Money?

In an attempt to try and be a grown up in 2011, I'm putting together a budget so that Ryan and I can see what we are spending our money on. I'm actually really proud of how we've been spending our money and I think we've both grown a lot in regards to buying things and consumerism on a whole. But I think I'd like to be able to see more clearly, how much we spend and what we spend it on. Plus I would like to have the information as we continue to travel so that I have a concrete understanding of living expenses in different parts of the world. Thus starts a new little section of this blog... the money section. Now, if you get a kick out of trying to keep your cooking expenses down while still enjoying tasty, tasty meals I have to point you in the direction on Budget Bytes. This site is amazing. I'm going to try and recreate a little bit of what she does here. I understand that this is probably more for my own interest than anyone else's, but as this blog has somewhat replaced a personal journal... all is fair!

Enjoy!

We're home

Well, we're back home in Ecuador! Our day of traveling yesterday went well. Only a minor delay in Tampa, about 30 minutes, but no big deal! Sebas dropped Chuki off last night around 10 and, just like everyone said, he was beside himself with excitement. It's great to have him home and for our little family of three to be reunited. Unfortunately, I have caught whatever my brother was sick with while we were on vacation and I got progressively worse yesterday while we were traveling. My fever broke this morning, but I'm still really achy and flu-like. The great thing is, Chuki is SO tired after playing all day for the last three weeks, that he's still asleep!

Stay tuned for details and photos about our trip! Thank you to everyone who made our trip home special! And a big thank you to everyone who took care of things here in Ecuador, so we could actually go home (Sebas, Sarah and Corine!).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

MULUB,
Taylor, Ryan and Chuki

Tomorrow is Wednesday, December 8

Today is our last day of teaching, last day of packing, last day of shopping and last day of cleaning... Because tomorrow we fly to IL! We're so excited, we can't even wait!

See you tomorrow everyone!

MULUB,
Taylor

PS. By Friday of last week, I was back to normal and my migraine was gone! Thanks for all of your thoughts and concerns!

Migraines....

I wrote this on Thursday of this week, when I was suffering from a massive migraine. Enjoy!

You can't tell, but my eyes are closed and without the flash it was pitch black in there!

Right now I’m laying in bed, flat, without any pillows because I have a migraine. Now, I’m familiar with migraines, we’ve been in a love/hate relationship for about five years now. They love me, I hate them. But this isn’t any kind of migraine. This one today is one of only four I’ve ever had in my whole entire life. This is the kind that when it happens, I feel like I’m going to die. As I type this, I have all of the lights off in the apartment, all of the curtains closed, a warm towel over my eyes, and Christmas music on very very quietly, so quiet I can barely hear it. 

Fiestas de Quito

Alright its Holiday time here in Ecuador! Everyone is celebrating and we're teaching our last classes with our students of 2010. Crazy how time flies, really. We're extra celebration-y because here in Quito we have Fiestas de Quito, which my students lovingly translate 'Quito Parties.' What happens for the Quito Parties, you might ask... Well, I will tell you, to the best of my ability.

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

So here's our weekend recap for y'all!

Friday we stayed in and cleaned up. Ryan made his apple chutney for Thanksgiving because he had class for a couple of hours on Saturday. Plus he got all of the components of his cornbread and sausage stuffing ready. Then we went to the DVD store and bought the next, and last, season of West Wing so we'd have something to do on Sunday. Keep reading to find out about Sunday.

Thanksgiving in Ecuador

This will be the second Thanksgiving that I've spent away from home and it will be Ryan's first away from home. My first time was when I was in Prague. I had SUCH a fun day with new friends that day. And I expect being away this time to be exactly the same.

Photos from 21K

Early in the morning, getting ready to run!

After the race, with my pacer balloon! 

With the official banners!

Home on the couch, with hot chocolate and my medal. No big deal!

Mitad Del Mundo 21K

I raced this weekend and it was fantastic. I really had so much fun! The whole process is fun... the training and then the racing. It's a little anti-climactic though because now I feel like 'ok, whats next?' Not too much to say about the actual race besides it was long.

• We started at Plaza de Toros and we finished at Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world, where the north and south hemispheres meet). 
• On Saturday we had to go pick up our packets. There was a lot of confusion if I was actually registered because I never received a confirmation email. So after emailing back and forth in Spanish with the race registration company, I find out that I was registered. As soon as we got to the EXPO it started pouring rain, so we didn't stay long (it was, of course, outside).
• The race started at 6am. I was up around 4:15 so that I could eat and get dressed. 
• There weren't a ton of participants. Nothing like the 15K I ran in July, but still there were probably a couple of thousand. 
• The race was all ups and downs. I probably ran on flat ground for 30 minutes max. Maybe 3 or 4 kilometers. 
• The worst part was the slow and steady uphill climb for the last 2 kilometers. 
• I felt really strong, not like I was going to die at all. Except for when I REALLY REALLY had to go to the bathroom at about the 10K mark and then again from the 19K to the finish. 
• My official chip time was 2:13:31! I wanted to run it in under 2:30, so I'm very happy!

All in all, I'm extremely happy to have finished the race and I can't wait for the next one. I have a new found respect for people who run the full marathon. I mean I've always respected them, but good Lord to do that twice?! That's crazy. On the other hand though, I really would like to run a full marathon, preferably at sea level in a very flat city... Chicago 2011? Maybe?!

Now though, it's on to things like planning our Thanksgiving dishes and getting a few Christmas gifts here and there! I cannot believe that we only have 14 more sleeps here until we board a plane for Chicago! I'm getting more and more excited everyday! 

MULUB, 

Taylor 

Weekend Update!

Thank GOD it's the weekend! I can't believe how slowly this past week went by. Up until now, the time has been FLYING, seriously flying! I go to bed one night and wake up in the morning and a whole month has gone by. But not this week, no of course not. Anyways, I was more than excited when the clock his 9:30 on Friday morning, because my weekend had begun!

Restaurant Recommendations

One of the initial goals of this blog was to help us remember our time here. Where we ate, where we stayed when we traveled, fun things we did in the city. It's turned into more 'what we've learned' and 'what is different' than the original goal. Yesterday as I was walking to class, I decided I should remedy that. We surprisingly have a nice handful of Ecuadorian readers, besides ourselves, and so this post (and the next couple posts) are for you! 

Winter Wonderland

Surprisingly I miss Chicago winter. We're full into winter season here in Quito and can I tell you something... it's terrible. Even though we arrived here in winter season last season, I wasn't prepared. If you remember we were in a drought last winter. Remember that day we didn't have water/electricity? It was because there wasn't enough rain during winter. Well, we're making up for all of that missed rain right now. So much so, that the fountains that have been off ALL YEAR are now on. It's strange and I don't like it.

On Friendship: Part 3 of 3

I've had a lot of time to think about friendship and it's something that I'm still trying to work out in my head. But I certainly have a clearer idea of what it is now, than I did 11 months ago. Being abroad is tough on relationships. I can't just bop over to have lunch with a friend, to have coffee, to have drinks, to watch a movie, etc. I can't just pick up the phone and have a good chat on the drive to work. I can't do all of the things that, for me, equated to a friendship. It's just not possible. I need to schedule phone calls and the only way I can see someone is via skype. And so if everything that I equate with friendship is taken away from the friendship, what kind of relationship is it?

Being away has changed the way that I look at what friendship is, how it works, and why it's important. I really had a hard time about 3 months into being here. The newness and excitement of being abroad and living with Ryan had worn off and I really was missing my friends. After having lived with 2 girls for the last 2 years and then living with a million of them at college, it was a sudden change to not have them around all of the time. Plus, its a lot of work to write and send an email. I know it doesn't seem like it is, but it is. When time passes the thought of filling someone in, via email, is daunting. You have to explain so much, and you have to go back in time. It's the task that you always put off until the next day and then 2 months have gone by and you still haven't done it. I get that. But it was hard for me to not be in communication with my friends.

