Approximate Costs

STUDY LANGUAGE, CULTURE & ARTS IN ECUADOR

Spanish Language and Latin American Arts and Culture
- A unique interdisciplinary approach to study abroad 
- Study Spanish and Ecuadorian culture while experiencing firsthand life in Ecuador's capital city, Quito
- Administered by CIMAS, an Ecuadorian NGO, in cooperation with the Washington State Cooperative Development Programs in Ecuador
- Minimum one year college-level Spanish language or equivalent
- Internship possibilities in Spring Qtr with previous term participation

Credits: 16 
Costs:	$4,400 per quarter for tuition& fees, homestay, 2 meals per day and field trips.  Airfare not included.

For more information and application, contact the Office of International Programs and Services at extension 6312, or stop by L1401, 11am-1pm drop-in advising.  Visit the CIMAS website at http://www.cimas.edu.ec

Our International Travel Component of this program will be organized around students' individual needs/interests. Share with your faculty team your own learning objectives for the year, your answers to the 4 questions. Participating in this program is different than signing a contract and also different from a group contract. Attendance is by invitation. Some 15 students will travel to Peru in the Winter 2006. The travel preparation module in the Fall 2005 will be organized by participating students. In Peru there will be only the necessary group activities, most activities will follow students own interests/needs. The program in Peru follows these guidelines.

This International Travel Component is offered to Evergreen students interested in doing International Community Work learning. Studies are related to Latin American or Peruvian politics, history or culture and/or Spanish language. Participating students will do at least 10 hours a week of Community work in a rural area in Peru. Even though there is no sitting in a classroom requirement, some groups/individuals will be able to set up a weekly seminar or a daily block of Spanish Language. Volunter work at local schools and social activities are directly arranged with either a local youth organization or your faculty leader. Applicants need to demonstrate a high level of responsibility for their own education and should be ready to share their knowledge with the local community without the perspective of a missionary, a developer or a liberator. 

General objectives
-Become a member of a rural community in Perú.
-Learn about Peruvian culture and History by actively using local resources and experiencing life in a community.
-Establish friendships and bridge communication between cultures.
-Learn/improve your knowledge of Spanish language and use your second language to experience life in Perú.
-Use your knowledge and skills to do community work mainly at local schools or community institutions.
-Learn to lead (or about leading) without being a missionary, a developer or a liberator.

Connecting theory to practice
-It is an opportunity to experience community life in a real functioning community.
-It is an opportunity to live within populations affected by political decisions in advanced countries, to talk, think, and learn about it.
-If your intention is to learn the language and culture of minority populations in Latin America, this could be a great introduction to your future plans.
-It is your chance to connect all you have learned theoretically about international politics/economics or multicultural issues with real life.

The program
Most Evergreen sophomore students have already learned to be responsible for their own education and are ready to study under the Independent Learning Contract model ( your own set of learning objectives for the entire year). Each emerging curriculum will unfold according to each student's specific needs and interests, the extent and depth of the curriculum and most of the instruction is driven by the student self motivation and the assessment is an embedded part of everyday activities.

Participants will base their educational experience on Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Ciro Alegria's Broad and Alien is the World, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Extra readings include: The Pakatnamu Papers, The Royal Commentaries of the Incas, Bartolome de las Casas, Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, The Daughters of the Conquistadors, The Seven Essays of the Peruvian Reality, Mario Vargas Llosa, Pablo Neruda, Cesar Vallejo, Galeano and students own lists of materials.

These self-learners will have the opportunity to experience/arrange: 
-Real use of Spanish as your second language. Your classroom is the whole community.
-Experience life with a local family, the purpose is to experience life in rural Perú. Participants contribute for room and board and live at home as any other family member. There are other possible arrangements according to circumstances and students readiness.
-Learn Spanish using a constructivist approach, a great deal of self instruction and student-centered active learning and active participation in community life.  
-If your knowledge of Spanish is very limited and you are willing to teach English teaming with local teachers or creating your own class, you wil be offered this opportunity. Other volunteer community work involve teaching your hobby or anything you feel eager to share with the members of the local community, activities at the hospital and local institutions (youth organizations, sports entities, local government projects, etc.) are highly possible.
-Socratic dialogue and pedagogy of the oppressed at the praxis level.