Ecuador – Page 2 – Journals from Abroad

November 20, 2023

More Of The Same

You thought I was done with the trips at the end of the last blog? Well, you must really not know me then because I go above and beyond for everything 🙂

So, where did we last leave off? Oh, yes, we were on the train to Florence. Well guess what, we made it to Florence!

We arrived at the train station around 8am and stashed our luggage in a storage locker, and then set out to find some breakfast. We settled on Starbucks, because it was close to the walking tour where we had to be at 10, and let me tell you I have never seen a fancier Starbucks. It looked like some futuristic hotel/spa entrance. So, we decided to park ourselves there until it was time for the tour and just chat with each other for a little while.

Photo of a Starbucks order counter with lights coming out from the bottom of the counter and around the top of the walls, looking almost like an industrial spaceship — Fancy Starbucks

Then we set off on our walking tour. This was a tour by the same company as the one we went on in Rome, and it lasted about 2 hours. The tour was led by a native Florentine and she was very knowledgeable about all of the historical information she shared about Florence. We hit some important historical spots including the houses of the Medici family, the Duomo, medieval towers, and of course the David statue in the main square.

A large stone building with two domes sitting on top. One larger, in the foreground, one smaller, in the background — The side of the Duomo in the mid- morning sunlight

A very tall tower with extremely straight, square sides in a dark, shadowy alleyway in Florence’s medieval district — A tall medieval Florentine tower

After that, we ate at a great family owned and operated Italian sandwich shop for lunch and walked to a wonderful, small gelato shop on one of the farther edges of the main city. We took some time to just walk around, going along one of the bridges overlooking a river and heading into some small shops.

After that, Elizabeth had to register for classes, so we went back to our favorite Starbucks to do a little bit of work and recharge for a bit before heading back out and looking for a ring for me, and we found one right across the street from the Starbucks! We then went to dinner at this cute restaurant called Dante e Beatrice, and I can confidently say that getting risotto in Italy is so much better than risotto anywhere else.

It was a quick walk back to the train station from there where we boarded our train to rest for about 3 hours. It was a very short stay in Milan, (we only had about 2 hours of sleep in our hotel), and then headed to the airport. Elizabeth flew home to London and I went to Paris to meet up with my cousins who were vacationing there! All in all, Florence was amazing and I would definitely go back. The Duomo at dusk was one of the most beautiful sights to see.

An order counter at a Florentine sandwich shop with breads and meats in the foreground and cooktops behind the counter with lots of penents and framed photos lining the wall behind it — Florentine sandwich lunch stop

A very long, clear lake reflecting the midafternoon sun and lined with walkways and buildings on either side. A bridge sits far off in the background on top of the lake — Walking around Florence

Midafternoon gelato stop

A wide open field in the foreground with marble/stone buildings lining the outside of the field making a curved shape. The midafternoon sun is casting almost the entire field in the foreground in shadow — Beautiful Florentine square

Clara in the foreground, from shoulders up, standing on the street in front of the entrance to the Duomo. Lots of people are milling around behind her — Proof that I was actually at the Duomo

Clara’s hand, with a ring on her pointer and ring fingers. The ring on her pointer finger is 7 very thin rows of silver beads all in line with one another to make a very thick band. The ring on the ring finger is a gold band that gets wider at the top and sets a clear, fake diamond — 2 rings I got in Florence

An alleyway alongside the Duomo showing the main entrance as well as part of the side that shows the dome peeking out in the background. The photo was taken at sunset, so the sky is a bit darker blue and the warm streetlight gives the whole building a very warm, inviting glow — Duomo at dusk

After a relatively peaceful flight and a decently long Uber ride, I arrived at my hotel in Paris! I had a little bit of time to get settled, take a shower, and relax before I met my cousins and I cherished every second of it because I was running on 2 hours of sleep, a 4:15AM wake up time, and 20,000 steps the day before. But once I was a bit recharged, I was ready to meet my cousins outside my hotel. We took a short walk to a cute wine bar and sat outside to catch up over some wonderful champagne and orange wine.

We then headed off to our dinner reservation at this small bistro that my cousin had found. It seemed to be populated by a lot of French locals and we split 5 dishes, a bottle of red wine, and a crème brûlée among the 3 of us. That may have been the best meal I have ever had in my life… no – scratch that. That WAS the best meal I’ve ever had in my life. Everything was so simple, yet so perfected and well prepared that even things that I wouldn’t normally like (mushrooms for example) were so delicious that I wished the plate was bigger. We had such good conversation and I really felt like I bonded with my cousins that night.

Olin, Clara, and Shila sitting from left to right in a selfie. Olin is taking the selfie and Clara and Shila are holding wine glasses with champagne in them. The bottle of champagne sits on the table in front of them and the street lies behind them at dusk — Olin (left), Clara (middle), and Shila (right) enjoying champagne at a wine bar on the first night of the Paris trip

The next day was one of my only days to have a decent amount of sleep on this trip, so I made the most of that. But eventually I got up and headed out to explore Paris with my cousins for the day. We started with coffees and pan a chocolait at a cool coffee bar, and then made a few stops at places like the Notre Dame, the outside of the Louvre and Shakespeare & Co bookstore.

Overall, though, we avoided the main touristy attractions in favor of leisurely strolling along the Seine, having lunch in the gardens, and just stopping to take in the beauty of the architecture of Paris. We capped off the night with some delicious Greek food and I woke early the next morning to head back to Nottingham.

A wide open square with a few people standing in it in the foreground. In the background is the Notre Dame standing very tall in a partly cloudy sky — View of the Notre Dame

Leaves of a tree color the foreground, and through them you see the sunlight in midday Paris reflecting on the Seine — Sunlight reflecting on the Seine

A photo of Clara’s hand very close up showing a ring on her middle finger. A small square clear stone sits on top of the band of the ring — Ring collection, Paris edition

Olin on the left and Clara on the right, sitting in armchairs in a dimly lit bar, each holding a cocktail. Olin’s is in a shorter tumbler glass and Clara’s is a taller, skinnier cylindrical cocktail glass — Olin and Clara (and Shila not pictured), sharing cocktails at an experimental cocktail bar before dinner in Paris.

The day after I returned, I had the opportunity to participate in the Mahaffey speech and debate tournament hosted by Linfield online. It was a very late night for me and, though I didn’t end up as a finalist in anything, it was still a great experience.

Close up of Clara, slightly smiling with curly hair flowing around her shoulders and bright red lipstick. In her hand she holds a small black binder, and behind her are rows of red fabric seats and desks — Before I gave 6 speeches in the middle of the night for the Mahaffey speech and debate tournament

The next week was fairly tame. Not much happened. I attended my classes and caught up on work. This past Saturday, though, I went to see the new Hunger Games installment with my friend KEESHA. It was amazing and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re at all a fan of the Hunger Games universe.

An old historical looking building sits behind a large looming tree. A marquis reads “Hunger Games Prequel” — Movie theater where I watched The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes

The next few weeks will also be pretty academically focused, as I’m nearing the end of my semester here and have several essays coming up. But, I’ll be sure to keep any updates posted here so you can follow along with my journey.

