"Sube la Adrenalina"

Hola mis amigos!

So I've never  written a blog before but hopefully this will help my family, friends, and colleagues keep up with my adventures this summer. I am participating in a research study that requires me to post a few times a week. I will be in Cuenca, Ecuador for the month of May and will be working in a village in the mountains called Cahuazhun Grande and partnering with the Universidad de Cuenca. After this trip I am headed to my parents house in Charleston for two weeks, then to Puerto Rico, then Chicago, and off to Ithaca, New York to work at Cornell. My mom has begun calling me a "wanderer" or an excursionista (who knows if that is spelled right). I have caught the travel bug and can't get enough of new cultures and people. I am very excited to see what this new adventure brings.

Service-Learning and Global Leadership

This service learning trip is a three week long experience that incorporates leadership, service, education, and engagement ideals into our day-to-day work. I am so excited to work with the children, families, and professors at la Universidad de Cuenca and the village of Cahuzhun Grande. We are teaching these partners many things but they will be sharing with us holistic medical practices, cooking techniques, and cosmology. I had already fallen in love with this culture when I was in Peru in 2008. I can't wait to actually meet our partners.

Top 5 List

My close friends know that I will jump at any opportunity to go abroad... I am legitimately going to be poor the rest of my life because I would rather travel than save my money, but that's for a different day. I love buzz-feed and the list type blogs that have been circulating around social media - So I am going to make a Top 5 list of reasons of why I am on this study abroad. Enjoy.

1. Study Abroad:
My only regret as an undergrad at Ohio State was the fact that I never made time to study abroad. I had heard from peers that this was something that all students should do, and heck, I preached at my prospective students and families as a tour guide, about the wonderful global experiences that Ohio State had to offer, yet I never took advantage.
I knew when I was looking for graduate programs that I had to attend one with an international component. When I heard about this experience I was skeptical at first because we are the first group of students to embark on this program. Needless to say, I was sold when I went to my first orientation meeting. Now as an Ohio State Masters student, I no longer have any regrets. CHECK!

2. Practicing Spanish
I studied Spanish quite extensively in high school and undergrad and have always had a passion for the language. I have been to Spanish speaking countries but always relied on others abilities to translate. This experience requires me to use Spanish everyday. There are no translators in Cahuazhun Grande. Spanish lets go! Cheers to becoming confident and fluent.

3. Cultural Immersion and Meeting New People
I love learning from other people. I love meeting new people and hearing their life stories. I love story telling. There are 10 graduate and 8 undergraduate students on this trip and I look forward to developing deeper connections with them but also the partners in Cuenca. I can't wait to meet my new global friends.

4. Leadership cross-culturally
For those of you who may not know, I work at the Ohio Union in Leadership Programs. I am working on leadership development opportunities for students on campus and advise a student cohort. In Cuenca, I will be helping facilitate an understanding of leadership theory and practice for our new partners. This will be an exciting opportunity to explore my profession in a cross-cultural context. Hooray Leadership!

5. Fueling my Adrenalina
I get a rush and drive when I travel to new places. I have never been to Ecuador and know very little about the country and people. This trip is something that I have always wanted to do and it is definitely fueling my adrenaline rush. SUBE LA ADRENALINA!