Why Ecuador?

One of the most common questions that I have been asked about my upcoming exchange is, "Why did you choose Ecuador?" Well, it has been a long process of deciding if I was ready to face exchange again, and where would be the best place for me to thrive while learning about a brand new culture.

This is the flag of my new home to be!

Once I had decided that exchange was what God had planned for me, then came the task of deciding on a country, and so began more late nights of prayer. This, as you may have guessed, was a major reason that I chose the country of Ecuador; I felt God leading me there. The more I prayed and trusted that God would show me where to go, the more obvious the choice became, until finally, I turned in the paperwork.

Here is Ecuador on the World map, it is just a bit bigger than Oregon.

Another huge reason I chose Ecuador is because of the language. I have taken three years of Spanish at Coquille high school and am eager to become fluent in the language. The more that I researched the countries that I was considering, from Chile, to Spain, the more I saw that Ecuador was a country that is welcoming and willing to help you learn, not to mention that they speak something similar to Mexican Spanish, which is what I have learned over the course of high school.

Although Ecuador is a small country, it has three diverse regions, plus the Galapagos islands!

The third and final major reason for choosing Ecuador is that it is not a completely developed country. When I was in the Philippines, I loved that ordinary people had less than most Americans, yet they were even happier than many of us. I'm not saying that people in the USA are bad, just that we often take our positions and opportunities for granted. That's one of my favorite parts of a less developed culture; the focus on family instead of money, friends instead of stuff, and learning instead of wasting time. The ever present joy in the lives of those I have been able to spend time with has effected my life in a way that I didn't even realize until I got home, and it made me want to go to another underdeveloped nation.

Hopefully, my next blog post will include information about my host family and community. Thanks for reading, until next time!