LOVED IT!!!

I absolutely loved this program. My Spanish improved dramatically and I had an experience unlike anything I've ever done. Living with Ecuadorians (some of whom were my age), I got to learn a ton about Ecuadorian politics, culture, and language. We lived/helped on two different farms over the course of the trip, so I got to live within really special communities. The second farm was run by 3 amazing indigenous women who participated in our discussions and taught us about their history/traditions/language (Kichwa classes were SO cool). I did this in 2021, so the program was very COVID-conscious, and all of the volunteers (American and Ecuadorian kids) lived together in a pod with a few staff members. Because we were all together, when we weren't working on the farm or climbing mountains, we got to have really deep and enlightening conversations about societal/political issues, in the US, in Ecuador, and globally - with people weighing in with perspectives from all over the US and Ecuador! Overall, this was an amazing way for me to expand my own perspective by experiencing a culture/language in a respectful, culturally-sensitive way.