That’s all for now!

Cheers!

-Clara

November 7, 2023

Trips On Trips

Welcome back to your virtual tour of England and beyond! (You’re in for a bit of a longer read this time, sorry not sorry!)

I’m sitting here writing this on the Italo train from Rome to Florence, but before I tell you about that, let’s backtrack to some things that have happened over the last couple of weeks.

My life is in shambles…

Ok, not really, but I did visit the shambles while on a trip to York!

York was another day trip, similar to Cambridge, with transportation organized by the UoN travel society. So as per usual, I pre-ordered my ticket and hopped on a bus with my travel buddy, Elizabeth, at 8:00AM and we headed off to York. After a bit of a delay, and a fear that we wouldn’t make our tour we had scheduled for 11:00AM, we made it to the York Chocolate Story (yeaaaa we were around 15 minutes late but let’s just choose to ignore that cause we still were allowed on the tour by some very wonderful chocolatiers). The tour of the history was fascinating and we even got to experiment with making a chocolate lollipop as a part of the tour!

The edge of a chocolate swirl sculpture in the top left corner, with the main focus of the photo being a round table with a few bowls and cups in the middle where people will soon be making chocolate lollipops — Chocolate lollipop workstation

A round flat plate with two flattened bags on top. Atop those bags are two chocolate lollipops decorated with chocolate shavings — Clara and Elizabeth’s chocolate lollipops

After that, we went on to York Minster. We didn’t go inside because we didn’t have tickets for that, but even the outside was gorgeous, and the church bells chiming was very interesting. I’ve never heard a church bell that chimed consistently or with as many different tones as this one.

A large church facade with a bell tower perturbing up from the front most corner — York Minster

Then we refueled at a very bougie Starbucks

People sat at many tables with 3 large arched windows in a high ceiling Ed room — The most classic British Starbucks there ever was.

And then we headed out to the shambles. It’s said that the setting for Harry Potter was inspired by the shambles, and as such, there are a lot of Harry Potter themed shops in the narrow walkways within the shambles. Though it was very cool to pass through, the streets are very crowded and Elizabeth and I opted for the shambles market instead.

Many people walking towards the camera in a narrow pedestrian only road with many small shops on either side — The small roads of the Shambles

Something that I’ve decided to do on this study abroad is, for every city I visit, I’m going to try to find a ring at a vintage store or a vendors market. (No I promise I’m not gollum), but as rings are my favorite kind of jewelry, and I want things that I collect on this trip to be able to be used for a long time and not just be postcards that I keep in a box and take out once in awhile, I figured this would be a good way to remember my trip while getting some use out of the product, and trying my best to support local shops/artisans. All that being said, at the shambles market, we found a jewelry vendor and I picked up 2 rings!

Clara’s hand, outstretched, showcasing 3 rings. A silver band with two engraved lines on the pointer finger, a silver and gold indented diamond pattern and edging on the ring finger, and a silver indented diamond patterned ring on the pinky finger — Ring from Cambridge, (on pointer finger), and two rings from York (on ring and pinky fingers)

Our last stop on the York trip was the oldest pub in England, the Golden Fleece. There is a lot of history in that pub, but we didn’t really have time to stop and fully experience it because we were on a time crunch to return to the coach to take us back to Nottingham.

Small hole in the wall entrance to the Golden Fleece with a barn looking decor style — Exterior of The Golden Fleece

The next week of classes was a lot of prep work for our end of term essays coming up in December, and I did a lot of brainstorming on the topics I want to write about. Some of the highlights include the intersecting identities between class and gender associated with a song, as well as the contributions costume design has for film. I also had a debate tournament which was an internal debate competition between members of the debaters union at UoN and my partner and I took 2nd in the whole tournament! The trophy was so tiny and cute.

Clara, hair down and slight smile, looking at the camera for a selfie holding up a tiny trophy smaller than her hand — Debate tournament trophy

Now, we arrive at this weekend.

Elizabeth and I woke ourselves up at 4:45AM on Saturday the 4th of November to get to the East Midlands airport and fly to Rome.

Clara and Elizabeth seated side by side on an airplane from Nottingham to Rome before takeoff — Clara (left) and Elizabeth (right), before takeoff to Rome

We arrived at the hotel at around 3pm and immediately turned around and went into the city for dinner and dessert. And what else are you gonna get in Rome but pasta and gelatos? Elizabeth had found this place in the heart of Rome called Nannarella which was famous for its fresh pasta, and I can confirm, it was absolutely delicious. The gelato we got was just down the street and was such a cute little shop. We then found a small vintage store where I added another ring to my collection.

Two Wok style bowls, a tin of bread between them, and a glass of Rose wine to the right, sat atop a small dining table — 2 spaghetti Carbonaras for dinner in Rome night 1

Fist showing a gold ring with a blue heart stone on the middle finger — Rome ring

Then yesterday, we did a 2-hour walking tour of some of the Piazzas in Rome which was a great way to knock out a lot of the tourist spots quickly and with someone who has the historical knowledge that our tour guide has.

A very old, historic looking church about 3 stories tall — Piazza Altieri

Large open space in the foreground with a few stairs, and a large white building in the background with a bright sun coming through the two towers — Large meeting square in Rome

Clara in the foreground standing in front of the Trevi Fountain with a large smile on her face — Looking for my soulmate at the Trevi Fountain

We also made a quick trip to the Vatican as well as the gardens at the villa Borghese, which have some beautiful walking/running trails and a gorgeous lake. We then circled back for dinner near the colosseum, and lastly, went back for the Spanish steps and some more gelato.

Clara standing in the open square outside the Vatican — The Vatican

A beautiful lake reflecting a floating gazebo with a couple of pillars — The gardens at the villa Borghese

Photo of the back side of the colosseum with the very beginning of a sunset on the right side — The colosseum

Large rectangular pizza with six large slices of salami on top in the foreground, a large plate of Gnocci with red sauce in the background — Pizza Diavola and Gnocci with pesto and Raghu for Rome dinner night 2

This all brings us to right now; me, having woken up at 4:15AM, sitting on a train to Florence, where Elizabeth and I will be for around 13-14 hours before we hop on another train to Milan, stay about 5 hours at a hotel, and get up at around the same time tomorrow where she will fly to London and head back to Nottingham, and I will fly to meet up with some family in Paris for a couple of days before going back to Nottingham. But that’s for next time. Until then, I’ll just be here balancing work with some of the most amazing travel experiences of a lifetime.

Small train window showing a glaring sunrise over the countryside outside Florence — Sunrise on trails from Rome to Florence

Cheers!

-Clara

October 23, 2023

Exploring and Adjusting

Hi and welcome to the first blog about me actually living in Nottingham! We have lots to discuss…

This blog post will cover two larger experiences I have had and a couple of smaller updates

The day after writing the last post, I ended up going to something called the Goose Fair with a few friends, Aki, Chloe, and Abhita. The Goose Fair is a big traveling fair that comes to Nottingham every fall and it’s the biggest fair in the UK. Needless to say, there were a lot of rides and a lot of people. I (along with a mix of the friends that joined me depending on the ride), went on 3 rides: a Ferris wheel, a giant rotating swing, and something called the Xtreme which is very hard to explain but made me very dizzy and feel like i was flying sideways in an airplane. This was a very fun event and it allowed for a few of my friends that didn’t know each other to meet as well.

