What a wonderful birthday I had. My last 365 days of my 20s. Time does fly doesn’t it?
To Baños for a 29th Birthday June 6, 2009
I’m off of work for 8 days due to the swine flu. Two students at Colegio Menor were diagnosed with it after returning from a trip. So Andres and I took off Friday a little after lunch and came to Baños to stay at Luna Runtun and relax for a few nights. On our way we were given a spectacular show of a full rainbow. It was hard to do it justice in photos, but I tried.
The 4 hour car trip was good practice for what is to come in our lives for the next 6 months and really, just good times…
We checked into our room at Luna Runtun and chilled before dinner.
We enjoyed a wonderful meal orchestrated by Rodrigo. I didn’t get good pictures of the food yet, but I do have the chef.
Roberto and Mercedes are on their way to join us here for a night, to celebrate June 6, 2009. What a cool gift.
If only the rest of my family and friends could join me.
Jungle Palm Worms February 6, 2009
I went on a trip with 34 students from my 7th grade classes. We spent one night in a jungle lodge near a town called Tena, about 4 hours from Quito and another night camping in the rain off of the Arajuno River. Torrential downpours is a better description as rain just doesn’t do it justice.
Here is a picture of one of the few clear moments.
This picture was taken from my tent.
For dinner we had a covered area near where we camped and put together our own dinners of chicken, fish, heart of palm and a palm worm, wrapped in a leaf and cooked over coals. This was served with yucca and madera, or ripe cooked banana. The worm was an experience. I’m not talking about a small grub. This thing was huge and moving as you may imagine a giant worm moving.
This live worm was ripped in half to release its flavor and then tossed with the other meat and wrapped up in the leaf.
I didn’t eat a whole worm, but I did take a good sized bite. I can’t say I was able to stomach it easily, but I can say I tried it and it tasted good. Then I was slightly grossed out that it was stuck in my teeth for the next 15 minutes. I do have to say that evening, I was just as grossed out by the chicken. Thinking about a live one of those in front of me and killing it is much worse than the palm worm.
I’m not sure how ethical it is to eat something you can’t kill.
A Giant Twist on Mojitos November 21, 2008
I posted a recipe similar to this one month ago, but I love this drink so much I am going to repost it with some additions.
Cucumber and Mint Mojitos
Handful of Mint- roughly chopped
1/2 large cucumber- sliced
Juice of 6 lemons
5 Tablespoons sugar (more or less to taste)
1 in. cube ginger, peeled and sliced
16 oz rum or vodka
1 cup sparkling water
Mint leaves to garnish
Ice
Boil 1/2 a cup of water and add sugar to dissolve. Let dissolved sugar water cool. In a large pitcher mix the sliced cucumber, juice of lemons, dissolved sugar, ginger and mint. Lightly mash with a fork for 30 seconds. Divide ice and vodka into 4 tall glasses. Put 1 or 2 pieces of cucumber in each glass. Pour mixture in pitcher over the vodka and ice leaving room for a splash of sparking water. Top off with a mint leaf to garnish.
I understand mojitos usually have rum, but as I am not personally a big fan of the stuff I recommend using vodka if you are like me. I am sipping one of these right now as I enjoy my Friday afternoon. I am so grateful for Friday afternoons. The whole weekend in front. Hope you can enjoy your next one with a cucumber and ginger mojito.
Back in Banana Land November 13, 2008
I returned to the United States to get some sort of visa that allows me to stay here. You would have thought that after years working in US immigration I would have thought that it may have possibly been difficult to enter Ecuador on a tourist visa and switch to some more permanent form of staying here legally. That didn’t happen. I had to go back to get some paperwork. I could drag this out long, with my many stories of immigration crap that I have had to go through over the past couple months, but I won’t. I will leave it at that.
I had a good time despite the hassle. Being with friends and family is always good.
I was able to enjoy a picnic with my family, including my grandpa Egon, but without Andres as he was in another country. A good time was had by all.
Three generations.
Football-South American Style October 15, 2008
We attended an Ecuador/Chile soccer game last Sunday thanks to Roberto getting us tickets. The game started at 5, but we showed up at 1 to make we got good seats. We got good seats. It began to rain around 3:30 and rained off and on for the entire afternoon and evening. It was a lot of fun though. The rain seemed to let up just as the game started. It was light until half-time and then rained heavily the 15 minutes of half-time. It stopped just at the start of the second half and was light until the end. It was freezing, but worth it. Ecuador won 1-0.
Three Decades…and Getting Better September 3, 2008
Andres celebrated three decades of life today. The thirties are going to be really good for him. His twenties were awesome, but the next 10 really hold incredible things. It all takes off from here for him.
Imagine, just 29 years ago…
Amazing how big they get.
I love him.
5 years December 31, 2007
It has been 5 years since we got married. Time really goes fast, but we feel the way our life together has changed and improved. We are celebrating this occasion in Chile, enjoying the summer and getting to know each other better. We specifically celebrated on the 27th at a rotating restaurant on the top of a building in Santiago. It was a nice and we spent almost 5 hours at this place, turning around several times, reminding ourselves about our changing lives. Cheers to all of you who have been with us these years. We love you all.
Family Event of the Year September 15, 2007
I just got back from Quito, where my parents celebrated their 2nd wedding. It was amazing to witness the union of my own parents and I am really proud of it. Best of all, their decision to make it official brings together even more people that would otherwise be apart from one another. So, love is big!
Twenty-Nine on the Third day of this Ninth Month of Two Thousand and Seven September 4, 2007
We relaxed today enjoying both a national holiday and a celebration of the life of Andres. We had a very chill day of shopping, sleeping, reading, sleeping and trying to stay cool in the 100+ degree Monday. We are getting ready to cook our meal. We are so lucky to be able to spend the day together celebrating something so important.
Furry Fig Eaters August 13, 2007
We were packing our camping gear in our backyard and were joined by a furry friend. Our two giant fig trees attract all kinds of critters including green parrots, mice, squirrels, and skunks. When we get back we’ll try to get a picture of them for you to see. The figs are just getting ripe and so the furry creatures are getting fatter.
