Ecuador Trip Saved by New Surge of Interest

While Exonians were trudging to class in a sudden January snow storm, a group of thirteen seniors were sitting, huddled, on a lush Galapagos island in silence as a stunning, aged tortoise plodded by.Beautiful, blue waves, stunning architecture and immersion into an unfamiliar culture are all part of Exeter’s annual winter term abroad trip to Cuenca, Ecuador.At the dawn of winter term, modern languages instructor Viviana Santos and 13 Exonians set off for the faraway nation to experience life as a local in the picturesque city of Cuenca. The students live with a host family, attend classes during the week and field trips on the weekends and make occasional excursions to marvelous places like the Galapagos Islands.“The Ecuador trip had to be one of the most invigorating experiences of my life,” senior Joey Hebl said.“I have traveled to several foreign countries before, but when you actually spend time in one culture, living with a host family and going about your day as other people in that culture do, you learn a whole lot more about that culture and about yourself in general.”For many years, Exeter has hosted a term abroad program to Spanish-speaking countries. For more than twenty years, the school offered trips to Mexico, and after the growing violence, switched the destination to Spain. But once instructors discovered Cuenca, a team of students have been heading there ever since.Like many of the students on the trip, senior Ryan Heavirland experienced a culture shock, but after some time to merge into the Cuenca community, arriving back at America seemed odd.“Ecuador was an unforgettable experience. It is just different because being there for two months and really immersing ourselves in their culture,” Heavirland said.“Once we left and came back to the States, it felt weird for me to get used to our culture again and all the things that we do differently. Ecuador was an unreal experience for me.”In addition to the impressive language program and the benefit of gained cultural awareness, the program offered many perks to students. “It definitely helped us get away from the weather, since it was consistently warm, beautiful and tropical. It was a great escape from what is basically the toughest Exeter term in every grade, winter term,” senior Ollie Jung said.The trip also formed a strong bond between all the Exonians on the voyage. “We became really close as a group, and I became friends with people that i did not really know before Cuenca, which was awesome,” Jung said. “It is hard to know a lot of people very intimately at Exeter because everyone is busy doing their own thing, but in Ecuador, we were essentially doing everything together and got to know each other so well.”Jung added, “I had so much fun, got thrown into a completely different culture, improved my Spanish, and visited some of the most beautiful places in the world.”For a program that inspires and changes all who take part in it, the Ecuador program was nearly cancelled for winter 2015 due to a lack of students.“During winter term, I met with interested uppers, and around seventeen showed up. On March 20, the deadline to submit their applications, I received only eight,” modern languages instructor Jackie Flores, who is going to lead next year’s trip, said. “The school has a policy that requires a minimum of six boarders for off-campus programs, and I only had four boarders.”But after extending the deadline another week, Flores received fourteen applications and is now deliberating among other Spanish instructors to select the twelve to thirteen that will be going. “It is a phenomenal program, and Cuenca is a safe town, an ideal city for a lot of Americans to visit, and is also beautiful in the winter time”Even if the original amount of applicants stood, Flores was confident the program would still run.“If it was cancelled, there would be no options for the prospective students. A term abroad program for Spanish speaking countries has never been cancelled,” Flores said. “It has always been a popular program, and even if we only had eight applications, I would not have allowed the trip to be cancelled.”Flores argued for the program, even if lacking in participation, based on the Academy’s principles. “We talk about the global initiatives we pursue at Exeter, and it would be hypocritical and unreasonable if we could not go just because there were eight kids,” she said.No matter how hard one fights for a trip to carry on, sometimes mother nature steps in the way.“For the Japanese trip, there was one cancelation in the past. In 2010, we decided not to send any student to Japan after the earthquake and tsunami,” modern languages instructor Kayoko Tazawa said. “We were not sure what would happen at the time, and the students were devastated and really wanted to go, but we wanted to be cautious.”Fortunately, the majority of abroad programs are able to get up and running successfully even with certain precautions.“We have not had any issues with our Rome Study Tour in the past, luckily, since we go in March and the risk of snowstorms cancelling flights is a real one,” Classics Department Chair Sally Morris said.This success rate is extremely crucial, because every trip that occurs means yet another group of Exonians gets to explore the world and gain a new sense of self.“I have come to learn that the Exeter bubble almost acts like a whirlpool in which escaping can become almost impossible. It becomes very easy to get stuck doing the same things while in the bubble; acquiring habits that help you succeed according to Exeter's standards,” Hebl said.“But in reality, the world is different. Exeter has many amazing and unique things to offer but it's important to get out in the world while you are young, while your brain is still capable of capturing the nuances of a language, and while there are opportunities as amazing as those offered at Phillips Exeter Academy.”