Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year!

With the Year of the Tiger upon us, I decided it was about time that I learned to cook with ginger. We are probably some of the luckiest Peace Corps volunteers because we are able to easily buy ginger root at the local market (along with green onions and napa cabbage). However, I have always been reluctant to cook with fresh ginger. Considering I love all things with ginger, including candy, gingerbread, and of course Chinese cooking, it was clear that with our Ecuadorian Lunar New Year party upon us, it was time that I learned.

I am happy to report that we successfully made several Chinese dishes with ginger! Woo hoo! With a little bit of ginger, the pan fried dumplings, kung pao chicken, and lo mein noodles just had that extra little oomph to it! For our Lunar New Year party, we made kung pao chicken, mai fun, beef & broccoli, fried rice, lo mein noodles, red curry (it's Thai but a good vegetarian option!), pan fried dumplings, fried won tons, and egg rolls. We definitely couldn't have done it with some help (frying queen Liz, dumpling folding champ Justin, supplier of all things bowls and mango expert Stacia, and Jason, the master of delicious desserts). It was a lot of food, but definitely did good for my Chinese food cravings since the chifas here don't cut it. I'm also glad that we are putting to good use the ingredients that we imported from our trip to the US (chinese tea, noodles, egg roll/won ton/dumpling wrappers, real soy sauce, sriracha sauce...). Dragging those heavy suitcases back were so worth it!

Stacia cutting the mango since I have no skills in that area.

Justin, Adam and Stacia making pleats in the dumpling wrappers

Mango pudding and coconut jello

Jason with his delicious chocolate cheesecake squares. Mmmm.....

We ended up having probably way too many people than our little apartment can handle- almost 25 people is a tight fit for our 1 bedroom apartment! For some reason I don't have many pictures of all the people squeezed in our little space, eating and grooving to the music mix that Jason and Grigs put together (something about Chinese Crunk, but all I heard was LFO, Christina Aguilera and some TLC). We also only had a few casualties that night- a few dropped cups of wine (wish I captured the image of Jason with wine all down his front) and a broken bowl (sorry Stacia! And it's official, Corelle does break on tile floors). It was nice to get together with everyone and now I am sure all of us will have a year of wealth, happiness and good fortune!

A quick trip home to the US of A

Indian food? Check.
Korean BBQ? Check.
Sushi? Check.
Dim sum? Check.
Chinese food? Check.
Burritos? Check.
Pizza? Check.
Sandwiches from Board & Brew? Check.
Costco Samples? Check.
Greek gyro sandwiches and spanakopita? Check.
Home cooking (stuffed sopapillas, noodles, dumplings, chili, etc.)? Check, check and CHECK!

So a few months back Adam and I found some pretty inexpensive flights back to California. We originally hadn't planned to go back home for a visit until our one year mark, but when we saw the ticket prices, we thought "What the heck!" We would be home during Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day, plus we would be able to see Adam's home that he grew up in before his parents leave it at the end of the month! So we bought them and had a FANTASTIC time. We probably could have done with another week with the family and friends because it felt rushed at the end, but overall it was nice to come back for a visit- it was almost like we had never left.

Overall the weather in California was amazing (glad we weren't heading out to the east coast with their blizzards!). We went to the beach, took walks, ate too much (we must have collectively gained at least 10 lbs!), spent time with family and friends, and hit up 99 Ranch Market, filling at least one 50 lb suitcase full of dried noodles, sauces, seasonings, and other asian food staples.

It was a bit chilly at Corona Del Mar, but sunny and beautiful nonetheless

I LOVE Korean BBQ- and yay for tons of banchans, esp kimchi. It was Renee's first time at Cham Sut Gol so we had a good time chowing down.

Nothing beats Thrifty's ice cream after a heavy meal. Especially when Jennifer scores some cookies and cream for me!

Minna was appreciative of the reggaeton cds from Ecuador. Yah!

Drunken noodles, massaman curry and delicious salad with peanut dressing!!

We had two of these cakes!

Small appliance pot luck at Gamble's house! Chicken wings, pulled pork sandwiches, cheese ball, Rotel dip, baked beans, and other deliciousness!

Sisters!!

How does my hair look?



Blue skies, wide open spaces, and snow on the mountains! I love it!!

Yummmmm cha

Overwhelmed by the plate, bowl and dish options for our Lunar New Year party!

Even more overwhelmed by the soy sauce options

And yes, that entire cart fit into our suitcase (minus a jug of soy sauce)

Yes, we are in Mesa Court in Jennifer's office, and yes, we are kind of doing work. Jennifer was passing on some leadership stuff that I might be able to use here in Ecuador

After our whirlwind trip in the OC hanging out with friends, eating, taking walks and shopping, it was off to Ridgecrest where we split our time between the families. Susan and Betty came out, and we also got to see Jared, Sarah and Danny too.

Adam's 15 year old puppy Mickie

Adam enjoying a comfy couch and good milk in the cereal

Taking walks with the family in Ridgecrest- gorgeous desert weather!!

Dad and daughter shot

Goodbye house on Palo Verde!

Adam's mom is pretty sad about packing up the house that they have lived in for 27 years- but she has a beautiful new home in Albuquerque to move to!

We spent a little bit of time at home rearranging the living room furniture so that my dad's new t.v. could fit! Adam had to test it out to see that it worked (of course!)

Goodbye Brother! (and thanks Betty for picking us up and dropping us off at LAX and making me pots of coffee after and before our flights!!)

Adam and I at LAX with our sad faces. Our time home was way too short and way too much fun.

And happily, Adam and I were also able to catch the flight between Guayaquil and Loja two hours after we landed! Otherwise we would have arrived home nearly 12 hours later on the overnight bus. When we got to the ticket counter, they told us their flight was full. As luck would have it, last month Adam had booked and then canceled our seats on this flight (because we weren't sure we would have enough time) but they still had them reserved! So all we had to do was pay up and we were on our way to our home sweet Loja home.

I think in general, the adjustment back to life in the US was not a problem- it was nice to drive on the freeway, eat at all our old stomping grounds, sleep in beds with dreamy pillowtop mattresses and soft sheets, and dry our clothes (our jeans fit so much better now!)...though it took me a few days to stop throwing toilet paper in the trash can. And yesterday I accidentally flushed tp down the toilet here in Loja. Oops!

I think the hardest part about transitioning back to life as PCVs in Ecuador is not having a packed back-to-back schedule. I think our visit back home reminded me of how busy our schedules used to be and how many things we always had to do (long to do lists and never enough time), whereas here, life is a little slower and schedules are a little less jam packed. Of course there is also trying to get back in the groove of speaking Spanish (which we are continually working on- I still need a lot of work). Ok well this is just a brief brief brief summary of our trip back home! Synopsis- had a great time and you should watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (hilarious movie! Fight the power!).