Alumni Blog

Alright, it’s confession time!!

Amy reflects on falling in love with the people of Ecuador.

Alright, it’s confession time: when I found out I had been placed in Ecuador for the summer, I was less than thrilled. It had been my third choice! But after spending three months in Ecuador, if I could take back all the disappointment and frustration I felt before, I absolutely would. My host family has been fantastic. Even though I am at times very frustrated with my school, the other teachers, the students, and the education system, I’ve learned immeasurable lessons and fell in love with both teaching and my students. At the health clinic, I am sometimes frustrated with the Ecuadorian public health system, the patients, and my lack of Spanish comprehension, but I love doing the little I can to help the “doctora” and the patients. In closing, I have fallen in love with these people, this place, and I know I was meant to end up here, even though I didn’t feel that way in the beginning. (Amy/SJU/Ecuador/2009)