This was done in computer class.... this is text taken from my blog - with the shape of South America. Pretty neat actually.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Feeling Creative!
This was done in computer class.... this is text taken from my blog - with the shape of South America. Pretty neat actually.
The Beach... and more!
Hola friends. Life here in Ecuador has been busy it seems lately. We were able to make a trip to the Beach recently though. We went to a place called Montanita. Great little beach area. It has a night life... which is "cocktail alley" and is a hopping place in the evening time... and during the day you can roam the town looking at goods that vendors are selling, eat at one of the many restaurants there... or simply hang out on the beach or in a hammock nearby. We actually really liked it there. We rented a taxi (a driver we use often and we trust) and he took the 3 of us and another couple (a girl we work with and her husband) to Montanita, which is about a 2 1/2 hour trip each way. It is possible to make it in about 2 hours though... our driver is a cautious driver and went a little slow at times. Anyhow, we got their on a Friday night and stayed until Sunday. We stayed at a little Hostal called Sole' Mare. The owners were so nice and it was a nice little place... clean and comfy... right on the beach. The cost was $40.00 a night for the three of us. The cost varies on the time of year, and they charge per person (it was $15. each for me and Dan and then Sam was only $10.00) - and it comes with breakfast. The owners made scrabbled eggs and toast for us and we got coffee and fresh squeezed juice. We ate outside on the deck by the beach - very nice. We are thinking we want to make a trip here at least once a month. There were 2 other teachers from our school and some of their friends staying at our hostal also, as well as a couple students (who Sam is friends with) who was there with their Dad so we all hung out and had a great time! Sam and Dan did some boogie boarding also. This beach is known for surfing and there is a surf school right next to the hostal we stay at. I guess it's very popular with the Australian's and they surf right in front of the hostal. Dan wants to look into surf lessons.
Some other things... went to a baby shower for one of our teachers. She had about 28 people from work show up... what a great turnout of people!! I think almost every woman (except a couple) from the school showed up. Then Saturday, a friend of ours took us to a local fruit and veggie market last weekend which was interesting. We bought all sorts of stuff... huge carrots, pineapple, berries, tomatoes, garlic, and much more! Then later that day we went to Sam's swim meet with another family from France. Very nice people. Then we went over to some other friends house and had drinks and snacks - it was a fun filled busy day! This weekend was also a little busy with "Dad's Day" at our school on Saturday - which is an event for all the Dad's to come too with their Elementary kids. There were all sorts of activities... like a cupcake walk, T-ball, soccer, 3 legged race, musical chairs, etc.. etc.. it was like a little fair. All of the Elementary teachers had to work it and sponsor an event. I did the hopscotch area and Dan did the T-ball. Sam hung out and helped me and Dan both. He also participated in some of the games. It was a fun day. It was over at 1:00 and Dan and I retreated to the villa and laid by the pool for a couple hours. It was nice and sunny and warm and we needed the relaxation. Sam came down ill with a stomach ache and wouldn't you know it before the night was over... so did Dan. As I type this, Dan is in bed sick with a 101 temp and has not felt good all day. Sam on the other hand feels fine now and is eating and drinking like normal... so I think it's a 24 hour flu type thing. Tonight Sam and I took the bikes and went down to the Pharmacy and bought Dan some Pedialyte to help him not get dehydrated. Poor guy. My fingers are crossed that I don't come down with it. This is the first sign of sickness that any of us have had since we arrived in Ecuador. We have been lucky so far... well, until now for Dan and Sam. We are very careful with the water and the food we eat. I just think they caught a bug or something.
Made homemade chicken soup today. Baked a whole chicken and then pulled the meat off and put it in a pot with all the chicken stock and some fresh veggies pasta and it turned out great! Made a whole big batch so we can have some for lunches and another dinner. Here in Ecuador food is really different from home. Some people mistake Ecuador as "Mexican" and think that they have really good Mexican food here (like it's Mexico or something), but it's not. This is Latin American and yes, they do use a lot of different spices, but it's not like Mexican food. They eat a lot of soups... and a lot of beans (like lentils, and other various types of beans, as well as rice. We eat a lot of chicken. The only beef we buy is hamburger, which is usually under 10% fat and looks pretty lean. The other day I bought some ground pork which also looked pretty lean. We eat a lot of brown rice with chicken and veggies. Not too exciting, but it's healthy and cheap. The chocolate certainly tastes different here as well. We have not had a candy bar since we have been here. I see some brands like Snickers here and there, but they are usually the bags of the mini bars and they are VERY expensive for a small bag so we don't bother. Dan and I have both lost weight but since we don't own a scale we don't know how much. I just know my clothes are looser fitting. We do have smoothies quite often which are yummy too - fresh banana, papaya, pineapple with some mango nectar and strawberry yogurt! (Mangoes are not in season yet so have to do the nectar which you can buy in the liter boxes in the store for under a $1.00). We have those at least 3-4 times a week. Sam has adapted well with the food believe it or not. It's weird to think how much processed food and fast food we used to eat and now we barely have it. Food is more expensive here than we thought it would be. Well, let me rephrase that... some foods are more expensive. Things like fruit and veggies... those are much cheaper. Local beer is cheaper (and it's good), but meats are high priced (especially bacon, and any kind of sausages, steaks, and the good lunch meat ham, pastrami, etc). Any imports from the US are double, triple and sometimes 4 times more than in the states. I paid $8.04 for a jar of Skippy peanut butter on Friday night. Again, had to have it (just like the Jif).
