My Spanish is at what I can only describe as survival level, meaning that if stranded I might (note: might) be able to talk my way home again. Though meeting my host family is what I am most excited for, I do have a few concerns. If I somehow manage not to offend my host family […]
Personal Reflection
When I was first searching for an overseas program, Ecuador was not the first location to stand out to me on the list. Yes, I wanted to speak spanish, but I did not necessarily think I would want to go to South America. I had romanticized a fulfilling semester studying in the beautiful Spain or […]
Pre-Departure Thoughts
I am beyond excited to be able to travel to Ecuador next spring! I am also becoming increasingly nervous as the reality of the difficulties will be. I am sure that the first month in particular will be scary, because I still don’t feel extremely confident in my Spanish, and the cultural differences will be […]
Pre-Qufu weekend
The weekend before we went to Qufu – Saturday the 31st of October and Sunday the 1st of November – I had the beginnings of a horrible cold, so our schedule was a little miserable for me. Saturday we went to a mall to watch a new movie, “Mountains May Depart,” in the morning. Don’t […]
Jiu Ding Ta
Friday October 30th we went on a field trip with the other international students – one of the first times we’ve gotten to interact with them at length, actually! – and some of the Chinese students to Jiu Ding Ta, which is a… “cultural amusement park” about an hour out of Jinan. The park’s attractions […]