I had a lot of conversations during that time about what is friendship and a lot of conversations asking, essentially, 'are we still friends?' And what I've come to realize is that as I get older, my relationships have to, need to change. They aren't comprised of sleep overs and sharing every intimate detail and every non-important conversation. People grow up and have less time. Plus people are developing serious romantic relationships that become number one, instead of the best friend and the romantic relationship being separate. And this is normal. This is natural. This is what happens to everyone. I'm not some weird crazy that's friendships are changing just because I moved to Ecuador. But this would have happened no matter where I live.

I also learned that friendships come and go, just like all things they ebb and flow. Sometimes they're strong and sometimes they aren't. But just because you're going through a weak phase in one friendship that doesn't mean that it's forever from this day forward invalid. It just means its weak right now.

Most of all, I've learned that I have to make my friendships work for me. They might not be what I imagined them to be, but I have to accept that. I have to be willing to let go of some relationships, either temporarily or permanently, that aren't good for me. Especially those that I put in effort, upon effort, upon effort without any return. I can't keep relying on those relationships as my strongest ones or most important ones.

It's definitely still a work in progress but I'm happy with it. I feel as if my friendships are more substantive now and that I don't take them for granted. One of my most anticipated times of being home is seeing my friends. I just can't wait to spend actual time with them.

So that's what I've learned. It's certainly not the most coherent thing but it's changing everyday. And for once, I'm ok with that.

MULUB,
Taylor

PS. 4 days until the race, 11 days until (we celebrate) Thanksgiving, and 21 days until we're home!

Oh The Stress

Here's just a little recap as to what's been happening lately:
Last Sat: we went to Mama Negra in Latacunga
Last Sun: we had people here to watch the football game and Chuki had a play date
Mon: I worked 4 hours
Tues: I worked 4.5 hours
Wed: I worked 5 hours and we got paid

Perfect Football Appetizer

Make sure you make a lot of these because they'll be snatched up in minutes! The recipe was taken straight from Martha Stewart and only one substitution was made - leeks for scallions!

Enjoy!

Cheesy Onion Rolls

Goodness, I hate the name of this bread. I need to think of something new. But until I do, here's the recipe. Warning... these rolls are super delicious and super versatile. You could make the filling out of anything and the bread is SO light and airy! You might eat all of them before your guests arrive. The directions are a little intensive but so so worth it. Don't be intimidated by the process, it's really not difficult. Best to start these babies early in the day because there are two periods of time where they have to rise.

MULUB,
Taylor

Last Night's Game

We had a very busy weekend and a very fun weekend. Friday we had a skype date with Ryan's family and with Doug! Saturday we got up early and went to Latacunga for the Mama Negra festival (more on that later). Then Sunday we had a puppy play date with a 4 month old boxer pup and her owner. Then we spent the rest of the day watching futbol and cooking for Sunday Night Football. We had six people over, plus us and Chuki. On the menu: Nacho Fries, Pumpkin Chili, Regular Cornbread, Jalepeno Cornbread, Cheesy Onion Rolls, and Vermont Spiced Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting. Everything was a hit and everyone left like you leave a football party in the states, full of beer, food and wishing the other team had won!

2 Lists

I don't know if it's because Christmas time is in full swing here, or if it's because we'll soon be in the land of consumerism but lately I've had this running list of things that I would love to buy scrolling through my head. I thought I'd share it with you...

1. Nike Fit watch because I never know how far I'm running. Plus my watch died yesterday and it's driving me crazy to keep looking at my wrist and not seeing anything!

2. Vibram shoes, if you can call them that. I don't know why I really want a pair of these, I just do. They seem pretty versatile. A little bit like keens, a little bit like tennis shoes. Whatever it is, I want them!

3. Food Mill. I have wanted a food mill for ages but just haven't gotten around to buying one and now that we're here in Ecuador I don't even think they sell them. I know you may think that I could just use the food processor but when Ina says use a food mill, I believe that the food mill is what I should use.

4. Spice Grinder. Ours just broke and we seriously use this little gadget for everything. My coffee, tahini, egg meal, bone meal, spices. The spice grinder is used daily in our household.

5. Hiking Pants. Basically I want them because they're water resistant, light weight, and dry quickly! They're a much better alternative to the Ecua-pants, that I have a strange suspicion are only acceptable in Ecuador.

6. Camera. My point-and-shoot is dying. I have to use a bobby pin to get the battery out in order to recharge it. And for the first time, I feel like I'd actually like to learn about taking good photos. Largely in part because of this blog, but also because I feel like my photos have no depth and there's so much to take pictures of here that has depth. I really have no idea about this specific camera but I know I want something similar to this one.

7. Collapsible Dog Bowls. While travelling, there's nothing bulkier than Chuki's food and water bowls. If you saw the photos of our recent camping trip, that big black bag that Ryan had hanging from his pack was full of Chuki stuff. Including these super large dog bowls. These would be nice to have.

8. New clothes - work, life, running. I'm not talking a ton of new clothes but just the basics. No link necessary.

Like I said, I have this list scrolling through my head lately. But I also have this list too... The Things I'm Looking Forward To When I'm Home list, which includes...

1. Memory Foam Pillow. Our pillows here are terrible and I can't wait to have my beloved pillow back!

2. Pure Beech Jersey Sheets. These are heaven. If you don't have them, make your way to the nearest Bed Bath and Beyond to buy them RIGHT NOW!

3. Pizza from here, here and here.

4. Bogdan Christmas. Enough said.

5.  Cozy Pants. These specific ones I accidently left at my parent's house because I was wearing them when I was packing.

6. And of course, it's a given, but seeing friends and family!

I think maybe I'm a lists person. 


MULUB, 
Taylor

Japan v. Korea

So we've officially begun looking at jobs in Japan and Korea. We're thinking we'd want to start in the Fall of 2011. It makes me super excited to think about this new opportunity and just looking at the pictures on the websites are breathtaking!

But we need your help. It seems like everyone we know knows someone thats working in Asia as an English teacher. We're looking for two things:

1. People that teach English in Asia.
2. How to get in contact with them.

If you could help us with this, we'd really be appreciative. Right now we're only at the very beginning stages but after teaching for almost a year now, we certainly have a better understanding of what questions to ask and what to look for.

Thanks so much!

MULUB,
Taylor

On Friendship: Part 2 or 3

Old Friends...

I started talking about them in Part 1, but I tried to focus. Now, let me tell you something about old friends: there are no better people in the world. For me, my old friends are the most important people in the world to me. If you're one of my many, many family members, don't think that you're excluded from this category, because you aren't.

Pululahua

We're back from camping! It was so much fun. I feel absolutely refreshed and re-energized about living in Quito. There are some things only nature can do.

Camping

We're going camping today through Tuesday or Wednesday, we're not quite sure. We'll be camping in an active volcano crater, so it should be quite fun! We've heard its beautiful, actually we've been there and it is beautiful. But we haven't been down into the crater, just up on the rim.

I'm ready to get out of the city and commune with nature. Hopefully we all come back in one piece! We're taking Chuki so you never know what could happen. More on our trip when we get back!

MULUB,
Taylor

On Friendship: Part 1 of 3

The idea of friendship is one that I commonly think about. I also commonly think about all of my friends, both old and new, near and far. But the idea of friendship also creeps in quite frequently. What is it? How does it work? The evolution of friendships over time, distance and through changes. What does it mean to be a friend? How to be a good friend when you're not there to give a hug or to hang out.

Anyways, I have lots of different ideas on friendship rolling around up there and I wanted to get them on paper sooner, rather than later. So here goes an attempt at trying to successfully convey some of the ideas in my head.

Why I Blog

The point of this blog was originally to keep our friends and family back home updated on our daily life while we were away but its certainly turned into more than that. I find comfort in knowing that this blog is here and that it will be here for me to look through long after this experience here in Ecuador is over. It's become an outlet for me to express big idea ticket items and small everyday changes and occurrences.

Saving Money at the Grocery Store

So If you're anything like us, you're always looking for new ways to save money at the grocery store. While we're not experts, we've certainly gotten much better about shopping since being in Ecuador. There are a lot of differences with grocery shopping here, verses in the States, but these ideas can still help shave just a little bit off the bill.

TvCable

We finally have cable and internet! I can't believe we went so long! I'm actually glad we did. It forced us to get out there and explore, yada, yada, yada. But now I'm ready to watch some good old tv. Grey's Anatomy, Big Bang Theory, The Kardashians.... here I come! Plus Ryan got some ESPN stations and so he's happy. All we have to do is make sure Chuki doesn't eat the remote!

