EcuaExperience: Pre-Medical and Volunteer Programs

One word, AMAZING! We did so many things during those 4 weeks! Help, Learn and Discover; couldn't be more accurate. What really made this experience unique though is the People. I've made friends for life! This was my best trip so far and it'll be very hard to top that!

Honestly I don't think I could make the trip any better other than making it a tad bit less expensive. The leaders, activities and experiences were all perfect. Everything was pulled off without a hitch. It was clear that the leaders and organizers cared about each of us personally and wanted us to enjoy ourselves. They went to extremes to make sure we were comfortable and happy. I think I smiled 24 hours a day on this trip. I love HLD so much!

This was definitely the most amazing trip I have ever been on. Every single day was so full of so many fun activities that really allowed us to truly experience the beauty of Ecuador. And since everything from the accommodation to food to transportation and everything in between was taken care of for us, we were able to enjoy the trip completely stress free and have a great time.
For the Help component of the trip we were working in a very impoverished village alongside the villagers to build homes for the people who needed them the most. It was such a life-changing experience to get to know them and build a relationship with them and know that the homes that we were working on would go to these people who had become our friends (especially the kids). It was definitely hard work, but by far one of the most rewarding experiences ever as it was surprisingly difficult to say goodbye to the villagers when we were leaving.
The Learn aspect of the trip though is definitely what sets this trip apart from all the others out there. You learn so much over the week as we go through a number of different wards in the hospitals watching surgeries and learning about how it actually is to be a doctor. As an aspiring med student, it was the part that really helped me confirm that this was definitely the career I wanted to pursue in my life. The tutors were all very knowledgable and were great at explaining what it is we were actually watching.
The Discover part was also fantastic as we got to do things like jungle hikes in the Amazon Rainforest, go repelling down a waterfall, paragliding, surfing and so much more.

Every aspect of this trip was unlike anything I've ever done before and it was so amazing to be a part of it. But the glue that held it all together was definitely all the incredible people you meet. All the other participants were so nice and I know I definitely made some friends for life out of this trip, but it was also the staff, the tutors, the leaders and the founders of the company who were so awesome and friendly and approachable throughout the whole trip. They were there to help out if we had any questions or concerns and really worked hard to make this experience amazing for us.

I would definitely recommend it to everyone!

Help-
This is NOT at all the main focus of the trip, even though it is the first and the main thing they advertise.
For example: Looking at the schedule on their website, the pre-med program students are supposed to volunteer for 8 full days. However, we actually volunteered a little more than 21 hours GRAND total (spread over 6 days of work instead of 8), which means that we worked around 3 full days of 7 hours. The volunteer program was not a whole lot better (Around 4-5 full days of work). So if you want to join them for the volunteer part, I would definetly recommand you look somewhere else. I believe their problem is that they accept too many students and then they do not want to finish their project before the end of the summer so they make us work less.
Another big disapointment was the lack of relationship formed between the students and the community. Because we worked so little on the volunteer site and because we slept and ate in a "hotel" away from the work site, we did not have the time to build strong relationships, if any true ones at all, with the community we were helping. Therefore, even the celebration at the end of our work was not as heart warming and rewarding as I would have hoped since we barely earned that gratitude.

Learn-
This part was good overall. The rotations were diverse and educational. The tutors were knowledgeable as well, however some of the men were unprofessionnal sometimes (ex: a lot of flirting with the femaie students). Also, the organization around the case studies need a lot of improvement such as more communication between the staff who present the cases and the tutors, as well as being prepared to ask reasonable questions during the presentations. Otherwise, the experience is not at all preasurable nor beneficial. Moreover, the internet and wifi NEED to be fixed at the hostel 593 since it is impossible to be prepared for the case solutions otherwise.

Discover-
THIS is the main focus of their trip. If you're there mainly to "have fun" and do activities, this is a great program for you, even though the price is quite expensive for the quantity and quality of their activities. It is evident to most people that the compagny makes a ton of money off of us. There is also A LOT of partying so if you want to have a serious and life-changing experience, you could return unsatified. On top of all, if you like punctuality and organization, you could be greatly disappointed with this program since there is constant changes to the schedule as well as some things are just skipped. There is also a lack of professionnalism from some individual staff members, intriguingly mostly from the founders.

