Ecuador

Our big trip this summer (December - February here) was to Ecuador. It was the most geographically diverse place we've ever visited and we were amazed one country could have so much: tropical islands, big cities, the Andes and the Amazon. Over the course of about 15 days last February, we hit each major region, going from sweltering heat to snowy mountains in just half a day. Because of the uniqueness of this trip and all the travel firsts for us, we didn't feel road weary or ready to come home, though it will probably be the farthest distance we travel during our time left in Brazil. 

Food: Ecuadorian food is very good. We ate lots of different traditional chicken and fish dishes cooked or topped with uniquely flavored sauces. Ecuador, not unlike a couple other South American countries (Columbia, Brazil), boasts the best coffee, and it was good, and so was the chocolate.

Language: Our Portuguese was not well-received throughout Ecuador, and mostly just confused the Spanish speakers -- maybe because there is no shared border? I remember a little Spanish from college, but it's been overtaken by Portuguese pronunciation, so it was only barely useful, and Geoff's language background is in Japanese, only proving useful in translating other tourists' shoulder and ankle tattoos. So, we spoke in English.

People: Ecuadorians seemed very accustomed to tourists, mostly in the Galapagos Islands, as were the ex-pats who run tourism-related businesses there. The mutual goal was definitely to make a buck (literally, as Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar). Elsewhere, and more off the beaten path, we found this to be the case less so, though there were tons of ex-pats (mostly from Europe) there, too, either running hotels or volunteering at wildlife refugees in the jungle.

                                                   First stop: The Coast (Guyaquil city).

A city park right in the heart of bustling
Guayaquil is crawling with dozens and dozens of iguanas.
It was cool, but also smelled.

Wildlife refuge in Guayaquil. Not sure what type of animals these are,
more important was they didn't eat Eri's fingers.

By the time this three-toed sloth turned its head to see who was
petting it, we were already off man-handling other animals. Super. Slow.

Speaking Spanish and not even trying to understand our Portuguese. 

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At Guayaquil's city overlook. (Baby Leo is in utero.)

On a city tour of Guayaquil, which is lovely and didn't feel
Americanized at all. Lots of historic
architecture, very clean, and nice shopping and restaurants. 

                                             
                                               Second stop: The Islands (Galapagos).

We're here and wanna see some Blue-footed Boobies!

On the boat from the airport to our jumping-off island, Santa Cruz,
which is in the center of the archipelago. From here, we took
day-trips to other islands, each of which had their own
habitat specialty. It was really cool.

The land turtles, which are everywhere on
Santa Cruz Island, are about the size of Geoff. ...

... But much older and slower. And probably couldn't support
the weight of its wife and daughter.

Spelunking in the volcanic caves.

On a trekking tour of the one of the smaller islands.

We did a couple snorkeling/scuba day trips to
check out of the aquatic life. (Eri is not actually pulling the boat; it had a motor.)

We saw sea lions, sea turtles, sting rays, (harmless) sharks and tons of fish.

Sea turtle

Sharks

We also took a couple land tours and saw
dozens of different types of birds, sea lions, land iguanas,  etc.

Running into the Pacific with the sea iguanas! 

Sea turtles swimming by our boat and without fear
(any closer and tourists will be laying inside those shells).

Sea lions scale the rock walls of the ocean-front restaurants
and hang out until the waiters shoo them away.

She's sea worthy (and super cute). 

Third Stop: The Jungle (Amazon):

These little monkeys were everywhere. 

We stayed in a little hut right in the jungle. 

Amazon jungle tour.

Trekking through the Amazon with our guide,
who helpfully pointed out poisonous insects and plants for us to avoid.

Swimming!

Riding!

Fourth Stop: The Mountains (Andes, Quito city).

Roadtripping through the Andes.

Hot Springs:

Quito:

Just checkin' out Quito.

Cheese.

On the gondola. 

Frequent flyer. 

Still haven't mastered packing light.

Our son has arrived!

It's a boy!
Leo Finley Steeves

Wednesday, August 14 at 5:01 p.m.

5 pound, 2 ounces

19 inches

Arrived early (due date was Sept. 6), but thankfully, healthy!

Walking the hospital hallways and hoping for a miracle from gravity.

This woman not wearing scrubs and who looks like a model is my doctor.
Her prenatal care was excellent, as was all the healthcare I
received during the pregnancy and delivery.

My doctor arrived at the hospital shortly after we did and
stayed with us the entire time. I was her only patient that day.

The plumber had to be called in to fix the hot water in the tub,
though he said he didn't know why we'd bother
as it looked to him like I was pretty close to delivering.
Dammit if he wasn't right; we filled the tub but didn't get a change to use it.

