Hello friends,

My name is Diana Urry. I used my scholarship to go to Cuenca, Ecuador for spring semester 2023, and I combined it with my social work practicum. Cuenca is in the mountains at 8,400 feet above sea level and roads over the mountains that take you to other cities can get as high as 14,500 feet above sea level. Cuenca is known for its very old and beautiful architecture, especially Catholic churches. The oldest church was built by the Spanish conquistadors in the 1500’s. The church with the domes in this picture took a hundred years to build. The population in Cuenca is 445,000.

This picture was taken on January 14^th of this year. It captures the culture in Cuenca. This is the downtown area and people from all over come to sell fruits, vegetables, and all sorts of crazy things, such as fresh goat’s milk. They line the sidewalks every day to sell, and their prices are very low. In the background is the typical store. You won’t find a Walmart here; most stores are very small, and most people are very poor, with the average income being $450 a month.

I took four years of Spanish at the UM, but I felt like I was starting from scratch when I got to Cuenca because they don’t teach slang and dialect in school. I learned quickly though, and I felt fluent by the time I left. I’m the one in the front and behind me is my social work supervisor. She’s about 4’11 feet tall and that’s typical of Ecuadorians. We worked at a cancer treatment hospital. My job was to give emotional support to patients having surgery or doing chemo treatments. This experience was invaluable to me now that I’m graduated and working as a social worker in Salt Lake City. Spanish comes in very handy here with 22% of the population being Hispanic. I am so grateful for this opportunity that changed me for the better in many ways.