Bottom line, this program has a lot of potential, but still needs a lot of improvement.

This was hands down the most amazing experience of my life. Never have I had so much fun, learned so much, and met so many amazing people. The days are always packed with activities, you´re never bored, and there is so much variety. From tubing down the amazon river to surfing to enjoying a nice afternoon in the spa. The medical program was amazing, the tutors are so friendly and knowledgable, and you learn about so many areas of medicine such as radiology, surgery, pediatrics, and more. The volunteering program of the trip was unbelievable, you work hard and you really see how big of an impact your contribution leads to, especially during the final dinner you have with the community, you truly see how much it means to them. The food was always delicious, and spanned from traditional ecuadorian, to more conventional north american foods. I have many many allergies and they accommodated them very well. Finally, the tour guides and leaders that you meet and spend your time with are without a doubt the most kind, caring, fun, wonderful people I´ve ever met. I hope to come back next year.

Overall this was the most amazing experience of my life. I am leaving a completely changed person. The activities were amazing, the people were unbelievable and the overall experience was life changing.

Starting with the med rotations, the best part was seeing actual surgeries being performed. It was amazing to see everything I have learned in school be put into practice. I also enjoyed going to the ER and learning from the tutors.

Next I also did an extra week to the Galapagos which was SO AMAZING. I highly recommend that if you are considering going you do. I had so much fun doing all the activities and for me the highlight was snorkelling with the animals. I didn´t think it was possible to see so many animals and get so close to them!

The tour around Ecuador was also so much fun! I loved all the places we visited and the activities were amazing! The highlights for me were the hike in Banos, the cable car in Banos, the hike in the jungle and the time spent relaxing in Canoa. For me I love to be active and do activities that involve adrenaline and thats what this trip provided!

Lastly, the volunteer portion was so humbling and powerful. I have never felt so much joy in my life then when I was working with the community and getting to know them. The highlight for me was just being with the people. They were the most grateful and hard working people I have ever met and they truly changed my life.

The downsides to the trip for me included the food, the internet access, and the case studies. The lunches especially were not that healthy and we often ate the same thing. The internet was not always reliable. This was not a problem during the tour because I was so busy with everything else that I didnt need my phone but during the med rotations it was annoying. Lastly, the case study was a little stressful. In the end I learned a lot from it and am glad I did it but it was not very enjoyable at the time. The other difficulty was the time. You really had to go with the flow and be patient because the times they told you were not always correct.

Although there were a few difficulties, I would still say that this is the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life. I would encourage anyone coming on the trip to just go with the flow and you will have a blast!

This trip did a really good job of the medical portion of the trip each student we worked with was extremely proffesional and we were given amazing oppurtunities and great experiences. The rest of the trip I was significantly less satisfied with, as opposed to a selfless culture of volunteering it seemed more focused on the volunteers having fun than on actually helping the people. Almost a white saviour complex was developed as opposed to actual relationships with the people. The cost was also rather high for the places we stayed in and what we ate, it seemed rather evident to most people that the company was making alot of money off of us. The staff also seemed a little confused as to when things were happening and never really seemed on top of things, there were constant changes to the schedule and some things were just skipped. The people I met on the trip however were generally pretty kind and awesome. Overall I´d say the trip was alright, but could use significant improvement.

This program is super amazing, it´s difficult to pick my favourite part. The people I met were absolutely incredible, the volunteer was super heart warming, and the med rotations were absolutely phenomenol. The problem with this trip is the cost, for $3,700 you get to stay in places that are probably and average of $10 a night, and the meals are also super cheap. If you love to meet amazing people, and you really want to see some amazing things in an Ecuadorian hospital I highly recommend this program. If you want to do this to travel, and even volunteer, then I would definitely recommend a different program. All in all I am super glad I took part in this amazing program, and the people and things are amazing, however this program is not without its faults.