Bienvenida to the Middle of the World

MiddlEarth

Which country is the most biodiverse in the world, houses the the most active volcano, is where Darwin first came up with the theory of Evolution, and uses the US dollar as its official currency?

If you guessed Ecuador, you are correct! But don't worry if you had no idea because a month ago I probably would have gotten the answer wrong too.  

Ecuador is named because of its location along the equator, or as I like to refer to it as Middle Earth. 30 minutes outside of Quito, the country's capital, person can literally stand in the middle of the earth at 0 degrees latitude.  

Ecuador is located on the northern part of the west coast of South America and borders Peru and Colombia and the Pacific Ocean.  While Ecuador is the smallest Andean country, it has four distinct and contrasting regions, and the coastal plains region grows enough bananas to make the country the world's largest exporter of bananas.  

It is in Ecuador, the middle of the earth, that I will be studying abroad for the next five months on a conservation biology program.  I will be living with a host family in Quito, and I will be studying biology and Spanish at the University of San Francisco.  Throughout my program I will also travel to the Amazon Rainforest and spend two weeks living there, although apparently Amazon actually does not even ship to Ecuador! I will also be spending a month in the Galapagos Islands doing marine biology research and snorkeling with the sea turtles.  To end the academic portion of the program (yes, I do get credits for everything mentioned above!) I will be doing an internship related to conservation and development.  

It is going to be a wonderful opportunity to learn Spanish, take classes where nature will be the actual classroom, and experience all that Ecuador has to offer!

I am very excited for my journey to the middle of the earth to begin. By tonight, I will have landed in Quito and been greeted by my host family and apparently a heat wave.  

Stay tuned for more once I arrive!  

Until then, Adios Amigos!