One week you say?

One week from today I will be in on a plane to Ecuador. Wow.

The closer I get the more unreal it seems, and the more I ask myself why I decided to do this. Four months in a foreign country. Seriously, what was I thinking?

Whenever I tell people I am going to Ecuador (and explain to them where it is) the first question they ask is why I picked there. Why not Spain? Why not somewhere with running water? Just to clear things up, Ecuador does have running water, cars, and even cable television. While it is still a developing country, the city I am living in, Quito, is not much different from any big city in America. The differences are largely cultural, which is one of the main reasons I chose Ecuador. While Spain would have been a great experience as well, I feel like studying in Ecuador will be an entirely unique one. The culture and landscape there are so different from anything I have ever experienced, and I am so excited to see what the country has to offer.

Ecuador is absolutely gorgeous (from what I've heard). The Andes Mountains run right down the middle of the country, separating the Amazon rainforest to the east from "la costa" and the beaches to the west. Ecuador also owns the famous Galapagos Islands.

Quito, the capital, is situated in the northern province of Pinchincha and is home to 2 million people. It is a really interesting city because it is extremely long and very narrow. I will be living in Quito with a host family and taking classes at La Universidad San Francisco de Quito. It is a small private college of about 2,500 students, a big change from Madison! USFQ is actually located in Cumbaya, a small city just outside of Quito, so I will most likely be taking a bus to school. I signed up for classes a couple weeks ago, and will be taking four classes (all in Spanish!). Right now it looks like I will only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is great for traveling but means those two days will be long ones.

I'm not sure what my internet access will be like while I'm down there, but I will try and update this as often as I can with happenings, struggles and Platonic advice on life. For now, I still have a ton of packing to do, last minute things to get, and a lot of people to say goodbye to. Pray for me as I head off...I will definitely need it.

“No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive.” -Mahatma Gandhi