2013-05-15
As some of you may know, I had somewhat of a “deprived” childhood. I’ve never seen Bambi, Winnie the Pooh, Sesame Street, or a whole assortment of commonplace children’s shows and movies. I’ve never been to any zoo. And I don’t remember ever eating a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich before the age of 15....
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2013-04-03
In the book “The World is Flat”, the author, Thomas L. Friedman, makes a lot of claims about how new business leaders will have to be able to utilize new technologies available to them to bring better and more creative products to their customers, and I think John Hendricks, founder and Chairman of Discovery Communications...
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2013-03-01
As I was thinking about what other fascinating aspect of my Ecuadorian life I could recount to all of you back home, I realized something. I have told you about my stint as a thief in the eyes of those in Pano, how annoying and perhaps powerful it is to have to give away half...
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2013-01-09
In case you didn’t know, there is an education crisis in the United States. According to a study published by the education frim Pearson, students from the U.S. rank 17th internationally, while those from Finland, South Korea, and China grabbed the top spots. Experts say that if something is not done soon, the U.S. should...
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2012-11-27
Even after studying Spanish for 5 years and traveling to Latin America 2 times before, there are a lot of things I don’t understand about Pano, a town in the Amazon rainforest region of Ecuador that is my home until April. For example, I don’t get why people insist on wearing pants in the intense Amazonian sun, or why...
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2012-09-25
They are loud, heavy, and easy to lose. When in a hurry, it is difficult to distinguish one from the other. In the United States, they are somewhat of an afterthought, but here in Quito, they are an absolute necessity. They are coins, and I can never have enough of them. In 2000, Ecuador changed its national currency...
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2012-08-08
Hello everyone, As the date of my departure gets closer, I continue working through the seemingly never-ending to-do list that accompanies a year-long trip to Ecuador. But about 2 weeks ago, my preparation was interrupted by a visit to another South American country: Brazil. Almost every year, my church sends a group of about 20...
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2012-07-19
Hello everyone! My name is Jordan Lee. I didn’t seriously consider an international Gap Year until the start of my senior year. By that time, I had travelled a fair amount internationally and studied in various academic environments, but when I started thinking about college and what I wanted to get out of the experience,...
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