Earthquake, New Class & Birthday Celebrations

Hola Todos,

Here is the latest video update from Quito! I hope you enjoy, leave comments if you desire :)

Click HERE to view updated pictures from Quito :)

Cooking class with the kids, hot-springs & MORE!!!!!

Click here to see photos of Neque mas Neque :)

Hola Todos

Here is a brief update from the land of Quito. I'm posting some pictures (click the link above) of the kids that I work with (finally I know) and the awesome pool-looking place is Papallacta. They are beautiful hot-springs at a resort place that we went to the other day! It was amazing, and I hope you enjoy the post!

Chao,

~Jon

Video Update From Quito :)

Hola Todos,

I've decided to try a new format to keep you guys updated easier. I've posted a video of me filling you guys in on what has been going on here in Quito. I hope you enjoy!

I forget to mention in the video about a project that I did last week called Book Bus. It was an Awesome Experience! We left the city early in the morning and got on a bus that was painted with books and some other cool graphics and they took us out to a school near the Mitad del Mundo.

We read the children books, and helped them draw pictures. I had a great time! I read the kids like 4 books all about animals and after we drew our favorite animals from the stories. Then I had them write the words for the animals in Spanish and then in English so they could practice. It was a really great experience and they travel all around Quito once a month! I can't wait to do it again! The pics below are from the Book Bus trip, NOT my volunteer project :)

Chao,

~ Jon

Ñeque y mas Ñeque

Hola Todos,

I wanted to let you all know that tomorrow I will be starting my new volunteer project with an organization in Quito that works with underprivileged youth. I'm really excited about it and I will have some pics up from the school and of the kids as soon as can. Here is an excerpt from their website that tells what the org does. If you guys feel so inclined you can make a tiny donation of their website and support the project that I will be working of for the next 3 months.

http://www.nequeyneque.org/

Foundation Ñeque y más Ñeque benefits children and adolescents at risk in the El Comité del Pueblo neighborhood of Quito, Ecuador, South America.

The word ñeque originates from the Quichua word ñiqquiy ormuscle. A person with ñeque is one who is strong and courageous, one who perseveres through difficult times. And this is the objective of Foundation Ñeque y más Ñeque, to strengthen the resolve and resilience of the children who participate in the program so that they may successfully overcome the difficult situations they face every day.

Saludos,

Jon 

Mindo Ecuador: An Outdoor Lovers Paradise

Hola Todos,

I know it’s been a while, but I thought that I would take the time to update you all on what’s been happening since the last blog post.

Last weekend I went to the nearby town of Mindo for the weekend. It’s only like a two hour bus ride and you guys will NEVER guess how much the bus tickets cost. They were only $2.50 you can’t even take a taxi a few blocks in NYC for that, let alone a 2 hour bus ride!

Once we got there, we asked a few locals where the best place to stay on a budget was and they recommended La Casa de Cecelia. We checked it out and it was super cheap, only $6 a night! The owners were really friendly, it was a nice place with hot water and we each got our own room.

Saturday morning we got started around 9am with breakfast at the hostel and then we went into town to purchase our tickets for the days activities. We decided to go hiking to see the numerous waterfalls in the area with was only $5 and it included a ride over the canyon in a basket on a wire, it was really awesome and I got some great pictures (see below). The hike took about 5 hours but it was really fun and we even got to go swimming at the last waterfall, it was super cold but awesome!

Next we went zip-lining down the mountain from where were hiking. They had 13 lines that you could zip down for $13! If we did the same adventure it would cost like more that $80 per person! It was AWESOME and we even got our own private guides for the tour. They had a variety of lines from fast to slow. The best part is that we were zipping from one mountain to the other through the canyon and it was absolutely beautiful. It was really had to take pictures while I was out there, but I did manage to snap a video that I’ll post on here as well.

Overall, It was a great weekend with great friends and best of all it wasn’t too expensive! There are plenty of other activities that you can do in Mindo such as repelling down the waterfalls, take exotic bird tours, ride ATVs, butterfly exibits and the wild frog concert. I would definitely like to go back there before I head home.

I’m starting my volunteer project this week so you guys will get to see some pictures from the school that I’ll be working at when I get time to update the blog again. That’s all for now,

Chao,

~Jon

Hiking in Quito and the Middle of the WORLD!

Hola Todos,

I didn't really do anything substantial up until this past weekend so I haven't had anything really cool to blog about until now! This past weekend was adventured filled and exciting! Saturday morning, some friends from the school and I went on a hike up into the mountains that surround Quito. There really isn't a good way to get up there, so we took a cable car up to the top of the mountain and began out hike. The pictures speak for themselves, I told my friends that they are so real they look fake! We hiked for about 2 hours, had lunch at one of the peaks and then hiked to the waterfall that you see in the picture. I want to go back up there later on in my stay and do the 2.5 hour hike to one of the volcano basins that overlooks the city. Overall, it was a great hike even though it was a tad cold up there I'm from Michigan so I can handle cold :p

Sunday morning Abby and I had lunch with our host family and then they took us to their country club (yes they are members to a country club) it was amazing! They have like a thousand tennis courts, 3 pools, a full 18 hole golf course, a huge horse arena, a huge clubhouse, a full gym, several restaurants, a church, squash, volleyball courts, several soccer pitches and a ton of other stuff! It was really neat, I can't wait to go back there. The family said that when we have a nice day we could go back and spend the whole day there, I'm game!

Later, we then traveled a bit further to the middle of the world AKA the Equator. There is a hugh monument build there on the imaginary line that divides the planet into 2 hemispheres. I posted several pics of Abby and I standing in "separate" parts of the world. It was really neat, although a huge tourist trap. How many times will you have the chance to say that you were in the middle of the world! The monument was emblazoned with the cardinal points of the compass rose (in Spanish of course), so the pic of us standing on the "O" means East. They say that there are certain things that you can only do on the Equator like stand an egg on one end without any help or watch water drain from a buckets in different directions above and below the Equator. You had to pay to see these things and we didn't so I guess I'll just have to take their word for it.

Overall I had a great weekend with my friend Abby and my host family. We do "family" activities every Sunday and I like that. It's a great way to get to know the country. I'm not sure what we are doing next weekend, possbily another hike to another nearby volcano where we can ride horses, donkeys and do some more hiking. If you love the outdoors like I do that Ecuador is a great place to travel.  Stayed tuned and I'll keep you updated!

Chao for now,

~ Jon

First Day of School

Today was my first day as a Student in Ecuador! The day began bright and early, a crisp 6:30AM with breakfast waiting for me on the table from my host mom. It was also the 1st day of school for my host-sister Andrea so my host family took her to school 1st and then they dropped me off at the academy. Every Monday new students arrive and Patty the director introduced all of us "new people" to the students and then we moved on to orientation. They took us to the front of the building and snapped this quick picture before we went on the city tour. After, we went on a tour of the city and watched the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace. It's a pretty big event that takes place every Monday. I didn't take my camera with me today, but since I'll be here for 4 months I think that I can probably find time to go back again :p Tomorrow I start my classes for real this time and they told me today that I can expect at least an hour of homework each day. While this sounds like a lot, I'm out of classes everyday by like 1pm so I guess that is works out in the end. I also rode the bus for the first time today. It only costs 25 cents and you can go anywhere in the city! It's really packed and you have to watch your stuff at all time to make sure you don't get robbed, but for the price I guess I can't complain too much. When I get more settled I'm going to start doing some volunteer work at a local center for underprivileged youth in the city. Well thats all for now, stay tuned for more adventures from Latin America :) Chao!