Day 37

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1) word of the day: corona virus
2) what a STRANGE day
3) left quito at 8am to drive out of the 2 hours out of the city to cayambe, where a nestle ecuador factory is located. waited an hour in the bus and then were told that we were not allowed in bc of increased safety measures related to corona-virus
4) change of plans, so we drove to a nearby cattle farm that is one of the suppliers of milk to Nestle and learned about production there. definitely not the factory experience we were expecting but very interesting to see
5) cute baby cows, and waste management system
6) ate our lunch on the side of the road and then bussed back to quito
7) had a call with our Program Director, and got the news (which a lot of us were expecting i think...) that we will NOT be going to Italy bc of coronavirus. as of now, still planning to go to Malawi. most likely we will then return to the USA on April 10, there is a tiny chance we may go to another country instead of Italy. lots still up in the air! hoping to have things figured out within the next few days
8) people were feeling pretty emotional, so we all went to get a beer together. personally, im feeling surprisingly calm about it? definitely disappointed, but not terribly surprised, and just grateful for all the experiences ive had so far...this program is so rich already!
9) our time with our host fam is coming to a close, so im trying to appreciate all our last meals. mashed potatoes, carrot soup, beans, and avocado today
10) doing a lot of processing and trying to think about how corona-virus is significant as a massive global phenomenon and what this means for the world in general....not trying to be dramatic, just thinking about things a lot?





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