Clara, Aki, Chloe, and Abhita sitting in a circular Ferris Wheel car high above the lights of the Goose Fair shining at night below — From left to right, Clara, Aki, Chloe, and Abhita, all sitting in a Ferris Wheel car at the top of the wheel.

Ferris wheel on the left and in the background, Swing (looks like a tower with pointed petals sticking straight out from the top of it), lighted, on the right and in the foreground — Ferris wheel and swing rides

The other big event was my day trip to Cambridge! I joined a travel society here and they arrange day trips for us to cities around England. And by arrange, I mean they get us all together on a couple coaches and take us to and from, but once we are there, what we do is almost completely up to us. I went with two friends, Elizabeth and Angela, pictured below,, and we went to everything we possibly could despite the complete downpour of rain while we were there. We started the day with a trip to a cafe that Elizabeth found and got brunch, then we went to the Great St. Mary’s church and climbed the tower. We then tried to get on a boat tour on the river Cam, but unfortunately, because of the rain, they weren’t running the tours. Angela wanted to go see a poem inscribed on a stone in King’s College, so we walked around and started by going into the chapel there. It was beautiful and everyone there was so kind (we were all seeking shelter from the rain so we all felt a sense of kinship).

After that, we went to see this poem. Angela, having studied the poem extensively in her home country of Taiwan, translated the poem, written in traditional Chinese, for Elizabeth and I, and told us what the poem was about. The poet had studied in Cambridge and the poem was essentially his goodbye letter to the city.

After we had seen everything there was to see at King’s College, we walked around some shopping centers and vintage stores before going to get dinner at a traditional Neapolitan pizza restaurant. Once we were done with dinner we hopped back on the coach and came back to the university. I had an amazing trip with Elizabeth and Angela and I look forward to more trips with them in the future.

Two sandwiches sitting on two plates in the foreground, one iced latte with a spiral colored paper straw and two hot chocolates sitting on a tray in the background on a polka dotted table — Breakfast sandwiches and morning coffee/cocoa to start the day

A short but majestic looking apple tree growing in a grassy patch in front of an old English style building at King’s college — Isaac Newton’s gravity tree

Angela, Clara and Elizabeth standing in an archway that look out onto an old historical building — From left to right, Angela, Clara, and Elizabeth standing in an archway near King’s College in Cambridge

King’s College chapel with beautiful intersecting arches carved into the ceiling that make intricate patterns. Stained glass windows cover the walls and shine a little bit of light through — King’s College Chapel

In the left bottom corner you can see a bit of the river that runs through king’s college. Then there is a big open field and behind that you can see some of the historic buildings like the chapel and tower on the king’s college campus — View from the bridge inside King’s College

A poem written in traditional chinese characters inscribed on a light colored stone sitting in an alcove next to a patch of grass — Traditional Chinese poem

3 Neapolitan pizzas sitting on top of a red and white checkered table — Our dinner of traditional Neapolitan pizza

Some other updates on my life so far:

Classes have still been going great. I feel like I am adjusting to the structure of English university well and even though the lectures are rather big, we get to engage a lot with the course material in seminars.

I also haven’t completely lost touch with Linfield or my friends/family. I still talk to people from home quite a bit and I have started planning the courses I want to take in the spring semester. It’s definitely a weird feeling doing that from halfway across the world, but I am excited about what lies ahead for me at Linfield after I return.

Some of my Swift-ness friends will be happy to know that I can now say I have seen the Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie! One of my friends here, Keesha, is a big Taylor Swift fan, and I went to see it with her. It was a great movie and a wonderful performance, and it was so fun to be surrounded by a group of people who you could just tell were having the time of their lives watching a concert performed by someone they all love.

Keesha and Clara sitting in a movie theater waiting for the Taylor Swift movie to start — Keesha and Clara at the Eras Tour movie

That’s my update for now! Next weekend I’ll be going to York, and in 2 weeks I’ll be splitting my time between Italy and Paris for a week, so look out for the blog post that breaks those down coming soon. Until then, I have some lectures to attend and some more memories to make.

Cheers!

-Clara

October 9, 2023

Planes, Coaches, and Automobiles

Hello from Nottingham, everyone! While I have already been here for a few weeks, I thought it would be fun to reflect a little bit about my journey getting over here and share a some of my thoughts on the initial cultural differences I have found, as well as friends who I have made.

My journey started at 6:00AM on Friday, September 22nd, when I packed all of my suitcases into my family’s car and headed to the Portland International Airport. I checked all of my bags and was able to get to my gate with the help of a great gate assistant.

Selfie of Clara, curly blonde hair, on a plane with a bright airplane window to the right of her face — Portland>San Francisco

I had successfully made it to the San Francisco airport and to my next gate with plenty of time to get a good lunch in, as well as call and catch up with some friends and family while waiting to board my next plane.

Clara, slightly less zoomed in, on her second plane. Behind her, 3 empty plane seats and a closed airplane window before others boarded the flight — San Francisco>Heathrow

Once on my second plane, I was strapped in for a 10.5 hour flight to London Heathrow. I had my headphones on and was ready to attempt to sleep on the plane, however the cramped environment and a crying baby, coupled with the fact that I don’t sleep very well on planes, meant that I collectively got about 1-2 hours of sleep. But I was running on adrenaline and ready for the next stage of my journey. After a very quick stop through customs and baggage claim, I was assisted to the area where people board coaches. It took some trial and error (yes, I may have almost gotten on the wrong coach to start with, pictured here), but eventually I made it onto the right coach and sat for about a 4-hour long ride.

One big black roller suitcase, a smaller duffel bag, and a backpack style bag in the foreground. Behind it are barricades, and beyond the barricades is a large coach style bus — The incorrect coach I almost boarded, as well as all my luggage

The coach pulled into Broad Marsh Bus Station, and I only had about 3 miles left of my journey! A student ambassador from University of Nottingham was there to greet me and kind enough to help me with ordering an Uber to the University. My Uber ride was quiet and peaceful as we drove past some very cool architecture in a part of town called Old Lenton.

Looking out the window from an Uber to an old brick building with a set of old wood double doors, the right one of which has the number 4 in the upper middle. A sign to the right of the doors reads 10 pound entry — Night Club entrance near the Nottingham City Centre

The driver let me off a block or two away from my hall, and you know how everyone says the last bit of the journey is the hardest? Well, that was proven true as I had to get 3 bags down some stairs and across a lawn. Luckily, some very kind students saw me trying to hold everything and offered to help/direct me to the right hall.

