Exploring the Ecuador Experience

1) Study Abroad in Ecuador with Missouri State University

Okay, so option one I am exploring is studying abroad. I have always wanted to study abroad, but the timing has never been right. A whole semester is just too much for me at this point in my life. However, the Spanish Department at Missouri State University has a four week program every summer. This year they are going to Ecuador!

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So here's the scoop:

The program is May 22, 2011 to June 19, 2011. It costs...wait for it...$4,000. Although that is terribly expensive, it includes everything as well as getting 6 hours of credit towards my Spanish minor. Yeah! The deadline is March 4, 2010 with a non-refundable deposit of $300. The teacher chaperon is Dr. Roger Dowdy.

We would stay two students to a room with a host family that are native speakers and go to class everyday. The classes are taught by native speakers, and there are four students to every teacher. Talk about personal attention! Dr. Dowdy said that each Thursday they volunteer at a Boys and Girls Club sort of thing and just play with the lower income kids. (Which is a great way to learn Spanish like I discussed in a previous post) On the weekends, there will be multiple "excursions", Dr. Dowdy said.

In conclusion, great opportunity that costs a lot of $$$. To me, I like the idea of study abroad because in the realms of adventure, it is safe. I know, lame reason but I am not much of a risk taker. This would be an adventure filled with rich experience, but I know I would be provided for and taken care of, for the most part.   

This trip would definitely embody community and culture by emerging myself in a new culture and community, which would leave room for a coffee adventure! I have been wanting to spend more than a week in a Spanish speaking country for a long time to harness my language skills, and this could be my chance.

What do you think?

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What is the Greatest Challenge of the New Millennium?

What do you think the greatest challenge of the new millennium is? Some might say it is oil or conflicts in the Middle East. Others might say nuclear weapons, while others might say health care.


When President Carter was asked this question in 2002, he gave a surprising response:

"At the beginning of this new millennium I was asked to discuss, here in Olso, greatest challenge that the world faces. Among all the possible choices, I decided that the most serious and universal problem is the growing chasm between the richest and poorest people on earth. Citizens of the ten wealthiest countries are now seventy-five times richer than those who live in th ten poorest ones, and the separation is increasing every year, not only between nations but also within them. The results of this disparity are root causes of most of the world's unresolved problems, including starvation, illiteracy, environmental degradation, violent conflict, and unnecessary illness that range from Guinea worm to HIV/AIDS." (emphasis added)

Does this shock you? The former president of the United States, winner of a Nobel Peace Price, said the gap between the rich and the poor is a big problem. Not poverty itself, but the fact that some of the world is poor and some of the world is rich.


I am currently reading Richard Stern's book, The Hole in Our Gospel. Sterns is the current president of the international non-profit organization, World Vision. He speaks in this book of his transformation after becoming president of this organization. He also challenges the reader to make poverty personal.


His passion is refreshing. You see World Vision ads everywhere- on TV, online, and at some concerts. I know the drill: send $30 a month of your money to help a child in poverty. In fact, at a FFH concert, my sister and I begged my parents to adopt a World Vision child. Her name is Sunitha and she is from India.


With such information overload, it is easy to become "compassion fatigue", a term used by Sterns and coined by journalist Susan Moeller. On top of becoming apathetic to these humanitarian messages, it is also easy to become jaded wondering if the money your spending is being put to effective use. 


Hearing the direct heart of Sterns passion for the poor gives me a stronger trust in an organization trying to make a global impact.


I agree with President Carter. The increasing chasm between those who have it all and those who have nothing is a challenge we cannot turn away from.


I urge to take President Carter, Richard Sterns, and Bono's challenge:

"We can be the generation that no longer accepts that an accident of latitude determines whether a child lives or dies-but will we be that generation? Will we in the West realize our potential or will we sleep in the comfort of our affluence with apathy and indifference murmuring softly in of ears. Fifteen thousand people dying needlessly every day  from AIDS, TB, and malaria. Mothers, fathers, teachers, farmers, nurses, mechanices, children. This is Africa's crisis. That it's not on the nightly news, that we do not treat this as an emergency- that's our crisis.

Future generations flipping through these pages will know whether we answered the key question. The evidence will be the world around them. History will be our judge, but what's written is up to us. We can't say our generation didn't know how to do it. We can't say our generation couldn't afford to do it. And we can't say our generation didn't have a reason to do it. 

It is up to us." (Bono)

It is time to make poverty a personal priority. Let's take on the greatest challenge of the new millennium TOGETHER.

References: Sterns, Richard. The Hole in Our Gospel. Quotes from President Carter and Bono. 

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A Simple Smile in Spanish

What is it about this little girl's smile that makes your heart melt? 

What power does this smile have?

Do you walk away feeling a rush of confidence or a splash of happiness?

I do.

          

 Tonight, I experienced the magic behind a child's simple smile. I volunteered at a local citizenship workshop for the Latino community of Springfield. I am a Spanish student and speak fairly well, but if I am put on the spot, I often freeze and don't know what to say. Ask me to translate or even have a conversation with me and my six years of Spanish mean nothing to me. 

However, walk into a room full of Hispanic children with smiles like Adrienne and everything changes.

Something about a child's willingness to express themselves without holding back makes me  a fluent Spanish speaker. No fear of saying the wrong thing. No fear of sounding stupid. No fear of miscommunication.

The great thing about kids too is that they are the BEST teachers. Most adults, in hopes to save face, let you make as many mistakes as you want. If you say mispronounce a word to a child, you will know it because they can't control their laughter. Kids don't get frustrated at your mistakes either. Since they are amused, your interactions can be longer. 

A nursery is a great classroom as well. All you have to do is point to a toy and say "Como se dice en español?" (How do you say?) and they will gladly tell you.  

Moral of the story?

First, if you want to learn another language, hang out with children who speak that language.

Second, maybe, we should also have the attitude of a child when approaching language and culture: LAUGH AT OUR MISTAKES. Maybe, if we worry less about what others think and express ourselves more freely like children do, we could learn any language quicker.

It all starts with a simple smile.

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