The Journey of a Friendly Giant

Every country has their share of crazy drivers. But here in Guayaquil, saying "just a few" is the understatement of the century. My ears eventually got used to the constant sound of beeping, and people shouting out their car windows, but that isn’t my main issue. Many of the street lights don’t work, and most the ones that do, don’t have a “walk/don’t walk” sign. When crossing the street, whether you believe it’s rightfully your turn to cross the street, you always have to be alert. Many cars don’t follow the rules, and keep driving even when it’s a red light for them. Sometimes, in the center of Guayaquil, there are more than 20 people crossing on both sides at one time, but that doesn’t seem to faze them. They simply keep driving, and people are forced to suddenly stop before them, or run across past them to not get hit. The people don’t have the right of way, and are not “royalty of the road”, as I was taught in Canada. Here in Guayaquil, the cars are in control. I almost ...

  An old tradition for the Pro-Bosque ( Pro-Forest ) foundation employees is an annual camping trip. It is probably the only time where all of the employees from the different departments, as well as the interns are at the same place, at the same time without their serious work faces on. This past weekend, I happily joined the rest of the team at the Cerro Blanco dry tropical forest at 5pm for our camping adventure. When I arrived, they were preparing what I consider a gourmet meal for camping. They had shish kabobs with beef, chicken and sausage, a big pot of rice, avocado, a garden salad and maduro , which translates as: ripe . It’s sweet cooked ripe plantain bananas. Everyone contributed to the cooking, while laughing, singing and taking pictures. Okay.... so we had a kitchen for some of the stuff :) Outdoor bbq Dig in everyone! The "young people" table :) After some great conversations about family, friends, and traveling, the food was all gone, and we we...

When I’m asked to describe myself in a few words, “confident” is usually one of the words I choose without hesitation. I say that with confidence because I’m usually not the nervous type, I’m very comfortable in front of crowds, love public speaking, networking, and spreading the laughter.  However, during the CIDA International youth internship program interview, I don’t think I’ve never been more nervous in my whole entire life. I felt genuine fear because I really wanted to be chosen for this amazing opportunity, I wanted to be exposed and immersed into another country for 6 full months. The position was entitled “Economic Development Officer” with details that varied from country to country and the interns would be working with different CIDA’s partner organizations. To me, it was an opportunity of a lifetime, being a new graduate from a International Commerce and Global development Degree program, I knew finding a job would not be an easy task. And despite all of the classes...