By Madeleine Bond
3rd Year Student | Environmental Science & Chemistry
GAIAS, Universidad San Francisco de Quito | Quito, Ecuador
I have finished my first week with the GAIAS program in Ecuador and I can confidently say that it has made me even more excited for the rest of my time here. Before I go into all the exciting trips and activities we have already experienced in the first week I’ll talk about my preparation period for Studying Abroad.
I will start by introducing myself.
Hi. I’m Madeline, and Environmental Science major at USC and I am studying abroad in Quito Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands with the Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation study track. My first six weeks I will be spending here in Quito Ecuador, the capital of Ecuador located in the Andes Mountains. (Quito is one of the highest located capitals in the world!) After my stay in Quito I will be traveling to the Galapagos Islands for the remainder of my program.
Since my program takes place in two different regions, with two different climates, packing for my study abroad stay was slightly more of a challenge. Preparing for five months abroad can be overwhelming, but my program (GAIAS) provided very helpful guides for packing and all the necessary steps to take. My biggest piece of advice for preparing to go abroad is to read all of the emails sent by your advisors and study abroad organizations very carefully. Aspects such as visas, vaccinations, documents for travel, and packing are all included in these emails and are all very important. In my case, I had to get a yellow fever vaccination, which is not available at all pharmacies, so it took some extra research in order to get the vaccine. Giving yourself enough time to figure out these types of things is important.
As I said, packing for two different climates was a bit more of a challenge, however the packing list provided by GAIAS was very helpful in the process. A couple less obvious things I have already found helpful that I would recommend to bring include
A lifestraw (if traveling to an area where tap water is not safe)
A comfortable backpack (can be used for day trips, hikes, and class)
Fanny pack/Cross body bag (very convenient for slightly less safe cities)
Portable charger
Quick dry towel (easy to pack)
Deck of cards
Kindle (if you like reading)
Rain Jacket
Thin flowy pants (to wear in churches on hot days)
It is also a good idea to look at the climate in the place you are visiting so that you can decide for yourself what kind of clothes you should bring. My program did not specify how many pairs of shorts or pants to bring, but knowing myself I brought more shorts than pants because I like to stay cool in hot climates.
Now, I will not go into detail about my failures traveling to Ecuador but I will leave one piece of advice. Do not underestimate the amount of time you need to arrive before your flight 🙂 In the end all was well and I arrived safely in Quito with my host mother there to pick me up at the Airport to start off my adventure!
Here’s a little sneak peak into the adventure
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