Greetings from Quito! At this point I know many of you are thinking, "what...Quito"? What's goings on? Let me take a second to explain. This is a great update for any FS spouses who might be reading this wondering if I will ever find work as "fsowannabe" posted in the comments under my last blog. I hope you are inspired!
As you all know, I have really been looking hard to find something that would be fulfilling, interesting work for me in Caracas that would allow me to utilize my skills. I do not want to demean embassy jobs for spouses in any way, because for many they provide a good option. The problem has been that the opportunities that have been options for me have just not been a good match for me. A couple of weeks ago, a friend mentioned a development project proposal in Ecuador and told me they were looking for someone to help them translate their proposal and fit it to the formats requested by the funding organization, etc. She asked if I'd be interested. Those of you who know me well already know the answer to that question is obvious. About a week later they contacted me and decided they wanted to hire me on a short term contract. After speaking on skype a few times, they also thought it would be a good idea for me to come to Quito for 10 days or so to work on the proposal with them. So, that's how I got to Quito...without Brian :-(.
I have to say that Quito is absolutely fantastic. Although I have been working from about 8:00-8:00 nearly every day, what I have seen of the city is wonderful. It's modern, they have lots of green space and the prices are shockingly cheap compared to Caracas. It was cold and rainy today (something I haven't seen in a really long time) so I needed to buy something to keep warm. I bought a hand knit wool sweater at the artisan market for $12. Incredible! Aside from that, the people that I have interacted with here are outstanding, "chevere" as we say in Venezuela. They are very warm, patient and welcoming people. In addition to the people and the place that are so great here I am also loving my work. I have found that even though I have been working so much and arrive at the hotel absolutely exhausted at the end of the day, I am enthralled by my work. It is one of the most intriguing projects I have ever worked on and I feel privileged to be included in the discussions I have been a part of here. This could be the catalyst I needed to go ahead an launch my own consulting business.
As I said when I opened this post, I hope any FS spouses who might be discouraged or willing to give in because they haven't found interesting work are energized by my post and that it gives them some hope that something's out there. For me it just took talking to a lot of people about my interests, time and patience with finding the right thing.
Tomorrow I'm planning to get up early and go to Mitad del Mundo which I'll have to write more about once I've seen it, but I heard it's pretty cool. Hope all is well wherever you are reading this (especially you in Caracas Bri)!
Abrazos!
