Week 10 of Fall 2019 SST began with visits of all students at their service locations in Manta on the Pacific coast of Ecuador. Jan Bender Shetler, International Education director at Goshen College, joined SST leaders in the visit to Manta to cap her visit to Ecuador which began in…
Given that the focal point of the SST blog is to keep the GC community, family, and friends updated on what students are experiencing, the blog naturally slows down during service as students are away at their service locations. One of the most beautiful elements of service often is the…
Before leaving for the service portion of SST this week, students participated in a final activity together, riding the Teleferico (gondola) up to the foothills of Volcan Pichincha that overlooks the entire 40 km length of the city of Quito. The foothills of the mountain stand at 4,100 meters (13,300…
Needless to say our final week of the Study portion of SST in Ecuador did not unfold in a way any of us could have predicted. The previous week we had experienced a significant travel disruption in our return to the city as protests of recently passed legislation were initiated. …
This 5th week of Ecuador SST marked our final big trip of the study portion to the former Inca and Spanish capital of Cuenca, Ecuador’s 3rd largest city. Cuenca is a devout catholic city, a tradition which traces back to its Spanish colonial roots. The city contains an incredible number…
After nearly four weeks in the Andean highlands of Ecuador, we headed west to explore the largest western Ecuadorian province of Manabi. Although the country of Ecuador is approximately the size of the U.S. state of Colorado, its geography makes any road trip an interesting and winding route. As we…
Week three of Ecuador SST was a deep dive into the rich and diverse indigenous culture present within this small country. Depending how you define the indigenous groups in Ecuador their are 14 distinct indigenous groups and as many as 34 subgroups. These groups speak 7 linguistically unique languages with…
A week that began with a time of bonding at Casa Goshen quickly transitioned into an exhausting but thrilling sequence of events that included a two-hour latin dance marathon, a two and 1/2 hour cloud forest hike that ended in a tropical rainstorm, and a day of tree-planting and bird…
This first full week was jam packed with an overview of the complex and fascinating history of Ecuador, a visit to a huge marketplace with all kinds of unique foods, and visits to numerous historical sites constructed between 1534 and 1761 in Quito. The historic center of Quito, a designated…
The first days of Ecuador SST are complete….To paraphrase the sentiments of the students – each day is so full of newness, sights, sounds, language, and landscape that each one feels as though it carries with it a week’s worth of experiences. As our third day together comes to a…
