Patrick Garrett '12

About the time I applied for Wabash I was beginning to realize how much I was missing out on by not traveling and learning more about my culture and the cultures of others. At the same time though I found out that my girlfriend was pregnant and I would soon have a baby, or guaguita as they are called in Ecuador, running around the house. So my hopes for any kind of travel experience outside or even within the states got put on the back burner, and school and my new family got put on the front.

Here I get to my point. What is special about Wabash? I think that the education, traditions, and strong community are important but what I think is truly special about Wabash College is the opportunities that it gives young men. Wabash opened the door for me to have one of the most interesting and fulfilling experiences of my life, despite my financial, and familial obligations. Now as my son grows up I can share with him the things I have learned about Latin American culture and I can be a better father through my experiences in Ecuador. I get the opportunity to grow as a person and student. To me, this is a perfect image of the opportunities Wabash gives young men. This is what educates men to think critically, act responsibly, lead effectively, and live humanely. You could spend your entire four years at Wabash repeating that mission statement in your head and never understand it’s true meaning or purpose. That’s why it’s such a good thing that Wabash men get these types of opportunities.

Looking back on the trip I would have to say I had the best experience during our weekend on the coast. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun at the same time. After a short plane ride followed by a long bus ride we arrived in Puerto Lopez. On our first day we visited Agua Blanca, a nature preserve about 15 minutes away from our hotel. We hiked through dry forest habitat for a couple of hours while our guide described the wildlife. Towards the end of our hike we were all exhausted. After waking up too early and traveling all day, we were all ready to call it quits… That is until our professors told us they were getting ready to take us to the beach!

It was so amazing for me! I can’t even begin to explain the emotions I felt. This was my first time in the ocean ever! There is no better feeling than running into the pacific ocean and feeling the waves crash into you and the cool breeze whistle by your ears. I felt so small on the beach, watching the sunset on what looked like an endless ocean. All I could hear were the waves crashing on rocks and the birds in the air. It was a very humbling experience for me. For the first time in my life all of the things I had read about in biology textbooks or heard about from friends were put into perspective. I was witnessing the incredible diversity of life I spent the last two semesters studying in my intro. Biology courses and I was loving it. I won’t bore those of you reading this by listing all of the different classes of species I encountered but I will say that there was a lot and they were awesome (at least for bio major)!

The next day we visited La Isla de la Plata, which has adopted an alternate name as The Poor Man’s Galapagos . On our boat trip to the island we had the joy of witnessing manta rays jumping out of the water in the distance. We got to see more of them as we got closer to the island and also got to sea my favorite animal of all, marine turtles. They were close enough that we could have touched them. AWESOME!!! As our boat began to approach the beach I couldn’t help but notice the stunning geography and wonder how Charles Darwin felt as he approached islands similar to this.

Again we hiked. This time though we were met by a huge array of animals. We saw: Blue footed boobies, nazca boobies, hammerhead sharks, manta rays, marine turtles, an albatross, and a snow egret. Until that day I thought that blue footed boobies only existed on the discovery channel and in magazines. Afterwards I had my first snorkeling experience which was so amazing for me. I spent most of the last semester learning how different and alike different animals were, but here I was actually SEEING it! I spent the end of the day lounging on the beach next to our hotel, reflecting on everything I had experienced thus far with the guys.

Our final day was a free day. We all decided to visit the beach we saw on the first day. We found a spot on the beach with black sand, and decided it would be best to paint ourselves in it (What else would a bunch of college guys do?). With our war point donned it felt necessary that we explore, so me and a couple of the guys trekked the rougher parts of the beach. Although we spent most of the time catching crabs, we also spent a fair amount of time relaxing and hanging out.

This trip gave me the opportunity to experience so many new things, to build strong relationships with my fellow students, and also gave me the opportunity to expand my knowledge of other cultures. I am so thankful to all who made this possible!

We started our weekend excursion by checking in at out lovely hotel in the city of Puerto Lopez. We then hoped in some very unusual taxi (carts attached to motorcycles) and zipped off to a national park to swim in a sulfur lake and hike through some desert terrain to see some Incan ruins. The whole time we were on the coast we were accompanied by our very own tour guide, named Carlos. Carlos was very helpful and very informative as well.

