CEDEI – Page 2

Augustana College and CEDEI Partnership: Cuenca, Ecuador

March 19, 2018

Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois was the original partner and collaborator of CEDEI. The concept of CEDEI began over twenty-five years ago when two of the Augustana professors, Tom Brown and Steve Wille, began to travel with students to Cuenca. These experiences were the seeds that grew into CEDEI, an institution of education and bridge-building that has worked with students from around the world for decades. This interview with Dr. Araceli Masterson, Associate Professor of Spanish and Director of the…

GalápaGO Get Your Goals (I’m so sorry)

March 14, 2018

Alec Tripp

CEDEI, Ecuador, Study Abroad

“There is no reality except in action.” – Jean-Paul Sartre One of the most important attributes in my decision-making, and one of the reasons I was able to study abroad in the beautiful city of Cuenca, Ecuador, is pretty simple. I am adamant about taking advantage of every opportunity that I can. From tasting the odd, Cuencan specialty of Cuy (Guinea Pig, which is delicious), to studying abroad in the heart of Latin America, I have rarely let opportunities pass…

Professor Sisa Pacari on Indigenous Communities and Traditional Medicine

March 2, 2018

Kristen Sawyer

CEDEI, Ecuador

Professor Sisa Pacari has been teaching at CEDEI for decades on and off. She is an integral part of the institution.Two of her standout classes are Quichua, the indigenous language of many Ecuadorians throughout the country, and a seminar on Traditional Medicine. During her language course, which has an Intro and Intermediate level, Profe Sisa uses only Spanish and Quichua to teach her pupils the intricacies of this language that has been used in this region before the Spanish arrived.…

Blinded by Carnival

February 15, 2018

Alec Tripp

CEDEI, Cuenca, Holidays, Study Abroad

You need to travel to Latin America as to fully experience the Carnival holiday. It´s such a unique and bewildering event, containing massive celebrations before Lent (a time of holiness and moderation). You´ll notice in the days leading up to Carnival weekend that many people are walking around the city, soaking wet, and returning the cold, wet favor to random passersby. You´ll also become much more familiar with this evil substance known as “carioca” (which is pretty much just aromatic…

Ecuadorian Yes Man

February 8, 2018

Alec Tripp

CEDEI, Cuenca, Ecuador, Study Abroad

“The limits of my language are the limits of my world.” -Ludwig Wittenstein As it turns out, journeying to a foreign country entails learning its language (quite well) and transitioning to its customs. Unluckily for me, I was hardly proficient in Spanish coming into Ecuador, and I knew even less of its unique traditions. To cope with the massive influx of new information and Spanish conversation, I had become accustomed to just replying to nearly anything that my host family…

CEDEI Partners with Amazon Smile for Cyber Monday

November 27, 2017

Kristen Sawyer

CEDEI

Take advantage of this Cyber Monday! Purchase through smile.amazon.com/ch/86-0964602 and you’ll support the great work that CEDEI does in education, health, and bringing cultures together. Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. You’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a…

Now and Then: The Cycle of Studying Abroad

November 23, 2017

Kristen Sawyer

CEDEI, Study Abroad

Two international programs students who are here for the Fall Semester in the Andes shared their thoughts two months ago, in their first week at CEDEI. We looped back now, as they’re approaching their final weeks here, to see what moments have stood out and what they’re grateful for about this experience. Out of all the countries to study abroad, why did you choose Ecuador and why did you choose the CEDEI program in Cuenca? Kayla: The program was approved…

Reflecting on Arriving in Ecuador

November 22, 2017

Martina Maya-Callen

CEDEI, Ecuador

As with any journey, it officially starts with a packed suitcase, a passport, and a ticket. I arrived to Dulles Airport with heightened awareness of the fact that this would be my first official time stepping on an airplane and not knowing anyone. The whole car ride I was filled with butterflies of excitement and the nervousness of not fulling knowing what I was getting myself into. What I would soon come to realize is that I got myself into…

Settling Into Cuenca

November 7, 2017

Martina Maya-Callen

CEDEI, Cuenca

On a bus after the first week of adventures in Ecuador there were small bits of anxiety in the pit of my stomach as we are heading to Cuenca, Ecuador, the city in which I will be living for the next semester. We arrive at CEDEI and all of the students line up to meet their families for the first time and I am kindly greeted by my host mother. We swiftly leave CEDEI so that I can get acquainted…

Interview with Teresa Clare: Biologist, Conservationist and Filmmaker

October 18, 2017

Kristen Sawyer

CEDEI

Teresa Clare: CEDEI Environmental Science Professor Where are you from and how did you end up in teaching? I am from England (born in Huntingdon but mostly grew up in Leicestershire). I took my first degree in Zoology at the University of Leeds (with subsidiary subjects botany, biochemistry and environmental science), then my PhD on behaviour and ecology of cichlid fishes based at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (now Aberystwyth University). For my PhD I spent about 10 months doing…