送交者: NF 于 March 26, 2002 15:53:59:
TARA的父母来自东欧。几十年来她们家随着她作采矿工程师的父亲走遍了加拿大很多地方。三年前她大学毕业，曾经在我们办公室工作了一年。去年她辞掉了我们这里的工作，参加了一个国际环保组织去ECUADOR做一年志愿服务，顺带学习拉丁语。在ECUADOR她陆续给办公室里的人发来EMAIL，介绍她在那里的工作学习情况及当地的风土人情。征得TARA的同意，我把她的一些EMAIL贴在这里，希望校友们能喜欢。有些地方我作了一些简单的注释，方便大家阅读。
Hello from Ecuador
September 29, 2001
Hi,
How are things with you? I am here in Ecuador now, suffering a bit from food poisoning, but otherwise enjoying my trip. I came down sick on Thursday, but thought that I was going to be OK on Friday. I will have to remind myself in the future that eating a big meal and going salsa dancing the day after you have contracted food poisoning is bound to have dire consequences.
Quito (The capital of Ecuador, in the north-central part of the country. Settled by the Quito people, it was captured by the Incas in 1487 and held by the Spanish from 1534 until 1822. The city has frequently been damaged by earthquakes. Population, 890,355.) could use the help of an Environmental Department. The transit system here is incredible, but all of the buses emit the most vile combination of chemicals that I have ever had the opportunity to breathe. I am planning to leave Quito ASAP for Mindo, a quiet little nature reserve which is supposed to be quite beautiful, and a lot less polluted. I have seen a few of the tourist sights here, including one of the best museums in Quito and the equator exhibit, which I managed to arrive at on September 23, the equinox (Either of the two times during a year when the sun crosses the celestial equator and when the length of day and night are approximately equal; the vernal equinox or the autumnal equinox.). They were having a bit of a festival to celebrate that day, and there were traditional dances being performed in the centre of the little town that exists along with the monument.
The local people here are very nice and undeniably chatty. It is possible
to have hours of conversation without saying more than a word or two, if you introduce the right subject. Which is a good thing, since I have not
started my Spanish lessons yet, and my Spanish is still pretty rudimentary (Of or relating to basic facts or principles; elementary.). The hostals (A supervised, inexpensive lodging place for travelers, especially young travelers) have a mish-mash of people from just about everywhere, and I have even had the opportunity to practice my French a few times since I arrived.
If you have time, drop me a line and let me know how things are going at the
office.
Tara