The Impact of Community-Living on Your Study Abroad Experience
Peeling Off the Mask in Ecuador
After spending a semester in Ecuador in Spring 2018, Regan Beck was deeply impacted by the support of her resident coordinators, the Living and Learning staff, and the experience of living in Christian community. After completing her degree, Regan then joined the staff as an RC with Living and Learning in Ecuador. Later, she moved to Arizona and worked as a Resident Director at Grand Canyon University then moved to her home state, Indiana, where she now serves as a Student Life Director.
Regan grew up traveling and always dreamed of studying abroad and when she got to college at Azusa Pacific University, she found out APU was partnered with Living and Learning International. She met a lot of friends who had done the L&LI program in Ecuador, and those alumni hyped up the study abroad experience so much so, Regan decided she would apply. She applied and got accepted and embarked on a journey that deeply impacted her relationship with the Lord and even influenced her professional trajectory.
Living abroad for a semester can certainly pose its challenges, and sometimes even introduce new barriers to overcome as one prepares to hop on a plane and arrive in a new place. For Regan, she wasn’t too concerned about anything once she got into the preparation process with L&LI. She said that she felt a few nerves about her level of conversational Spanish, but she also knew she would learn and grow in her language skills as well. There was also that extra boost of confidence she received from fellow APU students who served as her built-in hype people, sharing their experiences and helping her feel even more excited for her semester abroad.
Once in her semester, the unique community-living aspect of L&LI set the perfect stage for Regan to feel safe and learn to be herself in ways she hadn’t before. You can listen to her share on The Living and Learning Podcast about the dance parties in the kitchen after dinner, exploring coffee shops, summiting a volcano, and spending a week in the jungle.
“There are so many fun things about study abroad … a lot of the sweetest moments that come to mind are when our whole cohort was gathered together in our apartment, playing games, watching movies, making up dances ... That is when I remember laughing the most [but] it’s hard to pinpoint one ‘most fun’ moment because they are tangible everywhere.”
Regan said that this experience called for her to discover a deep dependence on the Lord. During her homestay month, she had to speak Spanish 24/7 and she says this challenge exposed a fear of failure that she was holding onto. “I had moments where I did fail, but I was loved deeply through it.” She experienced the Lord’s grace through her amazing homestay family, her homestay partner, and the locals of Ecuador.
The Lessons That Stay With You
In Spring 2018, the chapel theme for the semester was “if you wear a mask, only your mask gets loved.” In her podcast interview, Regan shared that this topic was spot on for where she was in her personal journey.
“This then allowed me to experience the grace of God and the love of Jesus more tangible than I ever had. I had to begin peeling off the masks that I thought were protecting me, that I thought were going to help me receive love … and I came to learn that in my worst states, the Father knows me and loves me and chooses me … When I am met by the grace of God, then I am ultimately transformed.”
At Living and Learning, we’re intentional at every level about community, and our staff is dedicated to ensuring that students feel they have the space they need to grow, find support in one another and in our staff, and ultimately connect with God and grow in their faith. For Regan, her RC Katie felt like home, Erin sat with her to help me work through her thoughts and discipled her, and Kelly “loved me so tangibly in my hardest moments.” She says that those three people helped her become who she is today and are a part of the reason why she loves walking alongside college students now.
Want Some Study Abroad Advice from an Alumna?
“Allow others to see you and be honest with where you’re at so other people can meet you in your best and your worst moments because the staff there deeply desires to walk alongside you. Whether you come in knowing other students or not, be present with the people around you … Lean into the community, lean into the home that the Lord has placed you in because those people are there to walk alongside you in this experience. Then, deeply invest into the Ecuadorian culture as well because that is a gift to learn from. And laugh a lot.”
Want to learn more about the Ecuador semester program with Living & Learning? Visit our website to discover the possibilities!