7 Days....

Getting ever closer to my departure date and everything seems to be slowly falling into place. Today I went with Ryan down to Needem Mass to get my visa. The hoops required for me to get this thing have been the bane of my existence since I have come home. The requirements included Medical exams, criminal records, Finding a notary, and even a HIV test! I have been running around all of NH trying leap though all of the hoops. I was so nervous that I had somehow missed something.

The dive down to Mass was uneventful despite the early start. The drive was made much easier with the help of the GPS unit, I love living in a family of geeks. We pull up to her huge house just a little before 10. The consulate is a very busy women who opens the door for us and quickly rushes off to take care of something in the other room. Ryan and I stand in the foyer and admire the insides of her richly decorated house. I crystal chandelier looms over out heads and the rich wood work winds its way up the lage spiral staircase. Sitting on the couch in the next room over I could see an elderly couple both with folders, i could only assume that there where here for the same reason that I was. Alert standing slightly awkwardly for a few minutes, the consulate rushed back in and told us to take a seat in the other room with the other couple. I smiles and waves as we passed them by and seated our (sat down) on a stuffy white couch. It was the gentleman that spoke first. He asked me if i was going to Ecuador and his face lit up when I told him my plans. He told me that it was a beautifully country and that i was going to love it. he was so friendly, i wish that i could have talked to him longer, and I hope that the other people in Ecuador are as nice as he was. Betreiz led them away and after a few minutes she led them to the door and ushered us in. The whole time I was there the phone was ringing off the hook...it was no wonder that she was so hard to get a hold of! We sat down at her kitchen table and I handed her my folder with the documents that i Pain painstakingly acquired and organized. She pulled them all out in one lump, riffled through them quickly and began stamping and sighing my passport with out a word. She was more machine the person and I was happy to get out of there.
My visa is one of the last hurtles in my way of getting on that plane in just a few days. Now that it is done, it slowly is setting in that I am going away. I am nervous, but mostly excited for this trip. i am going to miss my family and friends very much as i go abroad, I hope that we can all remain in touch with Skype and IM's.

Now for some Practical stuff....
If you have not gotten Skype yet and would like to talk to me while i am away, now is a good time to get it. Skype is a program that you download on to your computer and using a Mic and your speakers we can chat for free. You can get Skype here (http://www.skype.com/)

You may also want my address while I am away

When I am in Quito I can get Mail here..

My Name
C/O Haruna Suzuki
USFQ-GAIAS
Campus Cumbaya
Diego de Robles S/N
Quito,‭ ‬Ecuador

And when I am in the Galapagos I can get mail here...

My Name
GAIAS
Universidad San Francisco de Quito
Via Playa Mann
Puerto Baquerizo‭ ‬Moreno‭
‬San Cristobal,‭ ‬Galapagos‭
‬ECUADOR

‭** ‬NOTE:‭ ‬When sending mail to Ecuador,‭ ‬please do not send via Certified Mail.‭ ‬ It is very difficult and usually very expensive to get items sent via certified mail out of customs.‭ ‬The best way to send mail is via regular air mail or for those sending from the U.S,‭ ‬via Global Priority mail.

I will continue to use my KSC E-mail address (cmagoon @ksc.mailcruiser.com) ‭


‭OK, that is all the news fit to print for tonight, I will update again soon!
‭~GalapagosGal

30 days and counting.....

Hello and welcome to the official blog of my wonderful Galapagos adventure! I hope to be able use this space to share pictures and stories about my term away. Updates will be a little slow for now until I get to the islands and then i hope to update at least weekly. Feel free to leave comments and let me know about what is happening back home

~Chrysann
(Galapagos Gal)