January Weather

The weather here lately has been manic.

The mornings are sunny, hot in fact, with the Andean sun beating down on you at 8,000+ feet above sea level. The sun's rays are nothing short of piercing, and quasi-albino individuals like myself have to stay well covered or slathered in sun block.

I never run in the mornings for fear I will burst in to flames.

The afternoons bring ominous, black clouds, full of surprises.
Sometimes they do nothing.
Sometimes it rains.
Sometimes it pours.
And sometimes we get thunder, lightening, and hail!

Yesterday's clouds brought a massive hail storm, one that we just missed being caught in at the park by about 30 seconds!

I love this weather. It is dramatic, exciting, challenging. You never know what you're going to get.

And the calm after the storm is always worth it.

Playing in the sunshine, but with the clouds rolling in
(maybe 10 minute before the hail hit)

Right after I took this picture we ran home and
the hail started right as we got back!

The view from our apartment right after the storm... Beautiful.

Holidays: Merry Christmas from the Equator!

I'm not sure if many of you have come to the realization yet that I am the only expat in my family. Arturo was born here, Kesha was born here, and Kalah was born here. I was not.

Holidays are the hardest time to be an expat and the time when I feel most alone.

Don't get me wrong, the traditions, the activities, the food and festivities are all wonderful. But there's a reason the song "I'll be Home for Christmas" was written. It's always hard to be away from where you're from because if you're not there it's just not the same.

Rather than dwell on the fact that I didn't go to the US during the winter holidays this year, I'm going to share a bit about local traditions and customs here in Ecuador (well, at least in Cuenca, where I live).

Christmas here is a completely religious holiday. No Santa. No reindeer. Lots of lights and lots of Baby Jesus.

The 24th in the morning brings a parade celebrating the passage of Mary and Joseph to the manger in Bethlehem where Jesus was born, called Pase del Niño Viajero.  This specific Pase del Niño is an all day event and is well worth watching (at least a bit of it). You can see such parades throughout the months of December and January, but the parade on the 24th is by far the biggest.

The eve of the 24th families gather together to celebrate with a Christmas dinner followed by a midnight mass. We let Kesha open her big present the afternoon of Christmas eve day. She got a kitchen, something we have been talking about getting her for a long time. Thanks to my parents we were able to splurge and get her one (thank you Nana and Grandpa!). She was very excited, to say the very least (look at that face!).

Late in the evening we had our turkey dinner (hosted by my mother-in-law), exchanged a few small gifts, then went home and to bed.

Since my family has always been a Christmas morning family, we opted to open the presents my parents mailed to the girls on Christmas morning. It was very fun and low key.

As a plug for reading to young children (you're welcome mom), every year my mom does "A Book on Every Bed" for the girls. You wrap a new book (it can be checked out from the library) and put it a the foot of the kids' beds while they sleep. It is the first present they open on Christmas morning. I won't go in to detail here, but please do take a look at the program's website and consider doing it with your kids (or grandkids)!

Although this Christmas was different (even Kesha will tell you that it's cold and snows at Christmas time... not 100 degrees hahaha different realities are so interesting) it was wonderful. I truly enjoyed our quiet little Christmas. However, I am still dying inside that we didn't get a Santa picture for Kalah's first Christmas (dying inside... DYING!!!)

Again, I realize this post is over a month late, as is my holiday greeting, but Merry Christmas everyone!

Welcome 2014!

I read someone's blog where they talked about a list to complete during 2014 rather than resolutions. Although it's a cool concept, let's be real, goals are goals wether you call them resolutions or you call them tasks. They are thing you have not yet accomplished that you would like to do, right? But, that is not the point. The point is a new year, a new me, a new focus. A chance to be better than I was last year.

This year seems to be the year our family is doing "visual lists" so I am going to snatch this "to do list" idea up and follow suit. I will have a hand written list on my fridge of what I would like to accomplish in 2014. The items I picked are concrete. Doable (at least in my mind they are doable, we shall see if they pan out in real life).

Here is my list!

