Hi! My name is Elizabeth Anne, and I am a third year ISS major. I was born and raised in Ecuador; however, my family is a bundle of different cultures. My dad is German, but raised in Ecuador, and my mom is half American, half Ecuadorian. My first language was “Spanglish”, because I neither fully spoke English or Spanish as a kid. Growing up, I had a blast of experiences due to this, which today I am very thankful for. We had German Christmases and American Thanksgivings, but also we celebrated the national typical Ecuadorean traditions, which gave our home a very spicy atmosphere.

I have a younger sister, Johanna and a younger brother, Phillip, whom I used to consider my best “Christmas gift” as a child. I loooooved playing with him, and soon many little cousins came, all thirteen of them (yes, big family!). Years later I became babysitting central for my massive family, and since then my love for kids never has ended, (I even volunteer at the Jacobs Kindergarten!).

Growing up in Latin America is a unique and wonderful experience. I went to an American school, but most of my friends and schoolmates were Ecuadoreans. I lived in Quito, the capital city that is located 2,700 meters above sea level. It is said that one can “reach the sky” there, because the stars seem so close! Because we are on the Andes surrounded by mountains I loved to go hiking with my family. The tallest mountain I “crowned”, slang for getting to the top, was Chimborazo, a 6,000 meter mountain. It was one of the most fascinating experiences of my life!

I love adventure, camping, and adrenaline. I went to survival camps during the summer, and did crazy things with my sister on holidays. Two years ago I did sky diving, which was awesome! I have also done bungee jumping, and rappelling, water rafting and all sorts of crazy fun stuff. My country is rich in biodiversity, fruits, and vegetables, animals and the people are simply beautiful, inside and out. The diversity is in everything and it’s just fantastic! So many different people, and beyond everything the nature is overwhelming. Ecuador has the Andes, the pacific coast, the Amazon forest and the Galapagos Islands, an assortment of life’ most beautiful gifts.

However, growing up in Ecuador also opened my eyes to many issues. It is a poor country in terms of economics. The poverty level is very big, and the economic and social gap is quite wide. Living within this causes a lot of uncertainty, violence and crime. I was not allowed to use public transportation for example, and did not have as many liberties as I later found here in Germany. This experience has definitely given me an insider’s perspective on how the world really is, and has encouraged me to find solutions and help fight this.

Moving to Germany was an interesting experience. I did not have a huge culture shock, given that I had come here before to visit family, however, living here and going about on a daily basis was quite different. Things simply function different here. I remember my first year, I walked into my room and my roommate was there, (who later became one of my best friends). As it is custom in Latin America I jumped in to greet her and her family with a kiss, and to my surprise, got a funny reaction from them,… hmmm I wonder why? It is funny when we talk about it now, but little things like that are what have made me realize how different these two cultures I belong to are, but how much fun it is to try to combine both of my little worlds! My experience in Germany and at Jacobs has been fun, most definitely entertaining (I seem to be the source of amusement for people with my life’s little stories), and enriching. I have enjoyed each step of the way, and have created beautiful memories and friendships (especially in Mercator).