Getting Ready to Leave

Got my Visa!
I am leaving on January 5th. I can't wait! I fly from Chicago to Miami to Quito, Ecuador where I will meet up with my host family.
I got my assigned host family and have been talking with them. I will be living with a doctor named Nancy, her daughter Fernanda, who is 35, and Fernanda's son Camillo who is 8! They seem like such amazing people who share so many of my interests! They already have so much planned for me!
They do not speak much English, so this will be a cool challenge!

I am in the process of packing, so we'll see how this goes.

2 bags for 5.5 months
This may be my toughest packing job yet.

First Post- Pre-trip

Hello friends,
Hola amigos,
and welcome to my blog!
This blog is going to be a collection of all of the photographs and journal entries I write while traveling abroad. I have a month before my flight, and I decided to start my blog so I can explain this trip. I will be traveling with about 25 other students through the CEIBA foundation. The program I am going on is the Tropical Conservation Semester. Most of the other participants are from University of Wisconsin.
No, I do not know one person going on this trip, and I couldn't be more excited!

Here is a summary of what I will be doing:

The course begins in Quito, Ecuador’s capital city, which occupies a broad inter-Andean valley at an altitude of 9,250 feet.  The city has a modern center and an historic Spanish colonial district and is surrounded by volcanoes, including the active Mt. Pichincha which last erupted in 2002.  Classes are held just outside Quito in the town of Cumbayá, where the lower elevation makes for a pleasant, warm climate. 

Upon arrival in Ecuador, you settle in with your Ecuadorian host families and begin the first month of classes in Spanish and Conservation Biology on the Universidad San Francisco de Quito campus in Cumbayá.  USFQ is Ecuador’s most prestigious private university, and operates both the Tiputini Biodiversity and GAIAS research stations.  It hosts study abroad programs from around the world, creating an exciting international atmosphere on its campus.  We’ve limited classroom study mostly to Monday through Thursday, a schedule allowing for extended class field trips each weekend that introduce students to tropical ecosystems and some of Ecuador’s most stunning scenery.

One such trip will be to Cayambe-Coca  National Park dominated by one of Ecuador’s highest volcanoes, Antisana 5,705 m (18,717 ft).  The towering crater attracts climbers from around the world.  This wind-swept, high-elevation park protects a vast area (403,103 ha) encompassing scenic examples of the alpine tundra ecosystem or “páramo.”  We study the unique adaptations of the remarkably rich biota in this harsh but fascinating habitat.  Another weekend trip takes us to the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve, a project of the Ceiba Foundation, providing technical expertise and training to the landowner and his family so they may continue to manage their land in a sustainable and non-destructive manner.  High in the epiphyte-laden Andean cloud forests (1,900 – 2,400 m), El Pahuma showcases a breathtaking diversity of native orchid species and is a model project in conservation and ecotourism.  Students have the opportunity to learn first-hand about reserve management and protected areas implementation.  At El Pahuma a rugged three hour hike takes us to the remote “Bear’s Den” cabin where we camp for several days.  Here we study this cloud-fed montane ecosystem, and have a chance to see rare denizens of this forest such as the endangered Spectacled Bear and endemic Plate-billed Mountain Toucan.

We also walk the ancient Yumbo trail, once used as a trade route by pre-Colombian peoples to transport goods from Quito to the coast and back. From there, we begin our exploration of deciduous tropical forests along Ecuador’s beautiful and sparsely settled Pacific coast.  The first stop in our journey is the Lalo Loor Dry Forest, Ceiba’s second private reserve project, owned by a dairy farmer, that protects seasonally dry tropical forest.  With only 2% of Ecuador’s dry forest remaining, reserves like this represent important habitat for this ecosystem’s uniquely adapted flora and fauna.  Many trees here are deciduous, losing their leaves in the dry season.  The forest is intermingled with cacti and reptiles are abundant, as are birds and the commonly observed Mantled Howler Monkeys. Our coastal adventure will include camping on the beach and an exploration by boat of some of Ecuador’s last remaining mangroves and the shrimp farms that have replaced them.

