A Semester On

  • A Semester of Introspection
    Molly Lao | March 30th, 2012
    My adjustment to London hasn’t really been one at all. The city has quickly captivated me, revealing its versatility in hosting a vast array of historic sites and landmarks, as well as suiting college students and tourists from all over the world....
  • Colombia to Finish
    Addie Thompson | June 11th, 2011
    I found myself standing in the Medellin airport, a security guy talking at me in rapid, accented Spanish and my bags weighing on my shoulders. What did I do? Did I really just fly to Colombia, by myself, no idea where the hostel is that I booked?...
  • From Coffee to Tea
    Addie Thompson | June 11th, 2011
        The four Ecuadorian zones: check. Arriving in Archidona, Ecuador a few weeks ago, I was greeted by more stunningly deep green mountains, cloaked in clouds out my window. Unfortunately, this was not a bus window I was looking from....
  • Islands in the Sun
    Addie Thompson | May 15th, 2011
    As I sit on a flight out of the Galapagos, my heart hurts a little bit. These past two weeks have been astounding - the beauty, the people, the transformation of one American girl living amongst 25 Europeans/Ecuadorians and at first hating it...
  • In Between
    Addie Thompson | April 21st, 2011
    A lot of people I've met here are in between stages in their lives. Schools, jobs, spouses, you name it. They've come to Latin America because they finally have time to do so. They packed up a few of their belongings, put the rest in storage and...
  • Jungle Treks and Fresh Panela
    Addie Thompson | March 24th, 2011
      So as the loading bar on these videos creeps along (no thanks to the painful speed of internet in Cuenca), I decided I'd give a bit more background on this most recent clip. Last Friday we boarded a 5 am bus to Loja, where we caught another...
  • From the Field
    Addie Thompson | March 21st, 2011
    Hello hello! I have alot to report. Since last time, I have visited ´the field´ twice, left my homestay family, moved into an apartment (really words cannot describe this place, I feel like I live in a museum with a cobblestone atrium and a fountain...
  • On Learning a New Language
    Addie Thompson | March 15th, 2011
    You feel a bit like a fool, kind of like you are two years old again (although I really don't remember what it was like when I was two so maybe that's a bad comparison). You also feel very stupid. You want to say so many thoughtful, intelligent...
  • The End of the End of the World
    Addie Thompson | March 1st, 2011
    It has again be so long since I´ve written - another good sign (I would say?) Saying goodbye to Patagonia was hard to do, but I am now writing this from Cuenca, Ecuador, where I will be living for the next 6 weeks while working with the Social...
  • I Think I Like It Here
    Addie Thompson | February 12th, 2011
    Take my two week silence to mean this trip is all-consuming in the best ways. I write this from the middle of a 28 hour bus ride from Bariloche to El Chalten, desolate squares of land swimming outside the window as horses and al pacas chew away the...
  • A Semester Off
    Addie Thompson | January 25th, 2011
    I have decided to take the spring semester of 2011 "off." To me, however, this is much more of a semester "on," if you will. I am embarking on an adventure that is simultaneously terrifying and thrilling. Taking little more than a bundle of clothes...