Sunday, September 29, 2013

Back to work

After having a wonderful trip home, I'm back in Quito and back at work. Things really built up while I was away, so I had a lot to do this week. I had to set up for and run an activity called "Interclass" which I had never done before and was really nervous about getting right. I spent all of Wednesday afternoon setting up the big room we use for the activity. Luckily, I had some help from some nice teachers who helped me figure out where everything was supposed to go. On Thursday we had the activity, in which multiple classes come together and basically do an elaborate role play to get the students talking. It all went pretty well and I sat down afterward and wrote the instructions for how to set it all up so that I have them for next cycle.

Andres took some vacation time this week, so it's been really nice to see him in the mornings before I go to work. Also, he's been doing all the cooking which has been awesome because I've been so tired from traveling and from work.


Speaking of cooking, I think I want to get back to trying new things, particularly vegetarian meals. This is a little tricky because Andres doesn't like some of the more hearty vegetables that are a good substitute for meat, but I don't want to cook meat or chicken right now because of all the added hassle in thawing and washing up. So we'll have to be a little creative. I think I'll start with trying to make a potato curry and see where things go from there.

Over and out

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

The Country comes to the City

So I have been walking to work every day this cycle which has helped me get in shape, avoid the bus, and get to know the city a little better.

Like every city, Quito has it's own distinct culture, with lively things and unpleasant things. I quite enjoy walking through the streets and people-watching (except when people walk incredibly slowly and don't let me pass! That's part of my culture clashing with theirs.). In general, Quito is everything that you would expect a modern city to be. It has plazas and parks, government and giant businesses, hordes of business people dressed in their finest, street vendors and countless other things.

But the other day when I was walking to work, I passes under the over pass in one of the busiest parts of the city, and what should I see but a gaggle of geese! This particular gaggle was accompanied by a man herding them gently with a stick and carrying several cages of ducks and chicks! I was so startled that I actually stopped in my tracks to register the whole scene. Where was he going? Where did he get the geese? Is there a market for live geese in Quito? Alas, all of the questions remain unanswered, but I was struck by the sensation that I had just walked through a little piece of rural life on the dirty sidewalk of a busy Quito street. But then, that occasional bump with the rural is part of the unique metropolitan culture that Quito calls its own.

#OnlyinQuito

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Cooking!

I have been cooking! Those of you who know me well will recognize this as a big accomplishment for me. I used to say I didn't like cooking because I was always so nervous about screwing it up. Well, thanks to only cooking for myself and Andres (a very supportive eater!), I've been able to experiment more and figure out that I really am capable of following and even, gasp!, modifying a recipe.

There are several cooking challenges that I'm trying to navigate right now. Perhaps the biggest is that I am not in my own country and sometimes things that I expect to be two-second purchases at the grocery store turn into hour long endevors and making things from scratch (read: enchilada sauce). Also, my eczema has been giving me trouble so I'm trying to cut out dairy to figure out if a food allergy might be part of the problem. Giving up cheese was much easier than expected (probably because Ecuador has inferior cheese to Minnesota, Wisconsin's neighbor), but finding recipes that don't use any cheese, mayonaise, milk, butter, sour cream, or cream cheese has proved a little bit difficult. Now, I hear some of you protesting "but there's tons of great recipes that don't use dairy!" And that brings me to my last big challenge, which is finding recipes suitable for freezing. Now that I'm teaching two classes during the week with a sub period and starting coordination on Saturdays, I have way less time (and energy) to cook during the week. So I've been investigating freezer cooking so I can cook just once, on Saturday or Sunday, and have yummy nutritious food all week long.

Last Sunday I made minestrone soup, beef and potato casserole, and enchiladas. It's all been yummy, but pretty dairy-heavy. So I'm looking for alternatives for cooking this weekend. Which brings me to the reader participation section of this post! I invite you to share any freezer recipes with low/no dairy that I can try out! I'm waiting with baited breath!

