During
your semester abroad, you will have a "home away from home" with an Ecuadorian
family who will host your stay. For the first month of the semester, you will
reside with your host family while you learn Spanish 
at
our partner institution, the Universidad San Francisco
de Quito (USFQ), one of Ecuador’s most prestigious academic institutions.
You'll also have a chance to visit many sites in Quito and the surrounding area, such
as the historic Spanish district, the "Mitad del Mundo" equator monument,
the Quito Botanical Garden, and Cotopaxi volcano. Even when the course leaves for
extended trips in the field, you will always have your host family to come home to!
Many students form deep bonds with their host brothers or sisters, friendships that
endure well beyond the end of the program.
Upon
arrival in Ecuador, you will be placed in intermediate or advanced spanish depending
on your skill level. Spanish courses are intensive and emphasize both grammar
and communication skills to help you integrate rapidly into Ecuadorian life, and excel
during your internship later in the semester. Classes meet for 3-4 hours a day,
four days per week, leaving the long weekends for class trips to sites of interest.
Throughout the course, while in Quito and at our many field sites, you will be immersed
in Spanish, and have countless opportunities to learn the language by interacting
with native speakers. These experiences culminate in a one-month internship
with an Ecuadorian conservation or research organization, where all your daily interactions
will be in Spanish.
