Last week we had the honor to speak with Kaitlyn T., a junior at the University of Central Arkansas. She will be going on a United Planet Short-Term Quest this summer in Ecuador. This trip will be her first time out of the country for such an extended period of time – and by herself.
United Planet: How did you hear about United Planet?
Kaitlyn: “I was looking for a study abroad opportunity related to my field but there’s not a lot offered for speech pathology. This was one of the only programs I found. United Planet seemed very established, which made me feel comfortable.”
UP: Which Quest are you doing, and why did you choose that one in particular?
K: “I’m spending five weeks in Ecuador. I’ll be taking Spanish classes for the first week and then volunteering for the next four. In the Quest I chose, I can work with children with disabilities that are similar to what I will see in my profession. While I’m there, I’m going to do some research for my cultural comparison thesis paper. I hope to talk with clinicians and teachers at the facility, and have some parent surveys, if possible. I’d like to interview them and see what they think about how the therapy is going for their child. Then I’ll compare that to the data I collect in Arkansas.”
United Planet volunteers get to know the local children in Ecuador
UP: What are you most looking forward to – and what are you most nervous about?
K: “I’m nervous about not knowing the Spanish language very well. I’m in a class right now to learn the basics but communicating with others might be a little hard. Besides the language barrier, it’s also a little nerve-wracking to go alone. I took a class in anthropology, and since then I’ve wanted to travel somewhere with a culture that’s not like anything I’m used to, to learn their values and things they do each day, the food they eat, and of course fun cultural activities like salsa dancing. I’m also taking the Amazon excursion, so I’m obviously very excited about that.”
UP: One last question: if you could have one superhero power, what would it be?
K: “I think it would probably be the ability to time jump. I would go back in time and see how people lived back then, and I could also go to the future to see what different places look like. I would like it because I could get places faster, and I could see both history and the future.”
Interested in planning your own Quest to Ecuador? Start here.
ABOUT UNITED PLANET
United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. Established in 2001, United Planet offers volunteer abroad, virtual internships, internships abroad, gap year volunteering, and global virtual exchange in more than 40 countries.
