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!