Ecuador

Blog 1

¡¡Saludos de Quito!! Me llamo Corinna, y ahorita estoy estudiando en la Universidad San Fransisco de Quito. I have been here for about 6 weeks now (woah!) and am LOVING it. Something really unique about my experience is that I had the opportunity to stay with a host family. Most international students here are placed with host families that provide a private room, bathroom, and two meals a day (as well as lots of love and support). This is the first time IGP students have had the opportunity to study in Ecuador, and I’m so glad I switched up my plans to come here. It’s a smaller, private university which is very different from NAU, it only takes about 5 minutes to walk from one end of campus to the other (so convenient). Campus is beautiful and my classes are all relatively small which is also very nice.  

Anyways, to stay on topic for this blog post, LANGUAGE! That’s what were all doing this for right? So far, the most important think I’ve learned is to go easy on myself. I was (for some unknown reason) under the impression that it would take me about a month to feel really comfortable speaking Spanish. Wrong. I’ve certainly improved with some local, colloquial vocabulary, but as far as fluency goes, it’s slow going. What I’ve found out is it comes down to is simply my daily energy levels and ability to focus. Some days I feel flooded with confidence and find myself having genuine conversations with my family or local students. Some days I can’t even remember how to properly introduce myself. I’ve learned it won’t be linear, but if I trust in the process, with time and patience I will improve.  

It feels very powerful to have multilingual capabilities, and it’s so so satisfying when I’m able to make a genuine connection with someone while speaking my second language. Another thing I think is important about language practice abroad is the actual practice part. Just being in another country isn’t enough, and I’ve found I’m only going to get valuable practice if I push myself and put myself out there to have bad conversations where I fumble and fail multiple times. This is still something I’m working on being better at because it’s really difficult to voluntarily put myself in an embarrassing situation, BUT I know it’s truly the only way I’m going to get good.  

If you’re reading this as someone who is prepping for your year abroad, be excited, (this is all so exciting!!!!) but also be ready to struggle more than you might have anticipated. That being said, always remember that you can do hard things, and you will ALWAYS emerge a little smarter. 

Blog 2

Hi all! 

As my journey abroad hits two months, I’m continuing to learn and grow from everything I’m experiencing. Things that initially felt foreign or uncomfortable now feel normal. I’m slowly figuring out how to adopt new ways life while also maintaining some my own habits and ways of doing things. One thing that has been a big adjustment is how social the culture is here. On campus, people are always hanging out in large groups, and its uncommon to see people sitting by themselves unless they’re actively doing homework. At home, I live to just sit on campus and read a book or work or crochet or just chill by myself, but it’s felt sort of uncomfortable doing that here. I’ve started making a bigger effort to hang out with groups of people at campus but have also just gotten over that embarrassment of sitting alone and will do it sometimes when I feel like it.  

On the topic of language, it’s fun to hear and learn new slang and jokes and phrases that make Spanish and Ecuadorian unique. The more I get to talk with locals, the more I understand their language and culture, in turn making me a more inter-culturally competent and sensitive. I’m learning about what is valued more here that an home. For example, family is so so so important here. Almost all of my host family’s family lives no more than a 10 minute walk from our house, and they get together frequently just to hang out. This is so different from the US where people often see their extended family only around the holidays.  

Two months in and I am still learning something new everyday. Improving my Spanish day by day has been so rewarding and I can’t wait to see it progress even more! 

Blog 3

Hi all!! 

Wow, I cannot believe that the semester is almost done… My time at USFQ has been amazing. It feels rewarding to have surrounded myself with people who have given me the space and support to grow and learn about myself and the people and world around me. Before coming here, I spend the whole summer stressing and worrying I was making a mistake and dreading the FOMO I was convinced I’d feel plagued with. I grew up in Flagstaff, so it was hard and really scary to move away from my hometown for the very first time. However, it took me almost no time to realize that leaving was exactly what I needed in order to continuing growing as an individual. Being somewhere where no one knew me, and I knew no one was so freeing. Since being here, I have learned how to lead with confidence, how to speak my mind without fear of judgement, and most importantly, how many amazing, interesting, wonderful people exist in this world. Between my host family, local friends, other international students, professors, I have found love and support in a country I barely knew anything about 6 months ago. I have no FOMO, no regrets about my decision to come here, and a lot of great stories I get to cherish and share for the rest of my life.  

