And we're off!

It's currently 18.5 hours until I leave and I can hardly believe it! It came up so fast that it's overwhelming to think that as of tomorrow evening I will be in South America for 2.5 months!
I suppose there may be some of you reading this blog that don't know much about my trip. I will be spending one month in Quito, Ecuador with 7 other volunteers and a mentor working in schools with gr 9-11 students. In Ecuador, education isn't celebrated and there is a huuuuuuge child labour force (which the government is actively working to stop) so our main goal is to help the kids see the benefit of schooling. We want them to know that staying in school is important and can lead to something great. We also want to increase the girls self esteem, since there aren't a lot of women's rights, and increase the physical education program since most schools only own once soccer ball and have no PE program. This is the first year for the volunteer experience so we are the guinea pigs for this program which leaves a lot of uncertainties. We really won't know how things are going to go or what's going to happen until we get down there. That being said, I think all the volunteers are willing to put their whole heart into this program, which has to mean something great is going to come out of it!
On a quick side note, I would like to thank everyone who donated supplies or supported the program through attending the socials we put on. We made a large chunk of money and filled 4 massive duffel bags with school supplies and sports equipment. It's really going to mean a lot to these kids!
So anyways, continuing on, after the volunteer experience Anik is going to meet me in Quito and we are going to backpack. We're planning on staying another week or so in Ecuador (hopefully do the Galapagos Islands) and then make our way down to Peru. We know that we want to do Machu Picchu for sure in Peru, but everything else is still up in the air. We would like to do something in the rainforest at some part of our trip but those types of trips can be quite pricey. Finally, we will end in Venezuela. We plan to spend a couple weeks there as well, possibly going to Trinidad & Tobago but who knows. The Angel Falls are in Venezuela so we might possibly go see them, but once again may be pricey.
So that's a quick outline of the trip so you have an idea of what I plan on doing down there. My next post will be from Quito so keep checking back as I hope to keep this blog fairly updated!!