Catch-up time!

Hey! Sorry it’s been a while. Things before the holiday were a little busy, but it’s been a wonderful couple of months.

1. I still haven’t told you all about Thanksgiving. I made this beautiful turkey:

and proved to Europeans and Ecuadorians that American Thanksgiving is amazing:

I made a 14.5 pound turkey (which took 6 hours in my very slow oven), along with sweet potato casserole, garlic mashed potatoes/cauliflower, green beans with balsamic roasted onions, kale sausage apple stuffing, and a salad– all from scratch. Almost everything was gone in a matter of minutes. And then, in true Peace Corps fashion, we had a dance party. Super traditional Thanksgiving, obviously.

2. Two Christmases

First Christmas (Dec. 23) was complete with:

1 Duck (I traded English classes for a murdered, de-feathered, and gutted duck):

1 two- hour adventure of trying to refill a gas tank after hours to roast some veggies

1 absurdly expensive cake that took 6 hours in the oven, a month of feeding, and very impressive ingredient-procurement efforts:

4 unexpected guests and 1 excellent party.

Second Christmas (Dec 24): I went to Tumbaco to be with my host family. Host mom made the most delicious turkey I’ve ever had. Red wine and orange sauce. mmmmm….

3. Vacation on the Coast:

We had about 2 weeks off of school. It was amazing. I was greatly in need of a vacation. My reaction to almost any work was getting to be somewhere between:

and:

So I went to the Coast for 2 weeks:

Learning to enjoy semi-rocky beaches in Puerto Lopez. And look how much air there is at sea level!! I can breathe!

A small part of Los Frailes, often considered the best beach in Ecuador.

La Entrada, a friend’s lovely rural coastal site.

Visiting a mango farm, as part of a larger crazier adventure involving eccentric old people and silly cows:

btw, taking pictures in a stable should always be a closed-toe shoe activity. Learned that the hard way.

One of the eccentric old people in the mango story gifted me 4 sacks of mangos– around 300-400 mangos.

This was honestly one of the more mediocre dishes that I had on the coast, but it was still delicious. Coastal food was so incredibly tasty! So much fish and seafood! Coming back to Sierran food was a bit of a struggle.