Nic Freschi, Verona High School Class of 2011, has gone to Ecuador on a gap year program through Global Citizen Year. He’s been placed in a rural village with no TV, no Internet and no cell phone service. It does have a lot of other things, like work to do:
“If there’s one thing I learned this week, it’s that there is a big difference between saying “I’m going to be living in rural Ecuador on a Global Citizen Year,” and living in rural Ecuador on a Global Citizen Year. There is one phrase that was beaten into my head these past few days that particularly describes this difference: “Mas duro.” In English, this roughly translates to “harder”. “Mas duro! Mas duro!” encouraged my host mom as I squeezed the cow as firmly as I could, but drew no milk. “Mas duro! Mas duro!” cried my brother Nixon as I smashed my aching wrists once again into the rock hard Ecuavollyball (read: overinflated soccer ball). “Mas duro! Mas duro!” chanted my host dad as I failed to cut through the thick layers of roots with my spade while tilling the potato fields. “Mas duro! Mas duro!” yelled my family members as the cattle I was supposed to be herding took control and dragged me down the mountain headfirst. I now realize that walking the walk will certainly be “mas duro” than talking the talk.
You can read all of Nic’s post here.
