Last spring on a whim, I signed up to study abroad in Ecuador. Before I knew it, I was on the plane only to be arriving in Quito in a matter of hours. I wanted to go home when the realization hit, but I didn't. My host family met me at the airport and took me home. They were great! I had a mother, a father and three sisters—all around my age.

 

"Cuy," or Guinea pig. is a diner's delicacy in Ecuador!

While in Ecuador I attended Catolica University and took classes in Spanish, and Ecuadorian culture and music. I also completed a service-learning project that changed my life: I worked in a day care center in a women's prison. It was the most difficult, yet most rewarding experience of my life! I can't begin to tell you all that my eyes have seen.

 

We took our Spanish classes at Catolica University.

When we had some free time, the nine other students from Eastern and I traveled through Ecuador. We went to the beach in Atacamas for my birthday and the national holiday (Battle of Pichincha), Banos, the equator, Otalvalo, Cotopaxi, Mindo, the Amazon and many more places. The most amazing of those places for me was the Amazon. I remember riding on top of the tour bus through the rainforest while picking and eating the fruit. I also had the opportunity to visit a native Quichua family.

 

Quito is Ecudador's capitol city.

Studying abroad is a life-changing experience. It's not all easy, but the rewards are far beyond anything you could imagine. It has helped me to grow as a person and as a citizen. I now appreciate life and the freedom we enjoy here in the United States. I wish that everyone would take this once in a lifetime chance and study abroad.