2012 Cuenca Perspectives Collage

2012 Cuenca Perspectives Collage
VIVA CUENCA

VIVA CUENCA!

My mission in publishing this blog is first to provide a living history of my settlement and life in Cuenca, and to provide myself and the reader with a journal account delineating my reasons for why I have chosen to settle in Cuenca. Second, the posts are my way of staying in contact with family and friends back in the states, and to provide them with an understanding of a country and culture that most North Americans have little knowledge and awareness. Third, the blog is open to one and all who wish to compare and contrast the experiences of expat bloggers living in Cuenca, so that you can determine whether or not from your perspective Cuenca is an appropriate move for you. Fourth, my blog provides another example of how expats view and interpret life in Cuenca. Ecuadorians and Cuencanos who may read this blog are especially invited to post comments that may enhance all expats understanding and appreciation of Cuneca and its people, or to correct any misinterpretations in my assumptions and perceptions of Cuencano culture. Finally, I hope I can convey the feeling of love and appreciation that grows within me each passing day for this heavenly city nestled in the Andes and its very special people.

Monday, December 23, 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM CUENCA, ECUADOR: THE SPECTACLE OF LIGHTS




MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
            AND THE HOPE FOR A                                        PROSPEROUS, HEALTHY, AND                          JOYOUS NEW YEAR
                                BLESSED WITH PEACE
                                    AND CONTENTMENT.


                                WITH LOVE AND SEASON'S GREETINGS,

                                           JIM MOLA


ENJOY THE LINK BELOW OF THE SPECTACLE OF CHRISTMAS LIGHTS IN CUENCA, ECUADOR.  CLICK ON THE FIRST PHOTO TO SEE AN ENLARGE IMAGE AND TO BE ABLE TO READ THE COMMENTARY UNDER EACH PHOTO.

https://plus.google.com/photos/111741036841400152108/albums/5960786075336859233

Friday, December 13, 2013

WHAT MAKES CITIES BEAUTIFUL?


BUENOS AIRES
A very good friend of mine, Gil Castle just launched his new website, CitiesBeautiful.org, and would love to have you take a look. At CitiesBeautiful.org you will find free, interactive maps of hundreds of beautiful features of cities around the world.  Every feature has been categorized using a glossary of 15 civic beauty terms.  Gil developed the glossary by looking for common threads among the theories of beauty of aesthetic philosophers, architects, city planners, and related disciplines from the Ancient Greeks up to the present.
   
Since “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” the website also has a short psychometric questionnaire (somewhat like a Myers Briggs personality assessment test) with which you can discover your preferences among 15 classifications. You can then use your test results to prioritize the beautiful features of cities that you visit, both virtually at the website and in your future travels.

Gil will be doing statistical analyses of the responses to the psychometric questionnaire, as part of a book he is writing on the nature of civic beauty – so the more people who take the test, the better.  Thanks for checking it out.

http://citiesbeautiful.org/cities