Valérie reflects on valuable experience

Valuable, instructive, challenging and fun – this is how Valérie describes her time in Quito at Local Dreamers in a few words. She reflects on her experience.

I was looking for a volunteer opportunity in the field of sports education for a long time. Last winter, after searching for a while on the web, I finally found the ideal project at Local Dreamers for me.

In the middle of January 2020, I arrived in Quito. Right in my first week as a volunteer I was introduced and accompanied in all projects. It is especially exciting that you have a different program every day: Monday English lessons, Tuesday soccer training, Wednesday English lessons, Thursday soccer training and on Friday swimming lessons. People really appreciate the services offered by the Local Dreamers organization, which gives you a sense of fulfilment.

During my time as a volunteer, I lived with a host family. The mother lived with her son and her three dogs in a nice house in the south part of Quito. The family always tried to make me feel like home. My host brother treated me since day one like his own sister, which leads that we celebrated a lot together.

Unpredictable & diverse

The weather in Quito is unpredictable. The locals compare the weather with the changing moods of a woman. I do not fully agree with this statement, but I can see the point about the weather, of course 😉 Sometimes the sun shines extremely strong so you have to be careful not to get sunburned and sometimes it rains so hard that the city even disappears into the sky.

The city is very diverse and also very centrally located for traveling around and doing trips. On weekends and holidays (there are quite a few) you can explore Quito’s markets and the old town, go out in the evening or travel through Ecuador by bus. The buses are extremely cheap, very punctual and comfortable. It takes some getting used to the continuous sound of radios and TVs, especially during night trips. The nature is incredible, make as many excursions as possible and don’t forget your camera! I liked the most Mindo, Cotopaxi and the coast side.

As European, you can move freely in Ecuador, but you should take care of your valuables especially in the crowds and on buses. Nevertheless, one should take the bus, as it is simply practical and cheap. At night you should only move in groups, keep an eye on your smartphone and take as little money with you as possible and then you’ll be safe.

Added value

To sum up, I really enjoyed this adventure in Quito and I am a big fan of the organization Local Dreamers. With these projects, they bring a significant added value to the locals. The different lessons you have to bring a lot of variety and are really fun. It’s also great to see how you can make a difference in this area and the people here are very grateful for your support. And the longer I am here, the more I discover new opportunities and new projects that we could start to support the people here 😀

I have gained valuable experience here and would recommend the organization Local Dreamers to everyone. I hope very much that I can support further projects here at Local Dreamers in the future.