Where is Amber?

Hello friends! I have been absolutely terrible at updating lately...I apologize. I promise a true update eventually, but for now I thought I would share a couple links to a friend´s blog with stories from my weekend. Enjoy! :)


Amber goes to the cloud forest!

Amber learns how to use the macro setting on her camera!

Next stop...Crazy Town!

Boy some days I sure would like to give Ecuador a swift kick in the butt. Maybe that would wake it up and then it could pull its shit together. But mostly I love it anyway...it is kind of like my child who screams in the supermarket sometimes but is generally well behaved.

That being said... Haha, this is my life! ;) There is a reason that my blog is called “Siempre una Aventura!” (always an adventure)

I think I have mentioned before that my main goal for my “South American Journey” is to guide at an ecolodge in the jungle. Before I left Colombia I e-mailed out a bunch of applications. I heard back from only one lodge, and after meeting with the guy the job didn't seem perfect, but it was all I had! Anyway, I decided it would be a good experience and accepted the job, I then set out to acquire a volunteer visa (with the help of the lodge)...

My visa journey as related to my parents:

So I researched my visa on the US-Ecuadorian Consulate webpage. I copied all of the things that I need from my boss and sent him the information. Then today I stopped by the ministry building just to check in about getting my visa set up next week when I have my papers. The first security guard had me sit and wait until one of the offices reopened after lunch and then the guard at the door pointed me to a webpage (posted on the door) and kicked me out the building. It was fun. Anyway, I just went to the webpage...aaaaand many things have been removed from the "needed" list. For example...siiiigh... doctor´s certificate and HIV test. Guess what I got today? Doctor certificate and HIV test. The doctor visit cost me $50 not including taxis and the HIV test was $11 also not including taxis. Siiiiigh. AND my new roommate has declared that I should write a book just about this doctor visit...it was (by US standards) fairly insane yet very Ecuador.

Whatever whatever, in reality the visa process just got easier so whatever.

Doctor visit... included: another pelvic ultrasound (does this guy give ultrasounds for everything?), the doc wanting to measure himself (back to back) against me while I had no pants on (they don´t leave the room while you undress here....I swear people here have no shame....and it is totally ok to breastfeed on a busy street corner!), the doctor telling me that my belly was the right size if I were 4 months pregnant (I´m not pregnant by the way...which I know thanks to the random ultrasound), the doctor talking for an hour about the airport in Amsterdam...and him declaring I don´t have a yeast infection because the cotton swab that he swabbed me with didn´t smell!!!! He wants me to come back and visit him to get malaria meds when I get back from the US...I think maybe I will skip that visit.

Aaaaaand I got kicked out of my hostel room today. I thought it wasn´t going to happen since the hostel is almost empty and only 3 people had the room reserved and there are 4 beds and I am only 1 person. (I put the numbers so you can do the math...by my count there was still room for me...). Anyway I got bumped to a new room during my 20 minute lunch break between lab, doctor, boss and ministry visits. It was a pretty crazy move...I had to scoop up all of my nicely laid out belongings and dump them on a bed before running back up the stairs for more stuff. During all of this my new roommate kept yelling questions down the hall after me as I was running around. One of my past roommates moved out of this room because of him...he also went on a screaming rampage one night when he thought someone had stolen his phone charger. We´ll see how it goes. I am under the impression that he moves out Mondayish...I am sure that I can handle him until then. The other 2 people in my room are a couple from England and I just love them so far. I diagnosed the female with "classic parasites" and told her which pills to buy. She has been sick for some time and was recently treated with antibiotics which (of course) didn´t help...hopefully she really has parasites and I have now saved her life ;)

Oh man, I really love helping tourists! A girl who is staying in my hostel got robbed recently and went to the front desk to ask about where she could buy a new camera...the employee sent the girl to me saying "she knows where you can get one." And I do! I drew out a map for her and told her which bus stops to use and everything. I was very amused by this. I also gave excellent directions and maps to my 2 favorite couples in the hostel in order to find the 2 markets that are nearby. And then I magically produced a Spanish-English dictionary for some friends who apparently thought their Spanish was better than it is when they were packing. My teacher told me last week that I am a Quiteña now (person from Quito) because I know the city so well and can make recommendations to people. I got in a tif with a taxi driver the other day who kept declaring we were on Gran Colombia (street) when we indeed were not. I had to direct HIM how to get to where I wanted to go. Awwww Quito, besides being polluted and at an insane altitude, I still love you :)

During all the fun, I called Delta and learned that I would not be able to extend my ticket to March (which is when I am leaving). My return ticket is currently for January...which I have now been told would not have worked anyway since that is more than a year after I bought the tickets. Whaaaaaaatttt!? Anyway, I have to buy a new return ticket and it is cheapest to buy another round-trip ticket, so I am coming home for a visit from September 4-18^th.

On my last day in Ecuador I went back to the ministry to pick up my passport and new shiny volunteer visa...when I was informed that I do not qualify for a vol visa because the lodge I am working for is neither a foundation nor a true “company,” just a guy who happens to have some employees. This caused some panic... I was able to return in the afternoon to pick up my FREE 90 day extension on a tourist visa so that I can return to the country to apply for a different visa after my visit home.

And then... I went to the USA.