Hello everyone, it's nice to meet you! My name is Daniela Carmona, and I am so excited to share all of my experiences at Ecuador with all of you!
Let me tell you a little about my experiences that have led me to this point. I was born and raised in New York City. Growing up in a Spanish speaking household gave me the ability to take Advanced Placement language courses in high school. At KIPP, which is a school very close to your own school, I studied Spanish for two years. This gave me the ability to develop my Spanish skills. I was constantly learning new vocabulary terms and definitions of what one word could mean in another person's culture. Not only was I able to expand on my skills, but I had an amazing teacher that expressed to us how important it is to travel! Because of this, I became very interested in learning about how words in my native language can mean so many different things in different cultures.
This semester, I chose to study abroad in Cuenca, Ecuador. I chose to study abroad in Ecuador because of an international service trip that became available to me. As a social worker at Siena College, I believe that this opportunity will teach me the importance of volunteering in the community, which will help me gain professional skills needed in order to become a social worker. I'll also have the opportunity of living with a host family abroad.
