Ecuador was the first place I went backpacking in South America. As I flew into Quito airport with no return ticket, I felt nervously excited about what the country held in…
cuenca
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Accommodation advice Ecuador South America
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I’ve eaten a lot of traditional food in Ecuador. That’s what happens when you spend five months living in Cuenca with a host family and eating street snacks whenever you get…
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Bolivia Brazil Challenges Colombia Ecuador Personal South America Spanish Challenge
The Spanish Challenge: Achieve Fluency Before Leaving South America
Can I become fluent in Spanish in South America? Six months ago I relocated to Ecuador, a Spanish speaking country, with little to no Spanish speaking skills of my own. I…
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Asia Challenges Ecuador Nepal South America Thailand Volunteering
Lessons Learned from 200 Hours of Teaching English Abroad
“¿Tres ensaladas de frutas, por favor?” I leave the tiny serving hatch, where three women wearing hair nets and harried expressions rush back and forth. Plates of food scattered around the…
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Asia Ecuador Kenya Lithuania Nepal South America Thailand Volunteering
Volunteering with Children Abroad: the Issues You Should Know
When looking for volunteering projects in foreign countries, one of the first things to catch people’s eye is working with children. There are so many orphaned and impoverished children around the…
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“Do you feel older than us?” asked Mhairi, as we sat in a cosy cafe on a Wednesday afternoon, discussing our travelling plans for the months ahead. I didn’t know how…
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It’s been two months since I started working at Collegio Miguel Merchan as a voluntary English teacher. In that timeframe, there a few things I’ve become certain of. Firstly, teaching is…
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Challenges Ecuador Peru South America Travel Plans
Cuenca to Cusco and Back Again: the Pitfalls of Planning a Trip to Peru
I stood in the small office, studiously trying to avoid the unflinching gaze of a prostrate Jesus. Under his crucified frame, a nun was peering at a computer screen, clicking idly…
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“Hola Piña! Como vas?!” I turned around for the fifth time in half an hour to see a group of girls eagerly clambering down the stone bleachers towards us. In front…
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“Excuse me.” A middle aged woman passing our table stopped for a moment. She looked down her heavily made-up nose at us haughtily; a group of English girls in an Ecuadorian…