Ecuador & the Galápagos: Service & Spanish Immersion

Writen by the parent of a 16 year old who traveled with Putney in Juley, 2022. The following are the Putney's questions and my answers from Putney's evaluation request after the competion of the trip wit a few minor edits. What were your expectations for your child's program? Did the program exceed, meet, or fall short or your expectations? We signed our son Owen up for the High School Language program, Ecuador & the Galápagos, Service & Spanish Immersion in the Andean Cloud Forest From Putney’s website: Practice your Spanish daily on this high school language immersion and service program in Ecuador, as you work hand-in-hand with local friends in a small village. None of the above took place. Undertake meaningful community service initiatives this summer and spend a week with a host family. Not a day was spent with a host family. Volunteer to construct a community center, shadow farmers as they harvest crops, and cook meals alongside your host parents. None of the above took place. Explore the Andean páramo, and snorkel, hike, and kayak in the incredible Galápagos Islands to cap off your program. Our expectations were for Owen to have a strong opportunity continue his Spanish speaking learning and skill. We expected that only Spanish would be spoken with a few exceptions. We expected Owen to live with a native family for one week. What was promoted and promised was a lie with a few exceptions. I communicated with Owen and others on the trip. They all stated there was very little Spanish spoken. it was not a priority. They did not live with a native family. We were deceived. Basically, a bait and switch by Putney. We are extremely disappointed with Putney Student Travel. What gave your child the greatest sense of accomplishment? What did your child gain from the program? Our son Owen was upset and disappointed with the Putney program. It was not at all what he read about this program. He was upset with us and thought Putney lied about what his experience would include and entail. Do you feel the program included the right balance of time spent on projects, cultural activities, adventure, etc? What would you like your child to have done more/less of? The program did not at all included the right balance of time spent on projects, cultural activities, adventure. I would have liked and expected Owen to spend a great deal more time speaking and practicing Spanish and living with a local native family and less time doing manual labor digging a ditch.

I really didn't have any expectations, I knew I wanted to have fun, make friends, and have a great experience knowing that I made a difference in the community. The program certainly exceeded these expectations, I made friends for a lifetime, and had some of the best experiences of my life. I couldn't have asked for anything more. My greatest sense of accomplishment I think is from knowing how happy everyone in the village was to see us come back and to see our finished projects on the fence made me feel accomplished that I had played a part in it. Personally, I gained friends I know that will last for a life time, and memories that I will never forget. I was finally able to come out of my shell on this trip, and it made a huge difference on the emotions I felt when we were about to leave. The highlights of my experience was definitely being able to help out in the kitchen in the village, learn Spanish from the locals who taught me how to say things instead of laughing at me, snorkeling in the Galapagos, and being able to spend time with two of the coolest leaders ever. I think we could have spent more time on the projects, since I know that with three projects; the quesaria, the fence and the macheteing, not all of us had the opportunity to do all of them, however, I would have liked to be able to experience all three of the jobs, instead of focusing on macheteing and cheese duty.

I had very few expectations for the trip since I didn't know much about it. I knew no one who had gone on the trip before and I did not do a ton of research on it so I went in with a very open mind about what was going to happen. The program exceeded my expectations because I had so much fun and never once regretted going on the trip therefore I would say it did not fall short whatsoever. Reaching the top of the Cotopaxi Volcano and living in the village for 2 weeks gave me then greatest sense of accomplishment. Climbing that volcano was the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life so reaching the top was a great feeling. When cleaning up in the village and packing up I felt really proud of myself for enduring those 2 weeks sleeping on a concrete floor with no hot water and complaining very little about it because I didn't think I would be able to adjust to something so extreme and not just adjust but enjoy it. I gained a newfound sense of perseverance and definitely learned some things about myself that I wouldn't know unless I embarked on a journey like this. The highlights were definitely the Galapagos Islands, Cotopaxi and the Hacienda we stayed in, and Otavalo. Those little weekend excursions were perfect breaks from the village that made the trip much smoother and more exciting. I wish we had more time to work on our independent projects because they felt a little rushed at the end of the trip but other than that I felt it was perfectly balanced. If I had spent any more time in the village I would have gotten really sick of it and same with the Galapagos so it was a perfect balance of service and fun.