Exploring Ecuador with Biology Students
“Fasten your seatbelts. We are now descending into our destination.” I never knew I could miss those words so much in the past two years. Yet, here we are, two years after a global pandemic and it finally feels like the world is getting back to normal. One of the biggest indicators of this is because we are able to travel again!
The past two months have been a wild ride…to say the least. In February, I started my job with Living and Learning and just a few short weeks later, I was jet setting to Latin America for three weeks worth of adventure.
I led my first ever Study Tour in the place our organization began—Ecuador. This country and its people quickly stole my heart. After spending a few days exploring Quito and visiting Teleferico and swinging with the whole city in the distance, visiting Supermaxi to see what all the hype was about, and getting to know our L&LI Ecuador staff, our first team from Concordia Nebraska arrived in the wee hours of the night.
After getting acquainted with the team and determined to memorize all of their names right away, we quickly set off for the jungle, but not without a stop first at the place on the side of the road that served the most delicious empanadas I’ve ever had. Then, it was time to get back on the road for yes, the infamous Amazon Jungle! Pinch me, this is my job? That was a common thought I had throughout these weeks. Let me just say, there’s nothing quite like going to the jungle with a team of Biology students. I learned more than I ever thought I would about animals, plants and everything in between. And when you are traveling with a group of Biology students, you say yes when they offer you to try a termite. In case you were wondering, it tastes pretty minty. Not bad.
Sarita, my co-leader and I, joked that we overcame a lot of fears with this team because of how daring and adventurous they were. Like our fear of hiking through the jungle at night without knowing what you have the potential to see. I’m just glad the people behind me saw the snake (and were excited about it) and I was spared. No thank you! Alas, we conquered the jungle at night and rode back into town in a canoe while appreciating the night sky and the diversity of sounds all around us.
While we loved being in the jungle, it was then time to head to the islands in the middle of the Pacific, the Galapagos. As you can imagine, this was also a biologist's dream, and really my dream, too. From visiting the tortoise exhibit to snorkeling with sharks, stingrays and turtles, to waving at the penguins on Isabela Island, our time on the islands was one to remember.
I couldn’t think of a better place to end a life-changing trip. The team of sixteen students and professors were the perfect combination of diversity, intelligence and genuine love for this world we live in. I’m thankful for my time with these students because they forced me to conquer fears, slow down and truly take in and appreciate everything around me. So, thank you Concordia Nebraska for making my first ever Study Tour so much fun. You will be a tough team to live up to and will always have a special place in my heart.