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This blog captures the experiences of Goshen College students participating in Study-Service Term in Ecuador.
Over the course of the semester, students are living with host families, strengthening their Spanish, learning alongside Indigenous communities, and engaging in service that connects local realities with global questions. From the Andes to coastal regions, Ecuador offers a powerful setting for hands-on learning shaped by culture, community, and care. Through these reflections, readers are invited into the everyday moments, challenges, and discoveries that are shaping how students understand the world and their place within it.
Last Thursday, we left our beloved Quito for some adventurous adventures in Imbabura Province, named after a great inactive volcano. Our agenda included hiking around a lagoon in a volcanic crater, meeting new SST partners, and visiting Parque Condor, a...
While in Mindo, we visited Quetzal Mindo, a chocolate shop, garden, and tasting tour. Sergio, our Portuguese guide —whose Spanish is better than my Portuguese— explained that cocoa harvesting originated in what now is Ecuador, but it was mostly used...
Mindo, a small town located about 2 hours from Quito, is tucked in the middle of green luscious mountains and singing rivers. Because of its biodiversity, beautiful views, and environmental projects, Mindo has become a great ecotourist attraction. The locals...
Museo Intiñan features a tile covered line that marks the equatorial divide—to make it visible to the naked eye—, plus, life size representations of native people’s houses, ancient tombs, and regional flora and fauna. This provides interactive experiences at a...
Oswaldo Guayasamin (1919-1999) is considered one of the most important visual artists of the 20th century, not only in Ecuador or Latin America, but in the world. His work is visually vibrant, emotionally compelling, and politically engaged. He depicted scenes...
The first week of classes included lectures, museum visits, church tours, and silly games. On the weekend, students went out on adventures big and small with their host families. On Saturday morning, some students didn’t go on family outings....
Orientation for this year’s SST Ecuador group was packed full of activities, places to see and new people to meet. The first week of classes set us into a more quotidian rhythm of family life, academic activities, group discussions, and...
We could’t catch everyone, but we capture the pivotal moment of families picking up their “newest” members.
Good morning (or whenever you are reading this)! After a few delays, interrupted sleep, and moments of uncertainty, the SST Spring 2024 group started orientation with a burst of energy, enthusiasm … and some silliness! As the students...
Good morning! (or whenever you are reading this) After a few delays and moments of incertitude, the SST Spring 2024 group has started orientation! As the students were leaving home, Ecuador’s people suffer moments of tension, sadness, and fear. News...
Summer 2023 Ecuador students returned to the capital city of Quito this past weekend from their six-week service placements in smaller cities and towns across five Ecuadorian provinces. Their final weekend retreat was held at a beautiful rural location in...
My service has challenged me in a wide variety of ways. I have struggled to develop a routine and find my role within my service organization. Whenever I would take the initiative and ask what our purpose here was, our...
At this stage of the service portion of SST, a distinct highlight for me has been continuing to experience the abundance of natural beauty that Ecuador has to offer. In the study portion of SST, we were able to experience...
As is often the case on SST, I found myself one afternoon on a bus with essentially no knowledge of where I was going. My mom quickly explained that we were headed to a funeral, and I became concerned. “Did...
One of the first things you learn when you come to Ecuador is their love of choclo, which is essentially their variety of sweet corn. On one of our trips to different parts of Ecuador, we even drove past a...
Teaching two hours of English daily is no joke, especially when you have no teaching experience and are creating your own curriculum. Teachers and students alike get tired and worn out by the constant focus it takes to learn a...
I thought the initial bus ride from my study to service placement a few weeks ago was simultaneously the longest and shortest bus ride of my life. After finally getting comfortable with a schedule, host family, and fellow SSTers in...
The first words I heard used to describe my service town were hot and buggy. Upon hearing this I was a little apprehensive about what service would have in store for me and how my body would respond to the...
Most of SST is not glamorous. There are times of incredible joy and sadness, comedic moments, and discomfort certainly, but the majority of the time is very normal. For example: doing laundry. My host family doesn’t have a washing machine,...
Hello again Summer 2023 Ecuador SST blog readers. It’s been a couple of weeks since we checked in with you and my has it been busy. There is a myth that circulates about SST leadership regarding a time of relaxation...
As you may have noticed if you have been following along with this blog or if you have had the opportunity to experience SST firsthand yourself, you know that it is simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting, fulfilling and draining, beautiful and...
In the first of two multi-region treks, this week we headed up through a freezing cold mountain pass at nearly 14,000 feet east of Quito and descended quickly down the eastern flank of the Andes mountains into the beginning of…
Whew…….what a week in Ecuador. Typically, our more eventful moments together are interspersed with travel around the country during the study portion of SST. However, this week, although our activities were mostly in and around Quito, it was a time...
One of the many unique elements of Ecuador is the unusually diverse and high proportion of the population that is fully indigenous to this region. With as many as 16 distinct people groups and another 18 subsets of those groups,...
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