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The academic theme for our second week of Study is Religion in Indonesia. Indonesia’s 17,000 islands contain incredibly diverse expressions of culture and faith. While there are 6 nationally recognized religions here (Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism), we…
Our academic theme for Week 1 has been Indonesian History & Politics. We heard two lecturers on this theme, visited the Kraton (Palace and home of Yogyakarta’s Sultan), read historical sources and listened to an audiobook overviewing Indonesia’s dynamic history.…
Daily life on SST provides incredibly rich learning experiences, from living with host families to simply experiencing waking up in a new culture each day. But the learning doesn’t stop there. Students also attend language class each afternoon, hear lectures…
On SST Indonesia ’26, students spent their first few days getting to know Yogyakarta: learning to use various transportation systems, trying new foods, exploring new places, and getting acquainted with the universities where they will learn from lecturers and language…
We had an active weekend! Many host families took their students on adventures in and around Quito. They visited Parque Metropolitano, centro histórico, teleférico, Otavalo, Pichincha, Parque Bicentenario, Mitad del Mundo, Lago San Pablo, Nono, Tabacundo, among others. Here are…
This week, we became acquainted with Ecuador’s history and art, beginning with a tour of churches in Quito’s centro histórico. One of the largest and most notable is the Basilica, which serves as a large cultural and religious landmark in…
On Monday evening, 11 host families gathered at Rumah Goshen to meet the SSTers who will be living with them for the next 6 weeks. SST leaders Luke and Janie Beck Kreider hosted the event, and students expressed their gratitude…
On Friday afternoon, January 9, after over 30 hours of travel, all 11 students arrived together on Java. Getting to Yogyakarta, our Study Term home base for 6 weeks, involved multiple flights, trains, cars, and taxis. We are settling in,…
The Ecuador SST unit kicked off their first few days in Quito.
Students in the spring 2026 Ecuador SST unit arrived safely to Quito.
The Ecuador SST leaders arrived in Quito and preparations for the unit are underway.
We are Luke Kreider, Ph.D., and Janie Beck Kreider (M.Div., R.N.), and we are excited to lead the spring 2026 Indonesia SST unit. I teach religion, ethics and sustainability at Goshen College, and Janie is a nurse at Goshen Hospital…
Jan Kauffman and Kristin Waltner will lead the spring 2026 SST unit to Ecuador.
Goshen College’s “SST for all” makes global education more accessible with flexible study options at home and abroad.
Goshen College builds SST reciprocity with Ecuador through campus visits and solar projects that support local communities.
Goshen College’s sequential SST courses take students from India’s Himalayas to Detroit, exploring ecology, resilience and community renewal.
Since being stationed in the town of Mindo for my service portion of SST, I’ve noticed a big cultural difference between U.S. Mennonites and Ecuadorian “Mindo-nites” – pun intended 🙂 approaches to life. There’s a palpable sense of serenity and…
For my service, I work in Cayambe with an organization called FACE. Under FACE there are other organizations; Casa Hogar, Sumak, Centro Medico Emmanuel, and Forever Flowers. They work together to help break the cycle of abuse and neglect in…
While being in Ecuador, I’ve noticed how people value their history. It was so impressive and inspiring to see how much they know about their history. They’re not afraid to share it, even through their art. During my first weekend…
During my first week in my service placement town of Pujilí, I attended 4 different parades. The first one was on my second day here! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I knew that we were going to…
I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of a service organization in Ecuador that aligns with my interests and has been a lot of fun. The mission of my assignment is to combat deforestation in Ecuador. Throughout my time here,…
After the first six weeks in Quito, I had become more accustomed to the culture here and my Spanish had improved as well. I was able to understand what was going on around me most of the time and I…
We were so fortunate to meet Maria Virginia Farinango, the author of The Queen of Water. Students read this book together for class discussions. She writes of her experiences as an indigenous child forced into domestic service. Her path to…
Cayambe, a smaller city in Ecuador, is surrounded by indigenous communities spread throughout the surrounding mountains. Casa Hogar is an organization in Cayambe that houses children who have been removed from their families for varying reasons. The main goal of…
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