IES GAIAS September 19, 2024

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Academics were pretty light. Most of the value in the classes came from the trips we were taking, especially on the mainland. Professors were all very good and I got an interesting education in more biology and ecology-focused topics that the Brandeis ENVS department does not offer.

On-site administration of your program

There was a serious incident in which a friend of mine fractured her spine while on a boat that the program hired for an IES-administered spring break trip. Every detail of how they handled the incident was nothing short of abysmal and she is very lucky to not be paralysed. In terms of normal program administration, no complaints, but when it came to a serious incident staff was wildly unprepared and could have caused the death or permanent injury of a student due to their negligence.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My homestay was the best part of my trip. Both of my host families in Quito and San Cristobal were some of the loveliest people I’ve ever met, who really went out of their way to make me feel welcome and show me their beautiful homeland and culture. I had my own room and bathroom in both homestays which were both spacious and nice. I had a few lifestyle mismatches with my Galapagos family but nothing I couldn’t put up with.

5 stars on the mainland, 1 star for the Galapagos. This is just the nature of an isolated island. The food in mainland Ecuador was so beautiful, I’ll be thinking of the fruit for the rest of my life! I definitely recommend students budget extra for food in the Galapagos as I had to prepare my own lunches and supplies were both limited and expensive, and restaurants in town were too expensive for a college budget.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

As a student I felt very isolated in my white american bubble, especially in the Galapagos. This was probably the worst part of the program. I felt a “culture shock within a culture shock” as all the other students were from the South and Midwest and from big state schools and I am not. In the program you are also forced to be with your cohort all the time on frequent school trips and that got old. My Quito host family went out of their way to integrate me into the family and show me their favorite places and so I felt more integration with them. In Quito I also had more opportunities to meet Ecuadorian students, but there were fewer students in the Galapagos and almost all men.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Health care in the Galapagos is quite limited - go to the hospital or nothing. Students got frequent stomach bugs, often in relation to school trips where we were staying at eco-lodges and the like. I experienced a horrible mouth infection which required a hospital trip and antibiotics but the hospital experience in the Galapagos was faster, easier, and cheaper than a big city American equivalent experience. The preparation was quite extensive as I needed several vaccines including yellow fever which is hard to come by, and I needed to bring a five-month supply of my medications with me. Overall the general environment is not very forgiving of extensive medical needs so I would not recommend this program to those with such needs.

There was a military incident in mainland Ecuador that erupted not long after our arrival. The program dealt with this with an abundance of caution and I never felt unsafe walking around Quito at any time. I felt more unsafe in the Galapagos as old-school machismo is still very prevalent and catcalling incidents were frequent.

It was my lifelong dream to go the Galapagos. I learned so much about how the natural world works and how human society’s impacts are inescapable. I saw the most beautiful landscapes on Earth with my own eyes and had the immense privilege to get to know some very isolated places.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Many students spoke no Spanish upon arrival and our 1-week spanish classes were a joke. However I made an effort to speak with my host families and so I improved a lot.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Americans

• Time outside
• Experiential education
• Host family

• Medical emergency preparedness
• Integration with culture
• English-speaking academics

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