MULUB,
Taylor

PS Now this means we can plan skype/gchat dates with actual confidence!

Ranting, not Raving

Most of my posts have been positive about living in Ecuador, so I struggled with whether to post this one at all. Plus, let me preface this with I understand the W theory of living abroad and I know that all things ebb and flow. With that said, I am feeling so frustrated with Ecuador right now.

A Full Weekend

We've had a relatively eventful weekend, which is sometimes unusual for us. Friday, I only had class in the morning, which was amazing. I've been having so much class lately that I don't have a minute during the day. I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong, it's just very different from the summer months. It's actually really good that I've been having a lot of classes because 2 of Ryan's classes have finished. Like always, it's taking forever to reconfirm the classes. Therefore, he's been home more and I've been teaching more. Anyways, Friday was a nice change for me to be home during the day. I was able to get done some of the things that I wanted to accomplish. Actually, I was far less productive than I wanted to be and my Friday's To Do list has taken all weekend.

To Do List

Here's my to do list for today this weekend:

Christmas Vaca

Yesterday I caught myself thinking about Christmas vacation all day! The way I think about it is in two parts. First, the home part and then the vacation part. When we're home I can't wait to see all of my family at Bogdan Christmas, our Rockford friends, my Chicago friends! I can't wait for Starbucks coffee in a red cup. I can't wait for Aunt Ginny's sweet potatoes and Toby's Kanakuk Coffee Cake! I can't wait to watch all of the littles open Christmas presents! I can't wait for Christmas trees, and Christmas lights and Christmas smells! It's going to be a VERY busy week and a half but oh so worth it because after the home part, there's the vacation part.

While on vacation, I can't wait to relax! I can't wait to watch movies and chat with my mom and dad and brother on the drive down. I can't wait to lay in the sun ALL day. I can't wait to read a TON on the kindle and play with my family! I can't wait to get all fancy for dinner and then spend the night at the shows, dancing and in the casino!

Basically, I just can't wait! It's only 48 days away, I know. But I just can't wait. My words of wisdom for you today: absence really does make the heart grow fonder!

MULUB,
Taylor

Chile V Ecuador

As South America has been in the news so much lately, I've had some interesting classes with my students and friends about what it all means. Most every class, lately, has started with "Well, what do you think of the Ecuador situation?" or "Well, what do you think of the Chile situation?" And then based on what my students have told me before, concerning their own beliefs, I try to bring up some aspect of all that has happened every class. Whether it's the political ramifications, or the trials or the police, or the impact of socialism, etc.

Roasted Veggies

Nothing says fall more than roasted veggies. Usually, here at 708, we just sauté our veggies. But yesterday, as I was getting lunch ready I had everything prepped and the sauté pan on the stovetop when I thought... 'why don't I bake these?' And that's what I did. I cranked up the oven and let them roast until they were nice and, well, roasted! I suggest you do the same thing real soon!

Last Night's Dinner

So yesterday was Friday and usually we don't do much on Fridays because we're tired from the week. I had class until 2 and then Ryan and I went to Megamaxi to look for some more herbs for our little garden and pick up a few things. Then I had a FABULOUS skype date with my dear friend Jenna! (Jen, It was soo great to talk with you!) Anyways, when I got home Ryan and Chuki went downstairs to play (read - I needed time in the apartment to myself!) I got the whole place picked up, and was just starting to clean the kitchen when our friend Sebas called!

Gardening

So we've been working on the compost for months now in order to get our soil in our flower box nice and healthy. But today the beloved compost went down the garbage shoot. We decided to start over! Hopefully we'll have better luck this time around. We broke down and bought some organic soil in a bag, I'm not quite sure what the name for it is.

We need your help, LIKE NOW! Our flower box is weeded and watered. We've put the 'organic soil in a bag' in and mixed it all around. But then what? See, we've never done this before.

We bought 2 basil plants, 1 thyme plant, and an oregano plant. Plus we bought 6 little daisy-like plants. But what do we do with them? How far down do we have to plant them? How far apart do we have to put them? Will they multiply? Or should we have bought 100 basil plants?

This is just the start of our little garden but we wanted to make sure everything doesn't die before we add more. So with that said, we could use your advice! How do you make your garden grow? 

We'll take comments, emails, facebook messages but whatever you do to not kill your garden, we want to know!

MULUB,
Taylor

The Whole World Rejoices for the Chilean Miners

We've just been a hot bed for news down here in South America lately. First, with the coup attempt, if that's what were still calling it, here in Ecuador and now with the rescue of the miners trapped in Chile. At least, one of the events isn't making a mockery of the continent!

Here's a brief recap of what happened:

On August 5 a mine in in San Jose, Chile collapsed with 33 men still 700 meters underground. They've went without any communication with the outside world for nearly 2.5 weeks and they made their food rations last that whole time. Finally, they received extra food, water, a video camera and even cigarettes while the rest of the world tried to figure out how to get them out of the mine. The major risk was that more rocks would collapse the tunnel even further, crushing the men trapped inside. The men assigned tasks to each other and remained relatively positive. They were able to talk with their families and they made videos of their life underground.

Yesterday the Chilean government began extracting the men through a small man-sized hole in a contraption that looks like a rocket. Families, spectators, and mobs of media have all camped outside of the mine. Although, the government has taken extra precautions to protect the men's privacy.

Finally the media has something JOYFUL to report about this beautiful continent!

Check out these articles for more info: this one, this one, and this one!

MULUB,
Taylor

Chicago Marathon

I would just like to publicly say, to all of my friends and all of the participants, CONGRATULATIONS on running the 2010 Chicago Marathon! 26.2 baby, 26.2!

No, but seriously, the Chicago Marathon is such an inspiring event, for runners and non-runners a like. If you live in the greater Chicago-land area and you haven't been, mark your calendars because you need to get there!

Rose Cottage - 4 Stars

We haven't even started to review hotels and restaurants like we originally planned on, so I thought today would be a great day to begin.

Rose Cottage - Otavalo, Ecuador - 4 Stars
The Rose Cottage is an amazing hosteria outside of Otavalo, Ecuador. The best thing about this hosteria is the location.

A Special Day

Today we're celebrating a holiday here. It's called LFC Homecoming. Actually, we aren't celebrating, but I really wish we were.

Just a little shout out to all my friends at LFC that have probably already consumed too many beers and too many burgers. Remember - the pig roast may taste good now, but it won't settle quite right. Also, cough syrup and beer is not a good combination.

Who knows maybe you can take photos with the class of '79 again, make it some sort of tradition.

Most of all, miss you all and miss this glorious day of celebrating! Hopefully it's a little warmer this year!


MULUB,
Taylor

Problems with our Compost

A while ago (think: August) we started a compost and it's still not ready to use as fertilizer. I think we have a problem but we're composting newbies so I don't really know what to do, how to fix it, if I should even worry. 

Here's the situation:

We followed the directions online at this website to make a hot box compost. We don't have a yard, so we needed something that we could contain. The reason we decided to compost is because we have a pretty good sized flower bed outside of our windows that we would like to grow herbs and maybe tomatoes in. When we moved in, the flower box was disgusting but we fixed it up in August and we're just waiting to add our nutrient rich and organic fertilizer to the soil. 

Use your imagination a little with this one. Here the 'composts' are under the sink instead of on the patio. Also, in this photo only the white bin is compost material and the blue bin is garbage. Now they're both compost. (Don't worry we got another bin for garbage.)

What we have is two small garbage cans sitting on the end of our deck that have decreased in volume by about half but still haven't fully decomposed. We've tried a couple of things based on what I've read online. We mixed it all up a couple of times, although it's hard for us to get to the bottom with our hand shovel. We've also watered it a bit (it dries out very quickly in the sun). Other than that... I'm at a loss. I really, really don't want someone to say just start over, but if that's what we have to do, then that's what we have to do.  

Any of you out there that have composted before, have the slightest idea of what we would need to do or not do for that matter... we would greatly appreciate your help. Either leave a comment (anyone can now) or email me at taylor.bogdan@gmail.com.

