I leave in 12 hours!!!!
AAAAAaaaahhhhhhh!!
I feel like I've over-packed, but have already taken a bunch of things out, so whatever, it is what it is.
I'm really excited but starting to get really nervous too. It's been nice to be here in Michigan the past few days to recollect myself and see all my college friends again before leaving. I think I'm ready to go, but at the same time I can't believe it's actually happening.
Next post comes from Quito, hopefully!!!!
Showing posts with label preparation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preparation. Show all posts
Friday, August 14, 2009
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Clases
Registering for classes has now made me want to put my head in the wall. At this point I've given up and decided that whatever, I'll deal with it when I get down there.
I sense much frustation in upcoming months with Ecuadorian time, language barriers, and general confusion. Oh boy...
I sense much frustation in upcoming months with Ecuadorian time, language barriers, and general confusion. Oh boy...
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Estoy empiezo sentir nerviosa
I will be in Ecuador in just over 2 weeks. It's slowly hitting me that I'll be leaving for six months for ECUADOR in 2 weeks and I'm slowly starting to freak out. I'm super excited, but also getting pretty nervous. Other people are also slowly arriving in their countries (Allie in Chile, Harrison/Cassandra/Yuka in Australia, Ashley in S. Africa even if she isn't from K) and it's slowly hitting me that everyone is going everywhere and we will literally all be spread out across the globe. Oh man. I don't know if you've ever noticed, but the world is a pretty big place. I'm excited to go to another part I've never been before! Somewhere completely different.
There's a reason I didn't want to go to Thailand, despite it's awesome program. I've been exposed to a lot of cultures by growing up in Hawaii. Unfortunately, the Hispanic population is very small so literally I've never really been exposed to it except for the occasional Mexican restaurant and Senora E-D and her crazy culture notes ("arre burriquito", jaja). It'll be interesting for me to finally meet this culture that most of the rest of the mainland is already relatively familiar with.
There's a reason I didn't want to go to Thailand, despite it's awesome program. I've been exposed to a lot of cultures by growing up in Hawaii. Unfortunately, the Hispanic population is very small so literally I've never really been exposed to it except for the occasional Mexican restaurant and Senora E-D and her crazy culture notes ("arre burriquito", jaja). It'll be interesting for me to finally meet this culture that most of the rest of the mainland is already relatively familiar with.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Salud de Viajero
Yesterday I had my travel medicine appointment which was both very informative but also very nerve-racking as we discussed the numerous ways I could get ill and potentially die in Ecuador. It was good. (Plus then I had to get two shots, all on top of the fact that I am still sick since Sunday.)
Basically, I know that Ecuador is a developing country, and I know that it's really different than here and I know I should expect to get sick since almost everyone does (altitude, food, etc.).... but still, it makes a girl nervous. I mean, I've got to watch out for malaria and yellow fever and rabies and kissing bugs that can apparently give you all sorts of fun diseases. I've already been sick for the past 3 days and to think that I'm going to get sick again in Ecuador where I'll be alone and without necessarily good medical help is kind of unsettling.
I just feel like I don't know what to expect, because on one hand I know it's a developing country so it has significantly less than we do here, but also at the same time we won't be living in slumdog-type shanty houses or something like that. Quito, the university, and our host families are not poor, forsaken souls. I just don't really have any idea what's coming in terms of what to expect, but in all honesty it'll probably be combinations of both. Latin America has severe class division and the gaps between those classes are great. While I know it'll be difficult to handle, I'm actually very interested and yes, excited to live a developing country and see what life is like on the other side.
Basically, I know that Ecuador is a developing country, and I know that it's really different than here and I know I should expect to get sick since almost everyone does (altitude, food, etc.).... but still, it makes a girl nervous. I mean, I've got to watch out for malaria and yellow fever and rabies and kissing bugs that can apparently give you all sorts of fun diseases. I've already been sick for the past 3 days and to think that I'm going to get sick again in Ecuador where I'll be alone and without necessarily good medical help is kind of unsettling.
I just feel like I don't know what to expect, because on one hand I know it's a developing country so it has significantly less than we do here, but also at the same time we won't be living in slumdog-type shanty houses or something like that. Quito, the university, and our host families are not poor, forsaken souls. I just don't really have any idea what's coming in terms of what to expect, but in all honesty it'll probably be combinations of both. Latin America has severe class division and the gaps between those classes are great. While I know it'll be difficult to handle, I'm actually very interested and yes, excited to live a developing country and see what life is like on the other side.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
?Espanol?
So I'm starting to really think about Ecuador and let's be honest, I'm pretty nervous. We have to take a language assessment exam to test your Spanish ability, and I took mine on Thursday morning. Today I finally filled out my actual application to USFQ [Universidad de San Fransisco en Quito], which was entirely in Spanish and that was a wake up call. I'm quite nervous about my communication ability, considering I haven't taken a Spanish class in over a year and since then haven't really practiced much. It came back pretty quite during my language exam, but I am very nervous nonetheless. Surprisingly though, my score came back as "intermediate" proficiency, with only one point short of the "advanced" level. Maybe this should tell me something? Don't worry as much?
I know that once I get there and get into the rhythm of things (like reading, writing, speaking) it'll come much easier, but still, it's hard to not worry about it.
I know that once I get there and get into the rhythm of things (like reading, writing, speaking) it'll come much easier, but still, it's hard to not worry about it.
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