I’ll never forget watching my first group of photo students in Solentiname walk away from me to shoot some of their first pictures. I was standing inside of the poorly lit classroom with a massive smile on my face – I could hardly contain my happiness – and reminded them one las[...]
Posts Tagged ‘La Vida Idealist’
March 10th, 2010 - 7:46 am § in Around Town, Costa Rica
When Body Language Goes Too Far
Sometimes I worry that I’ve gotten too good at reading body language. When I’m tired and need a break from thinking in Spanish, my mind often wanders from the conversation at hand, especially if it’s a group conversation about something completely irrelevant to me (like the details of my bossâ[...]
March 5th, 2010 - 2:33 pm § in Around Town, Nicaragua
I’m on a Boat: Joys and Sorrows of Pangas
A panga boat ride is similar to when your best friend takes dad’s Porsche out for a spin: fast, unnerving, uproariously fun with fist-clenching close calls. This is the Caribbean Coast’s main mode of transportation, and how blueEnergy can access our communities. Our two-hour panga ride on a rece[...]
Responsible Tourism: Coming to a Cloud Forest Near You!
I am happy to report that in the Intag cloud forest region of northern Ecuador, community-based tourism is heating up. Just two hours from the market town of Otavalo, Intag’s ecological reserves have begun to attract a steady stream of travelers. Organizations like the Red Ecoturistica de Inta[...]
Taking the Plunge
Recently, I was talking with a friend who would very much like to move abroad to either work or volunteer her time. Of course, my immediate response was “Do it!” but the conversation quickly turned from where to start looking for opportunities into a list of reasons why she couldn&#[...]
“Can you help me with my homework?”
Three nights ago, while I was relaxing on the porch outside of my room, I received a surprise visit from a young man who I had met on several occasions but never actually spoken with. Without telling me why, he asked me if I could follow him. Naturally, I agreed. He led me to another young [...][...]
Lo bueno, lo malo y lo feo
Teaching English to children in Ecuador has been a fantastic experience. Most of the children are very eager to learn and I’m happy to be a part of their education. However, within my very first weeks here I noticed a very disturbing trend: a lot of the kids cheat. At first I thought i[...]
When Microenergy and Microfinance Meet
Part of my role at blueEnergy is to manage our two loans through our local microfinance institution. Who would have thought a portfolio of a little over $1,200 would be so challenging? Earlier in 2009, blueEnergy received funds to subsidize individual solar systems for two communities: Set Net Point[...]
February 16th, 2010 - 12:56 am § in Around Town, News
We Want to Hear from YOU!
You may have noticed a new button the lefthand side of this blog that says “Feedback.” It’s a pretty straightforward ask: we’d love to know how we’re doing. La Vida Idealist was created in August with the goal of better supporting you, from helping you take that first s[...]
Why We Do What We Do
“Why are you here?” she asked. My Spanish teacher, who is equally perplexed on how I “forget” to pronounce all vowels in each word, asked our group of beginning Spanish speakers why we traveled from Sweden, USA and Ireland to volunteer in Cordoba, Argentina. Maybe, she questi[...]
