Study abroad

This offer of student trips is aimed at University Professors who wish to bring a group of students (maximum 15) for a Spanish immersion experience, or cultural studies, social sciences, etc...

Contact our academic coordinator to organise a trip with students, set dates, budget and more detail

                                                                        Maja Jeranko, ABD at UNC

maja.jeranko@gmail.com

+386 70 199 390

A study abroad experience with our organisation can help you to improve yours Spanish language skills, to have an intercultural experience. You can also learn more about fishing and possible responses to disasters. You will be immersed in the culture of the Ecuadorian coast.

Courses are available in English or Spanish, depending on your level. We offer up to 12 hours of classes per week on these different topics:

• Gender Disparity in Latin America
• Spanish
• Ecuadorian identity and nationality
• Latin American history
• Latin American issues

• Latin American literature and oral tradition

In addition to the courses, we offer accommodation in the library, located in the centre of the village. The library is the heart of the organisation. Living in our village will allow you to experience life on the Ecuadorian coast and to discover a different everyday life.

Courses are organised in the mornings and afternoons, and you will also contribute to community service in the organisation and in the village.

Our professors:

Rut Román, PhD, received her PhD in Latin American Literature from the University of Maryland. She has taught language and literature at American University and the University of Virginia, ULEAM and the University of the Arts. She is a visiting professor of the doctoral cycle in Latin American Literature at the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar. In 2013, she returned to Ecuador as a Prometeo Fellow to support literary research at the Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí. She directed the School of Literature at the Universidad de la Artes in Guayaquil. She is currently the President of the Fundación A mano manaba.

Esteban Ponce Ortiz, PhD, University of Maryland. He has taught Latin American literatures and cultures at the Universities of Virginia (Wise), Maryland (College Park), De las Artes (Guayaquil), Concepción (Chile), Andina and PUCE (Quito), Laica de Manabí (Manta). He has also been a researcher for Proyecto Prometeo - SENESCYT and author of several books and academic articles. Since 2016 he has partially retired from academic life and resides in the community of Don Juan in Jama (Manabí) where he is co-founder of A Mano Manaba and librarian of the Intercultural Centre of the Foundation.

Maja Jeranko, ABD, is a PhD candidate in anthropology at the University of North Carolina. Originally from Slovenia, she began working in Ecuador in 2016 as part of her master's studies, collaborating with a CEPAM centre based in Quito. She earned a master's degree in Latin American Studies at the University of Florida, with a thesis on gender-based violence in Ecuador. In 2018, she began working with A Mano Manaba as part of her doctoral research project, where she is using engaged ethnographic methods to examine how different types of disasters (e.g. earthquakes, floods, COVID-19) and subsequent initiatives (e.g. provision of workshops, housing and other resources) impact long-term reconstruction processes and gender relations in Don Juan.

Requirements :

• Have an intermediate level B1 Spanish.
• Provide a copy of your criminal record.
• Have an agreement with your university.
• Be at least 23 years old.

What is included:

• Room
• Kitchen
• Donation to the organisation
• Transport from the airport to Don Juan

Not included:

• Your own health insurance
• Domestic chores
• Airfare
• Other personal expenses