First Year Global: Discovering community fun

The First Year Global program is a new initiative that provides an opportunity for a group of first-year students to develop intercultural communication skills by interacting with and learning from communities and researchers outside of the United States.

Our First Year Global group met people in Ecuador who are devoting their days to creating a safer place for young people in their communities.

We started off by going to a cultural center in Pisulí, a neighborhood in northwest Quito, which focuses on giving young people a creative outlet, including a space to do street art, skateboard, sing and much more.

Our group was able to experience the fun of learning how to do a “tag” and the meaning that this art had to the people we met. They also demonstrated some tricks on skateboards and bikes.

The joy that they had showing off this place was infectious and everyone had a great time, despite the language barrier some faced.

We also visited a second cultural center called Nina Shunku. We learned about the history of this place and how it has been transformed throughout the years.