Before you leave, we strongly recommend that you become more familiar with the following aspects of Ecuador and South America. Not only will you make a good impression as a well-informed person abroad, but, more importantly, you will get so much more out of your program in Ecuador.

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Territory: Covers 104,506 square miles.

 

Topography: Four distinct regions: The Andean highlands; the coastal plains; the Upper Amazon Basin; and the Galapagos Islands, located 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador.

 

Population: Over 13 million inhabitants.

Languages: Spanish is the official language. Many indigenous people, especially those from the Highlands, speak Kichwa. There are 13 other Indian languages spoken in the country.
 

Currency: Ecuador adopted the U.S. dollar as its standard currency in September, 2000.  So all you US money will be accepted in Ecuador.  You will also see Ecuadorean coins that you don't see in the US.  They're still nickels, pennies, and quarters, but you can't use them back in the U.S.

 

Local time: Eastern Standard Time (same as New York or Washington, D.C.). There is no daylight savings time so from March to April Central Standard Time applies.

 

Electricity: 110 volts, 60 cycles AC (same as US).

Banking hours: 9:00am to 4:00pm, Monday through Saturday.