Ouik

I have arrived in Malawi! I know I have been here a while and haven't written, but it’s been packed full of funness, excitement and work since I arrived. I’m sitting now in my house in Area 12 with my roommate Rachel, dog Claire and cat Peanut. It’s a bit odd to think I’m half way across the world when I look around, especially since it gets chilly at night when we’re sitting outside, but venture much past the front door and it’s a whole different place. Lilongwe is a weird city; unlike any other capital I’ve visited. It’s divided into areas, we’re in Area 12, I work in Area 19 and friends in area 10, 43... etc. There are no real high rises and really spread out so it feels very un-city like. Loads of ... read more

Well! Pierre (guy from Peterborough) decided that in his last few weeks in Ecuador that he’d like to climb a volcano. Not one to say no to an adventure, I willingly said sure, let’s do it! So, we asked around for the best volcano to climb, and settled on Imbabura, a mountain just outside of Otavalo, just about 2 hours from Quito. After a usual Friday night of debauchery, we headed, rather late, to Otavalo. The bus picked up its regular assortment of roadside people along the way, of course making it seem like hours to get out of Quito (we were glad we had seats) and arrived to Otavalo around noon or so. Had a bit of an energy lunch, which was no more unusual then just some almuerzos (set lunch), and hopped in ... read more

Here’s to writing things on time!! Salud!! Our fine trip to Río Bamba took place on the 10th and 11th of February. With the anticipation of carnival looming, we decided to take a trip to this town to get out of Quito for a bit, you know sometimes, it’s just necessary. Due to work schedules and the need to plan the trip at the last minute (yes, it was planned Friday night at around 11:30) we left on Saturday morning at about 6:00 ready for adventure. This soon wore off as we all fell asleep on the bus. Río Bamba itself is a small city where there’s not tonnes to see, but nice to go and relax a bit. We checked into our hostel and headed to the Saturday market, famous in the area. The ... read more

Hemmed in by luxuriant green peaks, blessed with steaming thermal baths and adorned by a beautiful waterfall, Baños is one of Ecuador’s most enticing and popular tourist destinations (Lonely Planet Ecuador). I traveled to Baños for the weekend with two of my coworkers, Jehanne a teacher from New Brunswick who arrived in August, and Joanna, one of the centre’s administrators from Ecuador. We had a great time!!! Baños is one of those places that you feel you can do anything, related to adventure sports that is, and it hasn’t become TOO touristy yet, so the landscape is still pretty unspoiled and just spectacular really!! There’s an active volcano nearby, Tungurahua, which erupted last in August 2006. The city is, however, safe since it’s surrounded by a canyon which acts as a moat. We arrived in the ... read more

Hola mi amigos!! Well, I have finally arrived in Quito! I have I been talking about this for far too long it seems and after a lot of hurdles to jump through, I’m getting settled into my job and enjoying the sights and sounds of Ecuador. The trip started off rather in a bad way, however. I was just putting the finishing touches on my packing last Wednesday night, when I decided it would be a good idea to check my email. As it turned out there was an email from the guy who I’ve been in contact here in Ecuador telling me that there has been some sort of horrible misunderstanding and I should cancel my flight and not come. Obviously horrified, I replied to him saying that I was on my way to the ... read more