“Han escuchado la historia de tourism en Mindo?” Have you heard the history of tourism in Mindo? “No.” Ok, well….. It’s a story of deforestation and reforestation; of destruction and rejuvenation; of changing perceptions of land use; and of ecology. Last week when I visited Mindo (a smal[...]
Archive for the ‘Ecuador’ Category
Ciclovia Vigilantes
“Ladrone, Ladron, cojelo, paralo!” I was on my cell phone coordinating a bike outing with several of the new teachers here in Quito when I saw a gruff man, have stumbling, half jogging across Rio Amazonas. Then people started yelling, breaking the early-morning silence with pointed commands: [...]
August 24th, 2011 - 10:07 am § in Ecuador, In the Field
Loan Sharks, Microloans and the Highest Interest Rates Around
Small business owners in Ecuador, like Marcia Suqui in the video below, can use their microloans to move forward with their businesses and improve their quality of life. After all, this is the idea driving Kiva.org, my current employer here in Ecuador- that small loans can change lives. But not all [...]
Machismo Madness: In with Microlending, Out with Machismo
For the month of July, La Vida Idealist asked bloggers to write about their experiences with machismo. This is the final post in that series. Each Kiva borrower visit I perform here in Ecuador introduces me to new role models. New strong, inspiring women I can look up to; women who, through their [...]
July 15th, 2011 - 9:48 am § in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Looking for Opportunity, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
La Vida Idealist.org is Seeking New Writers!
If you are reading this now, chances are you’re interested in nonprofit or development work in Latin America. You may actually already be teaching English in Colombia, or working in a national park in Costa Rica, or completing your first year of the Peace Corps in Chile. And if that’s th[...]
July 10th, 2011 - 8:05 am § in Ecuador, Tips & Resources
3 Good Reasons to Learn Spanish
Last Tuesday I attended the weekly “Intercambio de Lenguas” (Language Exchange) here in Quito. Interacting socially in another language definitely put my Spanish to the test- outside of my work vocabulary, which is a lot of banking and microfinance language, I’m not quite as eloque[...]
