Well thanks to Loud Mouth Lochhead (you know who you are) this isn't news to everyone -- but nonetheless -- now that it's official I wanted to share it with all.
I've accepted an offer for an epidemiologist position with York Region Public Health Services in Newmarket. An epi-what? Ask Sarah, she'll explain it to you. Just don't ask her why she wants to study the epididymous for a living!
So I'm pretty excited! It is a sweet job, and is so nice to have it all arranged from here before heading back to Canada. Though phone interviews are not my favourite, it was definitely worth the trouble! My start date is May 15th. Don't worry Heidi, they know I'm coming to see you in Vancouver and all of that is still a 'go'! Yay!
Newmarket is really close to Barrie, so I'll be crashing with my parents while I test the waters. And I will still be close enough to the city to play with all of you urbanites! Or when you need a breath of fresh air . . .
So, that's all for today. It's hot and sunny in Quito and I'll go enjoy the rest of the night while still on the equator.
Peace out.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Friday, April 21, 2006
(Some of the things) I will miss about Ecuador
As I'm wrapping things up with work and play, I am already becoming nostaligic for Ecuador. I am excited to be coming 'home' of course, but at the same time I know that I will leave a part of me behind...Here are some of the silly things I know that I will miss:
- greetings by kisses on the cheek
- the mountains
- new friends
- always having a reason for a holiday or a fiesta
- Spanish
- hats, ponchos, and other traditional dress
- saying buenos dias, buenas tardes and buenas noches to everyone I meet
- a climate of spring/fall all year-round
- traveling for work that is always an adventure
- real conversations about poverty, development, the world and our place in it
- having two dogs and a cat to play with (less the cat, more the dogs)
- Ecuadorian food (at least some of it): aji, fresh squeezed juices & batidos, queso fresco, andean potatoes, té con manzana y canela, flan
Sunday, April 16, 2006
How I spent Easter in Ecuador
While the devout Christians and Catholics have large processions down the streets of all of the cities in Ecuador on Good Friday, I only watched a procession from the window of the Land Cruiser with Myriam as we were stopped in traffic on our way to La Merced.
It was a perfect long weekend to head to the relaxed countryside. Steve and Myriam had to work on their theses, but I only had to read by the fireplace, relax, and play. sigh
I went for a long hike up the mountain ridge with the dogs, Frodo and Capitu, we harvested vegetables to make a vegetarian version of Fanesca (traditional soup loaded with pumpkin, squash, legumes and more...very tasty) and humitas, and of course I also did some mandatory napping. It was so fun to cook everything from scratch...all the vegetables organic from the garden (shucking and shelling maiz by hand, taking beans out of the pod, etc), fresh eggs from the neighbor's chickens, homemade cheese...YUM. Myriam's mom visited from Riobamba and Rosita came out with two of her sons as well.
Hiking up the mountain ridge...phew! So exhausting. The dogs kept me going, as did the campesinos walking up in rubber boots at twice my speed. I will always blame the altitude and not my out of shapeness, but seriously, this girl needs a work out routine.
I hope you all had a good long weekend!
Cheers, S
It was a perfect long weekend to head to the relaxed countryside. Steve and Myriam had to work on their theses, but I only had to read by the fireplace, relax, and play. sigh
I went for a long hike up the mountain ridge with the dogs, Frodo and Capitu, we harvested vegetables to make a vegetarian version of Fanesca (traditional soup loaded with pumpkin, squash, legumes and more...very tasty) and humitas, and of course I also did some mandatory napping. It was so fun to cook everything from scratch...all the vegetables organic from the garden (shucking and shelling maiz by hand, taking beans out of the pod, etc), fresh eggs from the neighbor's chickens, homemade cheese...YUM. Myriam's mom visited from Riobamba and Rosita came out with two of her sons as well.
Hiking up the mountain ridge...phew! So exhausting. The dogs kept me going, as did the campesinos walking up in rubber boots at twice my speed. I will always blame the altitude and not my out of shapeness, but seriously, this girl needs a work out routine.
I hope you all had a good long weekend!
