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CULTURAL PREPARATION

  • Participate in the required SLPs in Ecuador Program orientation in April

  • Participate in the small group cultural discussions via Zoom

  • Talk to students who have studied in Ecuador

  • Read about Ecuador's culture, economy, politics, and environment 

  • Keep up with current events in both Ecuador and the United States. You may frequently be asked questions about political events in the U.S and it is always nice to know something about the day-to-day political and socio-economic situations of your Ecuadorean hosts.

  • Try meeting with Ecuadorian students and seek their advice on “do‘s and don‘ts” while in Ecuador.  

  • Join a Latin American Student Association or International Student Association at your local university or in the community to meet international students



LANGUAGE PREPARATION

Continue to improve your Spanish language skills now.  It is a good idea to become as proficient in Spanish as possible before your departure.  The course work you take, review you do individually, or conversational practice you achieve will make it possible for you to jump right into Spanish-speaking sites.  It is up to you to seek conversation groups and as many ways to strengthen your Spanish before going as is possible.  Since there are plenty of native Spanish speakers in many parts of the country, take the opportunity to get to know some of these people and to practice your Spanish.  The conversation practice you invest in now will be worth it later!

 

Another good idea to start listening to music in Spanish and watching films in Spanish with Spanish subtitles.  

 

The PSU Speech and Hearing Sciences Department has some Spanish language podcasts with speech-language pathology topics.  We encourage you to listen and practice speaking with these!  Find them on the website https://sites.google.com/pdx.edu/multicsd/resources/spanish-english-bilingual-podcasts

IMMUNIZATIONS

There are a number of immunizations recommended for travel to Ecuador.  See your doctor very soon to allow time for immunizations to take effect. Some take up to 6 weeks to be effective. The CDC recommends the following vaccines for Ecuador (as appropriate for age):

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Required immunizations: 

 

  • Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG) 

  • Typhoid

  • Covid vaccine.  Including booster shots.  Bring proof of your vaccines in the form of a printed card.  It is also a good idea to have your proof of vaccination on your phone.

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Recommended immunizations: 

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  • Hepatitis B is recommended if you might be exposed to blood (for example, health-care workers), have sexual contact with the local population, stay over six months in the region, or be exposed through medical treatment. It's unlikely you'll need this vaccine (you won't for your clinical placements). 

  • Rabies is recommended if you might be exposed to wild or domestic animals.  Street dogs are common when walking in Quito (and elsewhere) and it is doubtful that they have been inoculated against rabies.  It can be quite expensive to have the shots against rabies if a dog bites you while in Ecuador. Again, this is precautionary from the CDC; in general, participants in our program don't choose to get this immunization.

  • Yellow fever is recommended for students making trips to the coast and/or traveling into the Amazon jungle. As a group we will not be in regions where you are at risk for yellow fever; however, if you plan to travel further on your own, you might want to consider getting a yellow fever vaccine.

  • As needed, booster doses for Tetanus-Diphtheria and Measles.

  • Polio is recommended if you are under the age of 21 and due for a polio shot, it is recommended that you check with your physician.

  • Malaria is recommended If you will travel extensively on the coast or in the jungle, it is recommended that your physician or health center provide you with malaria medication.  Note that as a group we'll be going to the mouth of the jungle so we won't be in a malarial region.

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Notes about Malaria: 

Even though Quito is above the malaria zone in altitude, you should also plan to take precautions against that disease if you plan to travel to the lowlands in either the direction of the coast, or in to the Amazon basin. You can purchase anti-malarial medicine in the States or in Ecuador. If your insurance doesn't cover medication, you might want to wait and buy it in Quito because it's generally cheaper and just as safe. There are two types of malaria pills: mephloquine and chloroquine. The main differences between the two are that (a) there are mosquitoes that are immune to chloroquine; however, (b) mephloquine is stronger and harder on your system. Many students eventually travel through malarial zones during their stay in South America.

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Notes about Zika: 

Zika virus information on Ecuador is found here:  http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/alert/zika-virus-ecuador

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Notes about Yellow Fever:

The yellow fever immunization is required by the Ecuadorean goverment if you are traveling to the Amazon jungle (further in than we will go as a group). You will not need this immunization for program travel but will if you plan to do further travel in the Amazonian region. Local authorities will not permit you to enter the region without it.  According to the CDC web page, there is no risk in the cities of Guayaquil and Quito, the central highland tourist areas, or the Galápagos Islands. However, there is a risk in all areas at altitudes of less than 1,500 m (4,921 ft). Therefore, a yellow fever vaccine is also recommended for those students who plan on traveling to the coast. Cholera is present in remote parts of Ecuador and there are cholera shots available. However, most doctors do not recommend them because they are only about 50% effective and give one a false sense of security. More highly recommended are in-country precautions such as boiling water, peeling fruit, etc.

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Other information: 

If you plan to travel to other countries while in Ecuador, please call your personal physician or your local county health official to get an up-date on these immunization requirements. Talking with your physician before you leave the States is important because inoculation requirements change frequently. You can also check the Center for Disease Control website

(www.cdc.gov/travel/), which has up-to-date immunization information for all countries.

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An International Health Certificate is a handy way to record immunizations, and can be obtained from most county health agents or from some passport offices.

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