I don't know if you remember me but I was in your Intermediate Spanish class last summer. I was preparing for a trip to Ecuador and promised to let everyone know about how it went. We returned on September 25 and I have been deluged at work ever since!<BR>
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Ah! Ecuador! What a wonderful place to visit. I highly recommend it; especially if you are interested in eco-tourism. My diary of the trip is over 25 pages long so I won't boor you with the whole story. We spent a week at the Tipituni Biodiverisity Station; part of University of San Francisco of Quito. It's a very remote place in the headwaters of the Amazon. You get there (or just about any place in the Equ jungle) by plane, canoe, truck, canoe, etc. It was hot and humid but not unbearable; and the wildlife was amazing! We hiked all day, every day; swam with the pirranaha and caimen; saw several kinds of new world monkeys; and many, many tropical birds.<BR>
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A second week was spent at the Galapagos on a boat for 16 with 13 international travellers a generation younger than we were. We had a blast! Again, we hiked every day, snorkeled every day, and fell into and out of pangas (the sea is a bit rough this time of year).<BR>
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It was all great; great food; no sickness! BUT! I sure could have used a little more Spanish! I was glad I took the two courses but, with anticipation of going to Peru or Central America, I need much more! Remember I came into the class with absolutely NO formal Spanish education. It was my first real course. So, I need a lot more practice! I'm back in the Intermediate class right now; I'm not sure I'm ready for Advanced yet. Of course, in Ecuador they speak Spanish (a very clear, not slang Spanish), Quichua, Quichua/Spanish, Hoarani, and any other number of indigenous Indian languages, sometimes all mixed together. Then, on the boat, we were speaking Spanish (for the crew), German, French, English, and Hebrew. The really embarrassing part of it for me was the fact that everyone but those from the United States knew (and were fluent in) at least three of these languages.<BR>
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Hope you are all enjoying and continuing with your language studies. Enjoy using your Spanish where ever you are!<BR>