After visited the ruins we went to a secluded beach that was absolutely picturesque. The beach was my favorite part of the trip. The next day we visited La Isla de Planta, which is an island about an hour off the coast that many consider to be part of the Galapagos Islands. We saw amazing wildlife and enjoyed a lot of laughs. The trip to the coast was rewarding in terms of educating us even further, but I gained a lot in the form of friendships and relationships over the weekend. Our group, which is comprised, of Independents Fraternity men and a couple DePauw girls has bonded and formed a bond that cannot be broken. Even when we return from Ecuador, we will still be close. This month we have shared together has been life altering and all of us realize how fortunate we are to be with each other.

The professors, the students, and everyone who contributed to this trip have bonded and our relationships are going to continue to grow. The information we have learned while here will also be brought back to the classroom at Wabash and that is why I believe immersion trips are so beneficial. They allow the individuals on the trip to grow, but also bring back to Wabash the information they learned and share it with there peers.

I walked into a small classroom with Jon Funston, Chris Pearcy, and Jake German; the group of teachers more commonly known as “The Dream Team.” We had discussed earlier that day that our lesson plans should revolve around simple conversational sentences that the students would have to write out. For instance, “My name is ___. I like to play ____. My favorite food is _____. I am ____ years old.” 

We were told months prior that our students would have a pretty good grasp of the English language, however, after the first minute of being in the classroom I knew we were in for an interesting night. These students knew little to no English, which made it difficult to teach because my Spanish speaking skills are not as fluent as one would think. At the beginning of the period we decided to break up the class of 22 students into two different groups where Chris and I took half and Jon and Jake took the other half. 

The teaching was off to a rocky start because we expected the students to know more English than what they did, but I think I can speak for all of us when I say we were feeling more confident about teaching as time went on, or at least we thought. Then, before I knew it, we had 45 students in this small classroom. 20-plus students walked in up to 30 minutes late. This is where the OVERWHELMING feeling started to kick in. 

Chris and I were teaching on a one-on-one basis with the students. I really felt that students were getting a lot out of this, but at the same time I knew they were not getting as much done as what they could have. Some were really self-motivated, while others needed to be pushed. It seemed like every time I turned around and looked at the class five more new faces appeared in the sea of students. Every time I saw a new face, I knew I would have to start moving faster, student to student. 

When the class ended all I could do was try to comprehend what had happened in that hour and a half blur. Teaching is one thing, but teaching to a group of students who speak another modern language is a completely different story. Before class I was pretty excited to get to speak in English for the majority of class, but my excitement level passed as my OVERWHELMING feeling kicked in. Though I am not fluent in Spanish I was able to comprehend and teach in Spanish (I know, this is astonishing). The only problem that I didn’t realize until later that night was that I spoke too much Spanish than what I should have. The students NEED to hear English. Although I feel like I let them down to an extent, I think my Spanish improved at least 5% (possibly 7.5%). I will not make the same mistake again tonight! English all the way (or at least most of the way).

This experience blew my mind, but it surprisingly left me wanting to teach more. I obviously have a better appreciation for modern language teachers because of the language barrier. The patience that goes into teaching a different language is one that is hard to match. A teacher can prepare lesson plans all day, but until you are standing at the head of the classroom full of 16-20 year old Ecuadoreans and have 45 pairs of eyes glaring at you (most in space), you never know how ready you are until you start teaching. [Note to self: Teaching is nothing more than being flexible at all times!]

During their last week in Ecuador, the students volunteered at Yachana Colegio Técnico (Yachana Technical High School), a boarding school in the Amazon that serves primarily indigenous students. The Wabash students did work projects in the morning and then assisted with English classes in the afternoon. The English teacher at the high school, Eric Rindal, gave them this letter on the morning of their departure.

Dear Wabash & DePauw friends,

I know you all have been traveling and teaching around Ecuador for some time now, and receive “thank-yous” from each place you visit. But please accept my gratitude with the greatest sincerity. It has been great working with the guys and girls from both universities, and our time in classes and around the school has been quite fun ... Hopefully within your time here you all have seen what Yachana is all about and have been able to connect with the students. Most importantly I hope you remember all your experiences you’ve had here and the classes you have taught (and hopefully forget about the food and your soaked clothes!)

Teaching with you has actually been a blast. I honestly was not certain how it would turn out to have more volunteers than students, but you all were great to work with and really helped during classes ...
I’m really not the type of person who writes thank-you notes, but once you gave me multi-colored markers AND magazines, I knew I wouldn’t allow you to leave without letting you know how I appreciated your gifts. They are essentially gold to me ...

