Hannah S. - Ecuador - Spring 2010

I have been putting this off for some time now, but it’s about time I update you all at Elmhurst College about the wonderful experiences I am having while studying abroad. I am studying through the program IPSL (International Partnership for Service-Learning and Leadership) that is not only allowing me to study here but I also have a service placement. While being here I have had the opportunity to be immersed in the culture at all different levels. The university I am attending is the top university in Ecuador, where I am taking all my classes in Spanish, which has been difficult but it is improving my Spanish SO much. Then I am living with a host family, which has probably been the biggest insight in Ecuadorian culture for me. First with the food: my mom insists that I don’t eat enough even though she feeds me the hugest lunch AND dinner I have ever eaten. About half the plate is always rice, and then there is usually some kind of potatoes and meat. (Needless to say, I am gaining weight!) I am also seeing the deep importance of family in the culture and the ways in which they interact. Lastly, I have a service placement, which is in a school where most of the children come from families who have parents in prison. At service my main responsibility is teaching English but I have also been able to just love on the kids and form relationships with them.

Other than my day-to-day weekly events, I have had the opportunity to travel the country a lot. I have had some crazy adventures including whitewater rafting (and falling out of the raft…), riding in trucks through winding roads up a mountain, and bartering for gifts at the largest market in South America. I wish I could write about all my adventures but at this point I could probably write a novel! I am about half way through with my experience here and I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone by. I can’t wait to come home but everything here is just so amazing and I have so much I want to do still. I just don’t want to come home with any regrets. There is still so much on my list and I know I am going to want to come back here and see so much more! I love to write so please, ask me any questions you have! Also, I have been blogging while I’ve been here about all my adventures so if you want to read more here is the link: http://hannahsecuadoradventures.blogspot.com/

Kathryn E.-Quito, Ecuador-Spring 2010

When I arrived in Quito, Ecuador´s capital, my host mother met me at the airport. She lives in an apartment with her 23 year old son, who attends the same university as I do during the night. I'm very lucky to live right next to the supermarket, movie theatre, and mall. Also the metro stops directly in front of the stairs leading to my apartment.

One of the best things about Ecuador is that there are a variety of great places to travel, and travel is cheap. A two hour bus ride into a mountain town is only two dollars, and the metro and regular buses are only a quarter each. You can always find a good meal for under $5.00 if you aren’t too picky. You do have to make sure that the food is safe, though, and whether or not you eat anything bad most people have some stomach discomfort at least once during their stay. Chifles (Chee-flays), or banana chips, are about the only safe homemade food that you can buy from street venders. In Mindo the safe place to zip line costs $10.00 for thirteen cables and I hope to take advantage of that again because it was one of the coolest things I have ever done.

In school I am doing well because I understand about 90 percent of what people are saying; however, my literature class is a bit difficult because the language is so much more formal and they sometimes use obscure words or regional dialects to set the scene (many of which are not in the dictionary). I am giving English lessons to my Math teacher for an hour after class because I have nothing to do between my morning math class and my other classes.
Because I am in the service-learning program, I have 5 classes (Monday, weds, Friday) and I am an assistant teacher and sometimes substitute in a school called Colegio America Latina on Tuesday and Thursday.

Differences in eating style are that we have juice all of the time, and that lunch is usually very large and eaten at 2 or 3pm with dinner being very small if not only a snack. There are also a lot of weird fruits to try. You cannot flush the toilet paper, that is why there is always a trashcan (ew). You can only drink bottled water, but that’s not too annoying. There is a lot of pollution (like visible black smoke trailing the buses). Nothing opens before 10am and everything but clubs and restaurants begin to close around 8pm. Sun block and bug spray are about $15.00 a bottle, which is really expensive for here, but you can buy DVDs for two dollars (ka-ching!).

Also, time is an absolute mystery because when people say “right now” it could mean anything from five minutes ago to an hour from now. This is very annoying when my host mother says we are leaving ´right now´ and we do not leave for another twenty to forty minutes. Everyone is like this, and there is hardly ever a clock in any room, including university classrooms.
I know that we are supposed to try and make friends, but really it is nearly impossible in a university where they have on average 200 foreign students. The Ecuadorian students know that we are leaving in four months and do not attempt to become close to us, which I understand. I am, however, getting along very well with my program group. We travel almost every weekend, and have even gone to the rainforest.

People are pick pocketed on the bus, but it is nothing to worry about if you watch your stuff; however you need to take a secure taxi at night. Also, at night they do rob people in certain areas (near the mall). I saw that almost happen last night to some kid down the street. The law does not mean a lot here. There are legitimate stores full of pirated movies every other block and no one does anything to them. People steal and sell dogs all of the time. Minimum wage is not enforced (partly because no one would be able to pay minimum wage and half of the people of Ecuador would be laid off if they enforced it). Also, police will not protect you from being robbed. Businesses and apartment buildings hire security guards because the police do not do their job sufficiently. Also, security guards are serious. They have the right under the law to shoot and kill robbers.