1. Write down my "to do" list, decorate it, and put it on the fridge
2. Do something for myself every single day, no matter how small
3. Blog at least 2 times per month every month for the year
4. Learn to use my new camera
5. Maintain our no technology after 6pm rule all year (weekends and holidays are an exception)
6. Read at least 3 real books 
7. Run a half marathon
8. Listen to world news at least 3 mornings per week
9. Dedicate at least one full morning per week to handing over Kalah May to someone else so I can focus on my work
10. Pitch my PhD idea to 5 universities and seek full funding opportunities
11. Go parasailing
12. Write and send one hand written letter per month

There ya have it.  No bells, no whistles. No frills, no gimmicks. 12 things to accomplish in 2014. 

What is on your to do list for this new year?

Happy new year everyone!

Travel: Macará

It's a good 7 hour drive from Cuenca to the small southern border town of Macará. And it's not just any old 7 hour drive. A winding two-lane highway leads the way through the Andes, finally dropping you in to the hot, desert-like part of the country (lying at 1,500 feet above sea level, some 7,000 feet below Cuenca), connecting Ecuador with Peru.

Macará is known for it's agriculture, and for having maintained it's small town charm and way of life. The population tops out at around 15,000.

This is where my mother-in-law is from and where my husband spent many childhood days.

It is a stark contrast to the city life we lead.

People hang out on porches, street corners, in the plazas. Chatting. Never in a hurry. Kids head off with any relative, their parents never quite knowing exactly where they are, they know they are safe. Kids walk to shops on their own, buy what they need, and return home with no adult supervision. People say hi, gather, chat, take time to enjoy one another, and life.

My husband's uncle spends his days at the family farm (this farm is immense, many hectares of land) "la Guatara" training Peruvian Paso Horses and watching over the land and its animals. There is no schedule other than the sun and the needs of the animals.

When we go, we stay in an adobe home that is more than 100 years old. Rooms are not completely closed off, one bathroom is shared with everyone in the home, and there is a fantastic open courtyard in the back. The covered part of this courtyard is where the dining room is. The floors are a polished cement and the finish is rustic. High temperatures let to an in necessity for blankets and the lack of hot water goes unnoticed.

Traveling to Macará always reminds me of how Cuenca is just part of the Ecuadorian experience. Staying put in the city doesn't allow you to grasp the true depth and diversity of the Ecuador, it's regions, or its people.

I am always thankful for my visits to this unique part of the country. But I am a city girl at heart and am always happy to come home.

Below is a photographic journey of our whirlwind weekend in the south...

A Nativity scene at La Toma where we stop to have lunch.

Basilica del Cisne

Failed family portrait just outside of the Basilica del Cisne.
Every family portrait should include a llama!

Candles inside of the Basilica.

Kesha inside the Basilica. I loved the colors. 

Nothing like fresh coconut water straight from the "nut" when it's hot outside.

At a "rest stop" playing with some chickens.

The plaza in front of my husband's grandma's house.

How we bathed Kalah.

A typical afternoon in the hammock outside of the house
(this is like the front porch).

A public warning about malaria from the 1960s 

Kesha's second cousin playing "trompo" right outside of the house.

In order from back to front: my mother-in-law (Graciela),
her mother (Teresa), me (with my eyes closed), Kalah,
and Kesha. This is right inside of the front door of the
house in the hallway.

An electrical outlet inside of the house.

Our room. 

The house at "La Guatara" farm.  

Horse saddles for the Peruvian "Paso" horses at La Guatara.

Tio Marcelo and the girls at La Guatara.

Tio Marcelo and Kesha at La Guatara
(yes, Kesha is wearing her gold shoes *sigh*)

Kalah May meeting a horse. This horse was pregnant and due any day. 

Kesha "hammocking" at La Guatara.

Mi Vaquero. Arturo on a Peruvian Paso horse at La Guatara.

On the porch of the house at La Guatara.

Play time: winter crafts

As Kesha started growing I found it daunting to figure out where to get craft supplies. I didn't grow up here, so there were no shops I remembered frequenting as a child, and I had not a clue where to even start looking for things like tissue paper, card stock, felt, nor what the words for these items were in Spanish.

