Photographer Friends

Probably one of the most enjoyable experience of living overseas, is meeting those people who have chosen to bust out of the box of routine that is so easy to live in while residing in the states. I've met hangliding pilots building houses, Colorado kayayers buying bars, English prep-school kids starting newspapers, and, maybe most interesting, three amazing photogaphers.



Our friends Karla and Ivan http://tothetip.wordpress.com/ are currently traveling to the tip of South American on a photographic odyssey. They used to be our neighbors in Guapalo, that was, when they weren't traveling the globe working for any number of magazines on assignment.



And our friend Caroline Bennett http://bop.nppa.org/2009/still_photography/winners/index.php?cat=UES&place=2nd just won an award from the National Press Photographers association for here story on children being raised in Mexican prisons by their incarcerated mothers. Caroline recently took my students on a field trip to the World Press Photo Exhibit. It was a great experience for them to spend some time digesting press photography with a true professional.



Inspiring.

Not my cat, nor my fridge, just a funny picture

Iron Maiden, not only are they alive, but they are in Quito!

Yes, even in Quito, the tradition of painting some rocks white and spelling out the name of your favorite team, artist, religious figure is popular....

To celebrate IRON MAIDEN's first-ever appearance in Ecuador, several local IRON MAIDEN fans have created a sign spelling out the word "MAIDEN" and placed it in the Pichincha mountain, just above the country's capital, Quito. Check out a photo below.

IRON MAIDEN will play at the 30,000-capacity Aucas Stadium in Quito, Ecuador on Tuesday, March 10.

Loaded up with a full complement of band, crew and twelve tons of stage set and equipment, the band's customized Boeing 757, christened Ed Force One by the fans and flown again by Astraeus Airlines captain and MAIDEN vocalist Bruce Dickinson, is once again circumnavigating 80,000 km around the planet for concerts in 20 cities in 13 countries, making it a staggering 39 countries in total visited on this tour, playing to almost two million fans.

A Touch of Class...

Last night, my Spanish teacher invited us to a performance by the Ecuadorian Symphony. Our friends, Graham and Tia, accompanied us downtown to the Centro Historico. The unique thing about this particular concert, was that it was held in the most famous church here in Quito, La Compania. La Compania is universally known as being the 'church of gold,' and that made quite a backdrop to the concert. It´s said that the church is covered in some 7 tons of gold leaf....



On another classy note, I recently reached a milestone in 'adult' life. I´ve bought a tuxedo. You see, my cousin is having a black-tie wedding in two weeks in Washington D.C. I checked in on rental prices ($100-$200 depending if you want something nice or something a senior in high-school did god-knows what it the previous prom weekend), and then I checked in on a custom tailor here in Quito. For $200 bucks, I took him a photo of a Calvin-Klein tux, he took all my measurements, we discussed some custom options, and now I´m a tuxedo owner. If you´re traveling in Quito, don´t miss the chance to have some custom tailored clothes made for prices that define class in my book...