Public Health in Ecuador Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I give this program a 4/5 for educational experience because I'm taking into account the differences between the Ecuadorian educational system and the American educational system which are quite different. The workload was much less than at my home college and the structure of the classes was more lecture based and somewhat less participatory. I felt that there were a lot fewer class assignments than at my home college. I feel that I learned a lot from this program despite the classes being very different than U.S. classes.

On-site administration of your program

My expectations were met about the on-site administration of the program. The administrators knew a great deal about how the American educational system works and about U.S. culture and potential for cultural clashes. The program was a bit larger than expected but I think that was for the best because we had opportunities for richer discussions. The program's one flaw was that it was a bit disorganized and slow to provide feedback or guidance about assignments or issues. But this is a bit of a cultural difference because Ecuadorian culture doesn't place the same importance as American culture on getting things done quickly.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Few of the neighborhoods in Quito are very safe but we did live in the northern part of the city which is generally safer than the south. It was very close to my classes (20 minutes by bus or 30 on foot) and somewhat close to nightlife. I didn't need to buy anything to settle in at my house. In Quito I was treated mostly as a family member but there were a few awkward instances in which I was treated like a client, mostly when issues of money came up. But generally I felt pretty included. I stayed with a second host family during my rural internship. My rural homestay was about 45 minutes from the organization that I worked with and there was absolutely no nightlife. I didn't have to buy anything to settle in. I was treated as a close family member. I felt more included in family activities and chores by my rural family. But there were also more language and cultural barriers because the community in general speaks a mix of Spanish and Kichwa.

It is very hard to eat a vegetarian diet in Ecuador so I came to the country having practiced eating meat. It was easy to accomodate my lactose intolerance. A warning to other students that the Ecuadorian diet is very heavy in grains, starches and meats and not in vegetables. Students on my program with Celiac disease and strict vegetarians had a rough time eating properly.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I can't go into all the events and field trips I participated in but they were always interesting and well organized.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Quito is a very unsafe city. I would warn students to go out at night with Ecuadorian friends instead of just Americans. Many of my friends on this program were robbed, some more than once. My professor of public health works at a private clinic in Quito and when any of us had health problems she arranged for us to see doctors there. The quality of care was very good and we had a lot of help and support from our program.

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

We lived with Ecuadorian families and thus had to practice Spanish every day as well as in the city. All of our courses were conducted in Spanish and few Ecuadorians really speak English unless they are in industries that cater to tourism. I felt that in language acquisition and confidence in speaking and writing in Spanish were the areas in which I grew the most when I was in Ecuador.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Americans

• Internship
• Host families

• Organization
• Difficulty of classes