Week One

I am glad to say that Saturday will mark a week since I have been home. I never knew what to expect when I returned home, I thought maybe I would be sad, I would be scared, I would be unmotivated. Some of these feelings I think I have felt. One thing I noticed is that I seem a little more scared about my surroundings more than normal. I think it has to do with me knowing how dangerous Ecuador was, and how I always had to look behind me, take certain taxis, wear certain things as not to seem rich so I would not get robbed. Now that I am home I have brought that attitude back with me. The area in which I live in is very new to me, so what I was use to I no longer know. This can be re-culture shock, but if it is I feel like it is not as life impacting as I thought it would be. I found out that one thing that seems to be helping me through this re-culture shock is trying to get back to the things you are use to. For example I already had a job interview and it has been less than a week. My family are always asking me questions about my experiences and that helps my transition because they actually care about what I went through and what happened. I've read the re-culture shock can be rough when no one wants to listen to your stories and look at your pictures, so I am glad that my family interested in what I went through. I am glad to be home and I feel like it was the perfect time for me to go home. One thing I will say is if you decide to study abroad and arrive back home take one day at a time. Do not try to see everybody or talk to everybody as soon as you get home. Use that day to relax and to spend time with your immediate family because it gives you time to think and just to collect your thoughts. Once again my experience in Ecuador will never be forgotten. I realize how much I have actually learned from being their now that I am home. I realize more about me and the society in which I live in. I realize that I can do much more in life if I could had study abroad for an academic school year. I realized that my life will never be the same.

Return Home

Well my fellow readers I am excited, nervous, and a little overwhelmed to be saying that I will be leaving Ecuador in two days! I will be returning home April 23, 2011. My experiences in Ecuador have changed and shaped me as an individual, and I am so glad I could share this with each and every one of you. I have spent eight months, an academic school year, in another country! I went outside my comfort zone, I learned about a different culture, I worked with some of the most famous people in Ecuador, but most of all I have grown and changed into a women that I never saw myself becoming. I am more aware of the blessings that I have, I am more aware of how many opportunities I have open to me, I am more aware of me, the person I am and the person I want to become. This study abroad experience helped me evolve and I feel like such a better person than I was a year ago. I feel wiser, I feel more mature, more independent, I feel good. I will continue to write when I return home because eventhough the trip is over not the experience, and I promised to share my experience with you. I will talk about adjusting back into your own culture after returning back from studying abroad, and how to get through reculture shock . I hope that all of you enjoyed, learned, and now want to study abroad from reading my blogs. Most of all I hope you are glad to had follwed me on my journey.

Staying Focus

This blog is more for those who are thinking about studying abroad. As my time is quickly coming to an end here in Ecuador I must say that staying focus is getting harder and harder to do. I have eighteen days left and every now and then I find my mind wondering off to what I am going to wear at the airport, or what I am going to take on the plane with me. Although these are all important things, I cannot allow my excitment about returning home after eight long months in another country with out seeing famly to cloud my thoughts. I still have classes finals and tests. I still need to enjoy the small things about Ecuador that sometimes I over look. I was sitting at the bus terminal watching a women that was carrying a large basket. A guy waves his hand in the air ever so slightly and she walks over. She gently puts the basket down and pulls a little clear bag, smaller than a sandwhich bag, out her apron. She begins to fill this little transparent bag up with corn, meat, onions, and chifles. An entire meal prepared in a small bag. Moments like these I willl not get back. Moments like these are special because things like that is when you realize you are in another country. You are wittnessing something many people cannot, you are doing something alot of people dream. As much as I complain about it being hundred degrees by ten in the morning I will miss the way the sun just lights up the sky. Yes I know its like that in the States but it is different here. The sun is so close and seems to be the light for everything. I smile at myself when I am drenched in sweat knowing that this sun here is in some way different than the sun at home. It is more personal. Once again the little things. So while it may become hard to stay focus coming towards the end of your study aborad experience remember the small things. I remember how at the beach you could do your shopping and never leave your beach towel or chair. You could get food, clothes, shoes, juice everything thats needed for the beach and more by sitting. That never happens at our beaches in the United States, so I will remember those little things as my time comes to an end. I will remember meeting people from all over the world and learning about different cultures, not just the Ecuadoreans culture. If my word has any influence, I tell you to go study abroad, go experience a life untold on televison, go experience a world that is completly different than what you know. It is the most enlighten experience one can have in their entire life. I know, I am experiencing it.

El Primer Canal del Ecuador Part II

As my internship/volunteership came to an end on friday I took with me a better understanding of what the day to day work of a reporter is about. My internship was only for a month, but I feel like I learned more in one month than I would had at a four month internship in the United States, only because I feel as if this experience was very practical from day one. I met so many great people including the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, two times! On my last day I had the opportunity to follow him around. It was the best experience I could ever ask for. One thing I am going to take from this experience is the lessons I learned from my reporter friends. Being a reporter is more than what you see on television. Sometimes it is about being a little insensitive to get the story. I say that because I remember one story we went to go cover; There was a couple whos baby was dieing because of the condition of the hospital and the parents had just found out and were crying, almost falling down to their knees. I wanted to hug them and comfront them but as a reporter there we were with the camaras and microphones in their faces asking questions. I felt really bad because I knew if it were me in their position I would not want all that attention, but I also had to realize really fast that I could not allow my emotions to control my actions. As a reporter it is my job to report on all things no matter how sad it is. I know, it sounds so cold hearted, but if our doctors got affected by every death they had we would not have any good doctors around. I also learned that patience is the key. Sometimes we would go places and have to wait three or four hours just to get a five mintue interview just to see twenty seconds to one mintue on the news. I was in disbelief at first. I was telling myself that we sat there for hours and this is all they are going to show, but when you see something on the news that you had a part of it does not matter how many seconds it is up. My intership family was the best. They took the time to explain things to me when I could not understand, they even took the time to help me improve my spanish. They allowed me to talk on the camara about real events, they showed faith in me and in return it made me stronger. I will never forget them for they really have changed my life and gave me some of my first experiences in reporting. I advise anyone that decides to go study abroad to take the opportunity to do an internship or a volunteership. Opportunities like the one I had does not come often so if presented with the opportunity please take it up. This has been a life changing experience for me. Some things I would like to list about my internship/vlounteership that I will never forget.

1. Meeting President Correa

2. Meeting the Mayor of Guayaquil

3. Going to press conferences

4. Being in a riot (a good riot)

5. Seeing a dead body

6. Climbing a mountain with hundereds of other people during the Tusnami

7. Salsa dancing in the office

8. Going to five different beaches in one day

9. Meeting some of the most people in television here in Guayaquil, Ecuador

10. Last but not least meeting an amazing group of people that eventually became my family.