Hello world. I am writing this blog on the Tuesday, the 15th of December. I have exactly a week more to my exchange here in Ecuador. I cannot say how sad I am to have to leave this beautiful country. I love it, and every single thing that is a part of it. I already miss my Ecuadorian life so much, and just thinking about leaving tugs on my heartstrings. I have lived the vida extranjero, seen much culture, and really found myself along the way. This is going to be my last journal entry. So this one goes out to my beautiful, second, home. Ecuador.
Querido Ecuador, In my short time here of 4 months, you have taught so much, and I will never stop thanking you for that. I have learned to be independent; getting myself around in a relatively large South American city, I have learned to speak your beautiful language (s) of Spanish and Kichwa, and I have also learned who I really am. This experience really has been a "once in a lifetime" one. I am so grateful that I persuaded my parents to let me come on exchange last year, and I am so happy that I picked you Ecuador. As I pack my bags, getting ready to go out on my last adventure through your beautiful lands, I realize that I will never see all of your true beauty, because there is just so much to see. But I do know that in my short 4 months here, I have seen you, in many different shapes and forms. In the little indigenous woman who sits a block from my house, selling homemade tamales that smell of sweet choclo (corn), in the beautiful nature that I see whenever I step outside of the house, and in myself, as I teach my friends back home all that I have learned from my time here in my other home. I need to tell you Ecuador, that you have shown me a different life. A life full of adventure, culture, people, love. A life where anything and EVERYTHING is possible, if you just take a step out of your comfort zone and look to the beautiful bright sky. Nunca te voy a olvidar, te amo mi Ecuador.
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Hello world of whoever reads this,
I am writing this blog with 2 more weeks left to my exchange here in Ecuador. Right now I am experiencing many emotions of where I feel I most belong. Honestly I am very torn. In the United States, I have an amazing life, my beautiful family, friends, tons of mountains to explore. But here I have a life as well. It is very hard to be leaving right now, because this is when I am really starting to fit into life down here, am establishing every aspect of my life here, and feel like I belong here in Ecuador. Recently, my "Hermana" de intercambio Naemi and I have really connected. It is really amazing when I think about it, but we have been really experiencing so much together. Traveling around a beautiful country together, meeting new people, making mistakes, all of this brings us so close, and now we are faced with the fact that we have to say goodbye, until when, we will never know. I do know that our relationship started internationally, and will continue to be like that. I am so grateful for that. Another part of my life that is really starting to click down here, is my language skills. Now, I am surely not fluent, just ask any of the Ecuadorians down here. But I am very happy with my Spanish. I am at the point where I understand about 95% of all conversations, and can say whatever I want. It is a really rewarding feeling, sitting in school, and you realize that you have understood everything from the civil rights of the Ecuadorians to the equations for Chemistry to the analysis of the Greguerias (poetic phrases). I am very happy with my language skills, and now I must return. I really don't want to lose my Spanish skills though, so I will take Spanish when I get back and practice whenever I can. I love my Ecuador, and am extremely sad to have to leave. I hope everyone gets a chance to visit this beautiful country. It has so much to offer, and has a heart of gold. Te Amo Ecuador. Hola todo el mundo,
¡Esto es mi 1 mes entrada en mi blog! Estoy escritura eso de mi casa en Ecuador! Hoy, he sido aquí en Ecuador para 4 semanas, estoy enamorada de este lugar. Usted puede mirar arriba para obtener más información sobre mi vida hasta ahora, pero permítame decir que nunca pensé que esta experiencia sería tan sorprendente. Sentirse como en casa aquí en Quito y estoy viviendo la vida que siempre he imaginado. Estoy aprendiendo español tanto tan rápido y estoy aprendiendo sobre cultura más cotidiana. No puedo esperar a todo lo que he aprendido compartir con los demás. Mi único problema es que siempre estoy ocupado, pero cuando tengo tiempo, voy a compartir más de lo que puedo ahora. Aquí hay algunas fotos de mi primer mes aquí. Con abrazos de America del Sur, Dana Ariel Stahl (Culture seeker) Hello Everyone, This is my 1 month entry in my blog! I'm writing this from my house in Ecuador. Today, I've been here in Ecuador for 4 weeks, and I am in love with this place. You can look above for more information about my life so far, but let me say that I never thought that this experience would be so amazing. I feel at home here in Quito and I'm living the life I've always imagined. I am learning Spanish so fast and I'm learning more culture everyday. I cannot wait to share everything I have learned with you. My only problem is that I'm always busy, but when I have time, I will share more than what I can now. Here are some pictures of my first month here. With hugs from South America, Dana Ariel Stahl (Culture Seeker) I am writing this blog a week into my exchange in Ecuador. I am starting to get settled into a routine here, the Spanish language, and the difference in culture. This week I did a lot of different things with my host family, and other exchange students. On Thursday, I went to my first day of school. I am going to a very small school named Colegio Particular Cordova. I have no idea where it is in the city and how to get to it, but that is okay because I ride the school bus. When I arrived, the principal introduced me to a bunch of kids who were in the same class as me. They were very very kind, and took me under their wing. I barely understood anything that was being taught, but it was a good day. Today, Saturday, I went into the old town of Quito, to do some cultural sightseeing. I went to the Basilica del voto nacional, the center for history, and much more. I will put my photos from today down below. I am having such an amazing exchange so far, and this is only the first week! I swear that I am going crazy because I think that my Spanish has already increased a lot. When I arrived I was not able to have a simple conversation and now I can understand most of what is said to me, if it is said slowly. At this pace, I feel like I will be fluent in 2-3 months. I hope that is the case. Adios mis amigos. Until next time.
I am writing this blog about 3-4 days into my exchange in Ecuador. I am living in a house in the middle of Quito, the Capital city. So far so amazing! My host family is so so kind and helpful. My host brother Brian speaks english very well and my host sister Brenda does almost as well. My host parents Lorena and Mauricio only speak a little. This is good because my goal is to learn Spanish. So far, my Spanish interaction has been okay. It is easier to understand Spanish than to speak it. But I am doing better than I thought I would. I am double placed with a German girl named Naemi. She spent 3 months in Argentina before this, so her Spanish is better than mine. Sometimes it is quite awkward when my host family asks us a question and she understands better than me, but it is all okay.
I am here with a company named Xplorer. In the company, there are 6 exchange students total. Three from Alemania, aka Germany, two from Finlandia, Finland, and just me from Estados Unidos, the United States. Two of the Germans, Naemi and Hendrik, and the two finnish girls; Kristina and Alisha, will all go to the same school. They will go to Colegio de Benalcazar. Me and the other German boy, Jorrice, will go to Colegio de Cordova. We start school on Thursday , in two days and I am very nervous. I am mostly nervous because of my Spanish skills, but I know that it will get easier. I will update this blog about my life in Ecuador as much as I can. ¡Hasta la próxima mi Amigo! |
Author: DanaThis is a blog I kept through my journey as a student in Ecuador. . ArchivesCategories |