Thursday-Friday August 9-10, 2012

Thursday August 9/12 update

No news.  Hung around today and prepared for the graduation ceremony for tomorrow.  I admit to being nervous about going.   I may be the only white face in the crowd.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.

Friday August 10/12 update

Today is a national holiday in Ecuador so most things are closed.  I have been trying to find out about any celebrations today but so far have been unsuccessful.

I spent all day finishing preparations for the grad ceremony and watching the Olympics. 

I called Jorge Beltran (the fellow that built our home) to ask if I could stop by to drop off the gift for his daughter around 8pm and he said to come sooner than that.  Their home is only about a mile away so I decided to walk.   I arrived there about 7:40 and they were still doing their final preparations so I waited.   I was going to continue to walk to the hall, about another mile, but they insisted that I wait and go with them.

Jorge and son Matteo were loading up the SUV and pickup with all sorts of supplies and many cases of liquor.  That was when I found out that this celebration wasn’t for a bunch of graduates, but that it was just a private party for Gabriela alone.

Jorge and Matteo went off in the pickup to buy more snacks while I went with Martha and Gabriela in the SUV.  The hall was beautifully decorated in white and pink and the caterers and DJ were all in place.  I was immediately taken to Table #1 to be seated with the family, specifically Martha’s brother that has just come from the USA and speaks good English.  That was a good surprise. 

I managed to get individual shots of their family before guests began arriving but never managed to get shots all of them as a group except at the beginning of the following video of the evening,

http://youtu.be/7WjYGIbS_-k

I finally got to meet Jorge’s eldest son and family, including the two grandsons.  Jorge and Martha were just so proud and happy to have everyone here.   They were so nervous and worried that the crowd was late in arriving but Martha’s brother reminded them that “Ecuador time” dictates a fashionably late arrival.  There were folks coming in as late as 10:30, well after the speeches and lunch were done.   I noted nobody was bringing gifts and wondered if I had missed a donation drop-off for the tiny envelope that was included in the invitation.

As suspected, I was the only white face in this crowd and was suitably proud that I had been considered enough of a friend to have been included, and to be seated prominently with the family.

The family speeches were emotional and heartfelt with the pride of Jorge and Martha clearly showing, and the humbleness and gratitude of Gabriela pouring forth as she struggled not to cry.

I was thoroughly impressed with the DJ once the music started as he had a ton of lovely instrumental music.  Martha’s brother’s oldest son was reluctant to dance at first, but when he got up he sure put on a hip-shaking show.  The music was mostly in the form of long 15-minute tracks of frenetic music and yet the tables were virtually empty and the dance floor was packed.   It was a good thing that they had anticipated this and allowed for a huge dance floor.  The Latinos love to party, and party they did!!   I am certain they would be continuing until daylight.

I quietly slipped out about 12:45 and collapsed in bed upon arrival.   I awoke about 3 hours later and began downloading the videos and photos, then catnapped another two hours while that process unfolded.  Then I began the YouTube upload and catnapped another two hours for that long process.

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

Wednesday August 8, 2012

Wednesday August 8/12 update

I have been so busy with photos, English school, and trying to organize a midnight tour to see the Perseid Meteor shower that I hope I don't forget about the Graduation Friday.   I finally found a lint roller at Coral because my pants were so disgusting with cat hair and lint.

I haven't heard from JD's in over 2 weeks and they have not responded to emails about the Perseid night excursion so I will be going with Miguel's brother as driver along with 3 other photogs.  I am just awaiting firm details from Miguel.    I can’t figure out how JD’s expects to gain a good reputation when they ignore good customers…  It just boggles my mind.

I took pictures at Joe's Secret Garden today in the sunshine and they are all portrait quality, they are that good!   There weren't very many people for burgers, maybe 20, but that made it even more relaxed and cozy.   

Linda Peddecord, Tom's wife, who helps us with the English class sent me a few photos from Monday and today.   See the attached.   I love the one where I am trying to look shocked at the kids to get a laugh.    It worked.

We presented the collage of the kids who attended the very first class and that will be installed on the wall of the “school”, hopefully before Friday’s class.

The boys are coping well with Bella’s absence so far as I am the only one they can cling to, so they spend most of their time on my bed now.

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

Would you learn anything from this man?

