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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.
After two days of normal class schedule in Quito, we wound our way through the mountains to the northwest region of the Pichincha province where we explored the cloud forest. With historical and indigenous peoples contexts in the back of...
The first week of class are already behind us! Wow, we’ve already covered a lot of ground and feels good to start to settle in and find a new routine between classes and host families. Here is a glimpse of...
Welcome to Quito! We are so pleased and honored to welcome 21 new students to this beautiful country of Ecuador. And welcome to you, who may be following along and supporting our journey from afar. After picking up students from...
We wrapped up our semester with a weekend full of reflections, discussions, relaxing and fun at El Refugio where we had the decompression and processing time we needed to close out our time together here in Ecuador. Thanks to those...
During the service portion of SST, I have been volunteering at a foundation called Su Cambio Por El Cambio (SCXC) in a little town called San Simon. SCXC’s primary missions are to provide a safe after school environment for local...
In January, I took a 3-day trip with my host family in Quito, Paola (host-mom) and Sammy (host-sister). It took 2.5 hours to get to Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas. We took the Cordillera de Los Andes road. This very...
Before we left for SST, we were told to prepare some gifts for our host family. The suggestion we got was to prepare some things from Goshen or our College. But at that time the bookstore was already closed. I...
Nina and I keep in touch regularly with the students via phone calls and texts, but we especially enjoyed visiting students at their service internship placements throughout the last few weeks. We continue to be so grateful for the many...
Soccer games with the family, an example of so many things I’ve experienced and learned throughout only six short weeks in Ecuador. Every Sunday except those during which we were out of town visiting Mindo or Tena, my host dad...
There are a lot of hard things in Quito. For instance, my walk to the Fundación, where we have our classes, is up a very steep hill. My little commute is one of the best parts of my day, however,...
Students left for their service placements on Saturday morning all arriving by the evening and greeted by their new host families. 🙂 We mentioned previously that last Thursday afternoon we spent some concentrated time discussing/reflecting/anticipating the upcoming transition to service...
During our last week of the “study” portion of the term, students traveled to several hours east of Quito to explore the upper Amazon basin. We combined several experiential learning activities – both cultural and environmental, based on the region’s...
We had a full week of classes and wrapped up several large academic pieces to the term. Friday evening students hosted their families for a program and goodbye party. Last night (Saturday) we arrived here to Hostal Pakay in...
After a few days of class in Quito we took off for the north, arriving to the beautiful city of Otavalo in the province of Imbabura for several days. Here is a short clip of some of the music...
We continue individually and as a group to process the tragedy of the landslides in Quito that occurred last week not far from some of our host families and in a neighborhood that we have, on a couple occasions, passed through...
After a couple of normal days of class, we made our way through the mountains to the northwest region of the Pichincha province where we explored the amazing cloud forest. We are bringing last weeks’ historical context with us as...
Time is flying by and students are settling into a new rhythm here in Quito between classes and a new life with their host families. The omicron wave is beginning here in Ecuador and we’re continuing to make adjustments as...
Welcome to Quito! We are so pleased and honored to welcome 15 new students to this beautiful country of Ecuador. And welcome to you, who may be following along and supporting our journey from afar. We had an absolutely fantastic...
Today was a different day here in Salinas de Guaranda (Salinas for short). It was sunny and beautiful unlike the usual rainy weather we have been getting. I was really excited to know what I will be doing today since...
Mindo, where my service portion of SST is located, is between the descent from the Andes to the coast. It is one of Ecuador’s most biodiverse places with birdwatching being one of the well-known activities. It is two hours away...
My service location is in Pedro Vicente Maldonado, a small city about 2 and a half hours drive from Quito in the coastal region of Ecuador. However, the coast is still quite a ways away. To Esmeraldas, the closest coastal...
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