The Count Down

20 more days and we will be in Ecuador.

We've sublet our apartment and are getting last minute things taken care of.

I've been having a difficult time focusing on my art work and think it's due to going away soon. I have plenty of time to take care of things but my mind keeps wondering and I haven't felt like being in the studio, which is unusual. But I need to buckle down and do some work before I go. There's another hummingbird painting I want to do and finish my "Links" piece of North America, it would be great to complete these before I leave.
It will be interesting to see how this trip influences my art work.
One goal when I am there is to do one painting a day. It might be to much but that will be the goal.

So 20 more days of the see saw.... everyday ho hum / oh my gosh I'm going to Ecuador!

Dates Are Set

The dates are set! We will be leaving June 15th and returning September 18th.
Wow!
I still can't believe it. It's such an amazing opportunity.
We haven't found anyone to sublet our place or my art studio yet but hopefully we will. We have a few lists going on; what to bring, things to do before we leave...... but it's all coming together bit by bit.
I'm reading up on the history of Ecuador, I've got a travel book, a wildlife book and now binoculars (thanks to the parents) to check out all 134 species of hummingbirds.

I'm getting my art supplies together. I will bring water color and gouache with me since it's the easiest to bring. I like the water color blocks and tried to make one myself. I even got the peelable glue that goes around the edge, which is hot pink in color :)
But after buying the paper, cutting it down and gluing, I think it's about the same to just go buy it in a store.
Which means everyone will be getting hand made recycled paper pads with hot pink glue for the holidays.

oh- and something even more exciting then 134 species of hummingbirds, if you can believe it.... is that in the city of Guayaquil and the Quito Zoo they have the squash penny machines.
I know, I can't freaking believe it.
For those of you who don't know I collect the pennies that you put in the machine for 50 cents and get a squashed penny with the location on it. The criteria is that I actually go to the place, so please don't start sending me squashed pennies even though now you might think of me every time you see one.

Vaccinations

I'm not used to getting vaccinations for travel but when you read the outcome of what can happen I was excited to get them. Even if my insurance didn't cover it.

What we needed:
Hep A (second shot in 6 months)
Hep B (will have 2 before I leave and 1, 6 months after that)
Tetnus (which I was due for anyway)
Yellow Fever (nasty if you get it from rude masquitos)
Typhoid (Daniel had a rare allergic reaction to it, his face swelled up. I was fine.)
Malaria pills (only taken when we head into the jungle)

So we are all shot up and ready to go. Now we just have to hear when we are going, where we will be staying, and get our plane tickets.

Adios

History of Ecuador

I thought of writing a paragraph about the history of Ecuador and Quito (the capitol) where we will be staying but instead here is the link to wikipedia's history of it :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador
I'm sure it will be more informative then what I could write.

In the mean time we still don't have a date for when we go. Most likely the 2nd week in June. Still don't know where we are staying but we've looked at a couple of sites and can get a fully furnished 3 bedroom with everything included for around $500 a month (we might not come back).
I go from forgetting that we are going - to giggling and squealing to myself that we are going to Ecuador for a few months. It's pretty freakin' exciting.

I have been listening to my language tapes, of course not as much as I should be. And will definitely take classes when I'm there.
I almost have all my vaccinations.
I'm still figuring out what art supplies to bring. But definitely my camera and I'm going to get a zoom lens for the trip (when I get my tax return). So I can take pictures of all those fabulous hummingbirds.
eeehhh ...... hehehehe!!!!!

Just found out

So..... Daniel found out Friday that he got the MAP fellowship. Which means we will be going to Ecuador for 12 weeks, maybe more this summer. We are both pretty excited!
He'll be working on bringing sustainable energy to rural communities. I'll be checking the country out, creating art, learning Spanish and who knows what else.
I thought starting a blog would be a good way to communicate with everyone while we are away.
So here it is.
We are not sure of all the details yet but we will be leaving around June.
I don't know how much writing I will do until I get there but I got excited and thought I'd get a blog site now.

alissa