At 6:45PM on September 23rd, after 24 hours of nonstop travel and only 1-2 hours of bad airplane sleep… I made it! Granted, I was about 10 minutes late to the dining hall and it had closed, so I had to get some instant noodles from an RA and realized too late that I had no silverware to eat them with, but I was at least in the right place and had all of my belongings with me

There were definitely some cultural differences that hit me right away. For instance, every announcement at the Heathrow airport was made by someone with a British accent, and I didn’t think that the driving on the wrong side of the road would be as weird to me as it was. But, since my seat on the coach was directly behind the driver, I had an uninhibited view of the road and noticed that almost instantly. As well, the next morning after I had arrived, while waiting in line for a dining hall brunch, I was asked by a student in front of me “is it weird for you to be the one with the accent now?”

I was able to make some friends right off the bat, which I am extremely grateful for. One of them had reached out to me after seeing my name in an international student group chat for UoN and we ended up going shopping for some room necessities. I also found a friend through my hall, Keesha, who is a full time UoN student, and we have gone to club meetings, out shopping, and are planning on going to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie next weekend.

Clara, on the left, hear up and a rain jacket on. Keesha, on the right, hair down. Both smiling with the doors to a tram behind them on their way to Beeston, shopping centre — Clara & Keesha on a tram on their way to Beeston to go shopping

I’ve also finished my first week of classes. The format is very different to the Linfield classes that I am used to, but they all seem very interesting and I am very interested in learning about the material they cover: from how the media shapes our self identity, to the role of people such as cinematographers and costume designers in film and television.

It has been an adjustment, but I have been very open to all of the cultural differences I have experienced and feel very blessed that I am able to have this opportunity to live in a country different from my own for 4 months. I will no doubt be learning new things every day, not just in my modules, but through other everyday experiences and larger travel excursions that I plan on doing. I am very much looking forward to these next few months, and I know that they will teach me a lot.

Cheers,
Clara

September 19, 2023

Starting The Journey

Hi everyone!

My name is Clara Johansen and I am a junior studying communication arts at Linfield. In one week, I will be departing from the Portland International airport to San Francisco California, then headed to my final destination of Nottingham England for a semester abroad.

I applied for this study abroad on a bit of a whim, but I couldn’t be happier that this came to fruition. As a communication arts major, I really value getting to experience and learn about other cultures and gaining a better understanding of how to interact with people from those differing cultures. Linfield providing opportunities like this is such a great way for a lot of students to gain new experiences while still advancing in their academic pursuits, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

While I am very excited to start this new chapter of my life, there are some things that make me a bit nervous. I am the only person from Linfield participating in the England study abroad program, so I won’t know anyone when I get there. As well, being a legally blind individual, navigating airports like London Heathrow, even with gate assistance, seems a bit daunting. But, I am not one to shy away from a challenge and I’m hoping that my skills of adaptability that I have honed over the years will allow me to arrive and settle in safely without much trouble.

While those are the things I am nervous for, the things I am excited for far outweigh the nerves I am feeling. As I already mentioned, I get to experience a culture that is very different from my own and learn how to navigate and settle into being a part of that culture. Getting to take classes like film and television production and how media shapes our identities is also very high on that list as I wouldn’t be able to take those classes at Linfield. I’m also very eager to travel around the greater EU as ease of travel is so good from country to country. Lastly, I’m looking forward to creating some new friendships that will stay with me even when I come back from this journey. I have the opportunity to meet people whom I never would’ve met if not for this study abroad program I signed up for, so, even though I am the only person from my home school going, I’m still blessed for the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and create lasting relationships with others.

I hope you’ll be excited to follow along my journey, as I’m sure there will be a lot to update you on as experiences keep rolling in.

Cheers,
-Clara

May 9, 2023

Living My Best Life In Ecuador

¡Hola desde Quito!

It is crazy to think that this blog will be one of my last before I leave Ecuador! It’s even crazier to think that it is already May and that four whole months in a foreign country have passed. In one sense, I’m happy that my departure day is coming soon (only 20 more days!) as I do miss my family, friends, and Oregon. The other part of me, however, feels a bit bittersweet as I’ve made so many friends here and have experienced many one-in-a-lifetime activities. For now, though, I’ll just focus on persevering through finals and exploring Ecuador just a little bit more!

As I have mentioned, finals season is approaching, which means I have been wrapping up my final assignments for each of my classes. For my History of Baroque class, I recently completed my final presentation, which was to analyze any Baroque artwork of my choice. I was very nervous about this, as I, the only international student in the class, was the first to present. However, I think that my presentation went really well, as my professor really enjoyed my content and only provided feedback that would further enhance my argument. As for my other classes, there has been a recent focus on just being present and enjoying the space that we exist in, which has been a very fun shift in the regular class schedules.

Pictured are a group of students sitting at desks in a classroom. In this photo, one of the students is spinning a wooden toy with a pointed top on the desk. — College kids playing with traditional Ecuadorian toys!

Pictured here are two college students sitting on the floor playing a game of jacks. — A serious game of Jacks

Pictured here are marbles and a wooden toy spinning on the floor. both the marbles and wooden toy and within a square, which was made by white tape. — Marbles and wooden tops

Besides focusing on my coursework, I’ve also taken some opportunities to just spend time with my exchange friends. A few weekends ago, some of the international students celebrated our friend Ellie’s 21st birthday, which was both casual and fun! Throughout the night, we just relaxed, talked about life, and played uno until very late in the night; I don’t think I arrived home until two in the morning! My favorite part of this experience was being able to directly spend time with my friends without having any external pressures affecting our get-togethers, such as school and travel.

A week or two after Ellie’s party, a few friends and I went to get our nails painted at one of the many local peluquerías. If anyone ever ends up in Ecuador, I strongly recommend getting nails done, as they are so much cheaper here than in the United States; the current nail design that I have, which would normally cost $50 in the U.S., only cost me $13 here in Ecuador!

Pictured here is a selfie of myself with many of my international friends. All of us are sitting in a circle enjoying Ellie's birthday party. — The photo quality may not be great, but our experience was!

Pictured here is another selfie of myself and a few friends. In the photo, we are sitting in a Mexican restaurant, waiting for our lunch. — Girls day!

Pictured here is a close-up view of my friend and I's nails that we just got painted. Both of our nails are very colorful with shape designs. — Our painted nails!

This past month was full of adventures and exploration! Besides going to the Galapagos (which has a blog all to itself), I took trips to Otavalo and Cuenca, which both did not disappoint! Even though my group only spent one day in Otavalo, I really had a blast there! Our trip started out with a hike around Cuicocha, which is an earth-made lake just outside of Otavalo’s city limits.

The hike was a bit challenging, as it had a lot of uphill action, but it was so cool to see the varying angles of the lake in pure sunlight! After this hike (and an unexpected boat ride on the lake itself), we visited a very large artisanal market. For me, it was a bit difficult to enjoy the market, as I hadn’t had dinner and was a bit tired from the hike; I was both hungry and not in a shopping mood.

Pictured is me at the front of a speed boat posing for the camera. In the background, there is grey colored water, green mountains, and a cloudy sky. I am also wearing a life jacket too. — My boat ride on Cuicocha

Pictured is the Cuicocha lake. The greyish-blue lake centers the photo, with green mountains surrounding the lake. — Lake Cuicocha

As for Cuenca, I absolutely loved that city and wish I had more time to explore there! Cuenca is known for its historical, elegant, and catholic town set-up. While there, my group and I visited Cajas, which is a national park outside of Cuenca, and Museo Pumapungo, which is a museum that shares indigenous artifacts and the past indigenous history of Cuenca’s land. The museum even had authentic past ruins, but sadly that part was closed off and we weren’t able to visit it.

