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Monday, August 16, 2010

Greetings from DC

Final preparations have begun, as I'm packing up all earthly belongings yet again before jetting off to Quito at the end of the week. While I won't be sad to leave DC's heat and mosquitos behind, I'm still admittedly apprehensive about the coming four months. Leaving everything behind seems a bit harder to stomach now that everyone is on their way back to campus and gearing up for the fall semester. I have no idea what my fall semester will hold - a full schedule, that's for sure, but the rest is still unknown.

So far, here's what I know:

I'll be living with a family in Quito and commuting daily to the University (Universidad San Francisco de Quito) in the valley of Cumbayá. By all accounts, the valley and campus are beautiful. My host mother's name is Jeanette Illingworth. She is a widow with an 18 year-old daughter, Diana, and one dog. (Excellent!) Having a sibling that is close to my age is very lucky, since it means I have a good chance of making Ecuadorian friends through her. I hope she likes me!

I've registered for classes already, and though these are subject to change, they are currently as follows:

- Suelos y Conservación de Suelos (Soil and Soil Conservation, a STIA core)
- Buceo (Diving, a sports class for no credit hours)
- Filosofía y Religión de la India (Philosophy and Religion of India, hopefully a Theology class for the SFS core)
- Filosofía Latinoamericana (Latin American Philosophy, hopefully an SFS core for Philosophy)
- Cultura y Civilización Iberoamericana (Iberic-American Culture and Civilization, hopefully an SFS history core)
- Economía Ambiental (Environmental Economics, WOOHOO! More STIA)

The schedule is nicely balanced. Wednesdays are easy days (only two classes) but most other days have three classes spread out between 11 or 10 am and 5 pm. Since the commute to and from campus is pretty long, students are expected to stay in the area during the day. Apparently that shouldn't be tough, since friends of mine who have been before describe it, literally, as paradise.

More to come later!

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