MULUB, 

Taylor

What we feed that dog...

Chuki is HUGE, almost 50 lbs! If he were a small child, people would ask 'what are you feeding him?' But because he's a dog, people don't ask that. I'm not sure why.

There are a lot of ways you can go about Home Cooking. You can cook everyday, once a week, once a month, once a year (if you have a REALLY big freezer). Or you can cook when said dog happens to run out of food. We tend to fall in the later category. We cook, he eats, when food runs out, we cook again. You have to decide what works best for you.

We're Back to Normal!

By noon yesterday everything seemed, for all practical purposes, back to normal on the streets of Quito. My morning classes were cancelled because no one knew what the situation was going to be when the city got moving. But when we turned on the news around 10, telenovelas were back on. We took that as a clear sign that the country had recovered. No more 24 hour news coverage. At noon, when I called my 1pm student, he confirmed that yes, we were indeed having classes today.

On my way from home to class I couldn't help but be super observant. I only saw 5 police officers the whole way there. My class is at Naciones Unidas y Amazonas, two of the biggest streets in Quito. Plus, I have to pass Naciones Unidas y 6 de Deciembre, another one of the largest intersections in Quito. I usually see between 40-50 policia and yesterday, no more than 5.

Comments

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Click on Comments at the bottom of the post
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It's that simple. Hopefully we'll start to get some now ;)

Day 2

If you've been tuning into the news, you may or may not have seen some coverage on the current situation in Ecuador. Regardless, we just wanted everyone to know that we're at home and we're safe. 

From what I understand is Correa, the far-leftist President, went through with a bunch of cut-backs that has a lot of opposition from most everyone else. The cut-backs were going to really affect the military and the police. Something about no pay increases, no promotions and no bonuses. So yesterday, Thursday, the police went on strike. I hear strike and I think of a teacher's strike. A bunch of middle-aged women (no offense) bundled up in their winter coats walking a picket line with various signs that are too the point but very far from malicious, they're teachers after all. Anyways, a police strike in Ecuador is very different than a teacher strike in Mid West America. 

So this is what a coup looks like...

e, Check out these links about the situation in Quito:

Here

This one from WSJ

This one from Rueters: here 

And this one

We'll keep you posted as we find out more but basically. Correa, the President is going ahead with massive cut backs which effect the military and the police. The police went on strike this morning. The military originally backed the government but has since changed it's mind and is striking with the police. It's unclear whether all of the military is with the police or only certain parts. In general, there's chaos in the streets and no one is entering or leaving Quito. We're safe and at home. All of our classes have been cancelled. 

MULUB, 

Taylor

Do's and Don'ts of Home Cooking

About a week ago I told you how we came to the decision of home cooking for Chuki. Today is about more practical matters. What can the dog eat and what can't the dog eat? Now, just like cooking for humans there are infinite possibilities of what a puppers can eat. You can get really fancy or you can be super simple. Either way, the dog will (mostly) love everything.

Also just like humans, dogs don't like to eat somethings and shouldn't eat other things. For example, we've learned that Chuki doesn't like raw spinach. Cooked, he has no problem with but don't even try to give him the stuff raw. He really doesn't like any leafy green that is raw, but will eat all of them if cooked. Chuki, like his momma, doesn't like beets... IN ANY FORM. And then there are things that he LOVES! Also, like his momma, the Chukinator LOVES cheese and peanut butter. (bunny trail) The only way that you can determine what he likes and doesn't like is by trying.

We're trying out a new feature. This way you only see part of the post (YES! There's more!), and can click on Read More to see the whole thing.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

I just finished The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson. This is the third and final book in the series and it was much, much better then the second.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest wraps up the story that started delightfully in the Dragon Tattoo and dragged on in Fire. I would certainly recommend the series to anyone looking for a great read.

Bear in mind that all three of the books are quite violent and graphic. They deal with women's issues and the abuse of women's issues by men in society. All three read as enjoyable fiction but at certain points in the story you can't help but reflect on the reality of the situation. The books touch on the topic of abuse, mental illness, rape, men's superiority complex, illegal computer hacking, but mostly the issue of right and wrong.

Some of the interesting broad strokes of the story were: sometimes the law doesn't allow for the right thing to be done in a situation or for the wrong thing to be prevented. Sometimes the context really does matter. Sometimes we, ordinary citizens, deal with 'situations' better than any authority could. And last but not least, what does it mean to be sane?

Enjoy! They're all available for the kindle and they'll keep you busy for at least 3 weekends when you've got no money!

MULUB,

Taylor

3 Bean Pumpkin Chili

So I've been on a fall foods kick and what says fall more than chili. I saw this recipe on Meet Me In The Kitchen for Black Bean Pumpkin Chili and thought, hmmm pumpkin + chili = totally fall. So I figured I'd give in a try but between looking at the recipe and making my way to the kitchen, it took on a life of its own.Now, if you're like me you like your chili thick, chunky and spicy. My dad makes the best chili I have EVER had. Every fall, for as long as I can remember, my dad would get out this HUGE pot (So big a small child can fit in it. In fact there have been many children pulled around the house in this pot, predominately I remember Brianna hiding in the pot.) And in would go cans and cans of whole, peeled tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce, and who knows what else. And after what seemed like days of simmering on the stove, we'd have chili... for a year. The chili would go into the freezer and we'd take some out to eat or to take people's houses to eat. It was delicious! It still is delicious and I hope there's a bag ready to be pulled out of the freezer when I'm home in December (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

There's More...

Home Cooking

I haven't really blogged about home cooking for Chuki yet. So here goes -

When we first got the pup we were feeding him Purina Puppy Chow because, well, because it was a brand we knew from home and it was moderately priced. It wasn't the cheapest but it wasn't the most expensive. We had taken him to the vet for his first round of shots but at about 6 weeks I found a worm in his poop (gross, I know) and we took him back to the vet for a more detailed exam.

There's More...

The question is...

.... how much blacker could it get. The answer is none, none more black.

-Ryan

The Girl Who Played with Fire

I just finished The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. This is the second book in the series that began with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I'm still recommending the series, although I certainly thought that the Dragon Tattoo was much better that Fire This book moved very slowly in the beginning, actually in the first half. It wasn't until nearly 60% (when reading on the Kindle) that I was really, really interested. The first book moved quickly from beginning to end but not this one.

The Girl Who Played with Fire actually reminded me of one of the middle episodes of a season of 24. You have to watch it in order to understand how the season ends, but it's like come on already. That's how I felt about this book. I had to read it but it was like let's get going!

I'm excited about the third and final book. I hope that it's more action packed like the first and ties up some loose ends. Most of all, I hope Lisbeth and Blomkist end up together!

Definitely gets a READ recommendation but beware it's a tad slow.

MULUB,

Taylor

New Name

Temporary name change. Please leave yeas or neas in the comments section.

-Ryan

Things to do in Quito when you're dead....

Well, not dead exactly, but just marginally unemployed. July and August are the months in which your students decide that instead of having classes, it would be better if they went to the beach, or the jungle, or Las Vegas to buy a new iPad. Their justifications are unimportant, I had nothing to do. Since, for the time being, I was an ersatz ward of the state, and since my SNES had not yet to arrive, I read. In the following paragraphs I will recount a small review of the books I read.

Lies INC. - Phillip K. Dick

Well, what can you say that hasn't already been said about a book that places a 100 page,non-sequitur acid trip smack dab in the middle? Skip it. Apparently, the book was originally published without the middle section. Read that book.

Player Piano - Kurt Vonnegut

One man's revolt against a glittering tomorrow, so says the cover. In this story machines have taken over all industry, save for the managers and the engineers. It's kinda like in the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when Charlie's father, who screws in toothpaste caps, is replaced by a robot that does the same task. I suppose that's where the similarities end as, much to the chagrin of me and everyone else, Player Piano does not, in fact, have a chocolate factory. Very different from Vonnegut's later works, but a good read nonetheless.

Slapstick - Kurt Vonnegut

The protagonist of Slapstick is a two meter tall, neanderthal ex-president. The book is written as his memoirs. It's a non-linear non-plot. But, it's thoughtful and funny and interesting. When you can't sufficiently explain what a book is about yet you can't stop reading it, that's a good indication that the writer knows what he's doing.

Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut

Jury's out on this one. I certainly liked it, but I'm not sure what he was trying to say with this novel. Every character in this novel has been used by a force greater than themselves for a purpose to which they were wholly indifferent or adversarial. Beyond that.....? Read it, it's good.

Anthem - Ayn Rand

I'll admit, I went into reading this book with preconceived notions. I have a cursory understanding of Ayn Rand and her "philosophy", and that possibly tainted my experience. That said, this book was the most self-important pile of drivel I have ever read. The protagonist is homo superior, or something, I've only ventured to guess, who lives in the ideal of a communal society. Everyone is forced to be equal, but he's not equal, you see, he can't be, get it? The word 'I' is forbidden and people refer to themselves as 'WE'. How can I possibly express how facile this book was. The protagonist might as well have been a 14-year-old kid, "I'm so great and nobody understands me." Anyway, the protagonist escapes, with the greatest of ease, along with his mate who "gets him" and they run away through the woods and live in a derelict cabin. He discovers 'I' and decides he's going to return to society and bring back those who agreed with him, even though he's a self-involved tool, and no previous motive is expressed for why he would want to do such a thing. Nevertheless.... When I read Kurt Vonnegut's books I can tell he had an insight into something and he's thinking about the issues that were concerning him. Evidently the only thing Ayn Rand thought about was Ayn Rand. Alas, I have promised myself I would read her works, and I am currently 30 pages into her (rather long) novel We The Living. Pray. For. Mojo.

Dracula - Bram Stoker

This book gets an honorable mention as I haven't actually finished it, though Lord knows I've tried. To whom it may concern, this book is about a vampire. His name is Count Dracula. He lives in Transylvania. He's rather pale. The first chapter of the book is very exciting, the rest is, well, not that exciting. Dracula would be, by my estimation, 26 pages long if you were to remove the endless paragraphs of Victorian genuflecting. Look, I understand that so-and-so is a goodly woman, honest and noble, and that what-his-face is truly a steadfast friend....... so, if it's not too much to ask, can we please talk about vampires now? The ending is going to have to involve a lightsaber battle for me not to be disappointed. I don't think it will.

That's all for the moment,

-Ryan

What's Your Favorite?

Just curious as to what is everyone's favorite thing to eat during the fall?

Next up on my TO COOK list is Pumpkin 3 Been Chili! It sounds delicious to me. I'll let you know.

We're missing fall so much, that we're contemplating getting cable next month so that we can have people over to watch Sunday Night Football and eat fall-ish foods! Pathetic? Maybe! But there are some things that the Mid West just knows how to do right! And fall is certainly one of them.

MULUB,

Taylor

Caldo Xochitl

You all know we love soup. But lately I've grown a little tired of the same old, same old. So I decided to mix it up, kind of. Don't get me wrong I still made a chicken soup, but it tasted completely different. This recipe is from BudgetBytes.com, one of my all time favorites! Seriously, if you're on a budget then you've got to check out this sight. Everything I've made from it has been super tasty and super cheap!

Anyways Caldo Xochitl is a mexican soup and it's fantastic. It was really easy to make, cost a tiny bit more than just the regular chicken soup we've been eating lately, and by tiny I'm talking not even a dollar more per serving!

Here it is:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 head of garlic

1 onion

1 red pepper

2 skinless bone in chicken breasts

1 lb of tomatoes

2 jalapeno peppers

2 tbsp lime juice

3 bullion cubes

1/4 -1/2 cup of cilantro

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Heat the olive oil, minced garlic, chopped onion and red pepper in a large pot for 5-10 minutes.

Add the two chicken breasts and 6 cups of water. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove chicken breasts. Shred chicken and return to pot.

While chicken is simmering, dice tomatoes and mix with jalepenos.

After you've returned the shredded chicken to the pot, add tomatoes and jalepenos. Add lime juice. Add bullion. Add chopped cilantro. Mix well, to dissolve the bullion. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with garnishes of fresh cilantro, raw onions and sliced avocados.

Enjoy!

MULUB,

Taylor

Glazed Apple Bread

This will make your house smell like fall deliciousness and you'll want to eat the whole thing because of that fact. <-- Just a disclaimer.

So I made this Glazed Apple Bread not with apples but with plantains that I've had in the freezer for who knows how long. As a side note, why do people throw away bananas? Just pop them in the freezer when they're about to go bad and use them later to bake with or for doggie treats! Chuki loves them, especially when it's hot out and we're laying out on the terrace.

Anyways this recipe comes from a new food blog that I just found out about through my Google Reader. It's called PassTheSushi.com. I haven't looked around at all on the site, so I'm not really saying anything about it, besides that this bread was fantastic!

The original recipe makes 2 loaves, but because we're only two people and not that big of fatties (although if I had made two loaves, we would have eaten two), I decided to 1/2 the recipe. Here's how it works:

3/4 cup of frozen mashed plantains (about 4)

1/2 cup of panela (similar to brown sugar but earlier in the sugar making process)

1/4 cup of buttermilk (put 1/4 cup of milk and 1 tsp of lemon juice in a cup, stir, let set 5 minutes)

1/4 cup of sunflower oil

2 lightly beaten eggs

1.5 cups of flour (2 cups if you're at high altitude)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Mix plantains, panela, buttermilk, oil and eggs. Add dry ingredients. Combine until all are wet. Put in buttered bread tin. Bake at 350 for 50ish minutes.

Glaze -

Note: I forgot I had 1/2ed the bread recipe and made the full glaze recipe. This is dangerous, because now I want glaze on everything. Glaze on eggs, glaze on granola, glaze on you name it!

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup panela

1 tbsp milk + 1 tsp

1/4 - 1/2 cup of powdered sugar

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add panela. Mix continuously. Bring to boil for 2 minutes. Add milk. Bring to boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. MIX MIX MIX.

Let the mixture cool down for 30 minutes. Put saucepan in a bowl of cold water. Slowly add powdered sugar depending on desired sweetness. (I added about 1/3 cup and it was plenty sweet for me.) Add milk until you are able to drizzle the glaze over the bread. ENJOY warm with butter. Sinful, I know.

MULUB,

Taylor

Red Sauce

It kind of looks really gross in this picture. Sorry.

I've been making red sauce for a while now and have never thought to look at a recipe. You know just put some tomatoes in the pot, season, simmer. Done. But with my new Google Reader I saw that a while ago my favorite food blog, smittenkitchen, had posted a recipe for red sauce.

Apparently, this is a hotly debated topic, especially amongst Italians. Who knew? I followed her instructions, which were much more labor intensive than mine. But the sauce turned out great. Before, my sauce was really chunky, more like a ragout instead of a sauce. And what I needed today was a sauce, something pourable and spreadable to cover a lasagna that I had made a while back.

So here it is: super simple red sauce, that's actually saucy.

4 lbs of tomatoes

1/4 cup olive oil

one onion

1 head of garlic

1 red pepper

1/2 head of broccoli

1 tsp salt

a pinch of aji flakes

1/4 cup of basil

Remember I said a little labor intensive - but don't let that scare you. I had done all of the prep work in 20 minutes, max.

Boil a small pot of water. Wash your tomatoes. Cut a X in the bottom of them. Place them in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Immediately put under cold water. Peel the skins off your tomatoes and set aside.

Cut tomatoes into quarters and de-seed. Dispose of the seed in a strainer over a bowl. You want to keep the juice that comes out.

Rough chop tomatoes.

In a food processor put your onion, broccoli, red pepper and garlic. Process until paste like.

Heat olive oil in a medium pot. Add paste like veggies. Cook for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes. Add aji flakes and salt. Simmer for 30ish minutes. While simmering mash your tomatoes periodically to help break down the chunks.

Add basil. Simmer another 5 minutes. Taste, re-season, eat out of the pot like I did. It's really good.

