TravelStream™ news feed for member zsmits55 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/zsmits55 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:28:09 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1205175240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1205175240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1205175240/tpod.html Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:28:09 -0400 My move to beautiful Ecuador, to live in the country that has inspired me to do what I am doing today...

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Antigua, Guatemala

It has been awhile since I updated this thing. The purpose of this travel blog was to keep in contact with everybody while I was abroad in Ecuador. In September of 2007, I returned to the US for good, so I thought. After going back and forth about what I wanted to do with my career and where I wanted to do it, I decided to take a job with a non-governmental organization called Community Enterprise Solutions. CES is a great organization started by 2 returned Peace Corps volunteers from Guatemala.

We work in various fields of economic development and entrepreneurship, mainly with rural women. I have been working in the beautiful colonial town of Antigua since January. I have been very excited about my work and what lies before me.

I have included some pictures from my first days here in Antigua and the amazing processions that go through this town during the Lent season. Antigua's celebrations for Holy Week are famous throughout the country. The whole town participates in processions down every street of Antigua. The night before these processions, people go out into the streets and spend the entire night making ornate mats of colored sawdust called "alfombras". They spend all night preparing these "alfombras", then the processions come through and march over them. Watching the processions in front of my house was quite a deep experience. Most of these pictures were taken from my front door.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1180791900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1180791900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1180791900/tpod.html Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:55:10 -0400 My move to beautiful Ecuador, to live in the country that has inspired me to do what I am doing today...

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Vilcabamba, Ecuador

As our service is coming to an end. Peace Corps Ecuador sponsors a few days of relaxation, bonding, and information sessions to get us ready to move on with our lives. I'm very excited to go back to the States, but it was tough thinking about all of the things that i'm going to leave here in Ecuador.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1182117000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1182117000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1182117000/tpod.html Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:05:34 -0400 My move to beautiful Ecuador, to live in the country that has inspired me to do what I am doing today...

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Loja, Ecuador

As my service is winding down here in Ecuador, i am realizing that i am going to miss this country and it's people a lot. My closest group is the family Paccha Uchuari. I help them out with their organic farm and chicken business. We've had a lot of good times lately, including winning "Farmer of the Year 2007" at the annual Provincial Agricultral Fair. It's going to be real tough saying goodbye to them.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1179956220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1179956220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1179956220/tpod.html Sat, 23 Jun 2007 17:49:27 -0400 My move to beautiful Ecuador, to live in the country that has inspired me to do what I am doing today...

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San Juan Bosco, Ecuador

I finally got a chance to go out and visit my buddy Jungle Dave for a chance to pick his brain (he knows alot of interesting stuff) and relax in the beginning of the amazon basin. The rivers there are amazing. EVERYTHING out there is amazing. i won't write much because i'm going back there soon for some july 4th festivities.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1175696760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1175696760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1175696760/tpod.html Tue, 19 Jun 2007 10:39:25 -0400 My move to beautiful Ecuador, to live in the country that has inspired me to do what I am doing today...

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Canoa, Ecuador

For Holy Week. i decided to take a trip to my favorite beach in the world. It was nothing short of blissfull.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1174920360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1174920360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1174920360/tpod.html Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:09:11 -0400 My move to beautiful Ecuador, to live in the country that has inspired me to do what I am doing today...

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Loja, Ecuador

Well, it has been a very long time since I
have updated my website. I went home to
the States in December, returned to Ecuador in January, and have been
working quite a bit and haven't had much of a chance to do any updates. I
actually forgot about this site. While I was home, I decided that I would not
extend my service in Ecuador. My original end of service date is Aug 31st,
so I have around 5 months left down here. For that reason I have been trying to
figure out how to work with my groups so that I will not be leaving them "high
and dry" in September. The main goal of Peace Corps is to create sustainable
projects, so I have been working closely with my counterpart and several
communities training them in all of the ways that we can keep these projects going
in my absence. I continue to work in developing community banks, and we have
had considerable success since I now have 3 new coworkers that I am training,
we are starting up a new bank every 2 weeks. My major success is my group just
north of the city "Hortalizas Paccha Uchuary", the organic agriculture farm
that I have been working with for over a year. We have now gotten an organic
fertilizer and chicken production underway. I am currently seeking funds to
build nest structures to put the hens in, so we can get some eggs to sell. This
is an amazing group of people, and I always get a little sad when I leave their
farm because I know I'm going to miss them a lot. Plus, the land around them is
beautiful. It may serve for a nice place to invest in, once I make some money.





So, being that I have a short time left
here, I am going to being working hard and trying to get in some fun activities
before I head back to tear up the States.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1163264340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1163264340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1163264340/tpod.html Tue, 14 Nov 2006 12:06:48 -0500 My move to beautiful Ecuador, to live in the country that has inspired me to do what I am doing today...

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Loja, Ecuador

My friend Minori is a Japanese Volunteer here in Loja. She's part of a group that is similar to a Japanese Peace Corps. She invited us to participate in a cultural fair. We had a blast. Especially at the Sumo matches...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1162312440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1162312440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1162312440/tpod.html Tue, 14 Nov 2006 11:58:37 -0500 My move to beautiful Ecuador, to live in the country that has inspired me to do what I am doing today...

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Cuenca, Ecuador

Every year, the volunteers of Peace Corps Ecuador take of a few days to celebrate Halloween and the Fiestas of Cuenca. During fiesta season, it is hard to get much done in your site due to the fact that the entire country is partying. So, most volunteers pack up and head to Cuenca for a 4 day extravaganza to see old friends, meet new ones, and have a few drinks...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1162311720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1162311720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1162311720/tpod.html Tue, 14 Nov 2006 11:34:24 -0500 My move to beautiful Ecuador, to live in the country that has inspired me to do what I am doing today...

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Paute, Ecuador

I work in several high altitude communities, and i've been trying to find a good income-generating activity for them. Trout runs through the Andes and it's very tasty and would provide a great source of nutrtion to the indigenous communities who lack alot of nutrition in their diets. My "Big Brother" Galo Antonio (from the family that i lived with in Cuenca in 2002) works as an engineer in a project with the European Commission, which has invested 14 million dollars into projects in the Paute River Valley outside of Cuenca. He took me along to show me a few trout raising projects.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1160838660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1160838660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zsmits55/ecuador-2005/1160838660/tpod.html Tue, 14 Nov 2006 11:20:30 -0500 My move to beautiful Ecuador, to live in the country that has inspired me to do what I am doing today...

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San Bernabeo, Ecuador

my work involves alot of variety. here are some pics from San Bernabeo and Pichig. In San Bernabeo, i'm working on a few animal production projects with INNFA, a private organization. San Bernabeo is in a lower-altitude region, it's almost desert-like. Pichig is in a very high-altitude, indigenous, region. the weather there is very unpredictable. I like to get up there on the weekends, do some farm work, and breathe some fresh air...
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