The Journey of a Friendly Giant

It's very rare that your first time traveling will be your only time. Once exposed to the exciting and unpredictable newness that often comes with leaving home, the chances of you making more travel plans are very high. What I enjoy most about traveling is the reminder it gives me that life comes in different colours, flavours, tastes and smells. Traveling also does a wonderful job in teaching lessons of humility and tolerance of different ways to live life. I'm no rookie to the traveling game, my travel bug has become more of a monster; I've lived in over 5 countries and visited over 25 in my lifetime so far. In fact, this blog originated as a travel blog for an international internship I was fortunate enough to experience with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). I wouldn't be the person I am today without having traveled as much as I have, and I hope my now 14 month old (already!?) can say the same one day. Needless to say however, like most thi...

Communication will always be key. Without it, businesses, schools, households and human relationships would suffer tremendously. Being social beings means that communicating is what we rely on in order to move forward. This blog post will be about the importance of communication through networking, the lessons I've learned so far, and the opportunities I've come across. Cerro Blanco, the dry tropical conservation area where I volunteer, receives interns on a regular basis. Some of them are national from universities across Ecuador, and others are international like my partner Lindsay, and I. When I first arrived, my main priority within the office was to network and advertize Cerro Blanco in any way shape or form. This wasn't the priority that was given to me, but I took the initiative because nobody else was doing it. I started with the basics, updating their blog, their Facebook, website, and brochures. But as time went by, I realized something. . . It all began when Ce...