Study Abroad in Quito, Ecuador
All my childhood, I was a huge home-body. Even on little trips with my family, I spent the whole time pining for my own bed and everything I knew well at home. As I started growing up and getting out of my shell, I became more comfortable with short trips away from home, although I was still happier in my own house. When I decided to apply for the Quito study abroad program this summer, everyone in my family was shocked. It was a seven-week program intended to be extremely language intensive that would be spent taking Spanish courses and living with a host family in Ecuador. It was a huge leap for me to live in a new country speaking a second language for seven weeks. But even though I was nervous to be away from home so long, I wanted to experience living in a new culture and have the chance to improve my Spanish language skills.
I was placed with a host family that consisted of my host parents Pato and Vero and their cat, Rufina. I immediately bonded with my host parents, and they were excited to show me their culture and make me huge amounts of delicious food. The traditional dishes of Ecuador always involve a soup then usually a meat dish that is always accompanied by rice. Rice is practically a religion to the people of Ecuador. I joked with my host parents often that it was lucky I liked rice because we ate it with every single meal, including breakfast. My host mom was an incredible cook and told me all her recipes as she made them so I could write them down and cook them again when I went home. In addition, although I had taken five years of Spanish courses by the time I arrived in Ecuador, I struggled in the start of my trip with transitioning to speaking a second language the vast majority of the time and my host parents were extremely patient with me as I refined my conversational skills with them.
My favorite part of my study abroad was the small trips my group planned separate from the university’s itinerary to see more of Ecuador. I took over the majority of planning for our weekend excursions with the help of my host parents, who had endless suggestions for incredible places around the country to visit. Although I have been very fortunate to travel with my family at least once a year, this was the first time I ever took on planning the trip because it usually fell to my mother and sister who are extremely enthusiastic travelers. I did hours of research, talked to my host parents and talked to tour companies in Spanish to create our excursions and make them as enjoyable and economical as possible. We visited Baños de Santa Agua, Cotopaxi national park and a beautiful costal town called Puerto López. My favorite trip was the four days we spent in Puerto López. The most inexpensive way to travel to the coast is by an eight-hour bus ride that costs 16$ per person so we took an overnight bus out of one of the country’s largest bus terminals called Quitumbe. Once we were there, we spent hours on the beach, took a salsa dancing class and did an amazing tour of La Isla de la Plata. On our tour of La Isla de la Plata, we took a boat to the island and did a two-and-a-half-hour hike around the island to observe the various species of birds, including Blue-footed boobies and Fragattas. From there, we snorkeled with native fish, coral and sea turtles. But the best part of the tour was the whale watching portion, where we were lucky enough to see several pods of humpback whales close to our boat.
After completing my trip, I would recommend everyone should participate in a study abroad program. Speaking a second language, planning trips, and living in a completely different country and culture for almost two months allowed me to mature in a way I never would have expected. I feel so much more capable and prepared to do things I have not done before. I was afraid of making language errors when I spoke and feeling homesick when I left for my study abroad and I returned much more confident in myself and my ability to do things I am unfamiliar with, and I trust myself to take more chances.
Categories: Quito, Spanish, Activities