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Help Jerry Get Life Altering Procedure

Dear friends and family,

I just got back from my weekend in Otavalo with my friend, Katie, and we had a wonderful time. However, I will have time for a post devoted completely to that trip later. I want to focus on something more important for this blog post. Many of you probably already know the story of Jerry MacCallister's terrible motorbike accident a few years ago. It left him paralyzed and dashed his life-long dream of becoming an astronaut. You can read the full story at http://www.followingjerry.blogspot.com/. Jerry is hoping to undergo stem cell therapy in Thailand in July, but the costs of the procedure are incredibly high. Therefore, his family, friends, and other supporters are working to raise money for his therapy in the hopes that it will help him walk again. There is currently a gofundme campaign online at http://www.gofundme.com/2t32nw and I would urge all of my readers to consider donating. I know Jerry and his family and they are amazing people. I am donating to help send Jerry to Thailand. Please search your budgets to find a way that you can too.

Love,

Ramona

Monday, May 13, 2013

Family trip to Cotopaxi

So if you remember my post from a few days ago, there's a picture of a beautiful Andean peak called Cotopaxi that is visible from my bedroom window. It's about 2 hours away, and when Mom and Dad visited I really wanted to take them there since they are such devoted mountain people.

Unlike many places in Ecuador, Cotopaxi is pretty difficult to get to on the bus, so we decided to get a tour guide. Funnily enough, we had the same guide that Dana and I had 2 years ago! As we drove out of the city, Mom and Dad got to ask about every mountain and town they saw, so hopefully that gave Mom more of the "lay of the land" kind of feeling she's always going on about!

When we arrived, we stopped at the entrance and disembarked to use the bathroom. That's when we realized that it was freezing cold! Luckily, we had brought some warm clothes, but by the end of the day I definitely found myself wishing I had brought more. A short drive into the park we stopped again, this time to check out a small lake and it's accompanying birds.
Mom and I all bundled up, taking a little stroll
around the small lake at the base of Cotopaxi
Mom and Dad showing off their fine rain gear.
Dad was fascinated by the plants around this lake. You'll have to ask him for the details.


Then, after we tore Dad away from the plants (I think there were some unexpected ferns?) we piled back into the car and continued on our way to the mountain. By this time it was drizzling lightly and I was starting to get anxious about all the cloud cover. What if Mom and Dad couldn't see the Andean peak I had brought them to, even when they were standing on its slopes??

This is what the mountain looked like from the parking lot when we were
 getting ready to walk up to the refuge. Hint: that is not all there is to the mountain.
So I was feeling anxious, but Mom kept reassuring me and saying that they were mountain people and they know that mountains attract weather and not to worry and that sort of thing. So that was nice but I was still worrying.

Then, following our fearless guide (I think he does this like 4 times a week), we began trekking up the side of Cotopaxi. The drizzle that we had encountered down below turned into blowing snow and as we climbed the switchbacks, my face and the back of my legs were alternately exposed to the elements (jeans were NOT enough protection).

Climbing the switchbacks. Mom looking cheerful as usual.
I don't remember how long it took, but I was definitely hoping for the end long before it arrived. We had to plod along at a glacial (haha) pace so as not to tire ourselves out at such high elevation. But finally we saw the small refugio coming up on the horizon! But before we could enter it, we had to take a picture to prove how intrepid we were.

At the sign for the refugio. That says 15,953 feet!
And we felt awesome because we got to 15,953 feet! But we also felt tired because we'd gotten to 15,953 feet. Then we went inside and ate some cookies and drank some hot chocolate. While we were munching, Dad asked our guide if it would be possible to climb another 50 feet to get to 16,000 even, and he said of course! But what we didn't realize is be had signed up to go all the way to the first glacier.

So we set out again and began plodding along, even slower now than before. We were getting more and more tired and starting to think about asking if we could turn around. But then, up ahead, we saw the glacier and it was magnificent! I don't think I would say beautiful, but imposing and awe-inspiring for sure. So we kept walking.

