![[Panorama of the Rockies, taken at Rocky Mountain National Park]](http://thunderingcaribou.net/smp/photos/rockies_panorama.jpg)
![[Soren and his dog, Frida, at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado]](http://www.newworldcultures.com/nwc/photos/smp_rmnp.jpg)
I am a bilingual (Spanish/English) education abroad professional and applied anthropologist with academic interests in the human geography and cultural anthropology of Latin America (particularly the southern Andean region of Ecuador). As an undergraduate at Augustana College, I discovered Geography and realized a lifelong dream to study abroad by participating in the 1991 Latin American Fall Quarter, which introduced me to Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Argentina and Chile (during a week off, I also traveled to Uruguay and Brazil). The following summer, I headed back to Cuenca, Ecuador, where I lived for a year with a host family, studied Spanish and completed an internship at a regional development agency. I returned home with a new understanding of the world--and a job in education abroad. I now have over a decade of professional experience in international education, including service to schools in Illinois, Kentucky, New York and Ecuador. A few years ago, I discovered Anthropology and headed off to graduate school at the University of Denver (DU), where I completed a Master of Arts in Anthropology (Ethnology track).
My master's thesis, El Otro Lado: Considering the Impact of Education Abroad on Host Families in Cuenca, Ecuador, may be downloaded in parts or as a single PDF.
Association of Academic Programs in Latin America & the Caribbean (AAPLAC)
AAPLAC is a small organization of study abroad advisors and directors who work with programs in Latin America. I am the organization's webmaster and have been since I created the first AAPLAC web page back in 1997.
The Francis and Louise Hutchins Center for International Education
I am the Education Abroad Adviser in The Francis and Louise Hutchins Center for International Education at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. I also serve as adviser to the Hispanic Student Association and as a delegate on the General Faculty Assembly.
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
NAFSA is a global organization of international educators. I am the Kentucky State Representative (2007-2008) on the NAFSA Region VI team (Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio) and the Membership Coordinator (2006-2008) for NAFSA's Latin American and Caribbean SIG.
Thundering Caribou
The Peterson family website.