So I have officially been here for one week. It feels both like a lot longer and shorter. I have to say, it went more smoothly thatn I expected. There were a couple brief bouts of homesickness, it's really hard to leave everything you love behind even if it is just for a short while.
Yesterday I successfully got my first Ecuadorian sunburn. It had been rainy most of the week, so I was not wearing as much sunscreen as I should have. Yesterday was really sunny. Definitely putting the the block every morning now. Its just on my neck and upper arms, but its still rather uncomfortable and sort of strange to have during January.
Not a lot else is new. Tired again. This city wears me out. I think I am still adjusting to the altitude a little bit. Also it gets light REALLY early so I wake up at 6 thinking it is 9 and I am late for work...
Alright I think that it is bed time. Hasta Luego.
lunes, 29 de enero de 2007
sábado, 27 de enero de 2007
El Fin de la Semana
Yesterday after work a few of the people from work threw a small welcoming gathering for me and John, the other intern. It was at George's apartment, which is by far one of the nicest apartments I have ever been in. Like marble tiled entrance with an attendant nice. It was really great to be able to get to know a few of the people I work with a bit better. Paula, who is basically my manager, was the funniest. She had brought tequila, and almost as soon as we walked in the door informed us that it was a tequila night. Then we played a ridiculous card game she made up where random cards would mean you had to drink tequila. I got lucky, and only ended up having 2 shots, thank god. The really funny part is she hates tequila, I think she just thought it would be fun? Not sure. She is a very interesting person that is really fun to be around, both at work and out of work, which is rather ideal.
At eleven or so one of the girls who had not been drinking offered to take John and I to a bar for awhile, which was also fun. There is definitely some great people watching at the bars here. She was also nice enough to drive me home, which was much appreciated. The cabs here are generally pretty safe and cheap, but it always feels a lot more comfortable to be getting a ride from someone you know.
Today was a pretty relaxing day. I got up and had some breakfast and watched the movie Shopgirl in the living room. The hostal has a tv, and dvd player and really a pretty large collection of dvds. I think they are all the pirated ones you can get in markets, ah well. Then I decided to go to the mall and see if I could find something to eat for lunch. The mall is only 2 bus stops away, walkable but I was feeling lazy. It is a lot nicer than I expected. It is basically as nice, if not nicer, than most malls in the states. It has lots of designer clothing stores, and even an apple store. There also is a Tony Romas and TGI Fridays, you know traditional Ecuadorian food.
I need to be better about taking pictures. I did take a couple today from my hostel today. The first is the view at night from our roof. It is sort of hard to see anything in it, I will have to take a picture during the day. The other is the view from the window in my room.
At eleven or so one of the girls who had not been drinking offered to take John and I to a bar for awhile, which was also fun. There is definitely some great people watching at the bars here. She was also nice enough to drive me home, which was much appreciated. The cabs here are generally pretty safe and cheap, but it always feels a lot more comfortable to be getting a ride from someone you know.
Today was a pretty relaxing day. I got up and had some breakfast and watched the movie Shopgirl in the living room. The hostal has a tv, and dvd player and really a pretty large collection of dvds. I think they are all the pirated ones you can get in markets, ah well. Then I decided to go to the mall and see if I could find something to eat for lunch. The mall is only 2 bus stops away, walkable but I was feeling lazy. It is a lot nicer than I expected. It is basically as nice, if not nicer, than most malls in the states. It has lots of designer clothing stores, and even an apple store. There also is a Tony Romas and TGI Fridays, you know traditional Ecuadorian food.
I need to be better about taking pictures. I did take a couple today from my hostel today. The first is the view at night from our roof. It is sort of hard to see anything in it, I will have to take a picture during the day. The other is the view from the window in my room.
jueves, 25 de enero de 2007
Hello again. I feel like I have been updating this a lot, this probably won't happen as much in the future.
Today was a really good day. My second day of work went really well. We went over more things about the company, such as its business plan and goals and such. A really neat part about working here is that if there is anything that at all interests us we can help with it. Right now our top priority is getting the book on Peru finished, so I have been doing a lot of research for that. In a couple of weeks I am going to be helping a lot with the design of the book, since no one there has a lot of experience with the program. For lunch the other intern, John, and I went out. Again 2.50 for soup, chicken and rice and some sort of salad and this really good like strawberry icecream and I think cantalope juice. It is sort of strange not knowing exactly what you are eating, but it tastes good and I have not been sick at all.