After a short break back in Quito, the excitement continues as we journey to Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest for a 3-week stay at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station.  We travel all day by plane, open-air bus and motorized canoe to immerse ourselves in the primeval rainforest of TBS, adjacent to the 1.7 million acre Yasuní National Park and surrounded for miles on all sides by the most biodiverse forest on Earth.  Students have the rare opportunity to see many rainforest mammals, including 11 species of primates, jaguar, ocelot, puma, capybara, agouti, tapir, and tayra, fascinating river dwellers such as the pink river dolphin and caiman, and over 500 species of birds, including giant harpy eagles, toucans and macaws.  To maximize our encounters with wildlife we explore blackwater rivers and freshwater lagoons.  We climb TBS’s canopy access towers and exhilarating walkway system for a unique birds-eye view of the forest canopy, and the throngs of birds, monkeys and other wildlife that carry on their lives high above the forest floor. Lectures in the Amazon provide essential background on tropical rainforest structure and dynamics, tropical flora and fauna and ecological interactions, with field activities geared toward learning methods for ecological research. We then focus on many of the problems confronting conservation of tropical rainforests, including some particularly applicable to this region:  oil development, colonization, and tourism.  We may encounter the Haorani people, original inhabitants of this lowland rainforest, and witness the forces that are endangering their  culture and the forest they depend on.  There is ample opportunity to hear from the staff and biologists working at TBS, a scientific hotspot for researchers from around the world.  You’ll then put your training into action by designing and executing your own field project in this incomparable rainforest.

After mid-semester break, we kick off the Marine Biology course and set off on the much-anticipated expedition to the world famous Galapagos Islands.  Legendary for its role in inspiring Darwin’s theory of evolution, this archipelago of 13 major islands and 115 smaller ones is a virtual showcase of diversity and speciation.  One of the world’s largest marine reserves surrounds the park, although conservation, tourism and fishing often come into conflict.  You will enjoy face-to-face encounters with Galapagos wildlife during our 8-day cruise of the islands, and home in on a research question that will guide your activities at the Galapagos Academic Institute for Arts and Sciences (GAIAS) for the following two weeks.  Located on San Cristóbal Island, the facility’s laboratories, boats, library, and computers provide an excellent base from which to carry out your research.  Moreover, you have the once-in-a-lifetime experience of living with a native “Galapagueña” host family.

Back in Quito, there won’t be much time for relaxation as you present the results of your research in a student symposium and make last-minute preparations for your internship.  This final month of the program is your chance to demonstrate all you’ve learned and to really practice your Spanish!  Depending on the organization or project you choose, you may remain in Quito for your internship to work, for example, on planning a conservation program or developing educational materials, or you may travel to a remote site to assist in reforestation, conduct a marine survey, or participate in community development work.  Whatever the case, it is up to you to make the most of your internship experience and we’re certain that both you and the organization with whom you work will benefit.  Furthermore, the internship can help you acquire new skills and contacts, and give you practical exposure to careers in international conservation.

The semester wraps up with a few days in Quito during which  you share your internship experiences and bid farewell to your classmates and host family before returning home, or moving on to your next tropical adventure! 

First off, everyone asks me the same question:

Why Ecudaor?

Well, I am a biology major, and for as long as I can remember, I have learned about Charles Darwin and his studies of finches and species variation. The Galapagos Islands are supposed to be these amazing Islands that are home to a number of species not found anywhere else in the world. Darwin used this information to form his theories of evolution that for the most part still hold true today. Not only did I want to see these islands, I wanted to study in them as well. I wanted to follow Darwin.

After coming to this conclusion, I heard Ecuador is similar to Costa Rica, which is the best trip I've ever been on in my life. I felt very at ease there, and I feel that Ecuador will give me that feeling as well. I want to explore a completely foreign culture and see how people live in other areas of the world. I did not want to travel to an area that is Americanized, tourist based, or where only English is spoken. I have not taken Spanish since high school, but I feel it will greatly improve in Ecuador.
When researching more, I discovered that the Amazon rainforest is partly in Ecuador. They say that there are so many hidden species of plants, insects, and animals. Everyday there are new discoveries. How perfect would it be to study with the scientists who are making these breakthroughs? After taking my medicinal plants and herbs class, I am also very interested on the herbal medicines used in other countries and how they work. I want to learn more about what could be hidden in the depths of the rainforest.
These reasons are just the main points that lead me to the decision of choosing Ecuador.

The second question I keep getting:

Why this program?

After researching the University of Illinois's program to the Galapagos, I discovered that it is mostly in the Galapagos and doesn't have as much to do with Spanish or Ecuadorian culture. Also, CEIBA's program has an internship at the end for a month where each student is on his or her own working for some organization in Ecuador. CEIBA starts in Quito with a host family, and comes back in between each 3-4 week trip. CEIBA incorporates independent research as well, which provides me with the experience I will need in the field. Overall, it is the perfect trip for me.
Yes, it was a lot of paperwork, and I still haven't finished all I need, but I feel that it will be well worth it.
Here is a map of where I will be:

map from the program packet

I have 5 vaccinations down, 1 to go. I still need my Visa, and tons of supplies, but I will eventually get everything and before I know it, I'll be out of the country for 5 and a half months. :-D