Pretending it's Fall

Now that we're half way through September, Ryan and I have really been missing fall at home. The thought of Edward's Apple Orchard just makes me sick with yearning. What I would give for a peck of Honeycrisps, a liter of cider and a whole dozen, yes you heard right, a whole dozen of donuts! Meanwhile, back in our reality, it's been hotter than hades here! I get so hot that I feel like my skin is made of plastic. Usually it's in the afternoons when I'm on my hour bus ride to my little kids class and there are 50 million people on the bus and of course every single one of them doesn't even notice the heat, besides me! Geeze people! I think this is the reason people put their infants in snow suits here, because they want them to be accustomed to being hot ALL OF THE TIME during these weeks!

I've been meaning to have an all day cooking day for a while now. But I've been really busy with classes, which is a whole other post! As you know, it's quite a tight month and it's only exasperated when there seems to be no food in the house. So I've been meaning to cook a ton of food so it's one less thing to worry about! Combine that with my few found obsession: Google Reader (more to come). And I have all of my food blogs in one easy place with about a billion containing the tag TO COOK.

So today was the day. I made red sauce to cover the lasagna from last week that's nakedly sitting in my freezer. I made Glazed Apple Bread, except with bananas because I live in the ex-banana republic. And I made Caldo Xochitl, a mexican soup. Plus I started soaking the beans for the Pumpkin 3 Bean Chili I'm going to make tomorrow.

And wouldn't you know it that as I started to cook my fall-esque foods, the temperature dropped to darn right chili. I had to put on a long sleeve shirt over my shorts and tank top! I turned on some David Gray (the epitome of fall music and such a reminder of sophomore year of high school!). Once that bread was in the oven, it really felt and smelt like fall! For all I knew, I could have been at home in the midwest. Except for those big Andean mountains outside my window! It was glorious and good for the soul!

I'm happy to report that EVERYTHING is DELICIOUS! Of course, I made some tweaks to the originally posted recipes based on what's available here in the South of Americas. So please, enjoy!

MULUB,

Taylor

Cooking on a Budget

Some people may say we're on a budget, we just say that this month we're poor. Now this isn't the first month that we've been pretty poor, in fact it's probably the 5th out of the 7 that we've been here. So we've had to really figure out how to stretch our money when it comes to cooking. Which, has been hard seeing that Ryan and I love to eat and we love to eat nice things! While we've had to sacrifice somethings that are just too expensive, we still eat food that is super tasty (for the most part)!

Some of the advantages of being down here are that fruits and veggies are SUPER cheap. So if all else fails, salad it is! Plus we always have rice in the house. The combinations of rice are endless... fried rice, rice salad, curried rice, turmeric rice, veggies and rice, beans and rice, etc.

Tuna Casserole is one of the dishes that we've made a couple of times during particularly tight months. It's cheap, it's really filling, and it's 1/2 way healthy. Now, most tuna casserole's call for cream of something soup. But the thought of cream of something soup grosses me out, it's not healthy and we'll it's expensive to buy here. So I did lots of digging online to figure out how to get creamy tuna casserole without cream of whatever soup.

Here's what I came up with (adapted from singforyoursupper.com)

500 grams of noodles

2 cups of fresh peas

3 cups of stock (either canned or from bullion)

about 4 oz of butter

all of the veggies you want (I used 2 onions, 2 green peppers, 1 carrot)

6 cloves of garlic

about 6 heaping tbsps of flour

2 cup of milk

A handful of cheese

1 large can of tuna

Salt, Pepper, Sage, and aji to taste (I wish that we had tarragon down here, but I'll have to settle for sage.)

Cook the noodles and the peas separately. You want them on the al dente side. If you're making stock from bullion get that started in the beginning too.

In a large pot or pan melt the butter, add the veggies and saute. About 5 minutes. Add the garlic; let set for another couple of minutes. Add the flour slowly, one tablespoon at a time. Make sure to incorporate the flour each time you add it. Stop adding flour once all of the liquid has been absorbed. Let set for a couple of minutes. Slowly add the stock, stirring after each cup. Then slowly add the milk, stirring, stirring, stirring. Your pot should look like a really thick sauce, kind of like cream of whatever soup.

In the noodle pot (after you've drained the noodles) add the peas, the sauce, the cheese, the tuna and your seasonings. It needs lots of salt, lots of pepper and if you like it spicy lots of aji.

Keep half in the pot and put the other half in a casserole dish, wrap tight and freeze.

All in all, I figure that we get 12 servings from this recipe. We spent under $6 on the ingredients. So it's approximately $.50 per serving. And did I mention it's really filling; perfect after a long run!

Next Ryan's going to repost the Nutella cake that he made for my birthday = WATCH OUT!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I just finished reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I would definitely recommend it. I thought that it was an easy ready and pretty entertaining. I'm not usually much of a mystery reader, more the history or biography type. I'm not going to tell you anything about the book, except that it can be pretty gruesome in parts. The two things that I really like is that it's part of a series and they're all available for the Kindle.

I'm starting the second book in the series either today or tomorrow and I'm hoping that that one is equally good. I always hate when the second part of something is never as good (Eat, Pray, Love --> Committed, Sex and the City 1 --> Sex and the City 2)

Happy Reading Everyone!

MULUB,

Taylor

no.visitors.

Let me preface this by saying - WE LOVE HAVING PEOPLE VISIT US AND STAY WITH US. It's one of the things we love most about being away! But sometimes you just need a break!

It's been so great to have some down time this week! I've been able to do exactly what I want to do and we've been able to spend some real relaxing time together.

Saturday we had all day to ourselves but we really didn't do anything. Just cleaned up a bit and waited for Chuki to come home. We had boarded him at Lord Guau, an American owned boarding facility outside of Quito. They picked him up and dropped him off, so we never actually saw the place = BIG MISTAKE! He came back crazy. Needless to say, we're still working on calming him down 5 days later. But we needed to begin the process of figuring out where to put him when we're home at Christmas time. So that's one place crossed off the list.

Saturday night was our friend Rachel's going away party. It was tropical themed. Ryan and I wore towels, which I thought was kind of lame, but there weren't many people in costumes so it ended up being fine.

Sunday we did NOTHING! We watched 5 movies and made sandwiches for all 3 meals. It was fabulous!

Monday we went on our long run, which killed both of us because we hadn't done any running while Corey was here. YIKES! Ryan hurt his knee, he's still in pain, but we were able to finish 12K... only another 9K to go! DOUBLE YIKES!

Also on Monday, I talked to my dearest friend Toby for almost an hour! IT.WAS.AMAZING! It happened to be that she was home alone and I had a ton of time... this never happens! It was so great to talk to her and to catch up. She's always been one of my most valued sounding boards and I've greatly missed the Matson's while I've been away.

We cleaned the house, got Chuki back into his routine, and both started new books on Monday too! All in all, a FANTASTIC day. Plus, to top it off we went to the grocery store together in the evening and made a delicious dinner together. <--- Two of our absolutely favorite things to do together, especially when we're not in a hurry and when we're only cooking for each other.

Then yesterday, I started the day with a swim in the pool and let me tell you the water was SO hot! Hotter than bath water; it was amazing! We both had a ton of classes (which come pay day, will be great!). This month it looks like we're both going to be teaching a lot. Which will bode will for October, when Doug and Roz are here. As far as September, well we didn't teach much in August so it will be slim living until October's pay day. We're talking real slim! Like, if anyone wants to mail us non-perishables we'd love it! =) (Only 1/2 kidding).

Last night we went over to our British friends' house, Sarah and Corine. They have visitors here from University that just completed a 5 week tour of South America and most of them are now spending some time here in Quito, crashing at Sarah and Corine's house. They made a lovely pie-esque dinner. Just a side note - why don't we eat more savory pie in America like they do in Britain? And their friends that are visiting made a Rum Cake. The pie was fantastic, the run cake not-so-much. You needed a coke with it, it was that rummy. I made some chocolate chip cookies from smittenkitchen. Although, I didn't have any baking soda and so I used yeast instead = interesting. But I was really excited because I got to use the peanut butter chips and the butterscotch chips that my mom and dad had brought down for me! Surprisingly, I have no chocolate chips!

Today has started off to be an equally lovely day except for the fact that I found out one of my favorite students is no longer going to be taking classes. =( That did mean that even though I was up at 6, I don't have to leave the house until 9! Which has given me plenty of time to cook breakfast for the puppers, make myself and drink a whole french press of coffee, read my new book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and thoroughly prepare for my training today! This afternoon, we'll run and then we both have classes this evening. What I'm most looking forward to is talking to Hannah tonight! And then coming home and making dinner again with Ryan.

