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Welcome to HECUA’s Alumni Profile series. Periodically, we catch up with a HECUA alum and see how their time in a HECUA classroom influenced their career goals, their life in the community, or their pursuit of continued education. This month we are delighted to feature Ben Kromash, who studied with HECUA’s Community Internships in Latin […] Read More »

Marissa Abara just finished her January Term with HECUA’s program Social and Political Transformation in Ecuador. She is a student at the University of St. Thomas majoring in Communication &  Journalism, minoring in American Culture & Difference, and Graphic Design. Read on for her final reflection about being in Ecuador. As I reflect upon what […] Read More »

A very important part of Kichwa culture in Ecuador is the idea of Sumak Kawsay, which is Kichwa for live well, and equates life to the nature. During our stay in Cotacachi and Otavalo, I have realized that I need to work hard to decolonize and re-order the hierarchy in my mind to better serve the earth and communities around the world. Read More »

Over the course of our program in Ecuador, there are three included field visits. The first one was to Yasuní National Park, which is part of the Amazon Rainforest, about twelve hours from Quito. The second, which we just had this past week, was to Manabí, a coastal region about six hours away from Quito. Read More »

After talking to my professors and finding out that the classes would count towards both my Spanish and Sociology majors, I decided to go for it. After I did a quick google search on Ecuador and found out that it had mountains, rainforests, and beaches, I was sold. Read More »

Each semester, one student from each HECUA program abroad takes on the role of student blogger, sending regular dispatches from the field. Emily Bruell will be HECUA’s student blogger for the Community Internships in Latin America program this fall semester. Emily is a junior at Carleton College, majoring in English Literature and minoring in Spanish. Click here […] Read More »

So I was interested in the bus-riders even before I met Miguel Acosta and his friends. And while I could try to describe the space they created — how the trolley fell silent when Erwin started to play the violin, how passengers were steadily drawn in when the others started to rap, marking the rhythm with heads or feet or fingers — I couldn’t capture it quite as much as this video. Read More »

Writing this in the back of the bus, as we wind our way through the mountains and back to Quito, I have mixed emotions. I’m angry at the corporate greed and consumer shortsightedness that threatens the mangroves, and worried about this ecosystem and the communities that depend on it. But I’m also so grateful... Read More »

In my home community, tail-wiggling is not a typical activity to partake in in front of a group of new acquaintances ranging from 6-77 years. It is, in fact, closer to a nightmare scenario. Read More »

First on the agenda was a “toxi-tour.” In the Amazon, there are valuable petroleum deposits. Specifically in Ecuador, these petroleum deposits give life to the economy. Here is the issue – the damage petroleum extraction does to flourishing environment is completely devastating. The struggle of finding a solution is even more devastating. What should a country like Ecuador do? A country that is economically funded by the market of petroleum, but also a country that contains the most biodiverse area in the entire planet. Read More »