Trip options and costs for family members and friends here

Listen to NPR's recent broadcasts about insects in the Ecuadorian rainforest here

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Imagine: afternoon rains, the calls of macaws and toucans, and glimpses of caymani, capybara,
jaguars, howler monkeys, and tapirs. This summer, faculty members of the Bilingual Education
Program and dual language teachers from Chicago Public Schools will travel to Ecuador to visit
the Amazonian region of el Oriente, the Andean highlands, and the colonial city of Cuenca, Ecuador.

    The dual language teachers will be studying the peoples and biodiversity of Ecuador and writing
curriculum based on their experiences and learning. The Ecuadorian host institution, el Centro de Estudios Interamericanos, located in Cuenca, will partner with the Bilingual Education Program’s global learning
initiative to provide lectures, field trips and cultural experiences. Participants in this program will be
able to learn from internationally-known anthropologists, biologists, political scientists and writers.
The Chicago elementary school teachers’ travel will be funded by the Bilingual Education Program.

    In addition to traveling up the Napo River and into Huaorani territory, the teachers will spend time
in the highlands of the Andes, studying geology, Inca history and architecture, Quechua language and the indigenous cultures of the Andes, including the peoples of Saraguro, Otavalo and Cañar. Participants
will also experience daily life in Cuenca through homestays with Ecuadorian families. Teachers will gain first-hand knowledge of current Ecuadorian and Latin American concerns, including political currents
in the region, education, migration, international trade agreements and the effects of the oil industry on
health and the economy.

    The Chicago teachers will participate in service work by teaching in a rural community and assisting
with local Peace Corps projects. The faculty of the Bilingual Education Program will also work with
Ecuadorian teachers and schools to create partnerships for curriculum sharing and, in the future,
student and teacher exchanges between Ecuador schools and Chicago State University.