All in all, just the first 1/2 of this week has been FABULOUS!

Talk to you all soon!

MULUB,

Taylor

So Many Visitors!

Let me tell you, we have been busy! We've had so many visitors this month!

First the Almond family came to visit for 10 days! We spent a lot of time in Quito, exploring Old Town. Plus, we went to Banos and to Mindo. I fell in love with Mindo and I can't wait to go back.

Then we had My here. Now My is Maria Jose's friend's friend's girlfriend. Crazy, I know! When Maria Jose was here, her friend Kalani visited. All three of us went to LFC but didn't really hang out in the same group of friends (well they did, but I didnt). When Kalani was here they came over to our house for Easter dinner (I think, or some dinner). Kalani studied in Italy this summer with this guy Oliver, whom he met on his trip. Oliver's girlfriend, My, came to visit Oliver in Italy and met Kalani because they were living together. My told Kalani about her travels to Ecuador, Kalani contacted me, My stayed with us! I mean it really is that simple =)

And now Corey is here! Its been so great having him here, especially for Ryan, I think. He's only here for 5 days, so we've been busy. Monday we went to Old Town; yesterday they went to Mitad del Mundo; today we're going to Guayasamin's museum and then I think tomorrow we're going to get out of Quito for a couple of days.

Yesterday was my birthday... I'm officially a quarter of a century old! I feel old! We went out to dinner for Mexican food. It was really good but SOO much food. Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes, either via facebook or email or the mail! I think I got more cards living in Quito than I ever have living in the States! Thanks so much! It really made my day special!

Corey leaves on Saturday =( Then Saturday night we have a going away party for a girl that was in our training class. That makes 2 to have left from our class. Then we'll have some down time until Doug and Roz get here! We're hoping to plant our garden during that down time, so that will be exciting. Our composting is going well! Its amazing at how much less garbage you throw away when you recycle all of your organic material.

There are a couple of you out there that we've been meaning to schedule Skype/G Chat/Phone dates with and hopefully after Saturday we'll be able to get those done! Don't worry we haven't forgotten about you!

Miss you all!

MULUB,

Taylor

PS. See you all in 98 days!

Differences in Routine

I've been thinking a lot about how different my life is here in Ecuador. There are differences on all levels: my routine is different, my thinking is different, my expectations are different, what I want is different... a lot of things are different. And I thought that these differences that I've observed might be of interest to you readers at home. I've also been thinking about how much more aware I am here: aware of myself, my surroundings, the changes and how I'm changing. And so an interesting thought for me is, 'even though I'm much more aware here, what are the difference and the changes that I'm not aware of. When will I notice them? What will they be? Will they all flood me when I'm back on God's green soil in December? Or will it take longer than that? Will they be good things? Will I wish I had noticed them earlier, so I could change them and not let them become habits? Anyways... like I said earlier, lots of time to think here.

Today I'm going to tell you a couple of differences in my routine...

1. I get up earlier here (and the opposite is also true, I go to bed much earlier). Every morning, without an alarm, I get up right around 6am! Now this is tied to another change, I have a dog (in case you weren't aware). Chuki sits on my side of the bed and lets out one bark right around 6am, usually at 6:07am. It's become my duty to get up and feed him in the morning. If I have class, I get ready and leave for class. But on the mornings I don't have class, I get up, feed him, put on a pot of coffee and head outside to watch the city wake up. This is absolutely. hands down. one of my favorite. things in my day. All that to say, I'm not sleep deprived. I get a solid 8 hours, sometimes more.

2. I walk to work. Each of my classes include at least a 20 minute walk, one way. Sometimes the walk is combined with a ride on the EcoVia. In Chicago, I was commuting about 1hr, on average, one way, by car. Now that I think about it... YUCK!

3. I work, at most, 94 hours a month. Now let me break that down for you... thats 24 hours a week and less than 5 hours a day. So for the most part, I go to class in the morning for 2 hours, come home, go to class at lunch time for an hour, come home, and go to class in either the evening or the afternoon, come home. I don't have evening or afternoon class on Wednesday or Friday and I have NO NO NO classes on the weekends. In the States, I was working, on average, 60 hour weeks. And the absolute best part... I go to work, I teach, I come home, and I don't think about it again until the next class. That's it. No worrying about not finishing projects, no thinking I could have done better, no forgetting to call someone back, no answering emails, no logistical plans, no raising money, no soulless Division to report to, nada... work, come home, work, come home, work, come home.

4. On my breaks between classes, I read, Ryan and I play cards, I cook, I bake, I run, I walk Chuki, I watch movies, I talk to friends, I lay out, I sit outside and do nothing, I take Chuki to the park, I take naps, I play with Chuki. In short, I do things that I like to do, that I want to do. Now clearly, also during my breaks from classes, I spend time cleaning the apartment, washing dishes, washing laundry, and doing things that I don't particularly enjoy doing. The great difference though is in Chicago, after working 8-12 hours of the day, and then doing the things that I had to do (dishes, cleaning, laundry, etc), the time I had left to do things that I enjoy doing was very small and usually saved for the weekends.

5. On the flip side, chores here are more laborious than chores were in Chicago. The greatest example is laundry. We do our laundry on a scrub board. This involves filling a bucket with hot water, adding the soap, letting it sit so the soap can dissolve, adding the laundry to the bucket, letting the laundry sit so the soap can work, than scrubbing item by item on a tiled station that has freezing cold water coming out of it. Now depending on the items, they might need to be soaked again in hot water, or you can put them straight onto the drying rack. If it's not raining out the drying rack can go outside and they'll dry pretty quick (like one day) if it is raining out than the drying rack stays inside and the process takes a little longer. Doing dishes is the same, although the soap is different (it's in solid form). Mopping here involves a broom and a wet towel that has a hole cut in the middle of it. Everything else is pretty much the same. Oh, with the added chores of cleaning up dog poop and cleaning the deck almost every day.

6. My eating routine is different as well, and all that encompasses eating (cooking and shopping). I RARELY eat out. It has one of a couple things in order for us to eat out. 1) A special occasion 2) Someone else is paying 3) We've run out of gas and so we can't cook. This is HUGELY different from my routine in Chicago. I ate out almost everyday at work for lunch (with Sara and Doug!!!!). If I worked late, I would order something in, pick something up or eat out with the roomies. If I was celebrating something, I'd eat out. If I'd had a bad day, I'd eat out. If I didn't have any groceries, I'd eat out. If the kitchen was too messy, I'd eat out. If I just felt like it, I'd eat out. So here, that's a BIG difference. Now shopping is also different. For the most part I buy all of my fruits and veggies at the market. (Think Farmer's Market on steroids and not nearly as quaint.) Then for meats and dairy I go to Megamaxi (think Walmart not on steroids). Then for bread I go to the corner store, daily, with Chuki. So I go to three stores and not one and I go probably 1 time a week to Megamaxi, 2-3 times a week to the market, and 7 days a week for bread. As far as what we eat... way different too. For lunch and dinner think rice, vegetables, chicken and ground beef (I know what you're thinking, but it's true). Now think of all the ways you can combine them. Also occasionally add in quinoa, beans and cheese. For breakfast, it's usually fresh bread, eggs, fruit or yogurt and granola. We also cook for Chuki. So about 2 times a week we make rice, beef, and veggies for him (or some variation). We dont really snack, unless its on fruit, bread or a chocolate bar. Plus we eat A LOT of casseroles and if you've read this blog before you know we eat a lot of soup!

7. I run 4 days a week here. Thats different.

8. We use a match to light the stove.

9. Most of the times we have hot water to shower with, but sometimes it's out. Also we shower far, far less. Which is saying something.

10. At night, we watch a movie, play cards, or read. Sometimes we take Chuki for a night walk. Sometimes, we sit out on the patio and have a cocktail. We don't really go out during the week.

