UCSD Global Seminar Ecuador, Summer 2017

This blog post is a bit late concerning the events our final week here in Ecuador, but better late than never right! So here goes, the events of our final week in beautiful Ecuador, from cheering at a soccer game, to completing out studies, and saying our farewells. Sunday afternoon- July 30... El Partido! This partly cloudy morning, we all met up at the IES center so that we could walk together to the Estadio Olimpico Atahulpa . First things first, we needed to gain some team spirit and what better way to do that than to get some futbol jerseys right outside the stadium.  El Nacional  was pitted against La Universidad Catolica , and we chose to root for the more favorable  Nacional  team. Red jerseys sprung onto our chests and we headed inside for a good time of cheering and s'more more bonding. Once we found a place to sit, the game got to a quick start as the jugadores moved that ball around the field. Since there was some tight security, we didn't bring any sn

And so, our time in Ecuador comes to an end. After the final dinner and our final goodbyes to the amazing staff and to our wonderful Professor, we leave to our respective plans for the night (some to make it last longer, some to prepare for the days of travel to come). Everybody finishes up their packing, some head off to the airport a day early to travel to other parts within South America, and everybody starts to feel the nervous jitters of the Last Day.  Hummingbird Statue in La Carolina Park River I spent my last day with my two friends and neighbors, and we went to visit the last few sights within Quito that we missed. Throughout our outing, we recounted our adventures in Ecuador with a nostalgic tone, fondly recalling tale after tale. To recap our adventures: \ The first week was a busy busy week. Everybody landed at different times, and were escorted to their respective and respectable host families. The next few days were filled with all sorts of activities, from m

Written on July 29, 2017 After such an exciting and thrill-seeking day yesterday, many of us were still tired, so we decided to take it easy the next morning. Francisco showing us the eggs After breakfast, we decided to check out the famous Mariposario in Mindo. Mariposario Nathaly was only a few minutes away from our hostel so it was an easy walk to get there. As we entered, we were welcomed by Francisco, the owner of the Mariposario, who also gave us a tour. We started the tour by looking at the life cycle of the butterflies. Here, Francisco showed us butterfly eggs that belonged to different species. He told us that every morning he goes to check the leaves of the plants and flowers to collect the eggs. He then went on to show us what comes after the eggs, which were some huge caterpillars. He told us that depending on their species, caterpillars can range from very tiny ones to larger ones. After the caterpillar stage, he showed us the stage before the caterp