Communities

Ecuador is a small country located in the northwestern coast of South America. Although Guayaquil is not the country’s capital, is the largest and most populated city in Ecuador. The city is located in the Pacific coast, and has a warm-humid climate throughout the entire year.

 There are public and private schools in the city, where children start pre-school when they are 3 years old, elementary when they are 6, and elementary and high school, which are unified, when they are 12 years old. The school year starts in May, and ends in February. Unlike other countries, it is usual for university students to live in their childhood home with their parents until they marry.

There are many children that don't have any access to education due to lack of funds, or living in distant locations. People living in rural areas work in agriculture and cattle, while people in the city work on office functions.

 The city has a high population of young people, where the majority is Christian Catholic. Families have an average of 3 children, and they tend to be really conservative. Citizens are really friendly, welcoming and hardworking.They usually live with their families, often with uncles and grandparents, which is really common in our community. 

Overall, Guayaquil is a beautiful city, with unique cultures, a lot of places to visit, things to do, and most important of all, pretty nice and fun people. 

Talking from experience, school life is actually really fun given the circumstances. I am in an only-girls school, where the teachers are also only-women. The school has a tendency towards the Cristian Catholic religion, which is why it has a chapel where an optional daily mass is held for the students. Unlike other countries, say USA, we can't choose our classes. Meaning that each one of us have a given classroom, where we have to stay the whole day and the teachers are the ones who have to change classrooms depending on the subject they teach. 

The relationship of the students with the teachers is really respectful, though we call the teachers by their first name, instead of the typical 'Miss' or 'Mrs.' 

Being a senior, as a tradition of the school, we get to design a hoodie that will be used by the entire senior class. The hoodie can be the color that we please, and each one of them has the name or nickname of the owner in the back; while in the front it says the number of our class (in Roman numbers) and the year that we graduate.

Some might say that being in an only-girls school is pretty boring, but I say it's just the opposite (You can't do or say everything you want when there are boys present). Of course we hang out with guys after school and in the weekends, we actually have dance parties, pool parties or go to clubs (since the legal age here is 18+)  that usually start at 11pm to 2:30-3:00 am. And they are just SO much fun!



 Andrea
 Guayaquil
 Ecuador