Program Reviews

I knew I wanted a unique study abroad experience, and HECUA provided just that. The academic aspect of the program is refreshingly different from the American college norm. The classroom offers an intimate setting in which you have plenty of opportunities to peruse the minds of some of the nations experts in topics ranging from environmental impacts of oil drilling in the Amazon to rights of indigenous communities. However, greater learning comes from the aspects of the program that don't happen in the classroom. A major aspect of this program is an internship with an organization of your choice in Quito. This not only lets you further explore an area of interest, but it also helps you gain independence in Quito and get to know different members of the community. There are also three weekend trips taken as a group throughout the semester to Yasuni National Park in the Amazon; Olmedo, a small fishing village on the coast of Ecuador; and Cotacachi, an area in the mountains of Ecuador where you will stay with an indigenous family. These are experiences you would be hard to encounter outside a program like this.
What makes this program truly special are the people who make it possible. HECUA has a team of some of the most kind, intelligent, and funny people I have ever met, and they truly have your best interest at heart. They also have resources and contacts that will have you meeting some of Ecuador's finest. Not to mention the host families. Every family that I met as a part of the program truly made their student a part of their family. I know that I will always have a home and a family in Ecuador.
Outside of the program itself, we were able to travel extensively around Ecuador (which is something I would highly recommend) and make life-long friends. Almost all of your weekends are available for trips, which is all you will need for most places as Ecuador is not very large and highly accessible by bus. You also have a week free for spring break for a longer trip. We also enjoyed Quito's nightlife - through which we ended up meeting friends that showed us even more of Ecuador's unique culture.
All in all, I would highly recommend this program for someone who wants a unique study abroad experience and is not afraid of getting dirty and maybe not quite understand what is going on at all times.

By late November, the weather in Wellington began heating up, reaching the low 70s every day-- just in time for us to be heading back to the states in a few weeks. Around this time, all of us on the program were thinking about our families back home in America, missing them despite having the time of our lives on, quite literally, the other side of the world. In both an effort to make us feel at home and have a concluding get-together, lead professor and host Charles decided to have us over for a thanksgiving dinner. Along with his family, several friends, and a few of our host parents, we ate turkey, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, and all the other traditional staples of the holiday. Although there was no football, and even less fall color (it turns out maple trees are not a thing in New Zealand), it felt like home. Between the bond we students forged together and the family setting created by Charles and the other HECUA staff, it made what could have been a tough time to be away one of the best thanksgivings ever.

Aside from the five initial weeks of traveling around the North Island of New Zealand, I enjoyed the internship portion of our time in Wellington the most. My initial match was not the best fit or timing, however, with the assiduous work and devotion of Charles, our program co-director, I was able to intern with Sustainable Coastlines and Zealandia, an eco-sanctuary. This contributed to my independent study, while providing a plethora of different experiences and skill-building opportunities.

HECUA New Zealand was a truly remarkable experience. The combination of field study, internship, independent research and more traditional class is an unparalleled way to live, experience and learn about New Zealand. The program staff is supportive, helpful and generous. My internship at an environmental education center in Wellington helped me realize my passion for environmental education, and teaching in general. My individual research project about the Quaker Settlement in Whanganui allowed me to engage with new concepts and connect with interesting people. I loved living in Wellington-- having a bus pass and being connected with a frisbee team were some of the highlights of my time. Charles, the main director of the program is an incredible teacher, mentor and quasi-guardian.

One of the aspects that I really appreciated with the HECUA study abroad program in Ecuador was the host family stay. While many study abroad experiences, particularly J-term experiences, seem to lack a bit of a connection with the community (programs often end up more like a vacation than anything), HECUA really focuses on intentionally connecting with the community. Staying with a host family allowed participants to connect with the community by engaging in dialogue and challenges faced in Quito not just through trips but at home.

Our time in Ecuador was full of incredible adventures! From hiking towering mountains to birdwatching above the rainforest canopy to interacting with social activists in Quito, Ecuador. We were truly immersed as we got to spend time with our host families navigating the city, exploring deep into the Amazon Rainforest, and traveling north to Imbabura province for an experience of rural Ecuadorian life.

The Amazon was a time of deep reflection as we came to terms with the unparalleled biodiversity with the realities of oil drilling. One of my favorite experiences was our night hike. We were able to see extremely unique wildlife-- I have no idea how our guides noticed them all! I was utterly taken aback by the beauty and expansiveness of the sky on this night. Far removed from light pollution, these were some of the most breath-taking stars I have ever seen.

