An Unforgettable Adventure

This program was an amazing experience! We travelled to beautiful sites and learned about so many amazing plants and animals in situ. I was challenged academically and I gained a lot confidence in myself. The academic directors were very knowledgeable and experienced, and I was encouraged to ask questions about anything I was interested in. The program is divided between excursions to field sites, where most of the ecology teaching/learning takes place, and time in the city, where we took Spanish classes and had various other lectures. We were given many opportunities to practice field techniques, and the various assignments throughout the semester helped prepare me for the Independent Study Project, which was the most challenging and rewarding academic experience I've ever had.

Most of my criticisms have to due with changes that were made to the program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This included cancelling the homestay element and housing the entire group of students in a hostel in a small town that was very far from Quito. We were able to make our own fun, but there was no social scene near where we were housed. Additionally, there were very few programmed activities aside from the field excursions.

Overall, I would recommend this program to anyone who is interested in studying ecology in the field and improving their Spanish - there were ample opportunities to do both!