Learning about and participating with other cultures is always an eye opening experience that can change one’s personal outlook on life and the world, give light to other perspectives and enhances one’s appreciation of cultural similarities and differences. These experiences can sometimes leave you rolling with laughter, feeling frustrated, lost, appreciative, speechless and amazed all at the same time. Here are some noteworthy aspects/experiences of Galapagean life I have noticed and hope that I always remember.... • ya mismo can signify right now or sometime next week [View Full Entry]

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Hello familia and friends! Finally, the blog post you´ve been waiting for. Last time I wrote from Ecuador, I said I´d fill you in on Vilcabamba and Cuenca. Suffice it to say, Vilcabamba is so beautiful and relaxing. I really enjoyed my time there. I hope the pictures do it justice. As for my trip to Cuenca, it was such a treat to visit my grad school friend, Tammy. My time with her was so rewarding and spiritually enriching. I wish I could see her more often. (BTW, as I type this, I am in the home of Tammy´s friend, Glen [View Full Entry]

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Åååh nej jeg er da kommet frygtelig bagud med blog-skrivningen. Nå jeg vil lige hurtigt fortælle hvad jeg lavede i min 2. weekend i Ecuador - dvs. for ca 10 dage siden. Lørdag d. 10 oktober Lørdag var det tidligt op på trods af byturen dagen inden og afsted til Otavalo. June min overivrige og glade japansk-canadianske værelseskammerat havde en hel lille kuffert med - delvist fordi hun ikke vidste hvordan været ville blive og derfor havde en masse tøj med, delvist fordi hun regnede med at gå shop-amok på lørdagsmarkedet i Otavalo. Susanna havde lidt mave-problemer men det gik hel [View Full Entry]

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Ugen den 12.-16. gik frygtelig hurtigt da jeg alle dage havde timer om morgenen og arbejde om aftenen... Mandag morgen begyndte jeg på spanskskole. Inden timerne var jeg lige forbi en lille butik og købe lidt morgenmad. Der var ikke særlig mange elever på skolen. De elever som havde time om formiddagen var: Stefani (hollandsk pige som var i min klasse), et hollandsk par, Josey (hollandsk pige) og Eden (tysk pige). Min lærerinde var Jimena en rigtig sød ecuadoriansk dame som var rigtig interesseret i at høre mere om mit liv og mine ecuadorianske venner. I løbet af ugen gennemgik vi [View Full Entry]

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Islas De Galapagoas, Isla Hispañola, 11-10-1990. I spit out a big blob of red colored pleghm, the taste of metalic blood foremost in my mouth while my body is trembling, big spasms of muscle cramps rippling through my shivering body. I am covered with the red earth I am lying on, my pinkish flesh shining through the rivers left on my skin by heavily perspiring pores... I am learning a lesson here and surrounded by a crowd of locals it is humiliating, the cops who have become my friends these last few weeks, dressed in their tight-fitting brown police uniforms daring [View Full Entry]

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Um, hi mom and dad, dont freak out but I need to go by boat from Colombia to Panama : P need to get to costa rica... Hmm...so does anyone know how to go by boat from Colombia to Panama the ¨Cheap way¨, ie no sail boats please?? Any info would help. Pura Vida... [View Full Entry]

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Hello everybody! I am so sorry I haven’t written anything in decades, but I am just extremly busy here. All in all things have been great so far. I am getting along well with the guy I am living with and I am still going to burn in hell. I haven’t been sick at all (just a little back pain from bending down on the farm all the time) and the food is okay (well, self-made hot chocolate is freaking awesome). The kids at school are giving me a pretty hard time, but I am slowly, slowly learning to cope with [View Full Entry]

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We had anticipated Otavalo for a while as it is known in South America to be one of the best hand crafted markets. We were in for a surprise when once again we got lost and mistook the local market for the hand crafted market. The local market was filled with fruits, vegetables, and meat. We are not talking your average butcher shop meats they had pig carcasses hanging, pig heads on plates, and chickens. All the meat was out in the warm heat and giving off a stench and on top of that there were dogs walking around giving everything [View Full Entry]

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Last night I went out to dinner with the Nishimuras and the Descours. We took two cabs to a restaurant our local guide (Edison) had recommended. It was a seafood place called Mare Nostrum. Dinner for the 5 of us, including wine and desserts was 111 dollars. The good thing in Ecuador is that they use the US dollar as their currency, so it's easy to pay for things. I had grilled salmon and it was really yummy. We again had to take 2 cabs back to the hotel, and Diane and Yoshi and I stayed in the hotel bar and [View Full Entry]

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Zumba es la cabecera cantonal de Chinchipe, la tierra de la chonta y la guayusa. El río Mayo Chinchipe atraviesa el cantón de norte a sur. En este lugar se descubrio la cultura MAYO - CHINCHIPE DE HACE 5000 AÑOS [View Full Entry]

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