After work I went searching for a place to buy food. I was told that Maximart was a good place, and it was right on my busride home. It turned out to be this pretty big mall like structure that has anything you could imagine in it. The grocery store actually was rather intimidating it was so large. I got a pretty good amount of stuff for seven bucks. Things are really inexpensive here. The most expensive thing I got was some Prego pasta sauce for 2 dollars.
After the market it began to rain heavily so I got soaked on the way home. It actually feels cold here when it is raining and dark. Once I got home I made my dinner and talked to a few of the girls that live here. They are all really nice. Two are from Portland, and one is from Sweeden. The girls from Portland offered to show me around the city on Saturday, which I am really excited for. I was planning on wandering aimlessly, so it will be nice to have someone who knows where we are going.
Things are going better with each day. I am still a little homesick at times, but I suppose that is normal. Oh and I promise to take some pictures this weekend to post here.
Today was a really good day. My second day of work went really well. We went over more things about the company, such as its business plan and goals and such. A really neat part about working here is that if there is anything that at all interests us we can help with it. Right now our top priority is getting the book on Peru finished, so I have been doing a lot of research for that. In a couple of weeks I am going to be helping a lot with the design of the book, since no one there has a lot of experience with the program. For lunch the other intern, John, and I went out. Again 2.50 for soup, chicken and rice and some sort of salad and this really good like strawberry icecream and I think cantalope juice. It is sort of strange not knowing exactly what you are eating, but it tastes good and I have not been sick at all.
After work I went searching for a place to buy food. I was told that Maximart was a good place, and it was right on my busride home. It turned out to be this pretty big mall like structure that has anything you could imagine in it. The grocery store actually was rather intimidating it was so large. I got a pretty good amount of stuff for seven bucks. Things are really inexpensive here. The most expensive thing I got was some Prego pasta sauce for 2 dollars.
After the market it began to rain heavily so I got soaked on the way home. It actually feels cold here when it is raining and dark. Once I got home I made my dinner and talked to a few of the girls that live here. They are all really nice. Two are from Portland, and one is from Sweeden. The girls from Portland offered to show me around the city on Saturday, which I am really excited for. I was planning on wandering aimlessly, so it will be nice to have someone who knows where we are going.
Things are going better with each day. I am still a little homesick at times, but I suppose that is normal. Oh and I promise to take some pictures this weekend to post here.
miércoles, 24 de enero de 2007
Segundo dia
Last night my new roommate arrived, a boy named Andrew who had stayed here all of Fall Semester then went to visit family in Columbia. He is from the states but his family is all Columbian. It was nice to have someone my age to talk to for awhile, and this kid is rather amusing. He, and two other girls at the hostel, are going to college here in Quito.
Today I got up early to get ready for my first day of work. I was pretty proud of my ability to take the bus, but had accidentally passed the street I needed while walking and ended up walking a lot more than I should have. I finally found the place after about a half hour of walking. It is indeed right next to a pirate ship, which is really strange. Paula (my manager) said she thought it might be a bar or something, it had just been built last year. The building that vivatravelguides is in is quite nice. I met another one of the interns, John, it was his first day as well. He is from near Toronto in Canada. Everyone seems really nice, and really helpful. Nearly all of the people are native english speakers, which was comforting. As much as I would like to be fluent, it is nice to be able to understand everyone. All morning we had orientation, then we went out for lunch. For 2.50 we got a soup, main course of chicken and rice, a dessert, and juice. Not bad. After lunch with Paula we began doing actual work. It looks as though I will spend much of my time researching, writing and fact checking. So far I think I wil really enjoy it. By six today, I was pretty exhausted, but that is probably due to me still adjusting to the altitude and my life here.
I successfully took the bus home without any issues. It only costs a quarter and the ride home only takes 15 minutes or so. I stopped and bought some sort of ramen noodles, not bad but not good. I really need to find an actual market tomorrow. Now I am just relaxing, to be honest the day has left me pretty exhausted.
Tomorrow another day of work, then finding a market probably. Pretty exciting. But yes things are going pretty well so far.
