On Isabela now! I don't know what my last post was because the internet is so terrible here i can't even check, so sorry if i'm being repetitive. We just finished a week of class here on the island of Isabela, and today is our first official vacation day. We have all this week off for fun here before cruising all the islands, then I'll have classes for a few days on the last of the three inhabited islands, Santa Cruz.
This place is definitely what people think of when they think Galapagos. Sandy streets and beautiful beaches everywhere. It really is a great spot to be "forced" to vacation on. Also semi-interesting is the comparison between the three inhabited towns. More on that when after i spend a few days on Santa Cruz.
There are just six of us here right now (which has led to us getting to know each other really well.) When the rest of us come tomorrow, we figured out that we'll be 1% of the population of the island. This place is not going to know what hit it.
And yes, there are quite a bit of "good" stories, you'll have to inquire personally for those. I can't put them on the internet though because they will certainly come back to bite me one day. Happy Halloween! (almost)
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Halfway
Yesterday marked the halfway point in my study abroad. Feels like I've been here forever, while at the same time I still feel like a tourist.
Just finished up a midterm (after 1.5 weeks of class.) It's surprising how gratifying it is to finish a test when you haven't taken one in a long time. Makes me feel like I may actually be learning something... Yeah right.
Just finished up a midterm (after 1.5 weeks of class.) It's surprising how gratifying it is to finish a test when you haven't taken one in a long time. Makes me feel like I may actually be learning something... Yeah right.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Address
Joe DeLorenzo
USFQ - GAIAS
via Playa Mann, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno
San Cristobal, Galapagos
Ecuador
Sending anything will probably take a while to get here!
island life
Sorry for the distinct delay in blogging. Hopefully the following will help explain what I've been doing instead of keeping you all up to date.
I'm now SCUBA certified! Well, almost certified. I took the class here at Wreck Bay Diving Center, did all my dives, and just have to take the final exam. Unfortunately, everything on the islands moves a little slower than back home, so we're still waiting for our books to study with. I'm not too concerned about the test though, and for some reason i feel like studying out of a book won't be quite as exciting as the sneaking up on sleeping sea turtles, investigating sunken boats, and dodging sea lions that we did on our practice dives.
Salsa classes are 4/6 of the way done. We're on a little pause right now because our instructor had to go to the mainland for a bit. At this point the moves are getting tougher to learn, so i've found that the best strategy is just to spin your partner around in circles for about an hour until the class is over.
For my new class, our assignment for the next three weeks is to film, interview and edit Galapagos residents on life on the islands. We'll be focussing on how the communities have changed, with each classmate taking a specific category like health, education, conservation. My portion is on the political structure here, and i think will be really interesting. Hopefully we'll get a good movie out of it, i'll let you know soon.
Mom and Dad came and left. I won't go into detail about their trip, but will instead let you question and look at the 3 or 4 million photos they have.
As far as scheduling goes, we finished our second class of the semester a week ago and are now a third of the way into the third class, "Political Ecology." Each class is three weeks, and for the third week of this class we'll be studying on the island of Isabela. From Isabela, we'll take a cruise around the islands, and wind up on Santa Cruz. My class will spend 3 more days studying on Santa Cruz before heading back to our home island, San Cristobal.
It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be the halfway point of my time here. With the upcoming traveling, i think the second semester is going to fly by as fast as the first. I miss everyone from home, and love hearing about how everyone is doing. Keep me updated. I may even post my mailing address soon. Don't forget it will probably take over two weeks to get any packages, and will cost a fortune.
Enjoy autumn. As it gets colder there, its getting warmer here : )
I'm now SCUBA certified! Well, almost certified. I took the class here at Wreck Bay Diving Center, did all my dives, and just have to take the final exam. Unfortunately, everything on the islands moves a little slower than back home, so we're still waiting for our books to study with. I'm not too concerned about the test though, and for some reason i feel like studying out of a book won't be quite as exciting as the sneaking up on sleeping sea turtles, investigating sunken boats, and dodging sea lions that we did on our practice dives.
Salsa classes are 4/6 of the way done. We're on a little pause right now because our instructor had to go to the mainland for a bit. At this point the moves are getting tougher to learn, so i've found that the best strategy is just to spin your partner around in circles for about an hour until the class is over.
For my new class, our assignment for the next three weeks is to film, interview and edit Galapagos residents on life on the islands. We'll be focussing on how the communities have changed, with each classmate taking a specific category like health, education, conservation. My portion is on the political structure here, and i think will be really interesting. Hopefully we'll get a good movie out of it, i'll let you know soon.
Mom and Dad came and left. I won't go into detail about their trip, but will instead let you question and look at the 3 or 4 million photos they have.
As far as scheduling goes, we finished our second class of the semester a week ago and are now a third of the way into the third class, "Political Ecology." Each class is three weeks, and for the third week of this class we'll be studying on the island of Isabela. From Isabela, we'll take a cruise around the islands, and wind up on Santa Cruz. My class will spend 3 more days studying on Santa Cruz before heading back to our home island, San Cristobal.
It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be the halfway point of my time here. With the upcoming traveling, i think the second semester is going to fly by as fast as the first. I miss everyone from home, and love hearing about how everyone is doing. Keep me updated. I may even post my mailing address soon. Don't forget it will probably take over two weeks to get any packages, and will cost a fortune.
Enjoy autumn. As it gets colder there, its getting warmer here : )
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