Well I hope you all leave Ecuador more inspired to do little things in your life that change others’ lives, like you have done here. You really made a tremendous impact on Yachana, if not in the English classes then it was probably when you taught them the “Solja Boy” dance ... [Note: After being invited to a presentation of traditional Ecuadorian dance, the Wabash and DePauw students taught the Ecuadorian students one of their own dances.]

It was a pleasure to meet you all,
Eric Rindal
 

'The school we taught at offered both classes during the day and at night. The students who came during the day had a fairly normal school-day experience. The students who came at night all had jobs during the day. Many worked in their homes taking care of siblings while their parents worked. Others worked in hospitals, restaurants, and clothing stores. Some of the most dedicated students I met worked in a fabric factory for 8 hours during the day and then attended school at night. We tried to teach the students practical lessons. We focused on introductions, greetings, the weather, directions, and good-byes.

Most students had a very basic English level. The students' responses were eerily similar when asked, "Why do you want to learn English?" They all said for their futures. The students wanted to learn English so they could move to the United States and Spain to get a job. With the determination they showed in their everyday lives, I have no doubt that some will succeed. It was a special opportunity for us as student/teachers and Wabash College men to help such determined students.
 

Carolyn Latta '12 - Hola! I am writing this journal with a group of Wabash students as we lounge around the lawn of the university in Quito in a break between classes. I keep picturing my first Spanish class in 8^th grade, and thinking how cool it was that I knew how to say hello, goodbye, and I like_____.

I had no idea that in 6 years, my summer job would be planning a service trip for DePauw and spending half my summer in Ecuador. The idea still hasn’t sunk in yet, and part of me hopes it never does.

Colegios are schools in which students from around 5 years old (and sometimes younger) to 18 years old attend in order to gain similar knowledge as taught at those ages in the United States. Such subjects include Spanish literature, English (starting at the youngest ages), world histroy, psycology, mathematics, etc. Once they reach their 17th year, though, they typically decide what profession they want to ensue after their colegio. This will then limit their classes to a certain few, which is a more closed-minded approach than in the States. They do this though, because they choose their career before they attend university, whereas we choose at our university and can attend a grad. school as well.

I have been told by a host family here that the American way of life is to work to live, but in Ecuador it is a tradition of living to work. I find this very interesting, and easily visible throughout the city of Quito as I have been able to observe it for two weeks now.

At the first school, Colegio 24 de Mayo, we discovered the atmoshpere of a public school. The public schools in Ecuador are free to attend and have a huge student population. Here, we were able to sit in on senior presentations that are somewhat equivalent to oral comps at Wabash. They spend what seemed to be a huge chunk of time researching a topic, chile peppers in the one I attended, and had to devise a presentation to describe how they made their products from the chile peppers, what the backgrounds behind their products were, what the background behind their made up business was, and how they were going to advertise them and sell them (where they also had to choose prices to sell them at). Their presesntation was then assessed by three judges who gave them a grade at the end to say whether or not they passed and were allowed to graduate or not.

All of the students in my group got the most amount of points possible (20) and jumped for joy once they received the news. It was awesome to watch and experience. The judges then asked the students what there plans were for their future professions, and those in my group all chose fields in the sciences and medicine. I found this to be really cool being that I am a science major and am on the same track they are.

The second colegio, Liceo Internacional, was a private school in which the students must pay to attend. The amount per month varies between private shcools but average around 300 USD (their main currency is the dollar). This school is known for its ability to create bilingual students starting at the age of 3 with English classes. Our tour guide was a teacher from New Hampshire that had moved to Ecuador to teach English, as many of the students on the trip want to do. She also gave them her information so that they could get a hold of her when they graduate and are looking for a job. I thought that was amazing.

She also took us to an area where students were presenting information on their hobbies. We were to go around and get them to talk in English to us, something that we will be doing the next 2 weeks of the trip. It was really cool to hear what some of the kids had to say: anywhere from making a guitar, making food, to sewing a soccer ball. I was highly intrigued and was glad to be able to experience something like this.

Overall, I am extremely grateful that Wabash gives its students the opportunity to take such a trip. I have already learned a ton from cultural aspects, to speaking the language fluently, to living as the Ecuadorians do, and we still have two more weeks left. I can't wait to see what comes next, and I'm glad that I am able to share that experience with a bunch of friends that I have made from Wabash through this opportunity.

