After traveling to another country – to another continent – Daniel Collins (10) spent six months in South America alongside his family to explore the wildlife and culture of Ecuador. Collins, along with his father, Michael Collins, a professor at Rhodes College, traveled to Ecuador as part of a study abroad program for his father’s students. Students studying Spanish or tropical biology received the opportunity to travel to Ecuador for four months; however, Professor Collins was allowed to bring his family two months ahead of the students.
“My dad is a professor at Rhodes College and they have a program there for study abroad and because the class was four months long, he was allowed to take his family with him,” Collins said. “So, my dad, my mom and I went down to Ecuador for six months … We arrived [in Ecuador on] July 2nd and got back [to Memphis] early Christmas Eve.”
While in Ecuador, Collins took classes alongside the college students, learning Spanish and tropical biology. Collins’s family stayed in an Airbnb in Cuenca, a city in southern Ecuador. They took hikes during the trip and visited churches like The Basilica of the National Vow.
“We visited Cuenca, which was where most of our stay was,” Collins said. “We went on a lot of hikes. Cajas National Park is really close to Cuenca. The students were taking a Spanish class as well as [a] tropical biology [class], which was the main attraction of the program. With that Spanish program … almost every Saturday we would go somewhere for a day. [We would take a] 2-3 hour bus drive, hike around and then drive back.”
Collin’s favorite part of the trip was a five-day trip into the Amazon Rainforest. While in the Amazon, Collins and his family got the opportunity to see wildlife and to appreciate the biodiversity of the rainforest.
“We went to the Amazon [Rainforest] for five days,” Collins said. “That was by far my favorite [part of the trip]. We climbed up a tower that was 50 meters tall, about 15 stories, and you could see over the canopy and we saw some great birds. I’d say my favorite of the birds would’ve been the golden blue toucan.”
While traveling, Collins noticed many differences between Ecuador and the United States. Buying things in Ecuador can cost less than in the United States. Ecuador also offers easier access to nature and wildlife that’s harder to find in urban areas.
“The culture there is different,” Collins said. “Soups are incredibly common for lunch. Generally, you’d have a soup, a small meat and then rice or potatoes, and a small … salad. You could walk around the city for 20 minutes, find a lunch [for] $2.75 or $3. I’d say, in one hour [in Ecuador] I could go and see toucans in the wild. Just, incredible wildlife that here in the US, or at least here in Memphis, [is] pretty hard to [see] … Especially with just the amount of biodiversity there is [in Ecuador].”