As I've become more acclimated to life here with children, I have ventured out on my own and not only found these items, but have discovered that they are relatively inexpensive here as well. Projects have been in full swing and I'm sure, at times, Arturo wishes I had never made this discovery!

So, for you moms out there who live in countries you did not grow up in, know that sometimes it just takes a few solo adventures to figure out where you can get fun craft materials!

Here are a few crafts we have made this "winter" (remember, it's not actually winter here) and a list of the supplies and where I purchased them.


Build Your Own Snowman
This activity was fun because Kesha could be creative and we made all kinds of hats and scarves for the snowmen out of what we had around the house. I originally saw this idea on Pinterest, but I can't find the link to share it here, so if this was your idea. Thank you and please feel free to email me with your link and I'll add it here.

What you need...

• Those round cotton pads that are for cleaning makeup off your face (I bought them at Supermaxi for about $2.00)
• An assortment of buttons/beads for the snowman's buttons
  I already had these at home, but I bought the bag of star beads you see in the picture above at Coral Rio for less than $1.00.
• Sticks for arms
  I got these for free on one of my walks by the river.
• A "carrot nose"
  I used an orange, glittery puff that I got in a pack at Coral Rio. The entire bag cost me less than $1.00. I used the other puffs for other projects and also as an alternative type of button for the snowman.
• "Scarves"
  I used ribbon, felt, string, things I already had around the house.
• Eyes
  Truth, I had my mom send me goggly eyes from the US. However, you can buy them at Coral Rio. A pack of mixed sizes runs about $1.00.

How it works...

• Put a bunch of this stuff on a plate, leave out, let kids play.
• You can also get creative. In the picture below you'll see a "magic wand" we created with some felt and a pom pom.
• Let them use their imagination. Kesha created really tall snowmen and used the scissors to destroy the cool hats I created since she apparently had something else in mind.

Salt Dough Candy Canes 

I love salt dough.

It's easy to make. I almost always have the ingredients. It's hard to mess up. It's versatile. And if kids put it in their mouth who cares.

For this holiday season, we made candy canes. Correction... I made candy canes since Kesha was not home when I did this. Yes, I'm sure there was a better way to use my time.

I used this salt dough recipe, split it in half, then added red food coloring to one half until I had the color I desired.

Recipe
2c normal flour
1c salt
1c lukewarm water
Red food coloring (as needed)

Mix ingredients, split dough in half, add food coloring. Ta da!

After you have you two balls like I did above, you pinch off a bit of each and make a small snake out of each color. Enter twine the two colors and roll. Shape like a candy cane then stick on a silpat on a baking sheet.

Bake at around 200 (f) until done (will depend on size and thickness... ranges from 45 minutes - 3 hours).

Let them cool then hang around the house, on the Christmas tree, etc. Then let your 3 year old find them and break them all by using them a drum sticks. Nice! Here's a picture of them before they were massacred. 

Fresh Eucalyptus Wreath
This one not many of you will have the materials do make this. I do because I live by a Eucalyptus infested river area. We are never at a loss for Eucalyptus leaves. However, since some of you who read this blog are in Cuenca, here ya go....

Get a bunch of fresh baby Eucalyptus branches (it has to be baby or you'll have a hard time manipulating the branches and they won't smell as good).

Start with 3 longer strands. Tie them together to form a circle (I used a gold cord that I had to tie the branches together).

Once you have your basic circle, weave the rest of your branches around the base branches to fill out your wreath.

Adorn with something fun and festive like a red bow, or in our case, red jingle bells.

Your house will smell amazing for a week or so and the wreath will dry and preserve. Also, any leaves that fall off while making the wreath can go in a pot of water on the stove, simmered, and they will help kill germs and clear your nostrils! Great if you have a cold!

Festive Wall Hanging Thing
This is easy, fun, kid friendly, and makes you feel accomplished.

I bought all of my supplies at Coral Rio. I made this for under $5, easily. I'm not going to give you step by step instructions because if you look at the pictures you'll see how it's done. However, I will tell you that to get my circles I traced an espresso cup then hand cut them out.  

Enjoy and happy holiday crafting!