Imagine waking up to a gorgeous scene every morning on the top of a mountain. This is how Akins junior Stephany Calzado experienced everyday this summer as she traveled around Quito, Ecuador as a member of a program called Amigos de las Américas.

It was Calzado’s first trip with the program, although she has had a mentor with Amigos for about a year. The experience is not a typical hotel stay vacation. She lived with a host family throughout the summer, and got to experience the Ecuadorian culture first hand.

Calzado said she really got to know the people in the community that she stayed in. She appreciated how much the people could openly communicate with each other and how embracive the people would be in the community.

“They were like you know, they cared,” she said. “They weren’t like (people in) America like ‘oh hide your feelings.’ In Ecuador they would be like, ‘it’s okay to show your feelings, it’s alright.’”

Amigos de las Américas is a nonprofit organization that is available across various locations in the United States. The organization offers cultural immersion, Spanish language experience, and leadership training to students interested in visiting countries in Latin America.

Through their website people can find information on sessions nearest to them so that anyone can join Amigos de las Américas from anywhere. Information sessions are a great way for people to learn about their volunteer programs, health and safety requirements, and for when and where their upcoming projects will be.

In Ecuador, Stephanie stayed with a native family for the summer and had the opportunity to experience all sorts of things, participating in agricultural activities such as gathering crops and tending to animals.

Calzado said she treasured the different life style she experienced in Ecuador.

“It was great fun. The lifestyle was really different. I adjusted really well.”

“My experience in Ecuador was surreal. It’s so beautiful, it’s just so gorgeous. Every time I would wake up from bed I would think like “oh my god I’m home,” but I wasn’t and it was just so crazy,” Calzado said. “What I loved about the trip was picking potatoes, milking a cow, and having fun with kids.”