Hey folks!
I promised to tell you guys more about our amazing trip to Ecuador, so that's what I'm gonna do. Although the focus of our trip was the building in San Miguel, we had the opportunity to do some exploring of the old neighborhood in the capital city of Quito to familiarize ourselves with the culture of the area. We took a trip to one of the oldest cathedrals in the city, and climbed about a million stairs to the very top of the highest tower. The wind was whipping up there and I felt a little exposed, but it was worth it to see the breathtaking view of the city. We played with a few alpaca (mountain llamas) during our time in the highlands.

Back in San Miguel, the work project was a daunting task. We were working with all our might to finish the structure that we hadn't even given any thought to the interior walls. There was one wall at the forefront of the dining hall that was huge and blank. Someone suggested that we do a mural in the space, but no one really had the expertise to do it. There are professional artists in my family, so I've been immersed in drawing and painting since I was a little guy, but I had never attempted an undertaking that had the scope of a mural before. I didn't think I had the chops. However, as we waited and waited for someone in the group to raise their hand and offer to helm the project, it became clear that nobody was going to step up. So I reluctantly offered to try my hand at designing it. I took suggestions from the group and drew up a quick sketch, which (to my surprise) was unanimously accepted, and I was told that I was to begin the mural the next day. We had no idea how much paint we were going to have, and we only had three days to complete the entire thing (mural artists often take weeks to months to complete a piece), but here we were, about to make a mural.

The next morning, Aislinn, Sarah, and I stood next to this giant blank wall. I was holding this tiny little sketch, and let me tell you, I was feeling the pressure. It took me three hours to draw the mural out by hand, measuring and re-measuring to get the dimensions right. The rest of the cast came in intermittently to help out, but the three of us worked on all cylinders from start to finish. Somehow, by some miracle, by staying late and arriving early (and being lucky enough to make very few mistakes) we managed to finish with 20 minutes to spare before the entire community rushed in to view the finished product. We breathed a heavy sigh of relief and took a few seconds to congratulate each other. I still don't know how we pulled it off.

I've included a photo of the finished mural, and as you can tell, it's all symbolic. The focal point is a globe in the shape of a heart, growing out of a book which symbolizes education. Wrapped around the globe is a ribbon bearing the flags of Canada, Ecuador, and the indigenous people of the area. This shows the partnership between the nations, and our commitment to achieve our goal. On either side of the mural is a landscape showing the unique natural beauty of the countryside (this was the actual view from the hilltops on either side of the village). Lastly, we included pillars in which we put the handprints of both ourselves and the children of the village, symbolizing that the power to change comes from the youth who will inherit the world.

This trip was the highlight of my year. A camera crew from MTV (Canada) came with us and made a documentary called Degrassi In Ecuador about our experiences which premieres on December 19 at 9:00 p.m. on The N. There is so much more to this trip than I could ever put in a blog, but if I can put in a quick plug for a second, if any of you ever feel like making a difference in the world we live in, in a very tangible way that you can see with your own eyes, I encourage all of you to check out www.freethechildren.com and get involved. They make trips like ours all the time, and I promise you, it'll change your life.

Until next time!

Peace.
-e

Catch Degrassi in Ecuador on December 19 at 9:00 p.m. on The N.