Well, that's about it for now. Enjoying it here so far. The past 2 months have went by so fast!! It will be December before we know it and Christmas break will be upon us. Pic's from the beach follow. Good night for now...
Cheers ~
Michelle, Dan and Sam
Some other things... went to a baby shower for one of our teachers. She had about 28 people from work show up... what a great turnout of people!! I think almost every woman (except a couple) from the school showed up. Then Saturday, a friend of ours took us to a local fruit and veggie market last weekend which was interesting. We bought all sorts of stuff... huge carrots, pineapple, berries, tomatoes, garlic, and much more! Then later that day we went to Sam's swim meet with another family from France. Very nice people. Then we went over to some other friends house and had drinks and snacks - it was a fun filled busy day! This weekend was also a little busy with "Dad's Day" at our school on Saturday - which is an event for all the Dad's to come too with their Elementary kids. There were all sorts of activities... like a cupcake walk, T-ball, soccer, 3 legged race, musical chairs, etc.. etc.. it was like a little fair. All of the Elementary teachers had to work it and sponsor an event. I did the hopscotch area and Dan did the T-ball. Sam hung out and helped me and Dan both. He also participated in some of the games. It was a fun day. It was over at 1:00 and Dan and I retreated to the villa and laid by the pool for a couple hours. It was nice and sunny and warm and we needed the relaxation. Sam came down ill with a stomach ache and wouldn't you know it before the night was over... so did Dan. As I type this, Dan is in bed sick with a 101 temp and has not felt good all day. Sam on the other hand feels fine now and is eating and drinking like normal... so I think it's a 24 hour flu type thing. Tonight Sam and I took the bikes and went down to the Pharmacy and bought Dan some Pedialyte to help him not get dehydrated. Poor guy. My fingers are crossed that I don't come down with it. This is the first sign of sickness that any of us have had since we arrived in Ecuador. We have been lucky so far... well, until now for Dan and Sam. We are very careful with the water and the food we eat. I just think they caught a bug or something.
Made homemade chicken soup today. Baked a whole chicken and then pulled the meat off and put it in a pot with all the chicken stock and some fresh veggies pasta and it turned out great! Made a whole big batch so we can have some for lunches and another dinner. Here in Ecuador food is really different from home. Some people mistake Ecuador as "Mexican" and think that they have really good Mexican food here (like it's Mexico or something), but it's not. This is Latin American and yes, they do use a lot of different spices, but it's not like Mexican food. They eat a lot of soups... and a lot of beans (like lentils, and other various types of beans, as well as rice. We eat a lot of chicken. The only beef we buy is hamburger, which is usually under 10% fat and looks pretty lean. The other day I bought some ground pork which also looked pretty lean. We eat a lot of brown rice with chicken and veggies. Not too exciting, but it's healthy and cheap. The chocolate certainly tastes different here as well. We have not had a candy bar since we have been here. I see some brands like Snickers here and there, but they are usually the bags of the mini bars and they are VERY expensive for a small bag so we don't bother. Dan and I have both lost weight but since we don't own a scale we don't know how much. I just know my clothes are looser fitting. We do have smoothies quite often which are yummy too - fresh banana, papaya, pineapple with some mango nectar and strawberry yogurt! (Mangoes are not in season yet so have to do the nectar which you can buy in the liter boxes in the store for under a $1.00). We have those at least 3-4 times a week. Sam has adapted well with the food believe it or not. It's weird to think how much processed food and fast food we used to eat and now we barely have it. Food is more expensive here than we thought it would be. Well, let me rephrase that... some foods are more expensive. Things like fruit and veggies... those are much cheaper. Local beer is cheaper (and it's good), but meats are high priced (especially bacon, and any kind of sausages, steaks, and the good lunch meat ham, pastrami, etc). Any imports from the US are double, triple and sometimes 4 times more than in the states. I paid $8.04 for a jar of Skippy peanut butter on Friday night. Again, had to have it (just like the Jif).
Well, that's about it for now. Enjoying it here so far. The past 2 months have went by so fast!! It will be December before we know it and Christmas break will be upon us. Pic's from the beach follow. Good night for now...
Cheers ~
Michelle, Dan and Sam
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