Exactly one month ago I started feeling strange. I was feeling sick every few days and missing work a couple of days each week. I suddenly turned into a hypocondriac, worrying that I had some strange tropical illness or parasite. (I was frightened enough to go to the hospital to have my blood tested for malaria and dengue) It turned out I had ( Read more... )

This Saturday I went to a circus company for trapeze lessons with my friend from work, Ester from Galicia. I didn’t get to hang from the trapeze right away though, but I did get to climb up to the ceiling on a long piece of silk like they do in Cirque Du Soleil. It takes a ton of strength, but I hope I’ll be able to learn some cool moves with ( Read more... )

Hi! I thought I would finish telling about what I did on my vacation…since that was over two weeks ago. After returning from the coast I went with a friend of mine, Mazy from the U.S., to visit the central highlands. We weren’t sure exactly what we were going to do when we set off. First we went to Riobamba with the plan to take a train from there ( Read more... )

Recently I took my first vacation period, so I finally had the chance to do some traveling around Ecuador.

First I went to the coast for a few days with my new coworker, Esther, who just arrived in UNIFEM a few weeks ago. The beach we stayed at was called Muisne, a little island separated from the mainland by a small channel. We were there ( Read more... )

After being here for almost two months, these are some of the observations that I’ve made about Ecuadorian life/customs.

-          Although I’m about a head taller than most people, I’m still consistently called “niña” (little girl). However, once a stranger at the photocopy place called me “reina” (queen)…which sounded pretty strange to me, no? ( Read more... )

I don’t have much of an update to give. For the past two weeks I’ve been sick with a cold, and then I got parasites in my intestinal system or something lovely like that. So I have been feeling a little off and haven’t been going out or having fun all that much. I suppose life can’t always be wonderful or else it wouldn’t quite be life, would it?

I ( Read more... )

On Saturday a friend and I visited las termas de Papallacta (hot springs), which are about two hours outside of Quito. This had been recommended to me by a couple of travelers I met at the Secret Garden, Ryan and Elise. It was really great once we got there and found the hottest pool. Total relaxation. Surrounded by green mountains, with a view of ( Read more... )

What a day, what a day! Yesterday I went to the ministry of government to register myself as a foriegner with a volunteer visa, since it´s required to do so within the first 30 days in the country. I had all the paperwork and my passport in an envelope to be turned in, but when I got there and opened it MY PASSPORT HAD DISSAPPEARED. I know I put it ( Read more... )

 
Okay, so I think I left off at last weekend right before I went away to Mindo for Carnaval. We wound up staying at a hostel run by a guy from Oregon, who graduated from the same university as me. Small world, huh? Anyways, to be truthful, I thought my experience in Mindo could have been better. I guess because we were traveling with a three year ( Read more... )

Hey everyone! It’s Sunday morning and all grey outside my window, so there aren’t many prospects for sight seeing today. It’s a pity, yesterday was absolutely beautiful but I spent the day in Quito. Still, I enjoyed the weather and walked around the city, going to outdoor markets (I found an Ecuadorian natural foods store!! Cool!! And I bought a ( Read more... )