Gillian Letson: Watch a Biology Student Evolve in the Galapagos

I have been in the Galapagos for two and a half weeks now! Thank you so much to everyone who made getting here possible. It is even more amazing and beautiful than I imagined. Time moves differently on the island though- a week goes by so fast, but then I can't remember what I did the day before, because there is so much going on! Also, this close to the ecuator, the days are a perfect twelve hours long. The sun rises at 6 AM and sets at 6 PM like clockwork. Arriving here from Pennsylvania, where at the height of summer it remains light out late into the evening, the short days took some adjusting.

The campus is a dream. It's a fifteen-minute walk from our hotel/dorm, sitting at the edge of town and at the mouth of the Las Tijeretas hiking trail. A wide, one-way brick road is the only thing separating the school campus from Playa Mann, the most popular beach in town. We are so close to both the national park and the beach that we get sea lions on the doorstep, Darwin's finches in our cafeteria, and lizards in our hallways. We certainly have strange pests here in the Galapagos!

Playa Mann is the most convenient hang-out spot for us students. After class we usually go out to lunch or cook in the outdoor kitchen at our hotel on the terrace. The food here is great. Ecuadorians and Galapaguenos, as the locals are called, have a unique palate. Juice is served with most meals. They don't cook tortillas often and the food is not served spicy. If you want spice, ask for Aji- they serve it everywhere. Aji is like hot sauce and salad dressing all in one, and it's probably the first food I grew attached to here, and I bet it will be one of the first things I miss when I am home. It is delicious over rice, corn, and generally everything. An almuerzo, or lunch special, is $3.50 anywhere, and consists of a soup, juice drink, a protein, a vegetable or salad, and then one or two starches; rice, french fries, plantain chips, or an interesting type of large kernel corn called mote, which pops when it's boiled.

After lunch, it's back to campus to finish my homework, or I'll grab my snorkel and head to the beach. I didn't believe it when I heard that some students snorkel every day here, but now that I have, I look forward to every opportunity to get in the water. It is an amazing experience, with huge schools of surgeonfish and angelfish, sea turtles swimming alongside you, playful sea lions coming to investigate you, and the occasional ray flying by in deeper water. I try to watch the sunset over the ocean every day, especially at Playa Mann.

Our meal plan works with local restaurants, so every night my classmates and I meet at a sit-down place for dinner. Every night I'm stuffed. Throughout the week, we go to a seafood house, an Italian restaurant, homestyle Ecuadorian spots, and more. Here service is slow and people run on "island time". A restaurant meal can cost you more than two hours of your evening. But sitting with all your classmates, the time goes by easily.

There's very little bandwidth here, so in the evenings we play cards, read, or play movies or music that someone has downloaded. Our program coordinator has shared a projector with us from campus to use at the hotel. Lately, we have been setting it up on the terrace to watch Casa de Papel in its original Spanish (you might know it as Money Heist on Netflix), while bundling up against the wind. Then I slip downstairs to my hotel room to settle in for the night.

And that's a day in my life in the Galapagos!

Several people have mentioned that they would like to contribute to my study abroad funds to help cover travel, fees, and living expenses while I am in the Galapagos. There are a couple ways I recommend for you to contribute! My venmo is -Letson and my GoFundMe page is at https://gofund.me/2c3691c1. I really, really appreciate everyone's excitement and well wishes! Love you all

Gillian Letson's Study Abroad Fund: Galápagos, organized by Gillian Letson I have been accepted to study abroad in the Galapagos Islands! My … Gillian Letson needs your support for Gillian Letson's Study Abroad Fund: Galápagos

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

Earlier this month, Juniata College announced that nearly ALL STUDY ABROAD should resume for Fall 2021. Today, I received my letter of acceptance to the Galapagos Academic Institute for the Arts and Sciences. My first day of in-person orientation is August 13!

Hello everyone!

This page has been getting a little traffic lately, so some of you probably have questions about my school and travel. I am cautiously optimistic that I can still study abroad—Ecuador reopened for travel in the beginning of June and currently accepts US visas. On August 6th, the Department of State lowered the Travel Advisory status for Ecuador to level 3. The Galapagos Program features a small class, something like 40 to 60 students, who study at remote campuses and field stations throughout the semester. The small scale makes me more confident that I could safely study and travel. The organizing institution, IES abroad, has actually expanded the size of the program, adding a short term 2 week version of the study abroad that would take place over winter break, and this signals to me that they are committed to having students return to the GAIAS campus. I have saved money all summer in case I am able to go!

In all transparency, there is a fair likelihood that I will be unable to go. Several countries do not accept travelers from the US, and Ecuador could easily become one of them. Juniata has not canceled spring study abroad programs, but they may choose to. I should have more information from the department in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, I am on campus at Juniata and taking classes in person—with careful sanitation and constant mask-wearing.

I’m hoping for a safe semester!
Gillian