Nancy Germeshausen Klavans Cultural Bridge Fellowship: Quito Summer 2006

Simultaneously while i am interning at the UN i am also eagerly planning my trip to Quito to work for www.e-ducate.org.

I have been emailing with the director and her team to coordinate my living arrangements and travel there. Along with all the excitment comes a bit of angst over what is to come. I have been hearing more and more about the safety issues in Ecuador. Although known for its beauty and warm people there are also stories of robbery and criminal behavior.

I am usually very calm if i were to go to unsafe destinations – ie Iraq- but the big difference here is that i don’t speak spanish and i don’t really know anyone in Ecuador. The spanish bit is getting better – i forcibly make my roomate Paulina and her sister Adriana speak to each other and me sometimes in spanish so i can pick up words and hopefully one day figure out what they are saying – they’ll be in trouble if it is all about me:)

The safety bit was never a concern until a few weeks back when my friend stated drilling me on the situation there. Consensus was that it really was not that bad and that the crime there is petty crime. If one is to excersise common sense and not try to be too flashy then everything should be fine. Quito really is like any other city that has good and bad areas – i actually think DC ranks higher in crime rates than Quito. Simply knowing the ins and outs of where to go and when should hopefully do the trick!

My fears have been quelled – it also helped a great deal to get emails from my ‘boss’ to say she will be picking me up at the airport and others in the office will show us around. As i think all the NGK fellows have experienced – the most intimidating part of living somewhere new is the part leading up to it and once you are there it should all and usually does come together.

I am expecting a call from my mother in about 5 minutes of her reading this…

 till next time…..

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