I've made to Quito safe and sound. In the past week I had my first set of Spanish classes (and realized how much I'd lost), made it to the famous Beatles bar (aka Strawberry Fields), and battled my first "gripe" (flu). All in all, a pretty busy first week, although we are not done yet. Tonight we (all the new PDs and a couple of the old ones) are going to see Harry Potter! Yes! I don't know if there is a more American thing to do than that (except maybe talking loudly and complaining about how bad Ecuadorian food is [which it is]).
I hope to post more soon, but as my battery is dying and I'm supposed to meet up with to walk around the old city, I'm going to have to leave you with this short message.
Best,
mike
Friday, July 17, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Layover
I am currently in the Bogota airport, sitting at a computer terminal. This is an update for those who may be wondering about my travels to Quito (Mom, Dad). Before I tell you too much about what is going on here, I wanted to bring you up to speed with what I have been doing the past week.
Tuesday morning, after running through the baggage check and security, I caught a plane to Miami to meet the rest of my group for a three-day training. The other PDs trickelled in throughout the day, and we took the evening to begin to get to know one another. On Wednesday, we had a formal introduction to the organization, learning about its foundation pillars and meeting the executive director and a board member. Then Thursday, the real for for the Ecuadorian PDs began. Unlike Nicaragua, Ecuador requires volunteers to have a visa before they enter the country. To do this, we had to go the Ecuadorian Counselet, in Miami. There we learned that we did no have the proper background checks: for some reason we needed Florida checks, even though nobody is originally from Florida. The difficult part is that the only way to get a Florida police records check is to be a Florida resident. After much driving, calling, and the great pursuasive skills of Mark (the country director), the woman at the counselet caved, and accepted the checks from our home states, telling us to come back tomorrow at 9:30 to sign for everything. We did this today, breathed signs of relief and headed to Miami International Airport to catch our flights.
Waiting in airports has never been a top to-do of mine, but it certianly has its perks. Given that we arrived at 11:30 am and my flight wasn't until 5 pm, I had plenty of time on my hands. Fortunately I was able to relax with fellow PDs Sarah and Krysta, have a last American meal of pizza, and make some last minute phone calls.
I still have a couple hours of travel left tonight- I leave Bogota at 9:30 pm and arrive in Quito at 11. Then I meet the family I'll be living with for three weeks and head to their house for the night. Tomorrow, all the PDs are getting together for a tour of the language school and a BBQ at the Manna house in Conocoto.
My half-hour is about up, so I just want to say thanks for all who are following- thank you for the interest, the prayers, and the funds to make this possible.
I hope this post is legible; we've been spending a lot of time getting to know one another in Ft. Lauderdale, and that, combined with the awkward keyboard, has made this a particulary difficult post to create.
Tuesday morning, after running through the baggage check and security, I caught a plane to Miami to meet the rest of my group for a three-day training. The other PDs trickelled in throughout the day, and we took the evening to begin to get to know one another. On Wednesday, we had a formal introduction to the organization, learning about its foundation pillars and meeting the executive director and a board member. Then Thursday, the real for for the Ecuadorian PDs began. Unlike Nicaragua, Ecuador requires volunteers to have a visa before they enter the country. To do this, we had to go the Ecuadorian Counselet, in Miami. There we learned that we did no have the proper background checks: for some reason we needed Florida checks, even though nobody is originally from Florida. The difficult part is that the only way to get a Florida police records check is to be a Florida resident. After much driving, calling, and the great pursuasive skills of Mark (the country director), the woman at the counselet caved, and accepted the checks from our home states, telling us to come back tomorrow at 9:30 to sign for everything. We did this today, breathed signs of relief and headed to Miami International Airport to catch our flights.
Waiting in airports has never been a top to-do of mine, but it certianly has its perks. Given that we arrived at 11:30 am and my flight wasn't until 5 pm, I had plenty of time on my hands. Fortunately I was able to relax with fellow PDs Sarah and Krysta, have a last American meal of pizza, and make some last minute phone calls.
I still have a couple hours of travel left tonight- I leave Bogota at 9:30 pm and arrive in Quito at 11. Then I meet the family I'll be living with for three weeks and head to their house for the night. Tomorrow, all the PDs are getting together for a tour of the language school and a BBQ at the Manna house in Conocoto.
My half-hour is about up, so I just want to say thanks for all who are following- thank you for the interest, the prayers, and the funds to make this possible.
I hope this post is legible; we've been spending a lot of time getting to know one another in Ft. Lauderdale, and that, combined with the awkward keyboard, has made this a particulary difficult post to create.
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