Ecuador week 2

         It is my second week here in Ecuador and I can’t say I feel like I’ve mastered Spanish.  In fact, it feels like the opposite.  Learning a new language is very humbling.  I will be honest I am being a bit hard on myself and perhaps that is because of my personality.  I’ve always had this trait and I constantly have to remind myself not to think this way.  When I turn things upside down I can honestly say my Spanish has improved dramatically.  For example, last night my host family had a guest over and I was able to talk with him for at least ten or fifteen minutes and understood most of what he was talking about and I think he understood me as well.  We talked about my travels this past weekend and where I’m from.  It genuinely lifted my spirits to be able to have that moment.  However, this morning I started rotating through a different clinic with a preceptor that speaks extremely fast and in-depth using medical terminology and I was quickly humbled at little I understood. 

            Alright, enough complaining about how hard it is to learn a new language.  This past weekend my friend and I were able to travel to the city of Baños which is about a two-hour bus ride from where I am living.  Baños is heading east towards the Amazon.  It is still at a relatively high elevation of 6,000 ft. and it sits at the bottom of an active volcano!  This is a town of adventure sports with tourists from all over the world.  We had quite an adventure the first day there as we rented some bikes and rode them in the rain down a mountain road in search of some waterfalls.  On the way we stopped to ride a zipline over a gorge about half a mile down the mountain.  Afterwards we continued onward and fortunately found some spectacular waterfalls at the end. 

            After all of that complaining I will say that I am thankful for all of the intense learning experiences I’ve had here.  The complete immersion with Spanish classes, working in local clinics, and living with a host family have been so valuable so far.  I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone else who is serious about learning a language. 

                            Pic: Swinging off the side of a volcano in Baños.