I began this journal to tell people about what I've been up to while out of the country. Now I'm back in the U.S. and I don't see the point of telling people of my adventures of unemployment and indecision... also the title of my journal doesn't work anymore since I'm not in Quito. I'm considering deleting this journal, so this may be my last entry ( Read more... )

Last weekend was Rock al Parque in Bogotá, which turned out a great success despite the rain and hail we had on Saturday and Sunday, turning the ground into a swampy mess. (It certainly didn’t help my shoes or the nasty cold I’ve had two months now.) We had lots of volunteers to help us collect signatures, so I just had to supervise. This doesn’t ( Read more... )

Last month I was involved in an independent music festival in Quito where UNIFEM and other UN agencies were present all weekend in order to raise awareness about human rights, HIV/AIDS, human trafficking, and Violence against Women. Since this proved to be a successful method to reach youth, our director has approved the participation in another ( Read more... )

Two weeks ago I changed apartments, and then last week I moved yet again, this time to a house that I share with two other people. My old apartment didn’t work out because the owner wanted to sell and we were inconvenient obstacles, so, with the help of a lawyer she kicked us out on the basis that the contract holders were subletting to a third ( Read more... )

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My time here in Ecuador is running out week by week and it seems like December 22nd is coming way too fast, although it’s only August. But I almost feel like I live here now and I partly belong in a strange way, even though I still don’t know the majority of the country. I dream in Spanish and talk to myself in Spanish about half of the time and ( Read more... )

 
Things are going well over here. I haven’t been attacked again, and work is going well. The other week La Liga became champions of America, so everyone in Quito was overwhelmed with happiness. Plus Ingrid Betancourt was rescued from the FARC, so it’s just been a great beginning for the month of July!

I had people from work over to my house for ( Read more... )

Last week an exciting thing happened - Colombia played Ecuador in Quito! Wait, that isn’t the exciting part. You see, due to the possible obstruction of traffic and rowdy sports fans roaming the streets of Quito, UNDP (that is the UN Development Program) sent all non-essential personnel home at 3:00 p.m. to avoid “security problems”. Basically the ( Read more... )

I suddenly got really busy at work. I'm organizing 16 events in 3 different cities for the promotion of our campaign "Say no to violence against women", just between me and one other coworker. I have to call a lot of people on the phone (which makes me nervous) and constantly pester people to get back to me. Plus, the rest of the area is busy  ( Read more... )

I havn't been writing very interesting updates recently. My life isn't chock full of excitement. Then only noteworthy thing I have to say is that I have new house plants. Also, I'm looking for contemporary dance classes with Ester (who is a much more talented dancer than me). Work is busy at times and not at others. This week our area has been ( Read more... )