It’s been about two weeks since I left Cuenca, and it’s been a whirlwind since then. Upon leaving, we traveled around Peru for a week. In my head I’d pictured Peru to be similar to Ecuador, but I found that each new place we went was different than the last, which was a great surprise. Something that really shocked me about Peru was that Lima, though filled with beautiful historic buildings, felt like a step back into the United States.…
It’s truly crazy how fast this time has flown by. I only have a few more days left in Cuenca, and it’s starting to feel real that I’m leaving. I definitely have a mix of emotions about it. I’m really excited to get home and see my family, my friends, and my boyfriend, and I’m also excited to spend a week in Peru before returning to California, but I’m extremely sad to leave Cuenca where I have grown to feel…
Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated here in Ecuador, but we didn’t forget about it! This was my first year not going home for Thanksgiving, and it was a bit harder than I thought it’d be, but it was also really fun to celebrate an American holiday outside of the US. Perhaps it’s because we’re nearing the end of our time in Ecuador, or because I’ve been seeing all the pictures online of people going home to their families this week, or both,…
I’ve been in Ecuador just short of 3 months now, and I noticed a shift recently that I feel less like a tourist, and more like someone living abroad. When I first arrived, everything felt new and foreign, but now I feel very comfortable in Cuenca, and it has become my new normal. I don’t have the same anxiety talking to new people here anymore, and for the most part I feel like I’m home. I have a community here…
Last week we had the once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the famous Galapagos Islands! The fact that this trip was included in the program was one of the most attractive features of the Semester in the Andes for me, and it completely lived up to my expectations. Here’s a rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly of my trip. I’ll start with the good. I was able to get past most of my apprehension about animals!…
I, like many Americans, am solely a consumer. I don’t know how to hand craft…really anything. I’m used to walking into giant stores such as Target and browsing a plethora of things. Just an enormous amount of “stuff” everywhere. Some things I’d consider to be necessities, but others are wild variations of anything and everything you can imagine. I also take access to this mass amount of stuff for granted. And when I buy things at these stores, or any…
Tuesday of this week was my 20th birthday. Last year was the first year that I didn’t see my family on my birthday, but my boyfriend came and visited me at my university, so I was still with someone close to me. This year was the first time I celebrated a birthday without anyone I’ve known more than a month. I thought I may feel a bit homesick on my birthday, but I was surprised that even though I haven’t…
Life here in Cuenca is quite different than my life in the United States. I’ve been here in Cuenca for about two weeks and Ecuador for about three weeks, and while there are undoubtedly some major adjustments, I’d say the transition into a different culture has been going smoothly. There are actually a few differences that I really like about life here. One is the eating schedule. In the US dinner is the main meal of the day, where it…
When I told people that I was going to be studying abroad in Ecuador, I received greatly varied reactions. Some people were thrilled and told me that they had been to Ecuador or had a family member who had been and absolutely loved it. Many others, however, seemingly knew nothing about Ecuador and asked how I chose it, considering that it isn’t a common place to study abroad. In all honesty, I gave different people different answers to this question.…
Believe it or not (and it’s probably a lot easier for y’all to believe), the end of my trip abroad is quickly approaching! There is so much that I’m going to miss, and it feels like we are leaving just as I’ve come to see Cuenca as a home. HOWEVER, before I finish up with the program and the blog, I’d like to give everyone some of the best tips, tricks and pointers that I’ve learned since coming to study…