When I told people that I was going to be studying abroad in Ecuador, I received greatly varied reactions. Some people were thrilled and told me that they had been to Ecuador or had a family member who had been and absolutely loved it. Many others, however, seemingly knew nothing about Ecuador and asked how I chose it, considering that it isn’t a common place to study abroad. In all honesty, I gave different people different answers to this question. I also don’t have just one simple answer to give, so I’ve decided to put together a list of a few of the reasons I chose to study abroad in Cuenca, Ecuador.

1. I want to learn more Spanish

Yes, I am aware that Ecuador is not the only Spanish speaking country, but this was one of my first criteria for deciding where to go. I have been told, however, that Cuencanos (the people of Cuenca) speak slower and more clearly than people in many other places in Latin America (and Spain) which is a huge plus for someone like me who is learning. To make sure I was practicing my Spanish as much as possible, as well as learning about daily life in my host country, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just living with American students. This made a homestay an attractive feature for potential programs to study abroad with, which I found with this program in Cuenca.

2. The adventure

Many people in the United States who decide to study abroad go to a Western European country. This is amazing for those people because studying abroad anywhere teaches you so much; however, I wanted to go somewhere that was less common for US students, which meant looking beyond some of the most well-known European cities. When I found the Semester in the Andes program and read all that it included, I was immediately drawn in. There’s not a lot of programs that include travel to the Amazon rainforest, the Galapagos Islands and a ton more. Now that I have been to the rainforest during my first week here, I can confirm that it is an adventure like nothing else I have ever experienced, and it’s something I may not have ever done had I not decided to study abroad here.

3. Ecuador is completely underrated by many people in the US

Ecuador has SO much to offer. Whether you want to be by the beach, or up in the longest mountain range in the world, or in the Amazon rainforest, Ecuador has it all. Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse nations on Earth, which is particularly amazing considering its small size (roughly the size of the US state Colorado). This is something that would be particularly attractive to those who study biology or related fields, but even as a non-science major I also find it very intriguing. One way that this has already influenced my experience here is trying variations of fruits and other foods that we don’t have in the US. I’m looking forward to seeing everything I can in this beautiful country.

4. Challenging some stereotypes

Many people in the United States don’t know very much about Ecuador, and unfortunately there are many negative stereotypes about Latin America that are widely believed. Just one example of these beliefs is that everywhere in Latin America is inherently dangerous, with the implication that it is more dangerous than anywhere in the United States. There are dangers everywhere in the world- including Ecuador and including the United States. A goal I have for my time here is to share my experiences with people back home and hopefully allow people to see that there is a lot of beauty in Ecuadorian culture and lessen some of the fears that some people have.

Here’s to a great semester ahead!