KevinVH
Nikonian!
http://facesofecuador.com/essays/2014/01/my-first-year-in-ecuador/
Or the plain text copied here:
First year here! My first year here. Today I'm officially living here for a year. Time has passed fast, and in a way it feels like I've been here forever, but on the other hand I feel like I still have a lot to see, learn and experience. I want to make this a tradition to write a small text about the passed year, so from now on each 11th of January I'll be putting out a blogpost.
Since this is the first time, for me this will be the year I experienced the most change/adaptation.
What I experienced as good things:
• I'm finally together with my girlfriend. The step from a long distance relationship to living together hasn't been easy. We both had to adapt, but in the end I'm glad we did it the way we did.
• I'm living more healthy then in Belgium. I'm eating healthier and going out more on my bike.
• I'm enjoying my photography more, there is more to take pictures of, more nature and more interesting culture.
• making the step from living with my parents to living alone has made me more responsible. • We've had a serious setback in March, we got robbed in the house, and I'm still getting on my feet because of that. It has made me realise that life isn't always sunshine.
Now for the bad things.
• Like I said on the last point of my good things: Our house got broken into. This was a serious beatdown. We lost about 15.000 USD, consisting of my 2 work computers, my work camera and most used lens and some other things that are near impossible to purchase over here. That event made us live a lot more conscious of the dangers, and made us live more economical.
• Going along with the one above here: Technology is hard to come by here, and ridiculously expensive. Expect to pay 3 times the value of an entry level camera, and not even the newest one, 3 generations down the line.
• Public services are slow, inefficient, and expensive. Getting some papers for my visa or just paying the electricity here takes forever!
Now it may look like it hasn't not been all good, but you're wrong. Off course we've had some setbacks, after all, I moved from one of the most prosperous and advanced countries, to what some still consider a third world country. It's been hard, and it will continue to be hard for some time to come, but it was/is well worth it. I've read so many stories about photographers leaving behind their normal life to go and live the adventure, and while what I've done maybe isn't trekking around South America with a backpack, it hasn't been something everyone would do. I really feel this enormous change has made me better as a person and a photographer, and will benefit me for the rest of my life. So in the end there's one question that needs to be answered: if I could go back a year, would I do it again knowing what I know now? DEFINITELY!
I've been happy living together with my second half Adriana, and will continue to do so to live my life to the fullest and make sure to make Ecuador a better place photographically wise..
Or the plain text copied here:
First year here! My first year here. Today I'm officially living here for a year. Time has passed fast, and in a way it feels like I've been here forever, but on the other hand I feel like I still have a lot to see, learn and experience. I want to make this a tradition to write a small text about the passed year, so from now on each 11th of January I'll be putting out a blogpost.
Since this is the first time, for me this will be the year I experienced the most change/adaptation.
What I experienced as good things:
• I'm finally together with my girlfriend. The step from a long distance relationship to living together hasn't been easy. We both had to adapt, but in the end I'm glad we did it the way we did.
• I'm living more healthy then in Belgium. I'm eating healthier and going out more on my bike.
• I'm enjoying my photography more, there is more to take pictures of, more nature and more interesting culture.
• making the step from living with my parents to living alone has made me more responsible. • We've had a serious setback in March, we got robbed in the house, and I'm still getting on my feet because of that. It has made me realise that life isn't always sunshine.
Now for the bad things.
• Like I said on the last point of my good things: Our house got broken into. This was a serious beatdown. We lost about 15.000 USD, consisting of my 2 work computers, my work camera and most used lens and some other things that are near impossible to purchase over here. That event made us live a lot more conscious of the dangers, and made us live more economical.
• Going along with the one above here: Technology is hard to come by here, and ridiculously expensive. Expect to pay 3 times the value of an entry level camera, and not even the newest one, 3 generations down the line.
• Public services are slow, inefficient, and expensive. Getting some papers for my visa or just paying the electricity here takes forever!
Now it may look like it hasn't not been all good, but you're wrong. Off course we've had some setbacks, after all, I moved from one of the most prosperous and advanced countries, to what some still consider a third world country. It's been hard, and it will continue to be hard for some time to come, but it was/is well worth it. I've read so many stories about photographers leaving behind their normal life to go and live the adventure, and while what I've done maybe isn't trekking around South America with a backpack, it hasn't been something everyone would do. I really feel this enormous change has made me better as a person and a photographer, and will benefit me for the rest of my life. So in the end there's one question that needs to be answered: if I could go back a year, would I do it again knowing what I know now? DEFINITELY!
I've been happy living together with my second half Adriana, and will continue to do so to live my life to the fullest and make sure to make Ecuador a better place photographically wise..
