weekend...

-Saturday morning….i made arepas (basically corn pancakes) for my family.
-nora’s family took us to a town outside of Quito,Calderón, known for folk-art – mostly ornaments and decorations made of bread-dough and salt. (mom….you would have loved this place).
-comida tipica for lunch including a special soup made of potatoes called Locro, which is served with avocado, cheese and tostados (toasted corn). This may have been the best Ecuadorian meal so far…i am going to attempt to learn to make it.
-we drove to an incredible park overlooking the city and then down a famous incline called Guapulo, which is on a steep hillside leading to a historic church built in 1633
-Maria Gracia and I watched little miss sunshine in Spanish on my bed and then played countless games of cards with Pedro…my host mom is recovering from minor leg surgery, so she was in bed super early.

-Sunday morning started with miscommunication about plans, but I ended up staying home to help Maria Paz prepare / learn my enchilada and nora’s bread pudding recipes. My entire family helped….. Maria Paz blasted the salsa music, Abuelita and Maria Gracia chopped vegetables and I did the rest. It was a great morning and they seemed to really enjoy learning how to make them. Before the guests came I went for my first solo run….it was incredible, although it is still difficult to breath (altitude or smog???)
Abuelita’s brother came over with two of his daughters, son-in-law and grandchildren (7 & 16). Abuelita’s brother is a history / geography / philosophy prof and he was really friendly and incredibly interesting and smart. When he entered he asked where the gringita was…apparently I looked Ecuadorian to him. We had some great conversations about recycling, dogs, history and politics. I asked him who he thought was the most influential Ecuadorian woman and the whole family got into a debate….i think they decided on three women, all of whom are named Manuela. Also, when he found out that I did not support Bush he got super excited, grinning a toothless smile, and grabbed my arm to show his enthusiasm.