Sometimes in Rio, I feel like I’m on the cusp of something great. The city is making a huge effort to improve in the face of its current limelight. Consultants are being brought in to aid security. Unidade de Polícia Pacificadoras (UPPs) are being established to reduce the number of violent death[...]
Archive for January, 2010
Staying Flexible
If there is one thing I have learned during my time in Ecuador, it is to remain flexible. And to have patience. Lots and LOTS of patience (for example: it took six visits to the Exterior Relations office to extend my visa 90 days). By nature, I tend to like things orderly and timely. However[...]
Pollution Matters
While I’ve grown accustomed to many of the changes of living away from my home country, one thing I have not gotten used to is the air pollution here in Ecuador. In any of the major living areas, you will discover that the constant stream of buses and trucks makes for a very smoggy experience. T[...]
January 22nd, 2010 - 10:29 am § in Argentina
Arriving Just In Time
I left home days before the calendar changed from 2009 to 2010. A date I vacillated upon for weeks, finally ticketing my flight three weeks before departure (despite daily ridicule from friends and colleagues). I couldn’t decide whether to give myself more time to finish projects at home where I [...]
Just Like the Mariposas!
At my thesis defense, just prior to my university graduation in December 2006, my professors asked me what my post-college plans were. I told them I planned “to de-institutionalize for a while.” After almost five years spent in an academic setting and working with NGOs in my spare time, I had be[...]
January 20th, 2010 - 12:11 pm § in Mexico, Tips & Resources
Coming to Mexico? 10 Tips for Living Responsibly AND with Style
Greetings La Vida! I am stoked to be a new blogger, and for my inaugural entry I compiled a list of the essential advice for working/volunteering/traveling in Mexico responsibly and with style. I first came to Mexico as a student a few years ago, and for the last three and a half months I have been [...]
January 19th, 2010 - 6:59 pm § in News
$1 Million for Idealist – Vamos!
This post was originally published on Idealist.org by blog editor Julia Smith. By now you’re probably aware that Chase and Facebook are running a big contest this week, which will result in one nonprofit organization winning $1 million, and five runners-up winning $100,000 each. With your hel[...]
Nica is Cash Only
Foreigners who are accustomed to traveling abroad know that developing countries are cash-based societies. Even European vendors frequently reject plastic in favor of paper. As the Controller for blueEnergy Group, a renewable energy NGO based on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua, I’ve come to reali[...]
Helping Haiti: Things to Consider
Originally published on the Idealist.org homepage, this post has three sections: Donations; Volunteering Locally to Support Efforts in Haiti; and Volunteering in Haiti. Idealist staff Jeremy MacKechnie, Amy Potthast, Erin Barnhart, Eric Fichtl, Scott Stadum, and Julia Smith contributed. The outpouri[...]
Mate Makes Amigos
One of the best ways I’ve found to bond with Argentinians is over a helping of mate. Mate is the local tea that, it is said, just about all Argentinians drink, though after spending enough time here, you quickly learn that the idea of drinking it all day is more of a myth. Some don’t [...][...]
