Erin Brooks

From EcuadorWiki

Hi! I am currently a sophomore at Alma. I recently declared a major in Chemistry and a minor in Exercise and Health Sciences.

All About Me

I grew up in Kent City a small town about 20 miles north of Grand Rapids. I went to Kent City Community Schools and graduated in 2005. I grew up with four older brothers, Brooks, Mike, Matt and Andy. When I was three my first nephew, Stephan, was born. Now, at 19, I have 7 nephews (Stephan, Zach, Corey, Gavin, Elijah, David and Colby) and 6 nieces (Sadie, Autumn, Elizabeth, Gabby, Bree Ann, and Saria (who was just born Wednesday!)) Some hobbies include boating, wakeboarding, reading, playing volleyball, and just being outside in the sun. I love listening to music, mainly country, but pretty much anything. Recently I have gone to Kenny Chesney, Journey, Def Leppard, Larry the Cable Guy and Big and Rich concerts. My boyfriend, Zach, and I have been dating for almost four years (in June) and he's amazing; you'll probably see him pop up in a lot of these pictures. After my four long years at Alma I am planning on going to Physician's Assistant school at either Grand Valley or CMU.

My Ecuador Experience

I am so excited to go to Ecuador! I can't wait to immerse myself in the language and the culture. This will only be the second time that I have been out of the country, the first was to Mexico with my mom about three years ago. So this isn't my first time in a Spanish speaking country, but I'm hoping to be able to use my Spanish a little more this time around. In Mexico the only person that I talked to in Spanish was the cab driver, and he still spoke English! Some of my goals for my trip to Ecuador include:

• Practice my dwindling Spanish skills
• Experience a whole new culture with my host family
• Have an amazing time seeing the animals in the Galapagos Islands
• Make some new friends on the trip

Some of the things that I am most excited about include:

• Living with a host family and one of my best friends Kendra
• Exploring the wonderful city of Quito
• Being able to be in two places (or at least hemispheres) at once at the Equator
• Hiking up part of the Cotopaxi volcano
• Shopping at the Otavalo market
• Exploring the Galapagos Islands

Make sure to check out my day in the Travelogue, Wednesday, May 16! (Of course not yet!)

Classwork

Healthcare