From Sept 21st: Again, another amazing weekend! We went to Baños, a town known for its tourism and awesome adventure activities. This weekend was the last one that the Ecology group had free to travel because from now on they are "researching" around Ecuador (aka sitting on the beach and hiking through the mountains). So there were about 21 of us in Baños, I think- a party of our own J. We were up early on Saturday morning to go white-water ra...

From September 14th (I'm behind, I know): I had an INCREDIBLE weekend. Originally, the plan was to go to Esmeraldas for the weekend, a town on the coast. One of the guys in our group, Mike, had contacted someone through the website, couchsurfing.com. Apparently it's a pretty legit site- previous travelers can post reviews on profiles. However, some of our local friends told us that Atacames, another town about an hour away from Esmeraldas, was a bit more ex...

So I'm officially done with the first week of classes. And they are HARD! They are normal-difficulty college classes, but in Spanish. You try reading forty pages of dry historical theory. It takes a while. Now try reading that in Spanish- that takes MUCH longer. I'm also worried for writing essays… I was told going abroad would be a GPA booster (obviously that's not why I chose to travel…), but I am having my doubts. On a happier note, on Friday we went to...

Fun Facts about Ecuador #1: 1. Boston thinks it's health-conscious with more healthy food options and the installation of new bike lanes, but does the city shut down a busy, main street EVERY Sunday so that people can bike? Does Boston hold public aerobic classes in the local park- huge stereo system and music included- for hundreds of participants? EVERY Sunday? Quito does! 2. Ecuadorians don't have the same concept of personal space as we do in the US. In the...

Hola, mi amigos de los estados unidos! Yes, I am still alive after a full day of orientation, two days of class, and almost 4 total days in Ecuador. I feel like I´ve been here for longer than just a few days. Tuesday was orientation for the international students. I successfully navigated the 3 bus transfers to and from the university (my host mother was very proud- she bragged about me to her sister). I was NOT successful, however, in remaining awake during...