Underrated Tourism: Ecuador ??

Students who go abroad with hopes to see many countries and travel as much as they possibly can often study in Europe where traveling is cheap. Of course, where one chooses to study ultimately should be a reflection of their interests and academic goals, but if we are being honest, everyone who goes abroad is …

Family is Everything

How often do you drop everything to have three hour meals with your family? What age were you (or will you be) “kicked” out of your parent’s house? Do you always hug and kiss your family when you first walk in the door and when you’re about to leave? I have been blessed to have …

Lili & Edwin

This week I began my service learning placement in a small town called Lumbísi. This small village is only about 15 minutes from where I live and here I met two shining lights for Jesus! I am serving in a business run out of the home of an indigenous family. They work in agriculture, off …

Faith as small as a Mustard Seed

“He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’” — Matthew 17:20 A mustard seed… “Jesus, I think that’s honestly all …

Oh right… you’re going to school there too

“How’s it going so far? I bet you’re having so much fun!” This is the content of nearly every message I’ve received over the past two weeks. While there is nothing wrong with this and I actually do appreciate the messages, I have to be honest in saying that I am not quite sure what …

¡Bienvenidos a Quito!

Welcome to the land where mountains surround, altitude sickness occurs, hectic traffic and crazy drivers rule the roads, and where people are relational above all things! I left my cozy small town of Zeeland, MI, Monday morning to arrive in the large foreign city of Quito, Ecuador, for the semester. Yes, for the semester… I …

Chiloe Made Me Fall in Love with Nature

Before you begin reading, I invite you watch this video first. It better explains the title than what I have written below. I always say that a video speaks a million words. I must say that I have always appreciated nature but never was really enchanted as I was by it when I filmed this …

The End!

And just like that my semester abroad is coming to a close. In nine days I’ll be sitting in my house in Geneva, Illinois with my family who I haven’t seen for four and a half months. The best word to describe how I’m feeling at this point is content. I’m happy in Ecuador and …

Resorts, Rest, and Realizations

After all of the adventures that I’ve been on this semester, from snorkeling with sharks to hiking a volcano to bungee jumping, it was okay with me this weekend when we decided to take a break and have a relaxing getaway. This weekend we went to a town called Papallacta which is located in the …

Galápagos Getaway

The trip that we’d been waiting for all semester finally came this past weekend and oh was it even more incredible than I could’ve imagined. We went on our second and final IES sponsored excursion and this time it was to the Galápagos Islands. Yes, THE Galápagos Islands, complete with crystal clear water, giant tortoises, and …