Hola desde Quito!
In my last blog, I mentioned something about “fun surprises”. Well, I was in for probably the “most fun” of these surprises when I learned that the start of classes was pushed back a week due to a university-wide cyberattack. Upon hearing this news, I felt super relieved, as this meant that I had an additional week to become adjusted to Ecuadorian lifestyle and to improve my Spanish before heading onto campus. This additional week would also serve as a great opportunity to become acquainted with other international students and to explore the natural beauty of Ecuador without having the pressure to focus on academic obligations. Us international students were very blessed as USFQ had arranged a full week of fun activities, such as paying soccer/volleyball, learning traditional Hispanic dances, watching a preservation documentary about the Amazon, and visiting geographically unique locations.
Of these activities, my personal favorite was traveling to Mitad Del Mundo, which translates to “middle of the world”. Its name is a direct translation of its geography, as it is located exactly on the equator. Although there are other locations that also lay on the equator, Ecuador’s elevation is significantly higher, making it the closest landmark to the center of Earth. As a science major, it was extremely interesting learning how physical forces behave differently at the center of the equator vs. other locations! To “prove” this behavior, we did many interactive activities that dealt with gravity and balance. My personal favorite was trying to balance an egg on a nail, even though I was very much not successful. I was very ambitious to be successful, however, as I wanted both bragging rights and the “egg master” certificate. I may have not gotten the certificate, but I did get my passport stamped there, which was both an unsuspected and pleasant surprise.
While visiting Mitad del Mundo, my friends and I also visited Museo Iniñan, which is an interactive museum meant to illustrate the traditional lifestyle of Amazonian and Andean indigenous tribes. My favorite part of this museum was being able to tour previously inhabited indigenous houses, which were present many years prior to the exhibit’s construction. I also found it very interesting how guinea pigs were commonly relied on to determine personal health and spiritual energy.
Prior to knowing this, my tour group was asked to walk into one of the traditional houses, where, to none of our knowledge, there were guinea pigs present. Since they didn’t make any noise throughout our duration in the house, it meant that we had good energy, which I will definitely take as a compliment! Lastly, I found the animal species of the Amazon really interesting, but a bit scary. At this museum, they had a replica BABY tarantula, which is by far the biggest spider that I have ever seen; I don’t know if I ever want to see a grown Amazonian tarantula!
These past few weeks I have really enjoyed getting to know my international peers! On Sundays, a group of us get together to play soccer in La Carolina. This has been a very enjoyable experience, as I’ve never really played soccer before, even at the recreational level. One of the guys (Jack), has been helping me learn, which has been so beneficial! After about two weeks of practicing, I think I have improved so much! I even scored my first goal this past Sunday, which felt so good! My personal favorite thing to do on the field is play defense, as I just really like stealing the ball. Hopefully I can take these new soccer skills back to the U.S! I will say, however, the thought of leaving my friends behind in May is already so sad to me!
As it is the end of January, I have completed my first week of classes! I have never felt so overwhelmed, proud, and content in one week. The main thing that I struggled with was determining whether my classes were too easy or too linguistically challenging for me, as all of my classes are in Spanish. Due to this, I have switched most of my schedule around to accommodate for each of these areas.
For the most part, I am now content with my schedule, but I am still a little stressed, as I haven’t yet attended three of the four classes that are currently on my schedule. It has also been a little intimidating trying to talk in classes that have native Ecuadorian students, as they are very linguistically advanced in Spanish! However, all of my encounters with native students have been very positive and I plan to talk to more natives/try to form friendships within the next coming weeks! Heading into February, I feel a little uneasy, but very hopeful that everything academically will work out!
Chao,
Cassie Klagge