Sunday, April 7, 2013

I Want More Spanish!...by Ecuador George

I Want More Spanish! 
Ordering food will be the first thing I learn. This will be very easy because ordering food does not take a lot of words. It can be as simple as one or two phrases. Then I can get down to the basics, but food comes first.
 Here are two of my favorite words… In fact this is also my favorite phrase… Learn this along with a few nouns and you will be speaking Spanish.
Quiero mas… Quiero mas… Quiero mas…
I want more… I want more… I want more….......................

Thursday, April 4, 2013

ECUADOR DIGEST Quito's new Metro light rail system will open in 2016

Cuenca isn’t the only city in Ecuador building a light rail transportation system.

Quito’s Metro Tram project broke gorund in March and is scheduled to open its first metro line by mid 2016. A total investment of $1.4 billion USD, the project will be financed by the City of Quito, the Ecuadorian Government and several international financing sources.
http://www.cuencahighlife.com/post/2013/04/03/ECUADOR-DIGEST3cbr3eQuitos-Metro-light-rail-system-will-open-2016.aspx

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

eddsaid----cuenca---ready or not, here i am!!!: Mashpi Lodge

eddsaid----cuenca---ready or not, here i am!!!: Mashpi Lodge: Mashpi Lodge
A private driver picked us up from our friend's house for an early morning drive to Mashpi Lodge. Mashpi has ushered in a new level of tourism in Ecuador. It's an extremely high-end ecolodge hidden in an amazing cloud forest northwest of Quito.....

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Ecuador, Venezuela Trade Using New Virtual Currency:

Ecuador, Venezuela Trade Using New Virtual Currency:
QUITO – Ecuador sent Venezuela an initial shipment of crude palm oil under a new trade currency regime known as the Unified System for Regional Compensation, or Sucre, the Ecuadorian government said.
Ecuador’s state-run National Development Bank, or BNF, said Tuesday the shipment carrying 5,000 metric tons of crude palm oil – part of a bi-monthly export agreement between firms in both countries – left for Venezuela on Dec. 31.
The oil is used as a raw material for the food industry.
The medium of exchange was the Sucre, a virtual currency adopted by the ALBA bloc, whose members are Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

ALBA was conceived of by leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as an alternative to the now-defunct U.S. plan for the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

The transaction was executed via the countries’ central banks at a rate of $1.25 per Sucre, the BNF said, adding that it corrects distortions that multinational companies have generated in the palm oil refining chain, “which traditionally has exploited and undervalued the work of Ecuadorian producers.”

Dincodex S.A., in partnership with several other Ecuadorian companies, exported the crude palm oil to Venezuelan state-owned firm Industrias Diana, which will refine the raw material, the bank said. http://www.laht.com/article.asp?CategoryId=14089&ArticleId=383777

Monday, April 1, 2013

John Desmond Ott, Succumbed to gunshot wounds inflicted by robbers 16 OCT 2008


The Following Death Notice was printed in the local papers.

John Desmond Ott, son of M. Gerald and Virginia A (Desmond) Ott died unexpectedly on October 16, 2008 in Quito, Ecuador. He succumbed to gunshot wounds inflicted by robbers in mid-afternoon. He had owned a business in Quito since 2005. He was born in Midland, Michigan on January, 2, 1969. He graduated from Greenwich High School in 1987 and from New York University in 1995. Besides his parents, he is survived by his beloved wife of two years, Andrea Castillo de Ott, a daughter Joana, who turned one year old on October 22, sisters Julie Farris and Jana Ott, brother James Ott, brother-in-law John Farris, nephews Joseph and Jacob Farris, nieces Hayley Ganslaw and Anna Farris, and many, many friends throughout the world. A celebration of his life was held in Quito on October 19 and another will be held in New York in late November. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The John Desmond Ott Memorial Fund for the benefit of Joana Ott 
http://johnottmemorialfund.blogspot.com/

Fort Negrita Green Life As I Know It: Time To Purge (and Learn How To Get Rid of a Bunch...

Fort Negrita Green Life As I Know It: Time To Purge (and Learn How To Get Rid of a Bunch...: I'm leaving in 15 days to go to Ecuador. YIKES!! I've been throwing away (ahem) disposing responsibly, of much of my items. Alo...

Latin America Current Events & News - Section » Ecuador

Latin America Current Events & News - Section » Ecuador:

Quito Ecuador: students at increased risk of robbery, assault in school zones

Elcomercio.com reported the following:
Students are at increased risk of being robbed and assaulted in a number of school zones in Quito and environs.
A number of methods are used by assailants to relieve students of their cell phones, smartphones, and tablets. Many thieves will be dressed as a student in a similar school uniform which leads the victim to being vulnerable.
Sometimes assailants are in vehicles along the street and work in conjunction with another gang member dressed like a student and approaches the victim, when the assailants jump out of the car and make threats with knives or guns.
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Statistics indicate that in 2011, there were 2,410 robberies of students reported. In 2012, the number was 2,415. So far in 2013, in the northern administrative zone of Quito, there have been 160 robberies of students recorded. Other statistics reveal that the overall number of victims of the age group 16 – 30 has increased substantially.
A police official indicated there is at least one known band of thieves which mark their victims outside of high schools.
Some victims have reported that they believe the robbers have informants in the school or school areas casing the students who have expensive items and then work in conjunction with assailants outside the school.
There have also been reports of robberies of individuals pretending to be street vendors.
http://latinamericacurrentevents.com/category/ecuador/