Saludos! I´m writing to you from the beatiful city of Cuenca in the southern sierra of Ecuador. As most of you know, my program has been over for almost 2 weeks, and I had the pleasure of a visit from the family. At first I must say it was very strange to be sitting in my favorite shawarma place drinking Pilsener in the middle of Quito with my family, but at the same time it was so wonderful to see all of them. I´m really happy that they got the chance to expe...

Saludos! I´m sorry it has taken me about a month to fill you all in on my most recent adventures. This month has flown by, and I have so much to tell you! So first off, I took a 10 hour bus ride from Quito to the coastal city of Manta with my friend Gracie, which ended up being incredibly comfortable, entirely safe, and we even stopped for luncha bathroom break. Yay Ecuadorian bus system! ( I assure you that many people have very different experiences, so we...

As we completed our 3rd and final excursion of this program, I decided that the Ecuadorian coast is one of the best places I've ever had the opportunity to visit in my life. We have so far spent the vast majority of our time in the Sierra which tends to be a warm but comfortable climate, the people are nice but quite reserved, and especially here in Quito life is fast-paced (for Ecuador that is) and a little distant. However the coast is very different. First of...

Hello Hello! So we just got back to Quito after a 6 hour long bus ride north west out of the Napo Valley region back to a bearable temperature and insectless (relatively) climate. To say the the rainforest is unlike anywhere I've ever been would be a vast understatement. Everything from the constant humidity to the wild sounds coming from all different directions and the incredible variety of colorful plants that may cure diseases, or indeed cause great illnesse...

So due to the long break between my last two entries, I have another quite substatial one before i venture away for the weekend. After over a week of living the lifestyle of Ecuadorians, instead of being sheltered in a comfortable little Hosteria in a small town, I've started to learn a lot more about the Ecuadorian way of life, and how the culture works here. When you walk around the streets of Los Chillos, a suburb of Quito, there is a fascinating juxtapositio...