STudies take Student to middle of the Earth
Published 12:50 am Tuesday, July 21, 2009
David McArtor has traveled to the middle of the earth – or as they say in Ecuador, “Mitad Del Mundo.”
Thanks to a 10-month cultural exchange program offered through the University of Idaho in Moscow, the 2004 White River High graduate studied at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador in Quito, the nation’s capital, during the past academic year and earned a bachelor of science degree in Spanish and a bachelor of arts in interdisciplinary studies in June.
Studying abroad was an opportunity he’d looked forward to since hearing about the program during his junior year.
“My girlfriend had spent a year in Norway and she said it was the best experience of her life,” the 23-year-old McArtor said. “I was kind of encouraged – I wanted to do something like that. I found out the U of I has a direct exchange with four programs.”
He wanted to keep his focus on linguistics, the study of English and anthropology.
“Since the U of I didn’t have a linguistics program, I combined anthropology and English together,” he said.
He applied for the program and tested in Spanish to see where he’d place within PUCE’s six levels.
“I’d minored in Spanish but it was all in a classroom setting,” he said. “I tested with them and I placed in Level 5.” He later completed the second half of the semester at Level 6.
McArtor said that while scholarships abound for the program, his family paid privately “at a price lower than one year at the U of I as an out-of-state student.”
Before departure he received an introductory e-mail from his host family: Fausto, the father; Consuelo, mother; son Juan Pablo, 23, and daughters Pamela and Sofia.
The family owns a restaurant in Cumbeya, which sits at an elevation of 9,200 feet.
With just a 200-yard walk to school from his family’s sixth-floor apartment, it was easy for McArtor to get around town.
Studying at PUCE meant learning everything in Spanish and the school had three areas of focus, he said.
First, he studied Spanish for three hours a day, five days a week in a classroom of eight students.
“We studied the language and the Ecuadorian and Latin American culture,” he said.
The second focus was on community service, an area that brought McArtor face-to-face with 25 children in need.
“We studied at the Opcion Davida Rescue Center for approximately four hours per week, three and a half times a month,” he said. “It was run by a local church and the local Rotary Club where they provided food, laundry services, showers, games and some education and Bible classes to homeless children and those who couldn’t go home after school. It was part of our global ethics class, but we were all really glad we did it because those kids were great.”
The third focus was on personal progress and Spanish classes through real-life experiences. It was then he learned first-hand of world culture – as in global ethics, genetically-modified agriculture and neo-liberalism, he said.
The program included an abundance of sightseeing, though he didn’t visit the Amazon or Galapagos due to the cost, he said. Still, he traveled to Quito museums to study art, history and natural history and also visited the city center and president’s palace. Other highlights included standing at the site of the Mitad del Mundo – the monument marking the equator – and Cochasqui, a set of pre-Incan earthen mounds and pyramids.
“We also went to Esmeraldas province on the coast to learn about the deforestation of the mangrove swamps and the overharvesting of shellfish there; (we heard of) the racial issues; listened to a world-class marimba player and enjoyed the local beaches and nightlife.”
If those activities weren’t enough, he also stayed with a campesino – or peasant family – for five days in Yunguilla, a mountain town of 200 people, he said, and was joined there by his parents, John and Terry.
“They practice subsistence agriculture and eco-tourism,” he said of the family. “We worked a little bit with them, tilling the land, milking cows, making cheese and preserves and helping to build a stable. We also learned about their day-to-day life, their eco-tourism business and how that has changed their lives.” The McArtors also learned of the local flora, fauna and history.
Other excursions included trips to the beach and Los Banos – natural hot springs – and his first white river rafting experience. A stop in Otavalo became an up-close look at a “thriving indigenous community and international shopping mecca for various crafts,” he said. He also visited a raptor rescue clinic and was given a lesson on the indigenous world-view and music by a “yachak” – or “wiseman.” During the Christmas season he participated in Pase de Nino at a Catholic church, a celebration along 12 stations to commemorate Mary and Joseph’s trip into Bethlehem.
“We sang in Spanish, Quecha and Portuguese,” he said.
McArtor is adjusting to life at home and has taken on a maintenance job with the city of Buckley while preparing to start school at the University of Western Australia in the spring, he said.
There, he hopes to further his studies in linguistics and connect with more indigenous peoples.
He encouraged college students to consider similar programs and to seek out scholarships.
Grateful for the past year, McArtor said his biggest lesson came from learning to take chances and to not be afraid of the unknown.
“There were so many things I never tried, that I’d never done,” he said. “But when you try you’re not afraid anymore. I’ve gained more confidence. I now feel comfortable enough to go to any Spanish-speaking country and be able to get along just fine.”
To comment on this story view it online at www.blscourierherald. Reach Judy Halone at jhalone@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald or 360-802-8210.