11. On the weekends our big outing is usually to the park with Chuki. Or we go to Old Town and go to a museum or just walk around. We do projects around the house (much to Ryan's chagrin). We do our long run on Sundays. We see friends (sometimes). We chat with friends from home. We hang out together and we sleep in (well Ryan does).

I can't think of much else right now as far as routine. Stay tuned...

MULUB,

Taylor

Healthcare in Ecuador

So Ryan and I have been sick now for quite some time. I have been sick ever since we got back from the beach (July 5) and Ryan has been sick for about 2 weeks. We were putting of going to the doctor because it just seemed like such a hassle. I mean, if it takes hours to get a package from the post office, you can imagine how long it will take to get a doctors appointment, attend it and then get the prescription. Plus it would be a lot of spanish that we aren't necessarily familiar with and that just added to the dread.

We've been stocking up on Vitamin C and trying to rest. The resting part has been kind of hard because a) we're training for the 1/2 marathon and so we need to stay on schedule and b) we couldn't sleep because I would have these coughing attacks all throughout the night that would wake Ryan, and sometimes Chuki, up. So the resting part was hard and we finally decided it might be time to actually go to the doctor.

So on Wednesday we called to make two appointments, one for Ryan and one for me. We made sure that we called when Jhon, our spanish teacher, was here in case we got into some translation problems. Ryan made the phone call and set up his appointment and then when he was setting up mine they got disconnected. Jhon called back and set up my appointment. We were scheduled for Thursday, Ryan at 2 and me at 2:15.

Now the health insurance system here is one of reimbursement. So you have to take this form that is signed and sealed from your employer to the appointment with you. Ryan got the forms from inlingua and we left for the appointment.

When we arrived to the place it was PACKED! There were chairs set up for waiting and then counters with numbers. You went in, got a number, and waited. There was ONE girl at the counter processing all of the requests. This step was comparable to the 'check in' phase of an American doctors appointment, even though it took more like 25 minutes. So our number is called, we go up to the one girl, who has papers all over the place. They're not in any particular order, they're just laying all over her work station. There are other people rifling through them; it was a mess. We give her our insurance cards and our forms and she can't find us in the system. Apparently the guy over the phone had spelled our last names wrong (big surprise!) and so for a few minutes we were panicky that we had just waited, we weren't feeling well, and now we aren't going to get to see the doctor. She eventually found our names and asked for her $8. Then she told us to go into this little room off the waiting room.

There wasn't anyone in the little room when we got there, so we waited a couple of minutes. Finally a nurse came in and weighed us, measured us, took our blood pressure, and our pulse. She put all of that information into the computer and then took us to the doctor.

The doctor had us sit down (notice that we're in the same appointment, not two separate ones like we had requested). He asked what our symptoms were; he listened to us breathe; and he wrote out a prescription. Then he also had to fill out our insurance forms. Also notice, he didn't tell us what was wrong with us just that there was a problem and to take these pills.

He told us to go back to the waiting room and get a number. So we got another number, this time for medicines, and we waited. This time, we weren't quite sure what we were waiting for. We had our prescriptions, we'd already paid, our forms were signed... Anyways, finally they called our number. The girl, a different one this time, entered our prescriptions into the computer, made copies of our insurance forms, and did some other things (who knows what) and then told us we were free to leave.

The whole process took a little over an hour and was relatively painless. It just seemed to us like a lot of paperwork and a lot of who-ha for not really anything more than a walk in clinic in the states.

I went to go get our medicines that night. We each had two and they were all different. Apparently the doctor said that my 'problem' was worse than Ryan's, who knows why?! Anyways, the one pharmacy was out of one of my medicines so I had to go across the street to the other pharmacy (Funny how some things are the same everywhere. ie, a Walgreens and a CVS on two corners of one intersection.) Finally I have all of the medicines and I get back home and we take them.

Now I had already planned to go over to our friends house for a girls night and so I took my medicine and then I got dressed (kind of, I still went in my pjs) and I headed over there. All of a sudden as we were sitting there the medicine kicked in and I got SO tired and my head felt like it was floating somewhere detached to my body. Plus my stomach started to ache; Needless to say I came home shortly after I got there.

We're on an every 12 hour rotation for the medicine, so I took mine again this morning at 6 and have been sleeping on and off all morning. It's a good thing all my classes were cancelled today because I don't think I would be able to teach. The other good thing is that I feel like I'm coughing less and less. PLUS I WAS ABLE TO SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT! Which was so relieving!

So for now, we're just relaxing, staying inside, not doing much of anything. Hopefully in a couple of days we'll be back to normal. The only thing I hope is that there are no serious injuries/sicknesses while we're here. I can't even imagine the hassle it would be. Knock on wood, right?

Hope all is well with everyone at home!

MULUB,

Taylor

VISITORS!

I'm really REALLY excited because two of my dearest friends are coming to visit us in October! Roz and Doug will be here for 10 days in the middle of October and I couldn't be happier.

Just thought everyone should know!

--Taylor

Where's the love?

Just putting it out there, we love comments.

Instructions: Have a gmail account, click on the comments button at the bottom of a post, write your comment, select gmail account, enter your gmail email address and password, press post, enter the 'secret word', press post, enter the other 'secret word', press post!

If you don't have a gmail account, well you should, because then we can video chat and you can leave comments and both of those things make us feel good!

MULUB,

Taylor

How we got the new place...

So Taylor has shown you the pictures of the new place, but she hasn't said how it was exactly that we came to be there. It's quite a good story I must say.

Taylor found the number of a place in El Comercio and called it up. It was the number of real estate agents, a man and his two female cohorts, and they took her to see the place. It was Chelsea's last game of the season so I didn't go. The place that they took her to was too small, too expensive, and too far away, as I recall her saying. She said she didn't like it, so they said, Ok we've got another place for you to see. Then they took her to see the place we're living in right now.

Later in the day, when I met up with Taylor she told me about the place. She made arrangements to see it again in the late afternoon. We looked at a few other places in the meantime, including this huge, weird looking one that was super long and had an old-timey fireplace. So we look at the place we are in now again and I loved it too. It was perfect for us and for Chucki. We took a day to think about it and then called to say we wanted the place. So the real estate agents called the owner and arranged for us to meet and sign that Monday night.

We go there on Monday and find the real estate agents there, but the owner is not present. We wait and wait, and as I remember I was feeling really sick that night. We ask if they can call the owner and see what's going on. They call her and apparently she had sold the place, neglecting to tell the real estate agents

Needless to say we were quite upset about not getting the place. Taylor walked by the apartment later in the week and found the sign in the window still up. So Taylor called the real estate agents and asked what the deal was. Apparently the potential buyer was not quite ready to commit so he asked for more time and would know for sure by the next Monday. So we ended up having to look apartments that weekend as well. We found another place for the same price and it would've been a sufficient substitute. But we still wanted the other place.

So we called again on Monday, he did not call us, mind you. And he says he'll know on Tuesday. We get the impression that this guy is not a real estate agent, but instead plays in a professional foot-dragging league. It becomes apparent to us that, for whatever reason, this guy doesn't know what he's talking about. As I mentioned before, the sign in the apartment window was still up, and Taylor had taken down the number of the owner and called her. She said that the buyer had decided not to take the apartment, and she would rent it to us if we were still interested. We went to the apartment and sign the papers with her boyfriend, who is a lawyer.

That's all there is to it. Except. A week or two after we moved into the apartment, our apartment phone (it's a direct line to the guard) rings while we are watching a movie or something. Taylor answers but can't understand the guard so goes down to the front door. The phone rings again and it's Taylor and she tells me to come down right away. So I go down. The real estate agent is there and he brought his cadre, and they're yelling at Taylor. So I'm like "what's going on?" They tell me that the owner has failed to pay them their commission, and so they want us to pay it. I ask how much the commission is and Taylor tells me it's 400 dollars. I say no immediately, though I would have said no had they asked for 50 cents and a bucket of powdered Gatorade. Before I got there, apparently the guy had threatened that he was going to go all over town smearing us and say that we're bad people, and that when he doesn't get paid, bad thing happen. We'll he didn't even know my first name or either of our last names, so, good luck jackass. I say, look, I'm sorry you didn't get "your" money but that's not my problem, that's between you and the owner, so stop bothering us. More later.

-Ryan