty is rampant.
Peasants live in dirt-floored shanties pieced together from cardboard and corrugated metal.
Educational opportunities are limited, and school facilities are primitive. Participants fly to Quito, where they spend a day learning about the culture, language, and history of Ecuador. Then, they depart for their project site, a small Indian village in the Andean highlands. Each day at 7 a.m. the work begins, interrupted by lunch and a short siesta, and continuing until late in the afternoon. Unit B, June 30 - July 30.