Chris, Al & Miguel leading the class on Monday

Presenting the Collage of the first class ever

Tuesday August 7, 2012

Tuesday August 7/12 update

The boys woke me up this morning so I decided I had better get cracking.   Yesterday Miguel had said he wanted a collage of all the kids at the first day, with their names, so they could put it on a wall in the classroom.  I hurriedly made up a center “banner” to go with 30 photos of the opening day of English school and saved it all to a memory stick.  With this in my pocket I headed downtown to arrive shortly after 9am at the Fuji store that did my last enlargement so well and reasonably.  I was sent upstairs to see this tiny gal who took only ½ hour to whip a collage that looks great, 40cm by 50cm.  This gal sure knew her way around PhotoShop!!   I then got it framed right there for $20.50 total.

I then dragged that with me to Kiwi, by the airport, to see if that salesman truly did get me a new humidifier for the same price or not.   I figured I had about a 10% shot of coming home with a new one, but surprise, surprise, they had it there for me!!!   And, it works really well!!!   Hey, I was two for two on the day already.

I managed to get home an hour before Rosa showed up to clean house.   Rosa had no idea that she had a namesake running the marathon for Ecuador in the Olympics….   How could she not know??   I showed her the information on the computer.   Her namesake, Rosa Chacha came in 83^rd,.and she is from Ambato, Ecuador.    She couldn’t believe it that nobody had mentioned it to her.

I left Rosa to work while I dug up my November receipt for the cheap office chair that broke on me last week.  It snapped a leg off so I had to shoot it.   I hauled its carcass to Gran Aki to see if there was any warranty on it.  My day had been going pretty good so far so I was hopeful, but no soap this time.   I had to cough up another $42 for another chair, which when discounted was still more than I paid for the original.  I thought of upgrading for ½ second until I saw that the other chair had exactly the same undercarriage.

So I hauled both chairs home (I’ll find a use for the old one), dumped them off and continued to Coopera to do some grocery shopping.   I loaded up Bella’s rolling basket to the brim with beans and veggies, filet mignon, pork tenderloin and sausages.  The total there was $38.19.  Now I am almost broke again.

I have heard from my honey again that she has made it safe, but tired, to her mother’s place in Victoria.

Tonight I try cooking Ecuadorian sausage.   Bella doesn’t care for sausages so it will be an adventure for me.

That was today’s excitement.   Enjoy the photo.  Hugs to all.

Collage for the new school celebrating the opening day

Monday August 6, 2012

Monday August 6/12 update

If you will recall, in my blog of August 3, I mentioned that Miguel Arias was wanting to set up an English class for the neighborhood kids.  Today was the “grand opening” and I was so afraid I was going to miss it with my queasiness, but by noon it had subsided so I thought I would take the chance.

I had to go by Coopera for some cash and their systems were down so I waited over ½ an hour to make a small withdrawal.  I honestly think the loans officer OK’d it under his signature because the systems were not running but they gave me my allowance anyway.

I caught the #16 to near Feria Libre and walked to Joe’s Secret Garden to drop off my memory stick with Saturday’s photos.  Then I went one more block over to Chris and Bettye’s where I chanced having some peanut butter and crackers, with no ill effects.   Bettye even made me a few to take with me (that was my supper too).   They are such good friends.

So Chris and I wandered across the river to Miguel’s parents’ place to see what progress was being made with the “classroom”.   Initially there were only about 5 plastic chairs but, as Miguel left to get Linda and Tom, other neighborhood fellows began arriving with a whiteboard, more chairs, and a couple of tables.    I kept the kids occupied by taking their individual photos.  Linda and Tom were supplying hot dogs and treats for this inaugural class so we didn’t know what to expect.  The wieners were uncooked so again the neighborhood brigade sprang into action, getting a small tabletop BBQ and running to get some coal.  It did not take long to get that heated up.   The whiteboard was hung on the wall and we were ready for business!   Miguel took Tom off to a dentist appointment so he was missing the inaugural event.

We ended up with 20 kids attending, so everyone had a hotdog or two, some pop and a treat.  Linda did a great job doing this for the kids, and with the help of the local ladies, it really went off without a hitch.

We had decided earlier that our approach for the first class would be just the simple introductory sentences.  Chris took the initiative and started with phrases like, Good morning, Hello, My name is, What is your name, How old are you, I am __ years old, etc.   We were blown away with how quick these kids caught these and how well they pronounced things.  You have to understand that their alphabet pronunciations are way different than English, like the H is silent, and a G is pronounced like an H.  They also have no grounding for things like a TH sound either, so teaching English is a challenge.   Then we started with the numbers 1 to 5, and the little buggers pulled a fast one and kept counting to 10!!  Gotta love the Cuencanos!   Even the adults, even as old as Miguel’s Dad, were participating and learning.

