Well, I’ve only got two more days of class and four more days until I hop on a plane to Ecuador. Although I’m not entirely sure what I’m getting myself into, I haven’t started to worry too much about it yet. I have a round-trip airline ticket that satisfies all of my destinations from now until I return home on December 29th. And as far as I know, I have someone to pick me up from the airport in Quito as well as a place to stay.
I don’t speak Spanish at all, but I’m taking a two week intensive language class upon arrival in Quito… 7 hours/day of one-on-one instruction, plus an apartment to live in, and other niceties for only $560. Not bad. Once I’m done with that I start my volunteer work on the Maquipucuna Reserve. Not quite 100% sure what I will be doing there… I know it has something to do with organic gardening and sustainable agriculture, and that I will be living with a family and helping out in their daily lives… which is good enough for me! It’s only about $290/month for everything. So I’m hoping I can get away with spending less than $2,000 over the summer.
Sometime in July, if I’m lucky, my girlfriend Jenna will fly down to Ecuador to visit me for a few days!
Then on September 4th I leave the ground once again and fly to Costa Rica, where I will be participating in the UGA Ecology Study Abroad program for the entire Fall semester. I’ll be back in “school” and working with other students again. I’ve met a few of them already and I think I will get along with a couple really well. It should be interesting… I think one or two of them have never been away from home before. A few of my friends have been on this program in previous years and said it is amazing. I think I will learn more than I can imagine at this point.
I’ll be back to Atlanta on December 29th. Just in time for New Years Eve.
I will miss all my friends. But it’s a good opportunity to send postcards. If I have your address, you will get one. If I don’t have it then you should post it here in the comments.
There’s no telling what my internet access will be like while I’m gone. I’m going to keep a paper journal and take lots of photos (I have enough storage space for 30 gigabytes). When time permits I will update this space with information and if I’m able, photos.
In the meantime, if you’re tech savvy you can subscribe to the RSS Feed and get automatic notifications whenever I add a new entry.
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