This four-part series spotlights four Syracuse University summer abroad programs and students’ experiences – part 3 of 4.

Erin Miller is convinced her host mom is the wisest woman in Cuenca, Ecuador.

“We’ll be talking about life, religion and family, and she’ll go on with these beautiful soliloquies,” said Miller, a junior advertising major. “I’d just sit there, basking in the coolness.”

Living with a host family is one of the main components of the Santiago Center: Cuenca Immersion program. The study abroad program began June 14 when 20 Syracuse University students traveled to Cuenca, Ecuador, to take classes at the Center for Interamerican Studies. This one-month immersion in Ecuadorian culture and the Spanish language is meant to prepare the students to continue their abroad experience in Santiago, Chile for five more months.

Throughout the program the students have gone sightseeing through Cuenca, visiting national parks, zoos, museums and beaches. Miller said she has also hiked, flew down a zip line and made weekly videos for her blog.

Since the program takes place during the FIFA World Cup, the students were able to witness a part of the world where soccer is very important to the culture. Miller said every student bought an Ecuador jersey for the country’s second game in the World Cup, even though it was only one week into program.

“They won, and all around us we could feel the patriotism of Ecuador,” Miller said. “Everyone loves soccer. It’s a real stereotype.”

Trevor Zalkind, a junior international relations and public relations major, said that even the government decrees to stop all work and school so that people can watch the game.

“When Ecuador won, everyone was really happy in the streets, honking their horns and all,” he said. “It’s similar to when Syracuse beat Duke last spring, except it was all across the country.”

Soccer was one way Zalkind and his host brother were able to grow close as friends. Zalkind expressed similar sentiments about his host mother and father, who he said care for him and treat him like a son.

When he first arrived in Cuenca, Zalkind’s host family threw a BBQ and invited their cousins, uncles and aunts. Zalkind added he immediately felt welcomed, sharing in the new games, language and music.

“It was an instant culture immersion,” he said, laughing as he struggled to speak English. “See, as soon as I started learning more Spanish, I forgot more English.”

Zalkind is the fourth student that Sandro Cabrera, 21, and his parents have hosted. Cabrera said opening up his home to students gave him a wider perspective about the world and cultures in other places.

“I enjoy the intercultural experience, being able to understand points of view in other places and being able to show your own points of view,” he said. “It really enriches your way of thinking.”

Next week, as the month draws to a close, the students will travel through Uruguay and Argentina before settling in Santiago to study at two institutions, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Universidad de Chile.

For junior Emily Malina, studying abroad wasn’t a new experience. She spent the first semester of her freshman year abroad in Florence, Italy, and said she felt mentally prepared for the culture shock that inevitably comes with living in a new country.

Malina, also majoring in international relations and public relations, added that living in Cuenca with her host family allowed her to learn about their everyday mannerisms and become familiar with the Spanish language. Her family told her that Chilean people speak faster, so she practices the language both in class and at home to ready her Spanish proficiency for when she will live in Santiago.

“My host family in Italy would sometimes speak English to me, so it was hard for me to learn Italian,” Malina said. “But here in Ecuador, my host family speaks strictly Spanish, even my host brother who spent a year abroad in Michigan.”

Malina added that she was also given the opportunity to grow close not only with her host brother and sister, but also with her host cousins. Back home she has three siblings, but she doesn’t have the same relationship with her extended family as she does in Cuenca.

“It’s a different feel here when it comes to family, and really, if I could adopt my host brother and make him my younger brother, I would,” she said. “I’m going to miss them so much.”

Published on July 10, 2014 at 8:53 pm

Contact Clare: clramire@syr.edu