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Chris + Karina
Aloha, all! Chris and I finished up our schooling in Honolulu, and are now moving to ECUADOR! We are going to be volunteer teaching for a year through a program called WorldTeach (www.worldteach.org). We're so excited for this Ecuadorian Endeavor and will try our best to keep this site updated with pictures and stories of our adventures! TeamPhipps
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Travel Blog Posts
July 12th 2008
Well, we are approaching just one week left in Ecuador. I want to thank you all one more time for being part of this incredible excursion with us--we couldn't have done it with out you. Christopher and I started packing our bags tonight, and will be out of our apartment by the end of the weekend. We will then spend 1-2 days playing tourist in our own city Cuenca, before heading north. We plan to spend our last couple of nights exploring some of the northern cities then returning to Quito for our last goodbye and 6a.m. flight. When we get back to the U.S. we will have a day to debrief in Chicago and then we will jump right into the whirlwind of hellos, goodbyes, and moving. We have just about two weeks in Washington ... read more
July 3rd 2008
So I have told most of you about our time in Quito, our wonderful Christmas experience at the local shelter, and our exciting out of town travel adventures, but now I would like to give you a glimpse into our daily lives here in Cuenca, Ecuador. Today our first alarm went off at 6:15 a.m.—three alarms later Chris is up, out of bed and doing push-ups. I’m still half asleep, grateful to be able to stretch out and go back to whatever dream I was having. All year Christopher has had a 7a.m. class, whereas I don’t start until 1 p.m. After Chris leaves, and I fall back asleep, another alarm doesn’t sound until 8 a.m.—my hour for exercise. Today I did the outdoor aerobics class at Parque de la Madre (“mother park”) which is ... read more
April 9th 2008
Chris and I also went on an amazing tour of Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America. We left early in the morning and took a 30 minute boat ride to Uros, which are man-made floating islands where the Uro Tribe still live. The tribe dates back to pre-Incan times. They wanted to live apart from other people to preserve their culture so they made these floating islands out of reeds and have lived there ever since. There are about 40 of these islands in total and we visited a couple of them and were able to take some real neat pictures and talk with the people who lived there. (They seem to love visitors and all of the kids wanted us to come see their houses--also made from reeds--and they took us on a ... read more
April 9th 2008
Cusco (or Cuzco, it has many different spellings) is a beautiful little tourist spot in central Peru. Chris and I spent a total of about 9 days there and loved it. At times the super "touristiness" of it all was a bit overwhelming, but Chris and I usually tried to get out of the center and walk around the outskirts of town, or hike the hills beyond, which were incredibly beautiful, and much less crowded. Cusco had some really exciting markets, great little restaraunts, fun casinos, and we stayed in a hostal the literally felt like "grandma's house." It was just a tiny house with a few bedrooms and every morning we ate breakfast with the family that owned the place. It was quaint and comfortable. One of our favorite experiences in Cusco was a tour ... read more
April 3rd 2008
Our trip to Peru... We began traveling at 5am Friday February 22nd and finally arrived in Lima, Peru 12pm Saturday, February 23rd (no time change!) The trip was relatively easy and surprisingly comfortable. We took a four hour bus from Cuenca to a town in Ecuador called Machala. The narrow road reminded me so much of the Old Pali Highway in Hawaii. On one side of the road was a huge tropical gulch on the other, rocky mountainside. We drove through deep puddles and mud nearly the whole way there. Once we got to Machala we took a two hour bus to Tumbes, Peru. A man from the bus got off with us at the border to help us take care of all of the passport stamping and customs, got with us on a different bus ... read more
January 12th 2008
After Banos, the four of us traveled over night on three buses and one walk on the beach to arrive in Montanita. Many of the teachers from our program were there and we had a beach party blast for the new year!... read more
January 7th 2008
So this Christmas break wasn´t all work, we definately had time to play as well. After the Christmas Celebration at the shelter, we traveled eight hours by bus and truck bed to Baños de Ambato where we adventured our hearts out. One of the more memorable adventures was our day of canyoning. Yes, tha´t's right, canyoning. We repelled down giant waterfalls and traversed through rivers in wetsuits. It was a blast!... read more
December 25th 2007
MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL! Christmas went amazingly well and we have you all to thank! About 70 children and 30 mothers were present at the Maria Amor Christmas celebration, and miraculously we had a gift for every one of them. I have never seen so many children so happy with just one gift to call their own. The entire staff of the shelter sends their thanks and gratitude. Most of these children have never received a present on Christmas and this day was a true miracle for them. After a beautiful Christmas mass, and the hours of opening and playing with presents, the shelter ivited us to a wonderful Christmas meal (paid for by another donor) that the women had prepared all day for. Chris and I felt so honored to be there spending Christmas with this ... read more
December 24th 2007
Hello Everyone! So it is Christmas Eve and we have never been more filled with Christmas Spirit and Cheer! My brother and Missy arrived to Cuenca on Saturday (Missy's "29th" birthday) and after some Salsa lessons and a night of non-stop dancing, we all became Santa's elves. A miraculous amount of money was raised for the shelter and we have shopping, shopping, shopping for the women, kids, and the Casa. God has blessed every stop we made, and we have been able to negotiate discounts, deliveries and have had friends help us out with transportation. We found nearly everything we needed in a record amount of time. Last night our house transformed into Santa's workshop and we wrapped the night away! Everyone has been so wonderful and helpful and we cannot wait to see the look ... read more
December 12th 2007
Thank you all for the donations that have been coming in. God is really working in this fundraiser! Here are some more photos of the children at Maria Amor. We have been making crafts to decorate the house for Christmas and it looks beautiful!... read more
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