Scott Gould in Ecuador

This past summer I traveled to Ecuador with Experiment in International Living (EIL). It was truly an amazing experience. I did everything from roaming the streets of Quito alone, to swimming in the wild with both dolphins and sea turtles in the Galapagos, to even eating a guinea pig (it’s an Ecuadorian delicacy.. I promise).

To give you a little idea of what I was eating in Ecuador, the guinea pig is on the left, and the pigs head on the right.

Although it originally seemed strange to live in a house with 11 Ecuadorian people, I quickly grew to love it. While I was with my family I primarily spent time playing soccer, playing Parcheesi

(their favorite activity), or going on small trips around the area.

Looking back on my trip, I really cherish the time I spent with my family, and the relationship that I built with them.

As our community service for the trip, we were privelaged enough to work alongside the indigenous people to paint a school.

My homestay was broken up by three different trips, which will be the primary focus of my entry from this point on.

After a week of the homestay, I went with my EIL group of 12 to the Galapagos Islands. We spent 4 days living on a boat, traveling around the Galapagos. While I was in the Galapagos, I saw things I would never have imagined being able to see.

Our next trip was to a cloud forest named Mindo. During our day and a half in Mindo we ziplined over a canopy, biked down a mountain, and went to a butterfly preservation.

After Mindo, we spent our last week in Cotacachhi with our families. I got sick during this week, which led to some very interesting trips to the doctor. Over two days I was given a series of 6 shots, and medicine for a week, but regardless of this, I did not get better.

I took another trip to the doctor a week later. Regardless of me telling him I was allergic to penicillin, the doctor told me that he was going to prescribe me penicillin, and told me, "It is a great medicine, there is a chance you could die, but if not it will definately make you better." He finally told me he was kidding, and repeated may times, "You are not going to die." My hour and a half long doctor's visit also consisted of discussions of a few of the doctor's favorite topics: Graceland (which included him singing Elvis songs), Clint Eastwood movies, Brokeback Mountain, and why Guayasamin became a famous artist, even though his own artistic abilities apparently far surpassed those of Guayasamin.

The final adventure of the trip was to the Amazon Jungle. Along with the Galapagos, the Amazon is on the list of the top 28 Wonders of Nature. I witnessed some pretty amazing things while I was there.

This trip was an amazing experience, and I am very grateful for the opportunity I was given. I not only improved my Spanish and visited some of the most extraordinary places on earth, but also had an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.