Today I got up early to get ready for my first day of work. I was pretty proud of my ability to take the bus, but had accidentally passed the street I needed while walking and ended up walking a lot more than I should have. I finally found the place after about a half hour of walking. It is indeed right next to a pirate ship, which is really strange. Paula (my manager) said she thought it might be a bar or something, it had just been built last year. The building that vivatravelguides is in is quite nice. I met another one of the interns, John, it was his first day as well. He is from near Toronto in Canada. Everyone seems really nice, and really helpful. Nearly all of the people are native english speakers, which was comforting. As much as I would like to be fluent, it is nice to be able to understand everyone. All morning we had orientation, then we went out for lunch. For 2.50 we got a soup, main course of chicken and rice, a dessert, and juice. Not bad. After lunch with Paula we began doing actual work. It looks as though I will spend much of my time researching, writing and fact checking. So far I think I wil really enjoy it. By six today, I was pretty exhausted, but that is probably due to me still adjusting to the altitude and my life here.
I successfully took the bus home without any issues. It only costs a quarter and the ride home only takes 15 minutes or so. I stopped and bought some sort of ramen noodles, not bad but not good. I really need to find an actual market tomorrow. Now I am just relaxing, to be honest the day has left me pretty exhausted.
Tomorrow another day of work, then finding a market probably. Pretty exciting. But yes things are going pretty well so far.
martes, 23 de enero de 2007
Aqui
Hello everyone:
I felt it would be easier to start a blog about my time in South America rather than emailing everyone all of the time. This way you can read if you want, when you want.
Yesterday went smoothly. I left Minneapolis at 10am and arrived in Atlanta around 1pm. I had a three hour layover which gave me a chance to get some lunch and make a few phone calls. The plane to Quito was not very crowded, so I got a row to myself which was nice. There was some delay getting going (apparantly the water tanks had not been filled) so they played two movies for free during the flight: The Queen and Invinsible. Both decent movies, it gave me something to do on the plane which is always nice. I arrived in Quito at about 10:30 their time, (I found that they are on eastern time here). I was greeted by Mercedes, who is the director of the hostel I am staying at. She assisted me in coming to the hostel, which seems nice. There are three other girls about my age, but I have not really talked to them much yet. Last night I had to share my room, but today I have it to myself and will for about a week. I am not sure if I will stay here, since it might be nicer to be a little closer to work. I am in a more residential area, and will have to take a short bus ride. I will have to see.
Today has been a pretty lazy day. I did not sleep very well last night, mostly just because I am in a new place. This morning I unpacked my things, and then went for a walk and bought some water and food. I accidentally got the water "con gaso" or carbonated, oops. Then I returned home and took a long nap. I think the combo of the altitude and the long trip/stressful last week has left me exhausted.
I am excited to start work tomorrow, I am ready to meet more people and actually do something. I found a map and figured out how to get there, and it should not be too difficult, so that is good. Tonight I think I will just read, maybe watch tv, and hopefully meet some of the other people here.
I hope everyone is doing well, I miss you all already!
I felt it would be easier to start a blog about my time in South America rather than emailing everyone all of the time. This way you can read if you want, when you want.
Yesterday went smoothly. I left Minneapolis at 10am and arrived in Atlanta around 1pm. I had a three hour layover which gave me a chance to get some lunch and make a few phone calls. The plane to Quito was not very crowded, so I got a row to myself which was nice. There was some delay getting going (apparantly the water tanks had not been filled) so they played two movies for free during the flight: The Queen and Invinsible. Both decent movies, it gave me something to do on the plane which is always nice. I arrived in Quito at about 10:30 their time, (I found that they are on eastern time here). I was greeted by Mercedes, who is the director of the hostel I am staying at. She assisted me in coming to the hostel, which seems nice. There are three other girls about my age, but I have not really talked to them much yet. Last night I had to share my room, but today I have it to myself and will for about a week. I am not sure if I will stay here, since it might be nicer to be a little closer to work. I am in a more residential area, and will have to take a short bus ride. I will have to see.
Today has been a pretty lazy day. I did not sleep very well last night, mostly just because I am in a new place. This morning I unpacked my things, and then went for a walk and bought some water and food. I accidentally got the water "con gaso" or carbonated, oops. Then I returned home and took a long nap. I think the combo of the altitude and the long trip/stressful last week has left me exhausted.
I am excited to start work tomorrow, I am ready to meet more people and actually do something. I found a map and figured out how to get there, and it should not be too difficult, so that is good. Tonight I think I will just read, maybe watch tv, and hopefully meet some of the other people here.
I hope everyone is doing well, I miss you all already!
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