Cuenca Updates: Wednesday April 25, 2012

Wednesday Apr 25/12 update

Well I took the bull by the horns again and went to Etapa this morning. On the way I noticed this Museum for Ceramics so I poked my head in and saw this beautiful courtyard ceramic artwork so I had to take a shot of it. Then I continued on to Etapa and started off with a different lady than AnnaIsabel who marched me over to a head service consultant named Pablo Camacho Aguilera. I was struck by how modern their offices were as I had to wait a few moments while they brought over a well dressed man and woman who spoke fabulous English. His name was David and he explained that he had lived in Ottawa for many years, recognizing me as a Canadian right away(usually the Tilley hat is a giveaway).

They went over my copy of the email I sent Saturday, in Spanish and English. Michael indicated that I had not told them that my signal was dropping consistently, but I showed him my English version which said “This week the problem was again the signal that is inconsistent and keeps quitting on us.” However the Google translator, which is usually pretty decent, came up with “Esta semana, el problema fue de nuevo la señal de que no es coherente y mantiene en nosotros dejar de fumar” and the last part, loosely translated, says we are quitting smoking…. We had a good laugh over that.

David explained that even though I have purchased the 1Mbps plan that we cannot expect speeds like that during peak usage hours as I share my signal with eight others (that part I did not know). I said I expected slower speeds during those peak hours, that is a given, but I do expect a firm, usable, reliable signal.

I now have the phone numbers for both Pablo and David in case of future problems. They say the configuration of the modem needs to be changed and that Pablo will come over between 3 and 4. I drew him a map and gave him my cel number too. Maybe we will resolve these issues once and for all.

Segundo came by last night as we were trying to watch the movie Chaos (good movie). He was supposed to come over the night before and stood us up for the third time so Bella was trying to ignore him. He phoned several times and she didn’t answer so he just drove to our door. He is a nice guy and all, but Ecuadorians are notoriously unsympathetic to other people’s time or space. They just barge in front of others and expect everyone to drop everything for them. It is an accepted part of their culture, don’t ask me why…

Segundo promised Bella a cooked chicken on Saturday (he only owes us about eight of them for past services) so we tried to invite Brian and Shelley (who had included us for New Year’s dinner) over that night. They responded that they have a funeral that day so they had to decline. We also owe Julio and Paola but Bella was concerned about feeding their fussy kids our North American version of a meal. She thought on it and let me call them but it was too late. Their daughter has some competition in Guayaquil on Saturday, so they are driving up Friday night and returning Sunday. Paola indicated they would like to get together with us midweek or next weekend, and maybe go to Paute with them again. So now Bella will look at inviting Bettye and Chris, and Greg and Leona, to help us eat this huge chicken. I am informed it is my job to go get the chicken after 5 on Saturday so I’ll probably dust off the bike for that purpose.

I get to see so many sights out of the bedroom window as the people stroll by the paths and as the construction workers upgrade houses across the way. It is truly refreshing to watch a little pride in the appearance of their homes beginning to take shape. Two doors down the family is installing ceramic tile on the outside of their home so it will be very pretty when completed. We get rain, but not snow or freezing temperatures, so the construction materials and techniques are very different. Across the way one corner house is getting a new roof, and of course, on the other corner we have a new home starting from the ground up. I took a photo and was laughing about the rebar for the columns being crooked, until a few moments ago when they had added the supports. Now we might have a straight column!.

Today I saw what looked like a kindergarten class going down the path, following the teacher, grabbing each others shirttails, and doing a “sound off” with the teacher, like marines on a run. I should have taken a video instead!

Well David from Etapa phoned that Pablo was on his way and he arrived about 3:45. He checked the modem, upload and download speed, and confirmed my contention that the problem is somewhere on the telephone line they use to provide our signal. He will have David call me later.

The boys were enjoying the sun on the terrace so I had them reluctantly pose for me. The texture of the one shot of both boys looks much better when greatly enlarged.
Enjoy the pics. That was today’s excitement. Hugs to all.