cooking

I always had an idea that it would be a bit of an adventure cooking for myself, here in Ecuador. In the past I've helped Wendy make things, but never had to do everything myself. It doesn't sound like it should be that big of a deal, but since I've never really cooked on a gas stove before, or had to buy all my groceries in a foreign country, I wasn't sure how difficult it might be. All this to say, it's been more of an adventure than I bargained for! :) Part of the adventure comes from not having a stove or refrigerator for the first week. The stove was delivered the first Saturday after I got here, but the electric burner starter didn't work and we thought it was because there was no gas in the tank. Monday my roommate and I bought 2 tanks of gas and connected the first one. That's when we found out the electric starter didn't work! Thankfully there were some matches in the apartment, so we were able to try it out. Most food items here are prepared on the stove top, so we didn't think about trying out the oven. We still didn't have a fridge, either, other than a little tiny one, Diana, my roommate had brought, so we couldn't do much, but it was better than before!

The true adventure came Friday night when I decided to invite my really good friend, Ivonne, over for pizza. I had been wanting to make pizza for a couple months, but when I was in my apartment in Oregon, I was trying to use up what food I had, not buy new stuff, and then I was with my Grandma, and I was so busy finishing my packing that there wasn't time. But now I had the time and finally an oven to cook it in!! Or so I thought. :) Everything went really well mixing up the dough and sauce, I was able to find everything that I wanted and it smelled really good! We decided to light the oven early, to see if it worked, since not all of the stove burners did. We lit the oven and walked into the dining room to wait for the dough to rise. Just after we got into the dining room, we heard a really loud BOOM coming from the kitchen. Ivonne was closer to the door and looked into the kitchen. She started yelling that there was fire!! Somehow, I'm not sure how she was brave enough to do this, she turned off the oven, so that there was no more gas to feed the fire. When she came back into the dining room, she told me that there were flames coming out of the back of the oven!! We decided that it would be a really good idea to take the dough and sauce and toppings over to her house to finish up the pizzas! The only problem with that is that she lives on the other side of town, about a 20-30 minute walk. The dough really didn't need to rise that much, so we called for a taxi and drove everything over. :) I'm sure we must have provided much amusement for the driver!! So, we (Diana and I) are still without a real fridge, or an oven. We tried the stove top again today, and it works fine, with no problems, aside from not all of the burners working, but the oven I haven't dared try again. :) Thus ends one of my first adventures in cooking in Ecuador. :)

Macas!

So my mom told me that my grandma is tired of the cats and wants me to write something else. :) I did make it to Macas a week ago yesterday and have been really busy ever since! The flight down was an adventure in and of itself, with an 11 1/2 hour layover in Houston!!! Thankfully I have a friend who graciously offered to come hang out with me for part of that, otherwise I probably would have gone a little bit more crazy than I already am! :) The flight from Houston to Quito was probably one of the most fun flights I've ever been on. I was sitting next to a young couple from Britain who were going to do mission work for a week, in Ecuador. We had fun talking during the flight down, about different cultures and languages and our experiences in Ecuador. Then the pilot made an anouncement about possible turbulence coming up, because we were flying by a storm. I was expecting it to be pretty bad, since the flight to Houston was a big rollercoasterish at times and nothing was said, so for something to be said about it, I expected a lot worse. A couple minutes later I noticed a different kind of flash out the window (MOM, DON'T READ FURTHER :)). I realized that the storm we were going by was a thunder storm and got excited because I hadn't seen one for quite awhile. It was amazing to watch the clouds light up below us, turning purple and going dark again. I love watching thunderstorms because it always reminds me of the enormity of God's power. We probably watched the storm for about 20 minutes or so, until we passed it by, with never a bump that we could feel. :) (IT'S SAFE FOR YOU TO READ AGAIN, MOM) And then a couple hours later I landed in Quito and made it through immigration with no troubles at all!!

I was able to fly to Macas a day early, because we finished up my orientation faster than was originally thought, so I landed in Macas Monday morning. Tuesday I started working at the school and had so much fun surprising people! Most people weren't expecting me until later that week, or didn't even know that I was coming so the looks on their faces was priceless. :) Overall it's been an adventure adjusting to actually living down here. I've only rarely cooked on a gas stove and here that's nearly all that there is, however, I only got my stove on Saturday, so I haven't even been able to do much of that! Slowly I'm starting to figure things out, like when to take out the trash, how to buy gas, things that I never had to think about before when I was staying with friends! :)

The teachers all started yesterday, so I'm getting to know everyone, not just those that hang around Macas during their vacations. I've heard about so many of them, but not had a chance to meet them or get to know them, but I've really enjoyed these past couple of days. I think the thing I've loved the most, though, is the way staff meetings are run. We have a devotional. That's amazing to me, having only worked in public schools in the past. What a privilege it is to be a part of a Christian school now! I'll try to write more often, but they keep us pretty busy here, so I don't know how often I'll be able to. :)

Entertainment

Aside from packing, I've been entertaining myself with my parents' new kittens. They were dropped off at church and April conned mom and dad into taking 2 of them home. They get into all sorts of trouble in the laundry room at my parents' house. Their favorite spot is under the pipes, between the sink and washing machine!

In other news, I leave Oregon in 7 1/2 hours!! :)

Almost on my way!

I just bought my ticket to Ecuador - I leave next Saturday. Well, actually Friday night at 12:30. I'll keep everyone updated with my going-ons.

:)

This is Macas, the town I'm going to be in for the next 2 years.