Cheers, S
The path up to the ridge
The view from the front lawn
Myriam and her mom working in the garden
Semana Santa and More Bus Adventures
Those of you familiar with anywhere Latin America will know that Semana Santa (Holy Week) is a big deal (and that may be an understatement). Friday is of course a holiday, but Thursday is too, and sometimes the whole week is a holiday, filled with fiestas and fanesca (the traditional soup) and processions.
For me, unfortunately, the week was one of work. But at least it was the traveling kind and not the behind the desk kind. I was north in Carchi, the province of Ecuador bordering Colombia, on my second to last visit with the ministry of public health, the hospitals and health areas.
Before sharing my stories from my weekend, some of the other excitement...
It was in Carchi this week that I witnessed my first bus accident, and experienced my first broken-down bus episode. You may recall my earlier post regarding bus travel in Ecuador. Thankfully neither of these bus-related dramas were 'bus plunges', and this is one other thing that we can positively say about bus travel in Ecuador: you may not plunge, you may crash or break-down, and survive to tell the tale.
The winding roads north to Carchi are not the place you would (if you ever would) want to be involved in an accident. Luckily for those involved in the accident I witnessed, the bus went off the side of the road that was not a huge cliff with no guard rails. Also luckily, there was another bus not far behind more than happy to pick up the stranded, unharmed passengers. I should add that this bus was of a company that I had been warned about and never take. Nevertheless, for the last 4 hours on my trip north, I was a little on edge.
It was two days later when I was on a bus from El Angel to Ibarra that I had a bus adventure of my own. I was leaving El Angel at 6PM since I had missed the 5PM bus by minutes (as in saw it driving down the street away from me when I walked out of the hospital), which is later than I like since traveling at night is not always as safe. About 30 minutes outside of El Angel on the road to nowhere the driver pulled over and got out of the bus, followed by his helper. "What is happening?" everyone was asking. About 10 minutes later we heard that the bus was 'damaged' and immediately almost all of the men, thinking they were mechanics, got out to help 'fix' it. Those who were not traveling far decided to hitch-hike or walk, and took off into the hills. But those of us traveling a distance were stuck waiting for (1) the bus to be fixed, (2) another bus to pass by (since only one company drives this lonely road, we would hopefully be able to catch a bus leaving El Angel at seven). As it got dark, we chatted about TLC (the hottest topic of the day) and Canada as we waited, making new friends with our fellow stranded passengers. The bus that finally arrived for us was rocking with latin dance music, had shiny red curtains with white tasels and red mood lighting, making for an interesting rest of the journey!
For me, unfortunately, the week was one of work. But at least it was the traveling kind and not the behind the desk kind. I was north in Carchi, the province of Ecuador bordering Colombia, on my second to last visit with the ministry of public health, the hospitals and health areas.
Before sharing my stories from my weekend, some of the other excitement...
It was in Carchi this week that I witnessed my first bus accident, and experienced my first broken-down bus episode. You may recall my earlier post regarding bus travel in Ecuador. Thankfully neither of these bus-related dramas were 'bus plunges', and this is one other thing that we can positively say about bus travel in Ecuador: you may not plunge, you may crash or break-down, and survive to tell the tale.
The winding roads north to Carchi are not the place you would (if you ever would) want to be involved in an accident. Luckily for those involved in the accident I witnessed, the bus went off the side of the road that was not a huge cliff with no guard rails. Also luckily, there was another bus not far behind more than happy to pick up the stranded, unharmed passengers. I should add that this bus was of a company that I had been warned about and never take. Nevertheless, for the last 4 hours on my trip north, I was a little on edge.
It was two days later when I was on a bus from El Angel to Ibarra that I had a bus adventure of my own. I was leaving El Angel at 6PM since I had missed the 5PM bus by minutes (as in saw it driving down the street away from me when I walked out of the hospital), which is later than I like since traveling at night is not always as safe. About 30 minutes outside of El Angel on the road to nowhere the driver pulled over and got out of the bus, followed by his helper. "What is happening?" everyone was asking. About 10 minutes later we heard that the bus was 'damaged' and immediately almost all of the men, thinking they were mechanics, got out to help 'fix' it. Those who were not traveling far decided to hitch-hike or walk, and took off into the hills. But those of us traveling a distance were stuck waiting for (1) the bus to be fixed, (2) another bus to pass by (since only one company drives this lonely road, we would hopefully be able to catch a bus leaving El Angel at seven). As it got dark, we chatted about TLC (the hottest topic of the day) and Canada as we waited, making new friends with our fellow stranded passengers. The bus that finally arrived for us was rocking with latin dance music, had shiny red curtains with white tasels and red mood lighting, making for an interesting rest of the journey!
