fotos nuevos
we have uploaded almost all of the new photos and videos to the flickr site so you all can see them. we are continuing with our salsa lessons on tuesdays and our prof says that al i are not allowed to dance together during lessons because if we always dance with someone of the same level we dont progress as quickly. so al danced with rianne who is quite good and after we all watched the two of them dance really well together reuben our prof said we could dance together 5 minutes as a reward to al for dancing so well. we went out dancing wednesday night and although there were some really good salsa dancers there were so many people we hardly had room to do any vueltas (turns) but it was still fun. on thursday i continued to look for more children that need to go with me to get their eyes checked and was only able to find 2 so we went as a small group on friday morning. i made quimbolitos also on thurs night which are a typical crilloe dish that is a sweet pastry cooked in a large platano leaf by steam. i had to improvise to get them to cook right because our kitchen lacks a steamer proper but as always my improvisation with cooking seems to work out one way or another. on friday night we listened to rock songs with reuben for his english lesson and he tried to listen and write out the words by ear to guns and roses sweet child of mine. my ear proved to be the best of the three of us at figuring out what words they were singing, so i helped reuben when he could not understand them. on saturday morning jessie nicole and i went to the park to do yoga in the warm morning sun. que rico. we stretched an hour and then on our walk back stopped and borrowed the grinder again from the restaurant and i helped jessie make chocolate to bring to the festival de postres (festival of dessert) that we had staruday night. al made his moms recipe kahlua cake that turned out great and everyone loved. we watched part of the movie juno, i shaved als head, and we walked to the centro historico to the house of our friends where the party was saturday night. there were cakes, apple crisps, ice cream, hot chocolate, fruit fondue with the pure homemade chocolate. very sweet but very good. sunday morning we took a bus early to the oñas and walked up a large hill behind their house called el cinto and arrived at the church near Lloa, a village on the other side of the hills. it was strange looking on one side and seeing all of Quito sur and the other and seeing panoramo and fields of green on the other. two entirely different worlds. we picked herbs that i infused into water and make a very healthy drink. we went to church there and made a picnic of chicken with potatoes and salad with fruit juices. we ate on the tailgate of the car of the oñas and danced as the fog rolled in, stretched in the park, then returned back to their house. al napped while i looked at photos with the oñas, photos of their wedding, photos of their children when they were really little, and photos of us with them taken in the last few months. their grandfather came from the country with fresh milk that we boiled and drank hot as we looked at photos and they told me stories. they drove us home in the evening, we drank the last of the colada morada that i am determined to make one more time before we leave here because the fruits needed to make it cannot be found in the states and we really like this drink. i went to bed very early because we have been so busy that i have not rested much. we are training for the 10k in 3 weeks and i have only this time to increase my milage from 4 or 5 km to 10km. and the race begins at 7 in the morning more than an hour from our house. early early morning to be had. if it doesnt rain today i will run later this afternoon, but not before i find new shoes for dancing because the ones i have are not good for salsa. we are going to an open market in the centro historico where i am told there is a monton of shoes that are not too expensive. later tonight i am going to take a tea and relax.
chao a todos y que les vaya bien. quedales caliente!
Tags: Quito
annieandal
Happy Thanksgiving Annie and Al! I miss you! I have lots to be thankful for, but having you in my life (even so far away!) is difinitely one thing that I am thankful for. Hope you are all doing well…hopefully talk to you soon!
*hugs*