Studying abroad, help me out

I am a spanish major at an in-state university. my great grandmother left me and my little bro each a sizeable amount of money in our college funds. since I am paying in-state tuition, i have a lot of it left over to use as I please. i have decided to study abroad. i
n the summer of 2006 spent a month in Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain with an immersion program offered through my high school. I studied spanish there, lived with a host family, went to all the great cities of Spain.
my college offers trips all around the world. since I already went to Spain, I have chosen Ecuador as my next destination.
Here's the rub: There are two sessions being offered. a) the winter intersession over winter break that is only a month long.
b)the fall/spring session that is a full semester long.

I like option a) because it is during winter break. I am the president and secretary of two club organizations that I have an obligation to and also a radio show. so going during the winter break would mean I get to avoid abandoning my clubs. it offers 3 and 400 level classes which I am entering.
I do NOT like option a) because it's only a month long and i really dislike the program director that was chosen to lead the trip.

i like option b) because it is a full semester class and is lead by one of my favorite teachers. it is also when one of my good friends is going to ecuador as well.
I do NOT like option b) because it will be during school and I would have to abandon my club and radio obligations to go. it also only offers 300 level classes.

so, what i need help with there is deciding which trip to attend. the deadline for intersession aplication is October 12, so I dont have all the time to decide. so which would you guys chose? I am proficient in spanish and I have a goodly dose of wanderlust. any tips or stories about ecuador and studyng abroad for a semester would be greatly appreciated.
help me out guys, which would ypou choose?

I'd choose B.

You'll have longer exposure in a semester-long class to the country you'll visit, the language you're studying and want to learn even better. You like and respect the teacher and will have a built-in friend. And while temporarily--or even possibly permanently--relinquishing duties to your clubs and your radio obligation may seem like reason to hesitate now, in the scheme of your life plan, it's the learning experience, the longer language exposure, and the fun of that extended time in Ecuador that you're more likely to get long-lasting life value out of.

Comparing my travel experiences during college, including an immersion semester at the University of Valladolid, with my club duties is, in retrospect, no contest. It was the time I spent out of the normal college groove that taught me the most. You will get other opportunities to serve as club officers in college and throughout your life if you want them (which, if you're like me as you get older, you will not). You'll get other opportunities to travel, too, but none as custom-suited to teach you something significant and widen your current horizons as a whole semester in Ecuador.

Those are my dos centavos. Enjoy the Incans, the art, the altitude, and the receiving at every meal of rice and potatoes on the same plate, sometimes accompanying fried guinea pig. . . .

de gracias a dios para Birdgirl.

okay so here is what i have come up with: well i called my ma the other day and she is pushing for me to do BOTH. i can afford to do both, but i am not sure if that is what i really want to do. i want to go ASAP. so i will sign up for the intersession trip first and talk with my professors and such and decide once the deadline approaches. right now it's looking like i will do both. it might have an adverse effect on my studies this yesr, i am in the spanish laureate program which grants me a small scholarship if i retain my spanish major and get at least a 3.0 so i have that obligation as well. i just don't know right now. i need some more responses

all i want to say is best of luck Bizzle:thumbsup:

Heck, I didn't know the options included the possibility of doing both. Your mom sounds like my kind of mom. If you can do both, go for it!

We need some more academically and travel-inclined people to chime in here. Oneironaut. PSteve. FBR. The folks out there who believe in broadening horizons and opening minds. . . .

One of the most important things is to go with someone who you'd be receptive to learn from, and like their plan of the trip.

I'd go with B. I think you'll get much more out of it.

so maybe ill go for the intersession this year and get all my general education requirements out of the way then go for a semester in Junior year. que piensan ustedes?