Adios!

Hi all,

Well the time is finally here, and on Monday I begin my Ecuadorian adventures in the Peace Corps! On Monday morning, I fly from NYC to DC for a two day staging event in Georgetown. Then on Wednesday morning, February 6th, my group will head to Quito, Ecuador via Miami. From Quito, we'll be taking an hour and half bus ride to a town called Tabacundo, which is located to the northeast of Quito at about 9000 ft above sea level in the Andes. Supposedly, Tabacundo is the flower export capital of Ecuador so it should smell nice and will be a bit more colorful than NY is right now! Here I'll be living with a host family and going through a 10-week training program that covers language, technical, cultural and health issues. Provided that I don't die during the 10 weeks of training :) , I'll be sworn in as a Peace Corps volunteer at the ambassador's residence in Quito. Then I'll begin a 2-year volunteer program where I'll be assisting with natural resources information technology (basically making technology more accesible to people so they can use it as a tool to solve environmental problems). I won't find out where I'll be living in the country until midway through the training program.

My cell phone will stop working on the 6th and email is probably the best way to keep in touch. During training, any mail can be sent to the Peace Corps office in Quito at the following address:

Cuerpo de Paz
Casilla 17-08-8624
Quito, Ecuador

During training the Peace Corps advises against sending any packages because of Customs issues. Normal letters and small padded envelopes are OK. Once I get my own place after training I'll forward my address along to everyone. Even then, however, any packages should be sent in padded envelopes and should be less than 4.5 pounds. I guess Customs sifts through anything larger, and I'd have to travel to a big city to pick up the package.

I hope to update this blog somewhat regularly while I'm in Ecuador so you all can check out pictures and find out how my pet chickens are doing. :)

Best wishes and let's hope the guinea pigs are seasoned well!
Jason