Finally we made it! Here we are, standing on a real live glacier (or something like that)!
Then, as we looked down from our perch on the glacier, we realized that the clouds were starting to clear and the view was opening up around us. Mom rejoiced, "The mountain gods are rewarding our intrepidness!"
Down the mountain to the valley below. The side are that beautiful red color from the old lava.

Antizana from the slopes of Cotopaxi

So then we felt really good about having made it that far. But by that point I was starting to feel a little queasy from the altitude so we started our decent.

This is us at the sign after going up to the glacier. Now you can see the summit in the background.

After we clambered down off the mountain we were feeling tired and exhilarated and definitely accomplished. We figured we had really gotten the most out of our day trip to Cotopaxi. But we were rewarded again on our drive down! This beautiful creature was standing next to the road! Our guide told us it was a lobo del paramo, or a highland wolf! It was definitely the icing on the cake of a wonderful day.

Lobo del Paramo

The view of the magnificent Cotopaxi on our drive out.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

We've all moved in

Andres and I lived for 9 lovely months with his family at their house and were spoiled thoroughly by his mom, Magdalena. But despite all the wonderful advantages of living there, it came time to find our own place and try being Real Adults together.

Andres' brother, Roberto, was looking for a new place for his family and decided to buy the apartment in the upper half of his parents' house from them. That meant that he would be leaving his apartment, just a few blocks away, and it turned out the apartment would be perfect for Andres and I! It's a small, two bedroom apartment with a small living room/kitchen area and one bathroom. The big bedroom is for us and we've made the little bedroom into an office/guest room (you're all invited!). We had to buy all our appliances (in Ecuador, when they say unfurnished, they MEAN unfurnished) but we were able to find a good deal on a small oven/stovetop and refrigerator combo that also included a microwave and tiny grill! Andres' family was really generous and helped us out with the rest of the furniture, most of which was at the house and not being used. The worst part is that it is on the fifth floor and there is no elevator. The best part is the view, which, if you check out one of my earlier posts, you can see three Andean peaks from our bedroom window. Also, the light is wonderful because we have three big windows facing different directions, so we get lots of natural light (I have been collecting house plants, in true McCabe fashion).

So after a little bit of transition time, we were able to move in! We've been here for a little more than a month and we're starting to feel more settled. I have been cooking a lot (Andres does most of the cleaning) which has been a fun adventure. I've actually been really enjoying it and trying new recipes, mostly from pintrest http://pinterest.com/hikingboot/. I'm sure I'll blog more about my kitchen adventures in the future.

Overall, we've been having a lot of fun learning how to be Real Adults together, and I think that I feel a little more relaxed having my own space to be lazy in, or try cooking experiments in, or spend all day on my computer in. I'm very happy.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Visitors exploring Quito

So while Mom and Dad were here, I had to start teaching a new cycle. That meant that every afternoon, I sent them off into the great yonder to fend for themselves in Quito. I'm not gunna lie, I was a little worried they would get robbed or sick or something, especially the first day. Of course, when I told Becky that before they came she assured me that they had traveled before, they were resourceful, and they are very positive people so in the event that something did happen, they would be fine. Luckily, they were perfectly fine, as Becky had said they would be, and I was able to relax after their first successful solo outing. They will have to tell you everything they saw, but the highlights were a bus tour around old town, a trip to the Casa de La Cultura, and spending a lot of time at Parque La Carolina, more time than I had previously thought possible.

Another highlight was, of course, meeting Andres' family. Andres and I got some practice with our translation skills. Jeez, that is harder than it looks! Mom trotted out her Spanish and had conversations with Magdalena and Fransisco, and Dad was game as ever. Fransisco took us to the Panecillo, a giant hill in the middle of the city with a giant statue of the Virgin on top.

Cami is the best model


She's giant!

P.S. For those of your who are a little less computer-inclined, you can click on the photos to see a bigger version.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Living in the Andes

This morning is the clearest we've had in months. I woke up, opened the curtains, and was startled to find myself looking at Cayambe, Cotopaxi, and Antizana.




