Work and travel..

Already two weeks of work in the Huancavilca Foundation, time is really flying here. Last week we went to see three families whose houses or more like shacks built on top of a river had collapsed. In these three houses lived 18 people. Luckily no one got hurt from the collapse, but the families with loads of little kids lost everything. Really sad. Hopefully we can help them get some materials and a safer place to built their houses than on the water. There are hundreds of houses like this built on a few poles on top of the water just waiting for the next flood to whip them out...
Since our foundation was the first one on the sight of the accident they interwied my boss for the national news and I appeared on the news as well. Already gaining fame in Ecuador ;)
Mostly my work here has been helping with the administration and marketing of the projects. The local kids are really interested in me and the other foreign trainee and often come to the office to see us. Since I also really wanted to do some work a bit closer to the people, we are planning to give some classes of cultural exchange in local schools with the other trainee. Am really looking forward to that.
Last weekend had a really good trip to Cuenca, a colonial city about three hours from Guayaquil with some other trainees and Ecuadorianos. The difference between the cities is huge. Cuenca was really quite, clean and cool, the opposite of Guayaquil.
Also visited a beautiful national park Cajas and did some hat shopping in a hat factory where they make the original Panama hats. Yes they are made in Ecuador.
If everything goes well in two weeks I should be in the Galapagos islands. We are planning a trip with some friends. It´s hugely expensive and will totally wreck my budget, but being so close to such an extraordinary place I just can´t miss the opportunity to go....