I had tried to get my Spanish teacher to help but she was leaving town, etc so Chris will try to contact his Spanish teacher for ideas, or referrals.  While we are all well-meaning, and this is a new experience, none of us are teachers, nor do we have any curriculum or any idea where to go with this.   With a varied age group of about 3 to 11 so far, it is like having the little red schoolhouse and trying to cope with several grade levels.  This made me think of the “To Sir With Love” line about “taking us from crayons to perfume”.  I just know we need some good direction to follow up on our good first day.

Miguel has indicated he now wants to run it Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Chris and Linda felt that a one hour class is long enough to keep their attention.   I am going to defer to them on most issues because I am uncertain how much time I am able to devote.   As it is I have to miss Wednesday because of my commitment to Joe’s Secret Garden who has an afternoon BBQ.   Bear with me a while to get the photos up on the other blog.

One of the other pictures is a group washing clothes in the Tomebamba.   Note that the person in the lower center, with the pink shirt and hat, is really Michael Jackson, alive and well in Cuenca.

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

Saturday-Sunday August 4-5, 2012

Saturday August 4/12 update

We were up very early to catch a bus to join Chris, Bettye, Tom and Miguel for an excursion to the Yunguilla Valley.   Miguel and Chris had been invited to bring guests out to visit Judge Juan Gonzales and his lovely wife Nora for a tour of their farm and an almuerzo (lunch).  This valley is about 2,000 feet lower than Cuenca and very warm.  The farm is also in the shadow of an area of legend, where a meteorite has buried itself in a mountaintop.  We originally thought that a pointy peak was the meteorite itself, but it wasn’t until we were leaving, and could see the whole mountaintop, that it appeared the meteorite is really the whole center of the mountaintop, with two small mirror-image peaks at either end.  Now it makes more sense to us.

The Judge, affectionately called Juanito everywhere in Cuenca, is 77 years old and still working as the head judge in Cuenca, and this family farm is their weekend refuge.

With Miguel doing a lot of interpreting we had some great discussions about families and the local history, on which the Judge is an authority.  We quickly fell in love with this couple for their self-deprecating humor and easy style.   I told Juanito as we were leaving how much he reminded me of my wonderful father.

Their land is part of a family heritage of 360 acres nested high in the valley with rivers on either side.  They have ingenious irrigation systems, and even a fountain, fed by gravity alone.  They have multiple fruit trees, chickens, ducks, geese, cattle horses, and even peacocks.   Juan enjoyed taking a few photographs with my camera, that is why you will see some rare shots of myself.

We had an awesome day there with these wonderful people and they put out this huge lunch and the plates of food just kept on coming.  Comments were reinforced many times by Miguel that emptying your plate is considered good form.  As a result, I overate, got too much sun, so I have been queasy since leaving there.   Somehow Bella was the only one to suffer multiple insect bites.

The ride back was uncomfortable as Chris and I napped in the back.   I was just praying that I wasn’t going to upchuck all over Miguel’s van because he only had pop-out windows in the rear of his Hyundai van.  BTW, can you tell that I took the shot of me napping??

We made it back to Chis and Bettye’s where everyone freshened up to attend a lamb or beef rib supper at Joe’s Secret Garden.  If I hadn’t been contracted to take their photos this night I would have just gone home.  I felt so bloated and uncomfortable the whole time that all I could eat were some raw veggies and dip, and I shouldn’t have eaten even that.  Everyone else enjoyed their meals but I was so happy to get home and get comfortable in my own bed.

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

Sunday August 5/12 update

Today is a day I have not being looking forward to as my honey heads home to Canada for a whole 3 months.  I know I can look after myself and the boys but I do admit to feelings of panic, especially today.   I took her to the corner to catch a cab to the airport and barely made it home in time as my sickness manifested itself quickly and with little warning.

I was supposed to join Toronto photographer Glenn Specht on a walking tour of the city this morning to photograph old buildings but my overnight rumblings made me realize that that would have been a disaster unless there was a bathroom within 10 yards at all times.  I emailed him to cancel at 7:30 am and he was most gracious about my late cancellation having “been there, done that”.  The morning has since proven that my decision was the right one.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.