Throughout our trip, we also visited a few artisanal markets (which I did end up buying stuff this time!), chocolate shops, and older buildings/churches. I really wish that I had time to go back to Cuenca, as this town is filled with so much, but I don’t think it’ll be possible due to my sudden departure back home.

Pictured here is three friends and I eating dinner in Cuenca. We went to Negroni, which has rooftop sitting. In the photo, older buildings can be seen in the background. — Us eating at Negroni in Cuenca

Pictured here is a parade in Cuenca. The dancers pictured are wearing traditional clothing and dancing traditionally down the streets of Cuenca. — A parade that we ran into!

Pictured is part of the city of Cuenca. Present in the picture is a road, which is surrounded by hills and greenery, topped with a cloudy, but somewhat blue, sky. — Rural Cuenca

Pictured is a white wall that has black and white photographs depicting the indigenous lifestyle. — One section of Museo Pumapungo

Pictured is me on the side of a road in Cajas. Pictured behind me are alpacas, which is why I look so happy in the photo. — Me posing with wild alpacas.

Pictured are my friends and I taking a selfie. Behind us in a lake in cajas, which is surrounded by mountainous rock and green shrubbery. — A lake in Cajas

My last update for this blog is on the sadder side. Santiago Gangotena, who was the founder of USFQ, recently passed away due to a brutal bus accident. To many in Ecuador, he was a father figure to many and someone heavily involved in the community. Due to his passing, everyone associated with USFQ got a day off from school to recover and remember the legacy that was Santiago. Last week on campus, staff members had created a memorial for him, which included many flower displays and words of gratitude. Even though I really didn’t know him, it’s been heartwarming to see the local community band together in hopes of retaining the memory of their beloved.

Pictured is a memorial for Santiago. In the picture, there are many flower wreaths and crosses propped together to create a closed-off section for viewing. — Santiago’s memorial on campus

¡Chao!

Cassie Klagge

April 17, 2023

Spending A Week With Charles Darwin

¡Hola desde Quito!

One of my absolute favorite things about Ecuador is its diversity of landscape! Here, I have the opportunity to explore the mountain range of the Andes, the rainforest of the Amazon, the wide-spread coastal range, and, most excitingly, the tropicality of the Galapagos!

Since the first week of April was Semana Santa, all USFQ students got a full week break from anything academic-related. With this break, I decided that there wouldn’t be any better way to celebrate it than to go to the Galapagos. I initially started planning this trip in early March, so I was beyond excited when the time finally came to experience this long-awaited trip!

For me, my journey began at 3:00 A.M. since I had to get dressed, get a taxi, pick up my friend Leena (who I spent the entire trip with), and complete our airport flight check-in. This part I didn’t mind too much since our early flight would allow us to arrive in Santa Cruz by 8:30, giving us the whole day to explore and adjust to the new environment. Another part I found really exciting was running into the various groups of international students waiting in the airport; a majority of the USFQ international student cohort decided to do the exact same thing and spend Semana Santa in the Galapagos. Upon boarding the plane, I learned that I got an emergency-exit seat, which meant that I had extra room during the plane ride; this trip was so far going great!

Pictured is me waiting in the airport to board my flight. In the photo, I am smiling, holding up my passport and a much-needed coffee. — Me waiting to board my flight

Pictured is my friend Leena and I. We are both smiling, as we just got off the plane and are in the Galapagos. — Leena and I very excited to explore the Galapagos

After landing in the Santa Cruz airport, the moment we stepped off the plane, we immediately felt the humidity and warmth of the climate; this was so nice, especially considering that Ecuador is colder due to its high elevation. Since the Galapagos is environmentally protected land, check-in at the airport was a bit tedious due to the required taxes, forms, and security protocols. Eventually, we made it through the TSA and were able to get to Puerto Ayora by 12:00, which is Santa Cruz’s main town center. In Puerto Ayora, we took it a bit easy since we were feeling a bit jet lagged. To revive our spirits, we spent the remainder of the day on a beach, where we swam in the ocean, sunbathed, and just had the opportunity to relax. I left the beach with some very fun memories, a scar from tripping over a rock, 20 bug-bites, and without my pair of $10 Walmart sunglasses.

Pictured is a beach in Santa Cruz. On this beach, there is sand with larger rocks within the sand. In the further background are island trees and light waves coming towards the sand. — Beach in Santa Cruz

Pictured is the early morning in a Santa Cruz port. The picture looks towards the boardwalk, with grey water and a greyish-pink cloudy sky in the background. — Early morning in Santa Cruz

Pictured is a bench in Santa Cruz with two sea lions on the bench. It is a mama and her baby sleeping on the bench. — A mama and her baby

The next morning, Leena and I woke up at 5:00 A.M to take our ferry to San Cristobal. When arriving there, I automatically fell in love with the island; it was a good mix of nature, nightlife, and animals. My absolute favorite part of San Cristobal was the immense population of sea lions! Throughout my three days there, I saw sea lions everywhere, including on boardwalk benches, kayaks, and rocks! They also sound very similar to sheep, which was a very interesting surprise. While in San Cristobal, we visited the Interpretation Center, which provides the environmental history of San Cristobal and Charles Darwin theology. Additionally, Leena and I had many opportunities to snorkel, where we swam with sea lions, turtles, sharks, and rays. This was very surreal, as I hadn’t seen any of these animals before, especially this close in their natural environment. Other sites while on this island include Kicker Rock (which appears as a boot or a sleeping sea lion, depending on the particular angle), fresh-water lake El Junco, Puerto Chino, and a tortoise sanctuary. Since the daytime could be uncomfortably hot, nighttime was our time to freely (and safely) venture around San Cristobal. Here, we even reunited with quite a few international students, which was very fun to see!

Pictured is a part of the Pacific Ocean and land that is covered in greenery. — Snorkeling center in San Cristobal

Pictured is a sea lion sitting on a grouping of rocks. In the phot, the sea lion has its neck completely extended back towards its back. — That looks uncomfortable!

Pictured is my friend Leena and I posing with three statues: one of Charles Darwin, one of a sea lion, and one of a tortoise. We are both smiling with a nice blue sky above us. — Leena and I with Charles Darwin himself

Pictured is part of Kicker Rock. From this viewpoint, it appears as two giant rocks in the pacific ocean. Both rocks are right next to each other with a small passageway in-between them. — Kicker Rock

Pictured is me in a boat next to Kicker Rock. In the photo, I am wearing a wet suit, as I had just got snorkeling next to Kicker Rock. — I had just finished snorkeling next to Kicker Rock

Pictured is the beach at night. The background sky is a dark purple with lights from buildings shining through. On the beach itself are a ton of sea lions laying down for the night. — A congregation of sea lions!

