“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
This journey is one I have been looking forward to for a long time, not just the study abroad to Ecuador, but the exploration of knowledge through this master's degree program. I have already learned so much, challenged my past ideas and assumptions, and developed new ways of looking at the world. I hope Ecuador is an experience that will provide me with another twist of the kaleidoscope, changing the way I view and understand the world, exposing new shapes and colors that were once hidden. I thought at first that I would want this experience to give me answers, but as I have progressed through the classes and experiences, I am more excited by the questions and uncertainty it provides. The post below and those that follow are to chronicle my experience abroad and allow me to process my thoughts. Feel free to read and comment if you wish, but realize my thoughts, as well as my life path, are not always direct or logical, but they are me.
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Hola Quito!
Honestly I'm writing this after I've arrived. The past month, and honestly the entire summer has been an amazing blur. Here's a quick recap of how I got here...
After finishing my first full year of graduate school and a summer school session on intercultural communication, I'm spending a semester abroad in Ecuador as part of the program requirements. I'm here with my entire cohort of seven: Tina from New York, who is also one of my housemates in Portland; Sarah from Wisconsin; Shelby from Indiana; Amy from Philly; Elysse from the California Bay Area; and Christina from Oregon/Arizona.
On Wednesday, August 17, 2011, I boarded a plane in Sioux Falls, SD, in the early morning, to start my journey towards Quito, Ecuador. It had been a CRAZY last few weeks, and I have no idea how I made it to the airport on time. I flew from Sioux Falls to O'Hare where I met up with Sarah, then headed to Miami where we connected with Shelby before our flight to Quito.
Our Miami flight was several hours delayed - the plane we were assigned had the incorrect landing gear for Quito, which was explained later to me, and there must have also been a huge confusion with the baggage. But, a little late, we arrived in Quito!
There was quite the line in Immigration and Customs, but once through, we met up with our taxi driver who brought us to The Secret Garden hostel. There, we met up with Tina, Christina and Elysse. We settled in, had a celebratory glass of vino and chatted until one by one we fell asleep. We shared a room together, bunk-bed style, with one odd-duck, a Scottish traveler, Jamie (sp?). It was great to see the ladies in the cohort again, and catch up after a few weeks of not seeing each other daily.
Amy also arrived after a long delay around 2am that night/next morning. Try as I might, I couldn't stay awake to greet her, was so exhausted from the day!
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