Tuesday September 11, 2012

Tuesday September 11/12 update

I did my morning chores then headed to Coral to get a few groceries.  I managed to find some Peter Pan smooth Peanut butter so that went in my basket, and it was the most expensive thing I bought.  I found two packs of good looking sea bass filets so one is going to be supper tonight.  I got my usual head of heavy cabbage which is good for 5 lunches and it was only 37c!   A dozen mandarin oranges were 57c.  Fresh organic vegetables are very inexpensive here as this is a farming country.   We will never starve here.

Rosa is here on her off-rotation day because she skipped last week.   As a result we told her to come in 3 weeks again to get back on rotation.   However she came with the news that she cancelled her RUC because it was a major hassle for her to come downtown to pay it each month.  It appears she is able to make payments online but doesn’t know how.   Therefore we had a long discussion again about how that shifts a huge burden back to us and how her services would likely need to be terminated, no matter how much we like her.   She wants to skirt the IESS Benefits law but we cannot afford to take that risk.  We have offered to help her to learn how to make her RUC payments online so that everyone will be happy again.   She seemed quite pleased with that and will see about resurrecting her RUC because this will have a ripple effect with many of her customers.

I slipped out to recharge my bus card, just in case, and saw that Raoul’s place is really progressing, although it is still by a lot of manual labor. 

Walking back I saw a lady selling more Ecuador soccer shirts because there is a big game against Uruguay today.  She wanted $12 for a big Ecuador flag.  I asked how much for a large shirt and she said $8.  I said no, I can buy them near the stadium for $5.   She came down to $6 and I said no and started to walk away.  She grabbed my arm and said OK for $5, so I got another shirt.   I hung it in the front window as a show of support.   I just checked and it appeared that Ecaudor snuck away with a 1-1 tie so that is a good result for an away game.   We are getting closer to locking up a World Cup spot.   Go Ecuador!

I am getting some semi-positive feedback from the teachers we lost for the Amigos Activity Center but I think we are far from being out of the woods yet.   It is hard to mesh everyone's interpretations and expectations on how the Center should operate.  Some delicate diplomacy and some compromises are going to needed to salvage all this.

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