Now I guess I have to talk about the way less exciting things (sorry profe). My advice with language development abroad is pretty simple. Just practice. My favorite place to practice spanish is in taxis and ubers. There is zero consequence if you don’t have great grammar or fluency, because you will most likely never see this person again in your life. I’ve found that the drivers love talking to foreigners and getting the chance to share some of their culture with you, and often ask some thought provoking questions about your interpretation of their country and also your own. In classes, it’s important to participate. Discussion is a much larger part of the classroom dynamic here than it is in the US, and it shows your professors that you want to be there and you’re passionate about your education when you speak up in class.  

The concept of networking, I’ve learned, is a skill to be mastered. Making friends requires confidence, connecting with professors requires effort, and creating professional relationships requires honesty. You have to be willing to put your true self forward if you want to make good friends who will stick by you and grow beside you. You have to show that you care about your education and you want to be good student in order to learn from your professor. Most importantly, when you need something from anyone, you have to ask for it. When I was looking for internship options, I had no idea where to start, so I just started asking adult figures I’ve met here if they, or anyone they knew had a job they wanted to give me. I asked my tour guide in Peru, a friend who owns a hostel in Quito, the international program staff, and so many more. I had three or four potential internships in the works until I found the one that I felt was the best fit for me. There are potential professional relationships all around us, we just have to be honest about what we need, and ask for it.  

All of this that I’ve learned in the last months did not come to me without struggle. There has been plenty of that. My best advice I can give to get through the stress and anxiety and homesickness that comes with being abroad is to remind yourself that this is all temporary. It will not last forever, and while you’re here, you might as well learn somethings, right? So, before you start your time abroad, do a little self analyzation of yourself, your perceptions of the world and the people that live in it, the things you’re scared of, the things you love and hate, ect…, and as time goes on, do some self check-ins and see what’s changed and try and figure out why. I’ve been doing this and it’s been a great way to show myself some good love and remind myself why I’m here in the first place.  

Sorry for the long post, but there is always a lot to say! Que les vaya bien!! 

Blog 4

Holiss!!! 

I hope everyone has had an amazing semester, whether you’re abroad or in Flag. It’s really hard to believe that my time at USFQ is coming to an end. I have two more final exams next week and then I’m done! I don’t remember if I mentioned this in my last blog, but my internship next semester is going to be in Antigua, Guatemala, which I am so excited about. I’ll be staying in Quito for the holidays but my family is coming to visit and I can’t wait to see them. It will be really fun to see what kind of christmas celebrations take place here (I know new years is going to be crazy!!).  

The topic of this blog post is professional interactions. I know I touched on this in my last blog, but what I’ve found is the key to finding professional relationships is to be honest about what you need to people, and I mean all people. You never know who might have a connection to something perfect for you. Also, even if the person you ask doesn’t have anything promising, they’re going to remember you asked and might keep an ear out in the future for you.  

I’ve never worked in a professional setting before so there is a part of me that is really nervous for my internship. However, I’m confident in my abilities to adapt and learn quickly, so as far as how to manage ongoing professional relationships, I’ll have to get back to you on that.  

This semester here at USFQ has been unreal. The people I’ve met, places I’ve seen, and lessons I’ve learned are things I will cherish forever, and I’m feeling very emotional about this chapter of my time abroad wrapping up. It’s crazy to think that I was so nervous before coming here and feeling like I was making a mistake, and now I don’t want it to end. If you’re getting ready for your time abroad, and you’re feeling scared, I promise you that will pass so quickly, and you will fall in love with your host country. This has truly been one of the most growth permitting experiences of my life, which is something I didn’t realized I needed until I was in it. 

Happy Holidays everyone, les quiero mucho!!! 

Chao :,))) <3