My memory from last week is a bit suspect now, but I will try and cover the last week as well as I can. Work was pretty slow this week. The organization is currently having legal troubles so we moved out all of the valuable items for the week until we knew it was safe to bring it all back. It’s pretty complicated. That meant that were were pretty much without computer access for a week, and so it was hard to work on my marketing plan . I ended up skipping to #6 on the list, which meant calling a few hundred companies in Spanish. It was tough doing this but I feel like it definitely improved my comprehension skills.
I went out with Harry on Monday and the following day all of the managers from the other clubs in Argentina, Peru, and the US came down to Quito and we had a nice barbecue along with the company’s local board members. One of the board members actually runs an international travel guide company and so I got his business card so that I could possibly intern at his company in Ecuador next summer. There is also another board member who owns an environmental consulting company that i could possibly intern for next summer as well. Networking!
The next two nights I went to pub quizzes was filled with pub quizzes. We lost both nights.
I decided on Friday afternoon that I was going to go to Guayaquil for the weekend. After work, i rushed back to my hostel to pack my bag, and then took a taxi to the airport. Thirty minutes later, I was on a flight to Guayaquil. All I had to do was show up at the airport and book my ticket for a flight leaving 30 minutes later. Try try that in the US!
Once in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, I checked into my hotel for $10 a night. I headed out and walked around the city. I was surprised to see a KFC on most blocks. During my walk, I decided to go into a Casino and lost $2 in the slot machines.
I woke up early the next morning to see the sites and check into a cheaper hotel. $10 is expensive when I can get a room for $6. I went to the Malecon 2000 first, the waterfront. It was really nice to just walk and relax there for a while. From the waterfront, I walked a few blocks to a park, filled with Iguanas. I sat on a bench and just watched them and the people for a while. One kid would hold onto an Iguanas tail and pretty much walk it like a dog. After the park, I continued to walk around until I felt exhausted.
At night, I went to a few more casinos and lost a few more $. I also headed to a few of the clubs and danced for a bit. Something else interesting happened later that night that I will tell when I get home. But anyways, the room i stayed in was crap and i got bitten all over by bedbugs.
I woke up later the next morning I visited a craft market and browsed for a bit. I ended up buying a “break glass in case of emergency” box that contained toilet paper. I am hoping to get some made locally and resell them on my website.
After seeing the market, I took a cab to Las Penas. Las Penas is a really interesting neighborhood because it’s colorful with pastel colored homes on a hill that can one can only visit by walking. I met a friendly Ecuadorian old guy who gave explained the place a bit more, and together we visited the mall. We walked around for a bit and I got some great Oreo Cheesecake. I got back to my hotel at around 7, and stayed in for the night watching some movies in my hotel.
This morning, I got to the airport at around 11, and took a flight back to Quito at 11:45. I had a bit of a fever today, and so I napped in my hostel until about 5. Afterward, I got my laundry done, a haircut for $2, and a new pair of glasses for $40 (I lost one pair, and the other pair was got broken). Just my luck.