I knew that I wanted to study abroad even when I was in
middle school. One of our friends at
church had studied abroad when she was in high school and kept in touch with
her host family as well as visiting them every so often. She had hosted an exchange student as well
and was planning on hosting another the year before I studied abroad in
Ecuador. I got involved in AFS, which
stands for American Field Service, through her and starting educating myself
about studying abroad in high school and how I could make that work for
me. I went to orientations for students
arriving in our region in the United States and learned from them as well as
helping to inform them about life as a high schooler in the US and what that
means.
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| The city of Lindos |
I had decided to study abroad but I wasn’t sure where
exactly I wanted to go. I narrowed it
down to only Spanish speaking countries because that was the language I had
taken in high school and I wanted to go to a country where I had some knowledge
of the language. Eventually I chose to
go to Ecuador because of its diverse environment: having a coast, a mountainous
area, and a rain forest section to it as well as the fact that it is a friendly
country with the US and the people there are said to be friendly. My friends in high school in the States
thought I was crazy for deciding to live in a third world country for 10 months
where everyone and everything was unfamiliar to me.
I have always been adventurous when it comes to trying new
things and I like to keep busy. My
parents used to call me the go-go girl because I was always willing to go
places with them even if it was to the grocery store or to run errands. Even after returning from Ecuador I stayed
involved with AFS Intercultural Programs and have gone to retreats to speak to
both exchange students coming to this area from outside of the US as well as
students from the US that are going to be an exchange student through AFS. My mom and I both helped the past two years
greeting students at the airport as they arrived in the US and helping them get
settled within the AFS organization before heading off to meet their families
that they will live with for the year.
It’s extremely exhilarating to get to see such a special moment when a
student first meets their host family as well as when a US student is awaiting
their family placement in a foreign country.
I have met many wonderful people through my time in Ecuador, both US
students and students from other countries; kids from the US that have studied
abroad as well; students from the US who are about to study abroad; and kids
from other countries that will be staying in my region of the States for the
year.
All of this leads up the point that I am making that is that
this study abroad experience has been extremely enjoyable and also
enlightening. I love it here in Greece
and just as when I returned after being in Ecuador I now just have the travel
bug. I want to be able to see so many
different cultures and places and this trip has confirmed that fact. As an anthropology major I hope to be
studying other cultures for the rest of my life as it is what I thrive on,
making connections through relationships to other people no matter where they
are from, and learning new things along the way about myself and others.
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| Finitsis |
In class today we discussed Josephus and the Jews that were
about to be captured by the Romans instead killed themselves in order to
maintain their faith and their honor.
They believed in living life to the fullest until their values had to be
compromised and then they could live no longer.
It may sound strange but I took this as a positive message to do what
you love and what is most important to you.
For me that is the study of people and other cultures. I am an advocate for study abroad experiences,
whether that is in high school for a year, or in college for a j-term. I plan on studying abroad next spring
semester and I am already ecstatic about that.
Greece has been wonderful but I am already planning my next big
adventure.
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