Antizana

Cotopaxi with the Basilica in front

Cayambe, the mountain near the town where Andres' parents grew up
They make em pretty tall around here. That's Cayambe 18,996; Cotopaxi 19,347; and Antizana 18,815

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Mom and Dad came to visit! And we went to Mindo

So as many of you know, my parents came to visit me last week and stayed for 12 days (I think). We had a really wonderful time, including lots of bird watching in Mindo, site seeing in Quito, repeated trips to Parque La Carolina because even when they are in a giant city my parents must find all the nature, hiking (VERY slowly) up the side of Cotopaxi, and generally having a marvelous time.

While we were in Mindo we stayed at the beautiful Casa Divina. Mindo is a small town in the cloud forest that has oodles of endemic species of birds (and probably plants, though they haven't yet been documented properly--we all know what Dad is doing for his retirement!) and is rain forest-esque in it's overall feel. One of my favorite parts was when we went to the Mariposario and saw not only butterflies but also hummingbirds by the dozen!
So it turns out hummingbirds are really difficult to photograph, but we managed to get a few good ones

I forget what this little guy was called. You'll have to ask Dad.
But of course, the hummingbirds were not the only interesting creatures at the Mariposario...
I was surprisingly terrified by our delicate winged friends. I practically screamed every time one of them came near me... It was not my proudest moment

Mom, however, felt right at home

And Dad was so relaxed that they came to perch while he wasn't looking.
But that was not all of the delights that Mindo had to offer. We went on a bird tour at 6 am (I know, you can congratulate Dad when you see him) and we saw so many cool things! Right off the bat we saw a giant quetzal, and then proceeded to see parrots, various tanagers, a masked something, and at the very end of the tour, a toucan! And those are just a few of the things we saw; Dad has the master list.

That new iphone camera is really holding its own!




After Mindo we headed back to the city for me to start work and Mom and Dad to explore. But that will be my next post because now I have to get ready for work!


Reasons why my son is crying, tumblr sensation!

This is hilarious and I'm sure I would appreciate it/groan at it even more if I were a parent. Thanks for visiting me, Mom and Dad!

http://reasonsmysoniscrying.tumblr.com/

Friday, January 11, 2013

Issa Rae

Also, I just watched this cool mini-documentary on youtube about an up-and-coming young black woman named Issa Rae who made a youtube series and I think is now getting started on TV. Person to watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS34I0n1Roc&feature=player_embedded

Back to Quito!

I made it back to Quito, safe and sound. Stupid American Airlines made us sit on the tarmac for 2 hours before we left cause the water system was leaking or something. So that was frustrating, but it just made me extra relieved to finally get here. Mom took me to SFO at 4 in the morning which was very nice of her. Then I listened to my new David Sedaris audio book until we boarded. I managed to sleep some on the first flight which was nice and unexpected :). Then I hung out in Miami and got myself my last Starbucks coffee for a while and perused magazines without buying anything. Then I hung out on the plane for 2 hours before takeoff but I nearly finished the paperback I brought with me (Kitty Goes to Washington, a fun, supernatural mystery of sorts that takes place in Washington D.C.), and I was so happy I brought it! This flight did teach me that I have to brush up on my Sudoku skills though. I used to be able to solve any of them given a good amount of time but I nearly couldn't get through a medium level!

Now I'm hanging out at home and unpacking. I already put up one of my calendars :). I'm having a few issues with finding places for all my stuff! Opps. But I have a mountain of toiletries and a growing stack of books so I'm going to have to find some creative solutions.

Also I think I'm going to try to do some of my teaching prep so I can hang out with Andres when he gets back from work. He has to work tomorrow because it turns out vacation days aren't really vacation days at his job. Everyone got three days off over the holidays and now they have to go in 3 Saturdays to make up for them! Imagine. But his thesis is slowly making its way through the academic bureaucracy so hopefully he'll be able to defend it soon and perhaps get a job he enjoys a little more.

I will try to be better about posting on my blog these next months! I sort of fell off the posting wagon last time.

Love
Mona