My Equatorial Winter Break Externship
Inigo takes you through his unique winter break experience!
Inigo takes you through his unique winter break experience!
Carleton’s Winter Vacation
Two things happen every time the cold months wrap their icy fingers around my neck.
- I immediately want to migrate to a warmer climate (not happening, unfortunately).
- Winter break happens! Yay!
Luckily, I had the opportunity to fulfill the first one this break. During the Fall, I applied to a Carleton-sponsored externship program—short work experiences and shadowing opportunities that Carleton offers during the six-week break. These programs span disciplines from science to art to law to business and are often hosted by Carleton alumni or friends of the college.
My externship was centered around environmental sustainability in the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador. There were a few things that appealed to me about the position: aside from it being in a field that I particularly wanted to explore, it was an experience that sounded crazy on paper—flying to the Amazon, my first time in South America, and working with the Indigenous community of Shandia to help with ecotourism and economic development. They say variety is the spice of life, so I told myself there was no way I would pass up on this opportunity. And I didn’t.

Shandia, Ecuador
We flew into the capital city of Quito—a place which, despite being directly on the equator, is so high up that it often feels uncomfortably cold! The road from Quito twisted down from the mountains and the plants grew more lush as we descended into the jungle on the first day. Here was Shandia, a tiny village located in the Napo province. It’s mainly made up of Kichwa people, the Indigenous group local to the area. The two main spoken languages are Spanish and Kichwa (none of which I knew going into the program, but both of which I eventually learned a few phrases of), and with less than ten percent of the population knowing English, it’s safe to say that my “element” was far away from here.

But I didn’t let my nervousness get in the way of trying new things. My main jobs on site involved presenting a workshop on leveraging ecotourism for economic development, and helping community members build chakras (sort of like eco-friendly tourist lodges). I have to admit, as a softened city boy myself, manual labor is not my strong suit. When we were given machetes to whack through the underbrush and clear a path for the chakras, I handled the tool with all the coordination of a newborn chimpanzee. But the community members didn’t seem too concerned with my lack of prowess, they seemed grateful that we were helping out in any way we could.

The schoolchildren of Shandia were incredibly friendly. Again, my lack of Spanish or Kichwa knowledge worried me from the start—but the children didn’t seem to mind at all, and we ended up playing card games, volleyball, and soccer, becoming quite close despite the language barrier. My two greatest moments of pride were: 1. Demonstrating how to build card towers, and 2. Showing them the only magic trick I know how to pull off, which they thoroughly enjoyed.

The 2 weeks came and went, and I was left with an experience that was unique in its process and intention. From trying new foods like grubs (yes, really) to diving deep into a field I had no previous experience with, it was a welcome disruption to the—let’s face it—oftentimes monotonous six-week break.

Inigo (he/him/his) is trying very hard to turn interests in subjects like film, English, and psychology into a manageable course load. Originally from Somerville, Massachusetts, he can often be found running in the Cowling Arboretum (and getting passed by everyone on the cross-country team) or rock climbing at the bouldering cave in the evening. He loves Carleton’s walkability: it didn’t even matter that he forgot to bring his bike to campus. He considers bad horror movies to be the ultimate form of entertainment.