Our other excursion was to the northern province of Imbabura! My classmates and I had gone to the field with our host mother to help with her evening chores. Our task that night was herding the cows back home. Unfortunately, my peers and I were quite inept at this task, losing the cows until we had to run after and chase them back onto the path. We looked back to see our host mother laughing at us. Needless to say, we decided it was better if we stuck to collecting vegetables for dinner!

I think part of the beauty of this program is the fact that you are living with fantastic host families that provide you the freedom to explore the city of Quito on your own. The program leaders also highly encourage that, with a degree of safety, of course. Everyone that HECUA put us students in contact with were willing to do anything with us because they really wanted us to experience all of Quito, and Ecuador for that matter. One of my favorite memories from the trip was something that a group of us students decided to do on our own the last day we were there. One of the host fathers was a professional mountain guide. Volcán Pinchincha lied right behind my host family's house and we got to experience it the very first day we arrived in Quito. We decided to ask the host father if he was willing to take us to the summit of Pinchincha. He agreed and the last day, we took the Teleférico up to the spot where we began out hike. It took a lot of altitude adjustment, support, and bravery (especially for those who fear heights), but we made it all the way to the summit (15,000 ft). Not only was that a feat in it of itself, but the beauty of having the opportunity to look down at the place we called home for three weeks was the perfect ending to our trip. It gave me closure and it made me really appreciate what I had learned in the class, on the field trips, and through everyone I had met. Even though we were out of breath, taking too many pictures, and having a great time, it was one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had.

The most amazing thing about the program was being exposed to the different communities in Ecuador in such a short amount of time. We were able to capture the typical day of someone who lives in the city and the next week we were in the amazon learning how to weave baskets from the native people. We were also able to see how these differ from the afro- Ecuadorian communities and the indigenous communities. Ecuador has so much diversity in culture. I went into the trip having a particular image of an Ecuadorian person and came back to the states with more than five different Ecuadorian cultures.

I was nervous when I left for Quito. It was a program with students from schools other than my own, in a place I knew very little about. I knew I wanted to spend my J Term doing something meaningful, though, and this was the right experience.
I could go on forever about the experience. One of the absolute highlights for me was the family I had the privilege of living with. They were all so welcoming, and interested in knowing us as people, and teaching us everything they could. We ate almost every meal as a family, and it was common to stay at the table talking after dinner finished (one night we talked for three hours!). Our mom always made sure we were well-fed, and her cooking was a mix of healthy and traditional and flavorful. She always explained when something she was making for us was native to Ecuador, or a cultural tradition.

We spent hours in the classroom, yes, but in the end it paid off. We heard from many field speakers, who gave great insight into Ecuador's past, present, and future. Outside of the classroom, I loved the structure of the experience. We were only there for a month, but wow, we saw so much. Exploring Quito was just the beginning. We went to the rainforest and the Andes, two areas so different from each other and from where we were staying. On our free days, we independently organized group trips to the Cloud Forest and Banos as well.

Overall, it was a whirlwind of learning and adventure. I pushed myself to new challenges and experiences-- zip lining, climbing a birdwatching tower, night-hiking, salsa dancing, speaking Spanish with strangers, herding cows, taking transit in a new city, making new friends, baking in a wood-fired oven, learning a traditional Quechua dance, swinging over a mountain valley, soaking in hot springs, eating tropical fruits I've never heard of, and exploring crowded outdoor markets. By the time I was done, I wasn't ready to leave! I plan on returning to Ecuador, and I would recommend this program to anyone.

There is so many facets of this program that it is hard to put them all into words on a computer. I chose the program because of the great level of Spanish (you do not need to have incredible language skills to participate, some people come with very low levels and others with very high levels but both improve tremendously) and the fact that I got to stay with a family. While you sometimes wish you had a little more privacy (most college kids haven't lived with family since heading off to school) I did not want to travel half way across the country just to live in a dorm and enroll at another university. If your goal is to meet a bunch of people your age, however, this is not the program for you. You'll meet great people, but not all that many Ecuadorians will be college aged. One of my favorite parts of the experience is the amount we are able to travel. You are able to do some cool traveling with the program but a large part of the experience is the traveling you do on your own time with friends.