Grateful for life and living for life: My experience in Ecuador

Arizona State University School of Sustainability student Chad Sharrard visited Ecuador last summer as part of the Global Sustainability Studies Program, a program within the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives at ASU. While in Ecuador, Sharrard studied cultural aspects of sustainable development in the Andes. Here, he talks about his experience and the impact the trip made.

Why did you choose to study sustainability in Ecuador?
I have never been further south of the border than Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, and I wanted to see the real Latin America. I have a minor in Spanish as well and wanted to use that on this trip. Also the essence of an exotic location such as Ecuador really intrigued me and took my interest. So I did some prior application research and fell in love with Ecuador’s natural beauty and biodiversity.

Students observed Ecuador’s transportation system.

Study abroad trips also allow for fun, challenging life experiences like zip-lining.

Many colors sprinkle across the region.

How did studying abroad enhance your education at ASU?
When you study abroad, you are immersed in the culture and environment along with fellow students that combines to give a sense of realism to your educational experience that a textbook and PowerPoints cannot. You gain a sense of what truly matters in sustainability; why people make their decisions. School of Sustainability majors learn so much about the trivialities around the world and the destruction of the environment back home. However, when you are on site and you see all stakeholders involved—the oil company, natives, mestizos—you understand why choices sometimes fall under the other E’s of sustainability (economy and ethics) and not satisfy the other E: the environment.

What was the greatest surprise to you when you got to Ecuador?
How kind the natives were. The indigenous were some of the most humbling people I have ever witnessed in my life. Grateful for life and living for life—not the dollar, not the “American dream” of consumerism and instant gratification. They saw that family was the meaning of life and enhancing the wellness and happiness of your life without enslaving themselves to the dollar.

How are you using what you learned during your trip in your current life?
Every day I use Ecuador as a motivator to continue to pursue sustainability practices. I learned communication skills—interpersonal and multicultural. I use Ecuador in my life currently to also advocate for others to study abroad and get out of the U.S. and see at least some of the world which we as School of Sustainability majors are so concerned about. I also use Ecuador to remind myself how blessed of a life I have had.

If you could do the trip all over again, would you do anything different? If so, what?
I did every opportunity and I would not do anything different.

Do you want to travel abroad again? If so, where?
Ecuador and Dr. Mary Jane Parmentier inspired me to join the Peace Corps after graduation to teach English as a foreign language outside the U.S. because Ecuador opened my eyes. I can’t lie; I got the travel bug.

What was the greatest life lesson you learned?
Don’t drink the water! About 95 percent of us on the trip got salmonella.

Also, live knowing that the U.S. is not the only place in the world. We are a mere portion of this globe we call home. I am appreciative of what I have and was given. Abroad immersed education is most retainable because you can tie experiences and memories to them.

Photos by Chad Sharrard