Hoy le dije adiós a una de mis mejores amigas de CEDEI. Las lágrimas eran imparables, es increíble lo mucho que me impactaron mis amigas. Las voy a extrañar, pero sé que mis amistades de CEDEI no terminan con el programa. Estas son amistades para toda la vida. Cuando recién apliqué para el semestre yo tenía el plan de que este programa fuera mi primer gran paso para convertirme en una ciudadana global. Hoy puedo decir que teniendo conexiones en…
Arroz de cada día no es una exageración y tampoco una broma. He comido arroz con casi cada platillo ecuatoriano, me han dado pizza con arroz, pasta con arroz y hasta arroz con arroz. En Cuenca se come bien, se come mucho, y se come rico. Sorprendentemente hay variedad de comidas nacionales e internacionales. Aunque siendo sincera no hay muchas opciones para comida típica de Estados Unidos – bueno aparte del McDonalds, Burger King, y Kentucky Fried Chicken. Pero he…
Being in a foreign country is exciting and overwhelming but the most complex part of studying abroad has been living with a host family. Living with complete strangers in their own home creates many layers to the relationships with each family member. At the beginning of the semester, everything is exciting, all parties are equally intrigued to get to know each other. You, as the foreigner, are on your best behavior to make the best impression. You might accept meals…
Visiting Galapagos islands included all the beautiful views from your typical national geographic documentary. I had the opportunity to see and swim with sea lions, sea turtles, penguins, sharks, eagle ray’s, an octopus, and of course the blue-footed booby along with massive amounts of fish! I also experienced the phenomenon of El Niño with it’s warm currents while snorkeling. If you’ve been keeping up with my previous blogs you may know about my knee injury. If you aren’t sure what…
Talk to Locals. You will be eating at new places, walking new streets, and traveling to new places. Take advantage of every trip and every chance you get to talk to people. I have had some of the best conversations with my taxi drivers about Cuenca, places to visit, and about their work. Walking down the street I’ve stopped to talk to people who ask about my knee injury and I learn about injuries they’ve had and how their experience…
With carnaval festivities over I find myself back in the classroom with my mind still at the beach. This last week was a lot of firsts for me. First carnaval celebration, first time at a beach and first time trying some delicious carnaval food. What is carnaval? Celebration of harvest time, religious tradition, time to receive taita carnaval. In Ecuador the traditional way to celebrate is by having a full table set with food of all kinds in order to…
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…