Friday August 3, 2012

Friday August 3/12 update

Bella was off to try to meet with Juan at the Coopera Credit Union but he was off today so she missed him.  We had found out they will be at the Monay Mall  tomorrow and it became our plan to meet with him then.   Then Bella was off to play bridge in the west end in a gorgeous penthouse condo that faces northwest towards the Cajas.

It was such a beautiful sunny day I opted for shorts and a light top and headed downtown to meet Chris.  While waiting I got quite a few shots in the area of Parque Calderon.  There is a Provincial Azuay Government office on the corner of the Parque and I had read they were showing an exhibition of some artist’s “Anonymous” works.  From the second floor balcony I took a few more shots.

Then we wandered around and I showed Chris the new location for the California Kitchen.   George and Carol say they are completely booked for their Grand Opening tonight.   The new premises is stunning.

We had a quick lunch then slid down the hill to catch the #16 to check out a large hardware store near the Totems.  I did not find my humidifier but Chris did find the type of surge-protected power bars he was after.  We then had a quick thundershower which cooled things off quite a bit.

We caught a cab to near Chris’ apartment where we walked through the new underpass on Avenida Las Americas which should be opened in a couple of weeks.  It has some very impressive murals hand painted at the entrance and exits.  Once we got to Chris’ apartment he was kind enough to loan me a warm vest and some track pants.  I offered to buy them but he won’t sell them to me.   Maybe I will just keep forgetting to return them??

The purpose of our meeting today was to meet Chris’ usual Ecuadorian driver, Miguel, and another couple, and go to Miguel’s parent’s home near Feria Libre.  Miguel and his folks are looking to set up a classroom for neighborhood children and poor kids of parents working at Feria Libre.  They have a large empty room that they intend to furnish as needed and our involvement is to do the English interaction and instruction.  I have volunteered to bring in copies of the first chapter of our “Spanish Now” book as a starting point.  Miguel can seer that we will probably have to have 3 different age groups.   We set a time of 3pm on Monday for our first “class”.  When I asked him how many children to expect, he just said “30”.  I must admit this is much more daunting a task than I had envisioned.  It is daring and ambitious and I honestly don’t think I am going to be much use except as support staff.  I tend to look for any negative aspects so we can counteract them.  It will be interesting to see who takes charge on Monday but I think I have a pretty good idea already.

The kids loved to be on camera, and here is a video of the group we met today: http://youtu.be/N2D2LXUrYRA

From there we went back to pick of Bella and Bettye and Miguel drove us the Mangiore Restaurant near San Sebastian.  We all had a very delicious meal while we discussed the events for tomorrow.  Chris and Bettye and the other couple are joining Miguel for a trip to “The Judge’s” hacienda in the Jubones Desert area for lunch tomorrow, departing at 9am.  Bettye begged us to come along and I deferred to Bella for that decision because it is her last full day here, and we are booked for Joe’s Secret Garden for tomorrow night.  She agreed to go, deciding she would have to do her packing tonight instead of Saturday. 

That was today’s excitement.   Please see all photos at souvenircuenca.blogspot.com.  Hugs to all.