Now that I have had a great week away from the office all around Central and South America, it is great to be not moving for a little while. It is good to be back home and be able to spend some time with Melo and Zul(my fish). I find myself not having to speak as much Spanish either! Oddly enough, I was mistaken for being a Panamanian or Colombian even though I think my accent tends to have hints of both Spain and Cuba. I have about a 2 week break between the travel I just finished and my upcoming trip to New England. To my surprise there is like no one here at the office because everybody is off some where different in the country trying to find the class of 2012! For me, right now is a mad dash to figure out all of my expenses for the past week, prepare my materials for New England, put together packets to send both to New England and Miami and finally plan my trip to Toronto in November. So basically, it's just another day at the office.Tokyo Departure Board
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Viva La Florida!
Now that I have had a great week away from the office all around Central and South America, it is great to be not moving for a little while. It is good to be back home and be able to spend some time with Melo and Zul(my fish). I find myself not having to speak as much Spanish either! Oddly enough, I was mistaken for being a Panamanian or Colombian even though I think my accent tends to have hints of both Spain and Cuba. I have about a 2 week break between the travel I just finished and my upcoming trip to New England. To my surprise there is like no one here at the office because everybody is off some where different in the country trying to find the class of 2012! For me, right now is a mad dash to figure out all of my expenses for the past week, prepare my materials for New England, put together packets to send both to New England and Miami and finally plan my trip to Toronto in November. So basically, it's just another day at the office.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
CCS - UIO
The final two legs of my journey were Venezuela and Ecuador. Venezuela was a fast day that had me just visiting two schools and then basically heading right to the airport. Both schools that I visited were beautiful and had amazing views of the city. I really enjoyed every bit of my trip that had me there for less than 24 hours! Would be a place that I would like to go back to. The airport in Caracas was really chaotic and took me more than an hour to get through the line for Avianca. 
Customs and security only took about 5 minutes which you would think it would be the other way around. After finally getting through and getting on the plane, we sat on the runway for a while before we took off. My flight stopped in Bogota, Colombia where I had to get out of the plane and walk around my plane to, go through security, get searched by a cop and then jump on a plane to Ecuador. The flight to Ecuador was quick, and for the second night in a row, I got in after midnight.
In Ecuador, I had a wonderful driver named Rafael, who took me around the city for the two days I was there. He was really a great guy and helped me out tons! The school visits were great and I met some good kids. The most fun part about Ecuador was my touristic day today, Saturday. I visited the Mitad del Mundo (the fake one) and I learned a lot about the culture of Ecuador. I got this really cool fox/wolf mask which I am excited to put up in my apartment. It is
a really cool statue and is something that I am glad I got to see! Although this trip I didn't go to the real one, it'll give me something to do next time. I also got to travel into the old part of Quito as well as some pretty churches which are covered in gold. At the end of the day I had a nice little walk around the Artisan Market as well as go back to my hotel and pack. Latin America was a wonderful experience and I cannot wait to come back next year and maybe go somewhere new!Powered by ScribeFire.
Panamania
After a long day of uncertainty, I made it through a weak and slow moving Hurricane Felix. My flight to Panama left without a problem and although I did not get to visit any schools in Tegus, I was able to have one interview in my hotel. That went very well and then I had to pack for the rest of my journey. After a long flight, I finally made it to Panama at about 8 at night. That next morning I had to be up very early for my school visits. I traveled to what used to be a US military base and is now the "Ciudad del Saber" or "City of Knowledge". This is
located in the "zone", or the area around the Panama Canal. After all of my visits, I spent sometime at the Panama Canal, which was quite impressive. For something that was built so long ago, it is still awe inspiring. Within the past few days they announced the start of the widening of the canal and the ability to host bigger ships that are larger than the current "Panamax" standard which is just big enough to fit through the current locks.