Our healthy, but tiny, baby boy.

What a day!

Nana and Big Sister Eri visiting the hospital.

Our first family photo.

Nana and her new grandson.

Leo's future mother-in-law Molly said it best:
"I want to say he looks like Brye, but then I would be lying."

Eri is doing very well as a big sister and loves helping care for Leo.

It's hard to remember all the tricks of caring for a newborn,
but Geoff didn't forget the importance of "skin-to-skin."

At her first day back at preschool after Leo's arrival,
Eri brought a chocolate cake, and special guest Nana, to celebrate
her new status as a big sister with all her classmates.

My two babies!!!

Tidbits

Sharing: Brazilians are not germ-a-phobes. Without hesitation, they share drinks, food utensils and, presumably, germs. After I counted seven people share the same cup, using the same straw(!), I had to avert my eyes so as not to freak out. Once, someone brought a cake and a fork to class, which were passed down the row for everyone to have a bite. Well, almost everyone.

Diminutive: In portuguese, it's possible to change the ending of a noun to indicate its size. For example, in english, we say "a small cup of coffee," but in portuguese "cafe" is changed to "cafezinho" to mean a small cup of coffee. However, Brazilians use the diminutive form for anything and everything, regardless of size. It dives me crazy for two reasons: this was two sets of new words to learn, but more so, I find it ridiculous to speak this way. For example, whenever someone asks Eri how old she is, it's the equivalent of saying, "How many little years do you have?" As her mother, I can attest her years are 365 days, just like everyone else's. "Tchau" is "tchauzinho" (a little goodbye), "mao" is "maozinho" (a little hand) ... Nothing is little, yet everything is.

Being Experts on the U.S.: We are often looked at to answer all things related to the United States. I am very careful with my answers, especially at the university, because I am more than likely the only American perspective that my classmates will encounter. The questions really run the gamut. I was recently asked, nearly back-to-back, 1. what the benefits to the U.S. were for the use of private security forces abroad versus the use of military forces, and 2. why Kim Kardashian gained so much weight during her pregnancy. Although I can speculate on both, I don't know for sure, so I just say I don't know.

A few recent pictures: including Nana's arrival, to be followed shortly by our Brazilian-American baby's arrival ...

We're in the middle of winter here, but it hasn't been so bad.

Eri and her teacher practicing the breast stroke at swim lessons.

Nana's arrival!
Eri ran through the security area as soon as she saw her.

The shirt says it all ...

... and then some!

Family of almost 4!
One of Eri's friends at preschool said (translated):
"Man, that baby still hasn't been born yet?"
The new semester at the university just started, and my classmates said the same thing.
I guess this is the one instance where the diminutive doesn't apply in this country.

Dia dos Pais / Father's Day

Today is Father's Day in Brazil, which is always in August here rather than June like the states. 

Feliz Dia do Pais, Geoff!

At preschool, Eri filled a mug of candy for
Geoff (which was eaten by her pregnant mother)
 and decorated a generic dad to look like hers.

An uncanny resemblance and so handsome.

All dads were invited to preschool to do an activity with their child's class.
Geoff choose to read a story in portuguese with an american accent. It went over well,
and Eri was very proud to have him there. 

Knowing her dad isn't a sit-on-the-couch-and-watch-TV guy,
Eri presented him with a smoothie blender to fuel his kayaking,
rock climbing, biking, running, etc. 

Cha de bebe / Baby Shower

Our friends from the university recently threw us a surprise baby shower for our soon-to-be Brazilian-American. Here, it's called a "cha de bebe," or "baby tea" -- tea isn't usually served, but there were lots of delicious treats. It was a co-ed event (though all the guys stayed on one side of the room while I opened gifts), as Geoff and I know pretty much all the same people from school. Not only was it incredibly thoughtful and very sweet, many of the gifts have portuguese writing on them -- we'll keep them always!

Festa Junina

Our most recent culture experience was the annual Festa Junina. This celebration is a big deal here; here's the gist (I think): Festa Junina has religious roots from Portugal, but now is more about dressing up for a big party with traditional food, drinks, music and dancing. And the theme is rural life. So everyone wears mismatched plaid, with pigtails, straw hats, freckles, blackened out teeth, i.e., country bumpkins. (I asked if this was politically incorrect and was assured no one from the agricultural community would be offended.)

Eri's school had a huge Festa Junina, which was a lot of fun. Here are the highlights:

Looking the part and wearing it well. (It was the cutest ugly dress I could find.)

Eri's friend Teo. Pretty good facial hair for a 2-year-old.

Playing with the gang.

Each class performed a little dance.

Then it was a free-for-all. Dancin' queen.

Fishing for prizes like she was raised on a farm.