Pictured is me looking at El Junco, which is the fresh-water lake. The lake itself is a grey color, but with a cloudy sky above it. — El Junco

Pictured is a line of tortoises eating greenery. They are in a wooded sanctuary. — Tortoises having lunch

Pictured is me feeding a giant leaf to a tortoise. In the photo, the tortoise has the leaf in its mouth while I'm holding the stem and smiling at it. — Me feeding a tortoise!

Pictured is a turtle crawling out of a dirty pond. — He just took a bath

After our time was up at San Cristobal, we traveled to Isabela and stayed there for two days. I was very excited to reach land, as not only was it late at night and I was tired, but our boat got a little too tipsy for my liking. Overall, I very much enjoyed the quietness of Isabela, as it is mostly just nature with some localized buildings. Since Leena and I only had one full day here, we tried to make the absolute most out of it. All in the same day, we went kayaking, snorkeling, and bikes to El Muro de las Lágrimas. I was a little disappointed on the kayaking tour, as I really wanted to see penguins (which the Galapagos does have!), but didn’t see any since the climate is currently too hot for them. However, there was a very playful sea lion that kept everyone entertained. As for snorkeling, it was very cool to see the smaller fish that belonged in the Pacific, but I was a little confused since there was this one fish that kept biting my leg; maybe it was hungry? I found El Muro de las Lágrimas, which translates to wall of tears in English, very interesting. This wall was originally constructed about 70 years ago due to the wishes of the Galapagos government. This project forced many criminals into physical labor, which served the purpose of keeping them busy/draining all of their energy from committing crimes. Nowadays, the Galapagos utilizes this wall to represent/reflect on past abuses; the wall resulted in pointless injuries and death since it was never intended to have a functional use once completed – just to occupy the criminals.

Pictured is Leena and I in a kayak. We are taking a selfie while out in the Pacific Ocean. — Leena and I kayaking

Pictured are two sea lizards on a wooden walkway putting their arms on each other's backs. Behind them is a pond and greenery. — How Cute!

Pictured are 5 flamingos in a pond. They are looking for food and clean themselves. Surrounding the pond is a lot of greenery and trees. — Flamingos in a pond

Pictured is me on a dirt pathway with my bike. On the other side of the dirt path is a wild tortoise that I am admiring. — I found a wild tortoise!

Pictured is El Muro de las Lágrimas. The wall is made out of grey-black stone and continues horizontally until exceeding past the photo limitations. — El Muro de las Lágrimas

Pictured is a more-arial view of El Muro de las Lágrimas. From this view, the wall looks very narrow, but continues further back into the photo. Surrounding it are green trees and cloudy skies. — Another viewpoint of El Muro de las Lágrimas

After we said goodbye to Isabella, we spent one more night in Santa Cruz, which was very calm! The next morning, we went to our favorite gelato shop to eat breakfast, then headed back to the airport to catch our flight back into Quito. The flight back was very nice; once again, I was sat at the emergency exit, with the addition of having a window seat this time! Upon getting back to Quito, I went home, ate dinner, unpacked my luggage, and went to bed because I was so tired by the end of the trip. Overall, I am so grateful that I was able to have this experience! Plus, now I have a nice tan!

¡Chao!

Cassie Klagge

April 10, 2023

Mindo y Baños

¡Hola desde Quito

After two very long weeks of studying, projects, and exams, I was definitely ready for some fun! As a way to reward myself, I decided to take two weekend-long trips to some of Ecuador’s most beloved towns: Mindo and Baños.

I have to say, I think that Mindo is my favorite place so far that I’ve traveled to! The best way to describe Mindo is a small-forest town that has a huge emphasis on nature and tourism. Not only did I enjoy the quiet serenity at all times (but especially at night), but also the comfortably warm weather. When planning this trip, I had a lot of guidance from friends and locals, as everyone had great insight and lessons to share from their experiences; with this knowledge, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and how to do it!

My friends and I kicked off this trip by first visiting a mariposario, which acts as a sanctuary for the varying species of Ecuadorian butterflies. Here, visitors are able to put a banana paste on their hands to attract and hold butterflies (of course with their consent and well-being in mind). This was both a cool, but terrifying experience, as I don’t like insects and the only butterflies I could attract were gigantic and moth-appearing. However, I felt very accomplished afterwards, which was the important part!

Pictured is an aerial view a butterfly sitting on shrub. The butterfly has blue, white, and black coloring while the shrub has green leaves and orange/yellow flowers. — My favorite butterfly

Pictured is me holding a butterfly on my finger tips. In the photo, I am smiling and looking down at the butterfly. This butterfly is big with brown/beige coloring, slightly resembling a big moth. — My butterfly and I

Pictured is my friend Dalton with two moth-like butterflies. One butterfly is sitting on his finger tips while the other is sitting on his face near his lips. — I still don’t know how Dalton did this

After spending some much-needed time with the butterflies, we did a Yumbos chocolate tour, which depicted both the fermentation and production process of chocolate. Since Ecuador has a well-adapted climate for cocoa growth, they have become one of the world’s leading producers in quality chocolate; one of these being the Lindt chocolate company. Throughout the tour, we were given varying samples of chocolate products, which was very much appreciated! Some of my personal favorites included their brownies, hot cocoa, and chocolate-mint squares.

pictured is a cocoa bean with big white seeds inside. Also pictured is a white coffee cup with Yumbos hot chocolate inside. — Yumbos Chocolate tour

Pictured is my friends and I sitting at a wooden table enjoying our Yumbos hot chocolate and cocoa beans. We are all smiling in the photo and looking at the camera. — Us enjoying Yumbos

Our next (and final) day in Mindo consisted of doing horseback trails and hiking waterfalls! I was extremely excited about riding horses, since I hadn’t been on a horse in at least 6 years. My horse, who was named Moro, was one of the most passive animals I think I’ve ever met; he just sat back and let the other horses, who were all dominant and wanted to be the “leader”, take the lead. Even though I did enjoy horseback riding, I think my favorite part of the experience was the drive up to the horse ranch. We were taken up by a truck, which allowed us all to ride in the cargo bed. The 20-minute drive was very carefree, as we were just having simple conversations while enjoying the surreal scenery and light breeze of the wind. I can confidently say that this experience has made it into my core memories abroad! My only regret from this trip is not staying longer in Mindo!

Pictured is me sitting on a brown horse. In the photo, I am looking very happy on my horse friend. — My new horse friend “Moro”

Pictured are my friends and I sitting in the back compartment of a pick-up truck enjoying life. — Taxis, but Mindo style

Pictured is a large waterfall that is slightly enclosed by rock walls and shrubbery. — Mindo waterfall

Pictured is another waterfall at Mindo. This waterfall isn't a direct drop, but instead appears more stream like with both flat and drop-off parts. This waterfall is also surrounded by rocks and shrubbery. — Another Mindo Waterfall

Now, onto Baños! The one thing I can say about this trip was that it was Chaotic! Thinking back, I definitely should’ve done more research on how to travel there (like I did for Mindo), but I do think my group and I still made the best of our experience. One thing I wish I had known before traveling was how spread out all of the activities are from the town-center of Baños. Due to the very long travel times, my group and I were only able to do two activities during our weekend getaway. In addition to the tourist system that is very potent in Baños, many of the activities had short time limits, which meant we had to be very strategic (and sometimes even pushy) about how we spent our time at each attraction.