Really, though, if you are not stupid Ecuador is a much less violent country than the United States. They will rob you on the bus but they are much less likely to shoot you afterwards.
I like being in Ecuador a lot because I love to travel with my group on the weekends and see different things. My host mom is very friendly and I get along very well with the other girls. My service work is fun and valuable experience for my future in education, plus I like kids. That´s about it for right now.

John M. - Dublin, Ireland - Spring 2010

I arrived at the Dublin airport in the morning, not knowing what to expect. One thing to note for any of you considering here, you won't always understand the accent, but you'll get used to it in a week or two. IES has been very good at getting everybody involved with the program, and they want to give students a chance to interact.

The city itself is wonderful; there is live music and "fun" about anywhere you go. The Irish people are very friendly, but it's important not to go blabbing on and on. There is a sense of false modesty here, so people don't like to brag. You should bring a sense of humor with you though, as the people like to have a good laugh.

Through IES we don't have a lot of local interaction planned out, so it's kind of up to you yourself to get to know different people of Dublin. I've been pretty successful, meeting people at music shops, and I also joined a local YMCA. As an aside, for 75 euro for three months, having a membership is pretty nice, especially if you've had a long day of class and want some exercise.

As for travels, take every opportunity you can to go around Europe. I've had a blast in London, Paris, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Karlsruhe, and Freiberg. Having said that, make sure you get to know your own country too. For instance, Ireland has many great hiking spots and is incredibly beautiful. Portrush in Northern Ireland was amazing, particularly Giant's Causeway. The west of Dublin has Cliffs of Moher, which is fantastic as well. The city life in Galway contrasts greatly from Dublin, so make sure to make like the locals do. It's been a blast so far, and I would recommend Dublin to anyone. Come and have some Craic, dance, learn, and meet some good people.

Anna P. - London, England - Spring 2010

I’ve been in London for a little over a month now and I have been loving every minute of it. I have done so much since I’ve gotten here, but I still feel like I have a million things left to do. To start at the beginning, my advice is to prepare yourself as much as you can for your arrival. Obviously know where you’re going to stay, in my case it was my program's residence hall, and know how you are getting there. In my case, I even bought my Heathrow express ticket in the US and printed it so all I had to do was walk on the train. Then I had to take a cab from the train station. This is when it is important to have foreign currency with you. In fact I HIGHLY recommend getting a lot of money in the new currency while in the US, many banks give you the straight conversion and don’t charge any fees (I used Chase). I haven’t had to use any ATMs(called cashpoints in London) since I’ve been here since I use my credit card as often for payment. I have a Capital One credit card; I suggest anybody going abroad get one. With any other card you’re going to be charged 1-7% from Visa, Amex, etc. and in addition, a couple of percentage points from your bank, whereas Capital One charges a 1% fee, in other words they eat the fee of Mastercard or Visa. Plus, many of these cards have cash back too. Anyhow, after you plan how you’re getting to point A make sure you don’t have any really tight windows. I think it is really important to be relaxed when you get there, take your time get your bearings and start soaking it in. I had a enormous amount of luggage (still don’t feel like I over packed at all though, only thing I took too much of was dress clothes) and was able to handle it very well since I never rushed myself. I took extra time if I wasn’t sure, asked questions and was okay being one of the last people to get my luggage. When it came time to get a cab, I was upfront. I’m new to this and just gave the taxi driver the printed address of where I needed to go (I suppose this approach works better in some countries then others). I took a 3 hour nap after I got there, forced myself to wake up and didn’t go to bed till 9 that evening (btw I got in at 6:30am).

I haven’t really felt culture shock yet (since I am sure you will have to ask us a question on it), if anything I have skipped to being sad that I am leaving soon already. I miss all my family, friends and my boyfriend, but I’ve never been sad about it and there is not one bit of me that has longed to be home. Like I said, I think now I am just worried I am going to run out of time here. So far I have walked around the city numerous times, gone to a few museums (they are mostly free like D.C. which is awesome). I've been to Stonehenge, seen an African Scops Owl, been to Oxford and saw the Hogwarts Dining hall, went to Wales and had a Welsh cake, seen Bristol, had a terrible hostel experience, “minded the gap” many times, been to the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral, and so many other things that I can’t recall right now. I have gone to class too (not that they are particularly useful here).
I am going to Dublin this weekend and it should be a very interesting trip. I need to leave now for the airport. I welcome your questions, assigned or otherwise. Good Luck!

Cheers,
Anna