All fields that I have studied (Education, Rhetoric, Spanish, and English) have come together and gained a whole new meaning because of the people I’ve met and the places I’ve visited during the past two weeks. Though I could go on and on about each of these fields and how Ecuador has impacted them, I think it most appropriate to focus on the reason for embarking on this trip in the first place: Education.

As such, we are forced with either crossing a substantial divide or not surviving in our new surroundings.

I spent the entire plane ride thinking this way. Would we fit in? Could a pretty substantial number of 20-something year-old, boisterous, burger-toting and beer-drinking males (along with their accompanying pair of DePauw ladies) actually make the necessary changes to properly adjust? Even the word ‘adjustment’ sounded intimidating.

As I left the plane, I was heaving through a slew of doubts. I don’t know how I could survive with an elementary level of Spanish, without my morning coffee, etc. With all the flips my stomach was doing, I´ll swear it was aerobatic. I’ll confess: as I was waiting in customs, I almost fainted.

On top of the above, I had found out only minutes earlier that we would stay with host families the same (first) night. There would not be any cool down time in the safety of a confined hotel with my Wabash brothers; we were getting split up and heading (with host families guiding us) into our own private sections of a quiet, nighttime Quito.

As Michael Jordan and I walked out the no-reentry gate, I caught sight of an elderly woman and man waving around a folder talking with Dr. Rogers. My stomach completed another exaggerated and painful flip - I literally had a ´gut feeling´- that was before I got close enough to notice my name clearly marked on the folder.

As I got closer, I tried my hardest to avoid eye contact. She saw the pained look on my face; that’s all it took for her to excitedly flag me down and make a grand motion for a hug.

‘¡Hola, chico!’

From that moment on, my host family made it clear that I could make it through the entire month. And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.

In this blog, we are asked to gauge how much we benefit from the trip. I can’t really type how much I’ve grown; typing words would only cheapen the experience.

I´ve experienced things which, only months before, I couldn’t fathom. I’ve eaten the native hamster, which tastes quite enjoyable when roasted. I´ve climbed the side of an active volcano. I’ve discussed (and argued) successfully with a native Spanish speaker (my host father) about a myriad of topics including, but not limited to, American hegemony, world politics, and philosophy. We´ve even had the chance to engage in some cherished conversations about morals, family, and religion.

Now, reflecting from the comfort of days later, I am able to reflect on my prior fear. Every time I look in the mirror of my Ecuadorian ‘home’, I go as far as to wonder why it was that I had been scared; every time I face my reflection, I find a more mature Wabash man, complete with a deeper sense of self and understanding.

I hate to cut this short but the library is shutting its computer lab. I promise to share more as soon as I have the chance. Goodbye!

Two places that we have had the opportunity to visit that have been particularly interesting to me have been two very different schools. Last Friday we visited INEPE, a school for students from preschool to middle school, in South Quito. The bus ride alone was an adventure as it seemed like we had to drive uphill for an hour just to get to the school. Once we finally got there, it was obvious why a school needed to be founded in the area. Most of the students came from families that lived very close to the school and had very little money to spend to send their children to school in the city. All of the students seemed like they understood that they were very lucky to be getting a good education there. It really made me think that in the U.S. we often take our educational system for granted and how lucky we are to have it. 

A birthday party in a foreign country is just the thing I was looking for. Ale invited 25 or so of her closest friends and relatives over to her house. Not only was this going to be a game-time scenario of conversational Spanish, it was going to be an exciting glimpse into the celebration of another year of life in Ecuador. I called my wing-man, Ryan Bowerman, to come over and offer support. The family prepared a traditional Ecuadorian dish called Ceviche. It was interesting to say the least. The type of Ceviche that we had was made with shrimp, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, and lemon juice. We also had homemade popcorn and many types of fruit juices. All vegetables and fruit are fresh in Ecuador. My host family buys new fruits and vegetables everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We also had Yuca, a vegetable similar to the potato. It was cut in strips and baked, served much like french fries.

Then came the music. This was my first experience with salsa dancing. It was so much fun! Ale´s friends took me step by step through an entire song. I am not going to brag, but by the end of the night I could salsa pretty well. Next we played some card and board games in Spanish. This proved to be quite difficult considering one game was very similar to Charades. Some down time in between salsa and games gave me the opportunity to talk with her family members about the perception of the United States and our policies in Ecuador.

We started comparing politics and Presidents. It was an eye-opening experience. At Wabash we try to encourage dialogue and understanding when differences arise. Well this night was a perfect example that not all perspectives and questions can be discussed and answered why still on campus at Wabash.