When arriving at Baños, we decided our first task of the day would be to take a bus up to Casada El Pailón, which is a smaller hike that leads to a very popular waterfall. I absolutely loved this hike, as it was simple, but also contained some unique aspects. In order to get up close to the waterfall, we had to cross two wooden sky bridges, which looked over the tops of forest trees; I felt very close to nature during this whole process! Sadly, however, due to the time constraint we had on completing the hike and returning (40 minutes), we weren’t able to finish it entirely, but we did get some awesome photos!

Pictured is a selfie of my friends and I on the "party" transportation bus in Banos. In the picture, we are smiling, ready to take on Banos. — Us on the Baños “party” bus

Pictured is me sitting in the Banos party bus eating my first ever sugar cane. In the picture, I am in mid-bite — Me trying my first ever pure sugar cane!

Pictured is me on a hiking path. Behind me is a bunch of shrubbery, including a giant valley. — Hiking Casada El Pailón

Pictured is the side view of a waterfall. Surrounding the waterfall is various greenery, naturally-carved rocks. and a below water outlet for the waterfall. — Cascada El Pailón

Pictured is a nature scene from Baños. Pictured are two very close mountains with lots of greenery. There is also some fog present, along with a cloudy grey sky. — Some landscape of Baños

The next day, we decided that we wanted to see Las Manos de Dios, which is a mountain ledge that is “supported” by the two hands of God. As we were traveling to this site, we also had the opportunity to see similar ledge sites, which had some very good photo opportunities! Along the way, I also had the opportunity to try rambutan, which is a traditional Asian fruit that has become very beloved in Ecuador; Originally, I was going to buy this fruit, but the vendor actually gave it to me for free, which made me very happy! Once arriving at Las manos de Dios, we actually didn’t end up going onto the ledge. Instead, we waited to go on this swing that rests near a canyon (for photographic reasons, of course!). However, we didn’t end up going on this either because a group of 4 people cut in front, and because of this, we ran out of time.

Pictured is me sitting on a swing with colorful angel wings. Behind me is a far-away background of Baños, as I am near a mountain ledge. — one of many popular swings in Baños

Pictured is me with a giant structure of Fiona from Shrek. In the photo, we both have our arms around each other posing for the camera. — Ecuador REALLY loves Shrek lol

Pictured is me petting a large structure of Donkey from Shrek.

Pictured is me next to a gaint structure of Shrek. in the photo, shrek is standing with his arms extended while I am crouching underneath his hands looking scared.

Getting ready to head back to Quito was eventful and a bit interesting. As my friends and I were walking, a random Ecuadorian guy first comes up to tell me that I smell like blue cheese, and then proceeds to ask if I’m from France, which was such a weird conversation (In case anyone was wondering, I do not, in fact, smell like blue cheese). Then, for the entire duration of the bus ride home (which was 3 hours), these two Ecuadorian kids kept staring at my friend Ryland and I. It even got to a point where they would talk about us and take photos of us, which made the bus ride a bit unsettling. After getting through this bus ride, we were happy to get an Uber and head back to our host houses. This happiness didn’t last long though as we were scammed by our Uber driver, who said that we only imputed one stop and that we needed to pay more in order to all get home. Once I managed to get home, I was so physically and mentally tired that I just went to bed.

Although I had some very questionable moments in Mindo and Baños, I don’t regret going to either place and also do plan to revisit Banos just to spend a little more time there!

¡Chao!

Cassie Klagge

March 30, 2023

Midterms (And Some Fun)

¡Hola desde Quito!

Wow! I will definitely say that these past few weeks have been a lot of work with very limited enjoyment. When committing to studying abroad, I knew that exam season would probably be the worst part of the experience. However, now that I have gotten past all of my mid-term assignments, I can say that I feel pretty content with my progress in each of my classes!

This midterm season, I had three presentations and an exam, which wouldn’t have been too challenging if they were all in English. Even though the Spanish aspect of the midterms made me continuously stressed for two solid weeks, I now feel a lot prouder of my abilities, both academically and inter-relationally. One aspect that I did find enjoyable was the broad range of topics that my presentations covered: the history/evolution of Ecuador once becoming an independent republic, the impact of mystification and reproduction in art, and (my personal favorite) Taylor Swift. For five whole minutes, I got to show off my inner-swiftie conjointly with my Spanish speaking abilities, which I haven’t had an opportunity to do so until now! In regard to my one exam on Baroque art, I think it went really well considering that there was a large percentage of lecture content present; my Spanish comprehension skills really worked in my favor here!

Pictured is me sitting on the grass and writing in a notebook. As I am doing this, a green apple is falling from a tree and appears to hit my head. This was a photographic class project for my Language and Cinema class. — A photographic project for my Language and Cinema class

Pictured is a small wooden building with many windows. This building, which is the on-campus meditation center, is surrounded by trees and a pond. — The on-campus meditation center

Pictured is me smiling and pointing at a slide show presentation that I made. On this slide is every one of Taylor Swift's albums covers in a timeline of their release dates — Me and my Taylor Swift presentation

Pictured are a group of international students (including myself) in our Ecuadorian culture class. On the professor's desk are two cakes, as we celebrated her birthday. — We love celebrating Profe Karla’s birthday!

Between study sessions and practicing presentations, I was able to find some enjoyment in exploring Ecuador! For one day, my friend Leena and I took a very impromptu trip to Papallacta to enjoy some hot springs. I absolutely love rural Ecuador; there are so many hills and trees, which give off so much tranquility! It definitely resembles a bit of Southern Oregon, but with a lot more greenery; I felt very at home on this trip! Overall, it was nice to just slow down the fast-paced student lifestyle and catch up with a good friend.

Pictured here is a walkway surrounded by many trees! These trees are also making an archway, which my friend Leena is walking under. This is at the Papallacta hot springs — Entry way of the Papallacta hot springs

Pictured are the Papallacta hot springs, which resemble in-ground pools. In these pools are a large group of people enjoying themselves and the water. Surrounding this pools are mountains, trees, and other greenery. — Hot springs of Papallacta

Pictures is a nature scene. Close up is wild grass, which barely hides a blue lake that exists behind it. In the background are tall rock mountains and a sky full of clouds and light. — Lake-scene in rural Ecuador

Pictured is another lake that is present in rural Ecuador. This is a far-away picture, which shows the small green hills leading to the lake itself, which is surrounded by nearby rock mountains. — I (safely) jumped a guard-rail to take this photo

Besides Papallacta, I also had the chance to visit La Carolina’s botanical garden, which was so cool! In general, when most people enter La Carolina, they forget (at least a little bit) that they’re surrounded by city-life. However, when entering the garden itself, all thoughts regarding the “outside” world become nonexistent and the focus is directed towards what is visually present.

Since Ecuador has a large variety of orchid species, they were scattered throughout the entire garden, which was nice to experience. There was also a section of the garden dedicated to the senses, which grouped together herbs and other potently smelling plants. For the first time, I smelled pure lemongrass, which has now become my new favorite smell!

