Here are a couple shots from the first week here in Ecuador. Here, the custom is to eat large breakfasts and lunch, and either nothing or just a snack of bread/sandwiches and coffee for dinner. The light and colors at this lunch were just too pretty and picturesque to resist breaking out my camera and taking these couple shots. Pictured are tomate de arbole (tree tomato) juice, avocado salad, rice, and steak.

I think most people, even if they haven’t come close to starting to pack, have at least glanced at the IES Master Packing List.  If you’re like me, you looked at it weeks ago, and already have your suitcase with most of your things inside sitting on your bedroom floor.  Such advance planning– am I just too excited to wait and a little obsessive compulsive? Sure.  Am I also just really intimidated and a little bewildered by the sparseness of the packing list? Definitely.

I know without a doubt that my time in the Cook Islands will span more than one post because there’s so much that I did.  Some background, first though.

How would I summarize my hike through the Andes? A handful of plant snot.

Check that mucus. (Photo credit Amanda Stasiewicz.)

So far I’ve been pretty lucky whenever I venture outside of Christchurch and go somewhere.  In terms of weather, activities, and finding excellent places to eat.  When I ventured to Kaikoura, however, I wasn’t so lucky.

Only one week stands between me and my lifelong dream of living in Paris. In one week, I will be able to stroll along the Champs Elysees or pop into the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa. In one week, I can eat as many croissants, macaroons and baguettes as I please. In one week, I will be embarking on an extraoridnary new adventure in life.