Tumbaco Quiz Answers

Thanks to all who played our Tumbaco Quiz! You can all have an internet chócale! You can have one even if you DIDN'T play!! Here are the answers and some explanations:

1. What does "¡Chócale!" mean?
a. chocolate!
b. a million dollars!
c. a new kitty!
->d. high five!
e. SLANDER! err.. libel?
f. pie in the face!

In Spanish, chocar means "to crash." So don't take "chócale" literally... They use the phrase for high fives, fist bumps, and whatever other faddish alternatives to handshaking there might be.

Spotlight on Tumbaco

Welcome to our latest Spotlight! This time around, we're Spotlighting the lovely town of Tumbaco where we spent our last three months in Peace Corps training.

Kirstie and Isaac about to be sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers.
Photo by Isaac Bickford.

Indonesia Quiz Answers

Hello, friends!

Here is our last quiz answer blog for a while (at least, we anticipate it will be). These are relevant to Indonesia's Quiz. Congrats to Albert and Kimberly for winning!

1. What does "kelapa" mean? (hint - it's Indonesian).
     c. Coconut

Isaac and a coconut in Cambodia.
(C) Isaac and Kirstie Bickford

2. On which island do most Indonesians live? (If you say "the one that has the most people," you fail.)
     Java. According to Wikipedia, Java is the world's most populous island!!

3. Fill in the blank: Papua New Guinea + Papua = _______________
     New Guinea. The island of New Guinea consists of two halves: Papua New Guinea and Papua. We're not quite sure how that adds up...

Sorry for this not-very-exciting post. We've been away from the internet machine for a while because WE'RE IN ECUADOR! We'll have some more news on that front very soon!

Chao!
..Kirstie and Isaac..

Spotlight on Indonesia

Hi Friends!

Today we bring you our last Spotlight for our Fall 2011 trip to Asia. While all of you in the U.S. were getting chilly to start your winter, we headed to Indonesia!

Kirstie and Isaac explore an alien device, er, a lighthouse artifact at a maritime museum in Jakarta.
(C) Isaac and Kirstie Bickford

Nepal Quiz Time Answers

Sorry for the wait! We've been enjoying our holiday season with family, and we've also been enjoying not working. But it's the new year and we're back on track to finish out our LEAD duties!

Here are the answer's to Nepal's Quiz Time:

1. What exactly is an ox? (Yes, this is totally relevant to Nepal's Spotlight.)

An ox is a bovine (cattle, buffalo, yaks, and things like that) that is bred and trained to work. They're usually male, castrated, and specific breeds (just like we use Holstein specifically for milk production). In Nepal, we saw oxen used for plowing fields, pulling carts, and even riding with a saddle!

A cow at a temple. We assume that means it's holy or someone would be using it for work - different cattle are valuable for different reasons in Nepal. (C) Isaac and Kirstie Bickford

Spotlight on Nepal

We spent November 5-17 in Nepal, staying in Kathmandu, Biratnagar and surrounding villages, and a teeny little community called Samitar.

Isaac and Kirstie in the basmati rice fields in southeast Nepal. (C) Isaac and Kirstie Bickford

This post has a LOT of pictures, so please click to read more and be patient as things load!

Spotlight on the Philippines

Welcome to our Spotlight on the Philippines! We arrived on October 21^st and made our way to Davao City on the southern island of Mindanao, where we stayed until the 26^th. We’d love to speak to you in person about our time in Davao, so please save your questions until we see you again!

Isaac and Kirstie in Lubuagan, northern Philippine. (C) Isaac and Kirstie Bickford

FYI, this post is picture-heavy and may take a minute or two to load. Don't forget to scroll all the way down for this country's quiz!!

Spotlight on Cambodia

Here is our second Spotlight, this time on the Kingdom of Cambodia. Our Spotlights will continue to be little snippets of things we saw and learned while in each of the countries we visit this fall. Feel free to skip the parts you don’t want to read, but don’t miss the quiz at the bottom!

Kirstie and Isaac in Mondulkiri, Cambodia
(C) Isaac and Kirstie Bickford

Spotlight on Thailand

..We're going to have a series of posts called "Spotlight on..." to give a little information about each of the countries we visit. Here is the first, on Thailand..

Kirstie and Isaac in Chiangrai Province.
(C) Isaac and Kirstie Bickford