I’ve been avoiding thinking about it all day… even when I packed up all my stuff (it fit, just barely… I did the “sit on top of it to zip it up” trick), even when watching Sarita’s Christmas program and thinking my heart might burst out of sheer cuteness of preschoolers dancing & singing Christmas tunes, and even when teaching Grandma Fanny how to make Rice Krispies fifteen minutes before I left the front door. …leaving. I held it together as my host parents drove me the 10 minutes from [...]

Is that smoke coming from just outside the city? “No, Colin, está dentro de la ciudad.” Through the classroom window, I couldn’t help but notice the large mass of smoke consuming the city with a dark haze. La Parque Metropolitano, occupying more than 550 acres of northwest Quito, has fallen victim to the unforgiving sierra sun. Yet, as I sit at a table with three of my current professors, I seem to be the only one concerned about this imminent fiery doom. “Cálmate, mi amigo, son cosas que pasan.” There [...]

“ay, eres alto!” After stepping under a street lamp in the bleakly lit parking lot of the Supermercado, I bent over to greet my host mother for the first time. My apparent gigantism seems to be a common theme throughout my travels, and the population of Ecuador is no exception. Pilar, my host mother, is roughly as tall as my belly button. Yet, our extreme difference in height does not stop her from giving me one of the warmest welcome, a hug and kiss on the cheek, I have ever [...]

“What the hell, Milo.” After spending the past year on campus at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, I had forgotten the golden rule while living in the Wendt residence: always shut the door behind you. My once packed suitcase now lies in a pile of its own   newly wrinkled guts after Milo, the family English Springer Spaniel, decided to retrieve the sneakers nestled at the bottom of hours of meticulous organization. With only two days before I leave for Ecuador I am back to square one, and, to make [...]

So I am back in the United States after a twelve hour plane journey from Quito to Chicago I was picked up from the airport by the lovely Kendal Ann (Cupcake) and my mom.  I found my self stuttering with English and thanking the people that got me through customs in Spanish.  It is always great to come home, but weird at the same time.  I had a really wonderful experience abroad.  I am most proud of my language improvement and my academic work,  this study abroad program has advantages [...]

I am officially back at home in Illinois! Last week my parents came to visit me in Ecuador – and despite some major problems with flights, we had a great week! After finally picking them up at the airport, we headed back to stay with my host family in Quito! On Saturday, we went with my mom & brother around to different sites in Quito – we visited Mitad del Mundo (the Equator), the Basilica, and the historic center and on Sunday headed 2 hours north to Otavalo to visit [...]

So these are my last days in Quito and Ecuador.  I moved back from Otavalo last Saturday and had the opportunity to meet my dad’s boss (the one from the U. S.) and he gave me a bunch of goodies from my parents which was awesome! But, here in Quito I have finished my paper, turned out to be a total of 40 pages and I get to present everything I have learned from my internship on Friday, which should just be super fun. Then I fly out of Quito [...]

I spent this weekend at “home” in Quito with my family – all in all, it was a fantastic weekend and just what I needed :) On Thursday, our school held a Thanksgiving celebration for all of the students here. It wasn’t quite the same – but it was a nice thought and a great time to reunite with friends. It was held in a nice banquet room and everyone brought a dish to share! I attempted to make apple crisp, and despite a few different ingredients, it surprisingly turned [...]

his is the first blog post I write with tear-filled eyes… Unfortunately, I leave Quito tomorrow morning…and with that I also leave behind many friends and a wonderful family. Although I will be back throughout the next couple weeks, it’s starting to set in how little time I have left here and I can already feel my heart breaking!! …here’s a recap of the weekend: On Friday, I finished my last day of class with an essay and presentation! After classes I was able to finalize all of the details [...]

Today I find myself in the middle of the last Saturday in Quito before I start a six-week internship on Monday!  I have enjoyed my time in here, but I am ready to say chau, hasta luego!  For I know it will be all too soon when I am back in Quito on a Saturday preparing for my flight home. On Monday, I am moving to Cotocachi, north of Quito by about 2 hours and about 20 minutes away from one of the world’s biggest artisan markets in Otovalo.  I will be living [...]

I’ve had a great past week here in Ecuador! After classes last Friday I flew with two friends to Cuenca, a city about 6 hours south of Quito. After a quick flight (35 minutes in the air!), we landed in Cuenca and had the night to walk around the beautiful city! It seemed a lot like Europe to me and was so much cleaner and youthful than Quito! An incredible sunset from the airplane – definitely a sign of a fantastic trip to come! The beautiful city of Cuenca! Overall, [...]

I am sitting in my room writing an analysis about a short story called “la vuelta” or “the return,” it is a very abstract story and I need to write my final Spanish paper on it…  Its about 9 pages long and has a lot of colloquial language… goodness!  Anyway, so I was trying to finish this paper, and was longingly looking outside at the mountains that surround this valley city and saw this amazing sunset!   It passed within about five minutes, as I type this now the lights of the [...]

Last week was just a normal week in Quito! We had a full week of classes, with some time off to write our essay…that’s what I love about school here. With all of our 3 essays (yes, I have to remind myself this is the equivalent of a semester at home) we have time off during the week to work on it (aka explore Quito). So, last week I went to the market and out to lunch a few times! This weekend was the most adventure-filled, by far! I, along [...]

Good morning to all! I can’t believe it’s already Tuesday. It was a great weekend, but went by way too fast . This weekend I stayed at home for the fiestas in my neighborhood, San Isidro del Inca. From my understanding, each neighborhood here has its own weekend of festivals in celebration of their “virgin”. This weekend my neighborhood was celebrating La Virgen Mercedes, which basically means 3 days of non-stop activities, music, and dancing! I’m glad I stayed in Quito for it, it was a lot of fun and [...]

It has been a while!!  I have been busy and been traveling!  Since the new program started I have read many articles about Ecuador, globalization, westernization, the Andean cosmovision, education, the new constitution, and so much more.  I wrote a group paper, and spent great time with amazing people. As a big group of gringos we travel to communities who are working to sustain their indigenous cultures, cultivate their land, offer everything and more to their youth, and contribute to the world or larger community market.  First we visited a rose plantation, which is [...]