Kirsten McNally
From EcuadorWiki
I am one of the twenty-four students participating in the Ecuadorian Spring Term. Be sure to check out our class schedule, and follow along with all of the adventures we will be encountering.
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Background
I am from a small town, Frankenmuth, which is famous for having the world's largest Christmas store, Bronners. I attended Frankenmuth High School and was very active in sports and other organizations. I am the youngest of three siblings in my family. First is my oldest sister, Megan, who is 28 and married and has a four-year-old boy. Next, I have a brother, Brandon, who is 24 and attending medical school. Ironically, Megan and Brandon have previously traveled to Ecuador! Lastly my other older sister is Keegan, she is 22 and spends most of her time working and with her dog. Additionally, I have two very supportive parents who are always there to look out for me!
Because I love animals so much, I have the privelage of owning numerous pets. I have two small dogs, J.B. and Kuuma, one black cat, kitty, one tortoise, Reese, and a saltwater fish tank. Growing up with so many pets has definitely strengthened my interest in animals.
I recently finished my second year at Alma College. Within the past two years, I have become involved in several different aspects offered at Alma College. I have played volleyball for the college, participated in intramurals, sang in Women's Glee Club and Chorale, am a member of Beta Beta Beta (a honorary biology fraternity), and a member of Gamma Phi Beta. Over the past couple of years, I have changed my career plans numerous times, but I have finally decided that I enjoy working with animals and want to pursue a career in animal behavior or zoology. At Alma I am majoring in Biology and plan to attend graduate school to focus more on fulfilling my career goals.
Living in Ecuador
While in Ecuador, I have the pleasure to live with my best friend, Dani. We have been roomates for the past year and have really grown as individuals and friends from one another. Although we are traveling to many places and staying at several locations, we will have a host family, the Zabalas, that will help us while in Ecuador.
Why Travel to Ecuador
My main reason for choosing this spring term is because of its setup and cultural interactions. I feel traveling three weeks to Ecuador is a great opportunity. I love the fact that we are staying with host families and are able to build relationships with them. It is likely that we will remember for years after. Being able to live with host families gives a true feeling for the culture and lifestyle lived by these citizens of a very different, yet unique country from the United States. I hope to leave Ecuador a changed person and have a greater appreciation for another civilization of the world.
Most Excited For...
- Living with host families
- Being able to travel with my classmates and friends
- Meeting new people
- Experience new foods and cultures
- Traveling to the Bellavista Cloud Forest and the Galapagos Islands!
- And I am most excited for all of the wildlife!
Independent Project
Group Members: Myself, Dani Smith, and Sarah Nicholas
Purpose: The project we plan to work on is to benefit future students that travel to Ecuador. The nice thing about the setup of this course is that it allows the students to have some free time to venture out in Quito on their own. We plan to take a further look at the different side excursions and provide a more in depth analysis of the extra activities. Some information we plan to include are the:
- Costs
- Time it takes
- What to bring
- What to wear
- And an overall description of the activity.
This will be a resource for other students to use and will hopefully help them when deciding what extra activities to choose while in Ecuador. This project is currently in progress, check out the Ecuador Spring Term Guide to see what we have completed so far.