Friday, April 07, 2006
new music
today i bought a new cd from one of the road side street stands. un metro cuadrado by jarabe de palo. i first heard him while at the beach, but it took me until now to remember who it was and find his album. GOOD.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Cuenca's Revenge
After a great time in Riobamba this past week, I decided to head south to Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador and everyone's favourite. Favourite why? It is pretty, a world heritage site, and the climate is nicer than in the more northern highlands. I arrived late Friday night and checked into my hotel, and went for a nice dinner in a restaurant by the park. Saturday was beautiful. I did my own walking tour of the historic areas, visited the Panama Hat Factory and other sites, and ate at some nice restaurants around town. Or so I thought...
At midnight it was like being hit by a truck. My insides turned to outsides and I was sick in a true Latin-America-Damn-You-Montezuma way (I know this is not Mexico but you catch my drift). I had great plans for Sunday, but didn't leave bed except when I finally caved and called my boss in Quito (a physician) and asked her what I should do. She saw to it that I went to the clinic immediately. I was so dehydrated and weak I had no strength to argue, and so went the understanding that I would avoid the Ecuadorian health care system at all costs. It was a good choice, and after a shot and a list of prescriptions I returned to my hotel room to stick it out until I was feeling good enough to fly home (Monday). What a crap way (literally) to end a fun weekend of tourist sight-seeing! But it did kill my desire somewhat for adventurous food ordering at restaurants. No more salads for me please! Ever again.
Some pictures from before the illness:
Looking across the park at the 'new cathedral'
Flower market in the square (fyi, flowers are one of Ecuadors biggest exports. always thought those dutch tulips were from holland? wrong!)
City street (notice Disneyland like church at the end)
At the Panama Hat Factory by the river (fyi, always thought Panama hats were from Panama? wrong!)
At midnight it was like being hit by a truck. My insides turned to outsides and I was sick in a true Latin-America-Damn-You-Montezuma way (I know this is not Mexico but you catch my drift). I had great plans for Sunday, but didn't leave bed except when I finally caved and called my boss in Quito (a physician) and asked her what I should do. She saw to it that I went to the clinic immediately. I was so dehydrated and weak I had no strength to argue, and so went the understanding that I would avoid the Ecuadorian health care system at all costs. It was a good choice, and after a shot and a list of prescriptions I returned to my hotel room to stick it out until I was feeling good enough to fly home (Monday). What a crap way (literally) to end a fun weekend of tourist sight-seeing! But it did kill my desire somewhat for adventurous food ordering at restaurants. No more salads for me please! Ever again.
Some pictures from before the illness:
Looking across the park at the 'new cathedral'
Flower market in the square (fyi, flowers are one of Ecuadors biggest exports. always thought those dutch tulips were from holland? wrong!)
City street (notice Disneyland like church at the end)
At the Panama Hat Factory by the river (fyi, always thought Panama hats were from Panama? wrong!)
field work = fun
Here are some pictures from my most recent "field work". Well not really of the work so-to-speak, but of the travels around them. Chimborazo is my favorite province to work in. Here the scenery is vivid, the people are genuine and friendly, and the culture is rich. And I must add that the hotel is the best and the food is fantastic.
Alausi, about 2 hours from Riobamba the province's capital, is one of my training sites.
view from the hospital entrance
the hospital
looking north up the valley (and down at Alausi)
bright ponchos and colours on the streets
Alausi, about 2 hours from Riobamba the province's capital, is one of my training sites.
view from the hospital entrance
the hospital
looking north up the valley (and down at Alausi)
bright ponchos and colours on the streets
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