After this excursion, Oliver, Blue, and I sat near a lagoon in La Carolina, where we ended up buying pies from a few Ecuadorian Scouts (which are very similar to the U.S. Boy/Girl Scouts). From them, I ended up getting an apple pie, which had some abnormally great crust!

Pictured is a webbed pink flower that is hanging from above vines. The flow is surrounded by small branches and tree leaves with the sun peaking through the branch gaps. — Just one (of many) plants in the Botanical Garden

Pictured is a pond surrounded by neatly-lined rocks and green shrubbery. On the pond itself are gleams from the sun. — A beautiful pond in the Botanical Garden

Pictured is a white Ecuadorian flower. The whole flower is round, but is made up of smaller white flowers with pointed petals. On top of the flower is a bee who wants to pollenate. — Another Ecuadorian flower (with a bee)

Pictured are some local ducks resting near a rain puddle. These ducks a very huge and have different colorings; I duck is white and brown, another is mostly white with smaller red details, and the third is dark brown with a little black. — These are the biggest ducks I’ve ever seen!

For the past few weeks, I’ve also been trying to put extra effort towards improving my Spanish comprehension skills. With this goal in mind, I have so far watched three-of-the-four Shrek movies with Spanish sound/subtitles. A lot of the international students agree that Shrek in Spanish is a lot better than Shrek in English. I, however, can’t really add anything to this argument, as I (fun fact) had never actually watched Shrek until a few weeks ago, and therefore have never seen the English version. I will say though, that Spanish Shrek is really funny, and I 100 percent recommend it!

Pictured is a scene from Shrek. In this scene, Shrek looks very angry while Donkey is supporting his friend. On the screen are Spanish subtitles, which translate to: Your swamp? Yes, my swamp! — Yes, this is Shrek’s swamp!

¡Chao!

Cassie Klagge

March 2, 2023

Navigating San Valentín and Carnaval

¡Hola desde Quito!

Man! It is crazy to think that I’ve been navigating student life in Ecuador for almost two months now! Each day, I become more in awe with what this country has to offer, especially with its cultural practices, social norms, and naturalistic attractions!

Experiencing El Día de San Valentín (Valentine’s Day) in Ecuador was definitely an unfamiliar, but heartwarming experience. Since Valentine’s Day was on a Tuesday this year, I spent a majority of the holiday on campus, where I got to celebrate with my exchange friends and witness many pure interactions between couples. On campus, there was a very potent atmosphere of affection! Throughout the day, I probably saw close to ninety percent of students carrying at least one flower, let alone giant bouquets. It was very easy to get into the San Valentín spirit, as there were booths throughout campus selling goodies/treats and doing seasonal activities. Of course, my friends and I took advantage of the cotton candy machine, which was so worth it after spending three solid hours in classes! I also saw two couples get “fake married” and one couple become “fake engaged” using paper engagement rings, which was so pure!

Besides spending the holiday with my friends, I also went to Dunkin’ Donuts and treated myself to a long-awaited coffee and donut. Witnessing the transparent love on this Valentine’s Day was very joyful for me, as Valentine’s Day can sometimes be overlooked in the US. However, since the students at USFQ are relatively affectionate towards one another, I knew that Valentine’s Day was going to be flamboyant!

My friends and I on Valentine’s Day

Pictured is an outdoor tent and many Valentine's Day booths. Also pictured are some students looking at the booths — One (of many) outdoor Valentine’s Day booths

Pictured is a facetime call between my dog and I. My dog, who is a hound dog, is sitting on the couch looking away from the camera. — Valentine’s Day facetime with my dog

I have also had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate Carnaval, which is celebrated nationwide. Although each place has its own significance of Carnaval, most places in Ecuador consider it a holiday for celebrating water, prosperity, and life itself. Leena, who is an exchange student from Finland, and I spent four days in Ambato, which has one of the largest Carnaval celebrations in Ecuador. While in Ambato, we watched two parades, which were filled with floats made from local flowers and fruits, lots of dancing, and cultural representation of various neighboring countries. I even got invited to dance with a performer in the parade, which was a bit scary just because I’m not a dancer, but it was both fun and memorable! We also got to experience traditional markets and Salsa concerts, all while being sprayed with a lot of foam (this is very traditional to Carnaval). With as much fun as I was having, I just had to take it down a notch by getting food poisoning. Sunday night and the following Monday morning were extremely rough, but it didn’t ruin my experience and I was back to exploring by Monday night!

Pictured is a bowl of Ceviche, which is a traditional soup in Ecuador. This soup appears very dark in color with vegetables and fish. — Ceviche

Pictured is a part of the Ambato parade. There are women wearing traditional clothing, walking down the street, and carrying flowerpots on their heads. — Part of the Ambato Parade

Pictured is part of an Ambato parade float. This float is a giant head that is made of brown, red, white, and yellow flowers. — Flower decor on Ambato parade floats

Pictured is a women walking the parade route in Ambato. In the photo, she is wearing a costume with many blue and green feathers. She looks very happy and proud. — More from the Ambato parade

Pictured is a group of people walking the Ambato parade rout. This people are dressed in traditional clothing and are wearing special face masks that resemble the human face. This is a tradition when celebrating Carnaval. — A tradition of Carnaval; wearing a face mask that resembles another human face.

Pictured is a group of people. Many of the people pictured are covered in white foam for Carnaval. — The foam attacks in Ambato

In general, student life is going well! I now feel adjusted to all of my classes; I’m even feeling a bit “confused”, as my schoolwork has slowed down a bit and I don’t know what all to do with my newly gained free time. I have also been talking more to local students, which has definitely helped me feel a bit more at-home. I even ride the bus home now with a local student after our History of Baroque Art class. She even has offered to teach me “Cuarenta”, which is a national Ecuadorian card game.

Alongside talking to my classmates, I have also begun to speak during classes, which has probably been the hardest part of my academic experience here. However, the encouragement that I’ve received through my classmates has been astronomical; there was even one time where a group of students verbally cheered me on while I was presenting a summarized interpretation of an artwork.

Pictured is a section of my university. Here, I am on a second story terrace, where additional buildings and flowerpots are visible. — The mall-portion of campus

Pictured here is the on-campus pond. Visible is the pond, rocks surrounding the pond outline, and a blue sky. — My favorite part of campus

Pictured is me and another exchange student giving an impromptu presentation for our conversation class. In the photo, both of us are reacting to something that another classmate said. — Two exchange students giving a verbal presentation on “automotivación”

I am also really happy with how far my Spanish proficiency has progressed! Although it isn’t exactly perfect, it is a lot better since arriving in Ecuador, which is the important part! One thing that I have learned though, which has been a bit of a challenge, is that locals sometimes will be very blunt about their methods of encouragement. My host mom does a really great job of taking care of me, but she has made some comments about my speaking abilities, which between language barriers and cultural differences, has come off a bit hurtful. Approaching this has been a bit difficult, but knowing that she has my best interest at heart has really helped shift my perspective.

¡Chao!

Cassie Klagge