Now that I’m over two months into my semester abroad (crazy, right!), I wanted to talk about being part of a host family. My host family is made of my host mom and dad, who are about the age of my real mom and dad, as well as a host sister who is a year …
Tag Archives: Chemistry
Social Unrest – Let’s Talk
(I’m going to preface this by saying featured photos are NOT mine – they come from the newspaper El Comercio.) So I’m sure some of you are aware of what’s been going on in Ecuador recently, but in case you’re not, here are the basics: The federal government has been subsidizing gas for years, making …
Service Abroad
One of the classes I’m taking while in Ecuador is called “Service Learning”. Half of the class is about serving as a volunteer in an organization in the community, while the other half is a discussion on what doing volunteer work abroad is and should be about. The organization I chose to do my volunteer …
Two Seasons by Vivaldi: “Rain”
Summer is ending for everyone in the US. Technically, it’s the end of summer here too, even though most of Ecuador is south of the equator. Actually, that means that the rainy season is upon us. Since Ecuador is on the equator, it doesn’t really have seasonal variation except in rainfall. It was kind of …
Moving to the City
One of the things that makes this experience really different for me is that this is my first time living in a big city! Even though I, technically, live in Cumbayá, which is just outside of Quito. I grew up in a borough (not even big enough to be a town) that was small enough …
Eating in Ecuador
So – plantains! They’re just one of the changes between the food here in Ecuador and the food in the US. Here, we eat plantains almost every day. I learned that there are about a million ways to eat plantains including boiled, fried as empanadas, and as “chips”. Also, I learned that there are approximately …
What it’s like to Start Study Abroad
So I’m really probably not qualified to write this seeing that I just got to Quito this week, but I guess that’s why it’s called a beginner’s guide and not an expert’s guide. Anyway – here’s a little bit of my experience in the first week of being here! I’m going to start out by …
It’s Not Goodbye, It’s See You Later
It has been four days since I returned home from the Mother City. It has been a pleasure to reflect on my time abroad while embracing the reverse culture shock of home. Thank You Cape Town: for your beauty for your diverse cultures for your exotic flavors for your mountains overlooking the ocean for your …
Destination: Desert
Unlike finals week at Hope, finals at the University of Cape Town span over a three-week time frame. I somehow ended up with a 10 day gap in between exams and decided to make the most of it 🙂 We traveled North to the recently declared country of Namibia; a past colony of Germany and …
A Night in Gugulethu
My first sight in Cape Town after landing was the sprawling townships stretching for miles on the outskirts of the city-center. These areas were recognizable for distinct living conditions founded in poverty and injustice. Just over twenty years ago living areas were divided by race and individuals were forcefully removed from their pre-existing homes due …
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