I Miss San Jose

In my last posting, I may given the impression that Quito is some how "better" than San Jose.

For the record, I want to emphasize that it isn't the case AT ALL!!

San Jose -- for the time being, at least -- is my home. I have a casa (albeit tiny) there, after all.

I miss . . .

1) Fitsimons gym
2) Castro's Salsa club
3) Cristina, Marco, Alma
4) Pescado entero at "La Princesa Marina"
5) Super cheap cinema
6) The awesome climate all year round
7) La Nacion - an excellent daily newspaper
8) The Bournes
9) The "super amigable" nature of Costa Ricans
10) Did I mention Cristina, Marco & Alma?

So there you have it.

31 Days of Quito

31 Days of Quito . . . 13 quick impressions.

1) Quito is on the equator IN SPIRIT ONLY. Bring a sweater if you are interested in visiting.

2) Ecuatorians are shorter than Costa Ricans.

3) The best deals: lunch and DVDs. Both cost around $1.50.

4) These people seem to like instant coffee. I haven´t yet figured out why.

5) This is the place to go for Spanish instruction. Professional one-on-one instruction ranges from $6.00 to $9.00 per hour.

6) Quito´s "centro historico" is breathtaking and humiliates anything San Jose has to offer.

7) Drivers are more conscientious. They actually pay attention to the traffic signals.

8) Internet cafes are plentiful. It could be because Ecuador has the lowest Internet penetration in South America -- something like 10% of the population has access to the Internet.

9) Quito mornings are clear, blue and amazing.

10) The geography reminds me a lot of Costa Rica. Volcanoes, hot springs, rapids, etc.

11) Did I mention it is colder than I expected?

12) It is easy to lose your breath. I still get wheezy climbing stairs.

13) Ecuadorians are conservative and more reserved than their Costa Rican counterparts.

Back on Track in Ecuador

After an unexpected four month detour on my "journey," I´m back in the saddle again here in Ecuador.

Why Ecuador?

Before venturing out with my own little microfinance project, I desperately need practical experience to complement what I learned in Brussels.

Via the Internet, I came across Foundation for Sustainable Development, based in San Francisco. Basically, their mission is to help students (and professionals) gain development experience. They do it by finding internships with organizations abroad.

I inquired about Microfinance opportunities in Latin America. After a little "back and forth," I have secured an internship with an organization in Ambato, Ecuador that has a Microfinance division. (Microfinance geeks can see more information about UCADE Ambato here. )

At this point, I really don´t know too much about my responsibilities, except that I have to report to them 24 June 2007. The duration of the internship is three months.

Until then, I´m in Quito feverishly trying to improve my spanish.

Coming soon: my thoughts on Quito (and Ecuador!).