I am ready to go abroad. My bags are packed, I’ve picked up British and European currency, and my flight details are finalized.

My name is Torin Anderson and I am a student at Gustavus Adolphus College. I enjoy writing, but only if it is about something that interests me. So the goal is to have some interesting experiences abroad to make this blog not be a complete waste of time for readers (no promises though).  

The days seem to blur together in a pastel montage of enthusiastic introductions, baroque facades and bread, however through the madness of arriving, orientation and acclimation I’ve begun to take comfort amongst the subway lines and bustle of city life.

I’m leaving for the airport in 3 hours and I’m freaking out.

One of the coolest things I’ve been able to experience during my summer leading up to my departure is telling people about my plans for the fall semester and then witnessing their reactions when I tell them that I am studying abroad.

After quite a few of these interactions, a couple of things stood out to me.

Conceptually, “study abroad” seems easy to understand.  After all, what could possibly be confusing about it?  It’s just like any other semester of college...except you’re doing it somewhere else.  As I watched my friends travel across the world this past year, to Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, and Vienna, I began to understand the importance of traveling away from your friends and family.  The independence, confidence, and expanded perspective which study abroad programs can provide are invaluable.

It seems like few people remember their college orientations very fondly. I remember thinking that my own orientation, a seven day period right before the beginning of classes, would never end. Even though orientation leaders tried to make the ice-breakers fun (instead of uncomfortable) and plied us with enough candy to sustain weeklong sugar highs, it’s hard to forget the boring group activities, overwhelming academic presentations, and awkward question-and-answer panels.

            I have used or heard these four words—chévere, gracias, sigo, y volcán—a countless number of times during my first week here in beautiful Ecuador. “Chévere” is the Quichua word for “cool!” It is thrown around in all sorts of contexts such as making plans, talking about people and places, or describing an experience. I think we all know “Gracias,” and it comes out of my mouth at least 30 times a day.