Having spent plenty of time watching ships slowly go through the canal, I moved on the the historical part of Panama City. I got to view the President's house, which is oddly enough white. I also saw the cathedral, the emerald museum and a mall that would put the Mall at Millenia to shame (called Multiplaza). After a long day of constantly being on the move, I jumped on a flight to Caracas which got me in once again at a crazy late hour. This trip is a good one, but definitely tires me out!
located in the "zone", or the area around the Panama Canal. After all of my visits, I spent sometime at the Panama Canal, which was quite impressive. For something that was built so long ago, it is still awe inspiring. Within the past few days they announced the start of the widening of the canal and the ability to host bigger ships that are larger than the current "Panamax" standard which is just big enough to fit through the current locks.
Having spent plenty of time watching ships slowly go through the canal, I moved on the the historical part of Panama City. I got to view the President's house, which is oddly enough white. I also saw the cathedral, the emerald museum and a mall that would put the Mall at Millenia to shame (called Multiplaza). After a long day of constantly being on the move, I jumped on a flight to Caracas which got me in once again at a crazy late hour. This trip is a good one, but definitely tires me out!Powered by ScribeFire.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Aventura Hondureña
My first trip to Latin America started out on September 1, 2007 from Orlando early in the morning, and put me in to San Pedro Sula (SAP) Honduras at around 1 in the afternoon. After arriving and getting my first taxi in Latin America, I was off and running. Packing the night before and the time change cut my evening short. I enjoyed a wonderful dinner of Comida Tipica Hondureña, which was steak, beans, avacado, plantains, tortillas and rice, of course! It was great and topped it of with a wonderful Port Royal. Which in short was a very typical Honduras meal. 
The next day I got up and walked about 2 blocks from my hotel, the Hilton Princess, to CityMall which is a very nice mall. I walked around for a few hours and then decided I needed to augment my collection of fútbol jerseys with one from Honduras. I chose Olimpia because it looked cool and had a Honduras flag on it and there logo included a lion. Afterwards I beat the heat outside next to the pool. So all in all it was a great relaxing day in San Pedro.
My first day of visits was good and I got to meet some great kids. I also had a great driver who took me all around to make sure I got to my visits and the airport on time. Some
how I also managed to make sure that Hurricane Felix followed me down here. In two hours, it will hit the coast and hopefully not make my day to interesting. In the airport on my way to Tegus, I noticed many travelers who were changing there arrangements due to the evacuation of Roatan and some of the Bay Islands. Also on my very short flight, I was seated next to a pilot in 
the Fuerzas Aereas de Honduras. As we were talking during our flight, she was very interested in my life as an Admission Counselor and how I get to travel so much. She was very nice and actually offered me a ride to my hotel. Shows just how nice people are down here. I am also located in a room on the top floor of the Tegucigalpa Marriott, with a great view and I am resting up for my next day. So far I am having a great time and am ready for my next adventure.
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The next day I got up and walked about 2 blocks from my hotel, the Hilton Princess, to CityMall which is a very nice mall. I walked around for a few hours and then decided I needed to augment my collection of fútbol jerseys with one from Honduras. I chose Olimpia because it looked cool and had a Honduras flag on it and there logo included a lion. Afterwards I beat the heat outside next to the pool. So all in all it was a great relaxing day in San Pedro.
My first day of visits was good and I got to meet some great kids. I also had a great driver who took me all around to make sure I got to my visits and the airport on time. Some
how I also managed to make sure that Hurricane Felix followed me down here. In two hours, it will hit the coast and hopefully not make my day to interesting. In the airport on my way to Tegus, I noticed many travelers who were changing there arrangements due to the evacuation of Roatan and some of the Bay Islands. Also on my very short flight, I was seated next to a pilot in 
the Fuerzas Aereas de Honduras. As we were talking during our flight, she was very interested in my life as an Admission Counselor and how I get to travel so much. She was very nice and actually offered me a ride to my hotel. Shows just how nice people are down here. I am also located in a room on the top floor of the Tegucigalpa Marriott, with a great view and I am resting up for my next day. So far I am having a great time and am ready for my next adventure.
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