It’s been two weeks now since the program ended, and I write this final post back at my house, surrounded by my family, my cats, and a roaring fire to fight the Illinois cold. The program ended in a blur after arriving to Baños for our final retreat. While there, we took some time to …
Tag Archives: Ecuador
Ecuador, At A Glance
If you’ve been following me along with the semester so far, you’ve probably noticed a gap in my posts upon arriving to Ecuador. Time (as well as my 15 page research paper) caught up to me, but I’ll do my best to recap the whirlwind of the last month now! 45 straight hours of travel …
Nepal Vol. II
After the main two days of the Dashain festival were over, we jumped back into classes with a few exciting site visits. First, we headed to the Nepali World Wildlife Foundation headquarters to learn about their mission and projects as an NGO. Afterward, we headed to what was probably one of my favorite site visits …
Trekking Volcanos
Spring Breaking in Isabela Island Pt. 2 Between our 3rd and 4th modules, we have a week-long spring break in which we are free to hop between islands of the archipelago. This blog will cover my 2nd day on Isabela Island, after I separated myself from the IES Abroad itinerary, to climb a volcano with …
Snorkeling Los Tuneles
Spring breaking on Isabela Island Pt. 1 Between our 3rd and 4th modules, we have a week-long spring break in which we are free to hop between islands of the archipelago. This blog will cover my 1st day on Isabela Island when IES Abroad took us to snorkel Los Tuneles. Geological Background Formally known as …
Castaway in Paradise
My Reflections on Island Life It’s been exactly 60 days since I set foot on a flight from Chicago to Quito, Ecuador. 58 days since arriving in San Cristóbal Island. If you’ve ever been on a flight toward an unfamiliar country, you’ll know the feeling of butterflies right before you step off the plane. That …
Nature is My Classroom
I knew coming into the Galapagos program that I would get hands-on learning experiences in biology. I never expected it to this degree, and I am beyond grateful for the unique learning opportunities this program provides. Regardless of your track, you may land in an impermanent classroom that’s always on the move. Sure, you may …
Packing Mistakes Were Made
Because there’s a whole lot of stuff the pamphlets don’t tell you! I spent months preparing for my study abroad program in the Galapagos, read every packing list I could find, in efforts of arriving to the Galapagos fully prepared for any situation. I got a lot of things right, but I also got a …
This One is for the Coffee Enthusiasts!
Turns out there’s a whole lot of biology behind that latte… While my program track is Evolution, Ecology and Conservation, I’m in a climate change class for the next three weeks from the Sustainability track in my study abroad program. Monday through Thursday, we have 3 hr. long lectures at the Galapagos Science Center. On …
Fluency?
One of the major things I wanted to work on this semester was becoming a fluent Spanish speaker. Now that I’m almost done, I can’t help but wonder if I actually made it there. I started my Spanish journey in my early teens, and I don’t think that I’ll ever be mistaken for a native …
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