The Differences of life from Ecuador to Trinity University

There has been a very big change in the ambience of my life. Coming from such a small city as Quito where you could walk anywhere you wanted to go, or take a taxi that isn’t too expensive and you can be anywhere you need or want. The nightlife is where I can feel the biggest difference between home and Trinity University. A typical Friday after school back home is one of the things you look forward to the most. You’re done with classes and as soon as you’re ready with your friends you leave school either walking or in a friend’s car and go eat someplace. One of the favorites is a Mexican restaurant about a Km away from our school; however, there are many options for the many tastes. After eating you usually go to someone’s house and just hang out as friends. Then the nightlife arrives and you get changed, all dressed-up and ready to party. You go into a certain spot in the city where you have everything you need from bars to clubs and hopping from one to the other is really easy. Then when you are done you can look back and say that it was a nice Friday.

That has changed since I got to Trinity University. One of the biggest shocks is the Friday afternoons. Classes are over but there is no gathering and leaving of campus. A big majority of students even turn to do their homework after they are done for the day. Many times I join them since there is no point in wandering alone around San Antonio. Then when we finally get together and everyone is ready to go out the options of where to go are very limited. It is either a frat party which are not always the funniest place to be, or you go to a club but the fee to get in is really expensive because we are under 21. Bars are out of the question since we are not legal in the United States to be able to drink. Even though this change of lifestyle has been shocking and sometimes even frustrating, I am getting used to the way of life in the U.S and as time goes by I have more fun everyday.

My Family Away from Home

There is no replacement for family. Those who share your last name, but more important is the continuously support they provide me all throughout my life. However, since I have been at Trinity University I have found that you can have a family away from home. My friends from back home everyday become more family than ever, but the friends I have been making here have become part of my family as well. Friends who always welcome you in their dorm, who come to lunch or dinner with you, even if they have already eaten. My family is ever growing into a much bigger and interesting family. I say interesting because I now have family all over the world, including all over the United States. My new friends include nationalities such as: Pakistani, Colombian, Turkish, Indian, Danish, Bolivian, Mexican, and many more. When I think about this I feel as if I could travel the world and always have a place to stay. The feeling of creating a new family is only one of the many reason that are helping me adjust to life abroad, life at Trinity. To have a new family does not mean that my old family is not as important. On the other hand, the bonds between me and my family and friends have only gotten stronger because of the distance between us. My new family has helped make the adaptation to this new life even easier than my old family did since the beginning.

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The New View

Since arriving at Trinity University of the things that has really changed for me was the view. The city of San Antonio is completely different from what I had back home in Quito. The new view was impressive at first, big open spaces and as you go through the highway you see on both sides how there is so much space around San Antonio. Then downtown is more of a city, a place with tall buildings and color everywhere. The river walk just gives a special color to the city that makes you feel welcomed as you walk among the many restaurants that light up the walk along the river. However, all this lights and buildings do not compare to Quito. The city surrounded by volcanoes in the middle of the Andes, the city of mixture between the local culture and the Spanish conquistadors. As you move through the city you have all the views you could want. The old part, which are all the churches and the center of the city, and the new part, all the buildings that keep appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the night, continually mix together as they create the city. The view of the city is incredible and what I miss the most is just the ability to look into the past through the architecture of the city. For example, the cities basilica stands on the mountain and is just impressive as you can see it from most places in the city. It lights up in the night showing the connection from past to present as it holds the country’s history. The closeness of everything in Quito, how you can cross the city in minutes, is something I really miss here in San Antonio, where going anywhere takes minutes and knowing the whole city will take a lot of time. Even though San Antonio is my new home it will take a while for me to really feel as comfortable as I do in Quito. Getting use to the bigger city will take some time but since I have been here knowing around is becoming easier and getting farther is less challenging every time.