Friday Aug 24, 2012

Friday August 24/12 update

Where does the time go?  I get on the computer at 9, and before I know it it is already 12:30 and I have to panic shower and shave to catch the bus to our meeting at Amigos School at 2.   I needn’t have hurried, Chris#2 and Pamela showed up but nobody else did until 2:15.    We all came, except Victoria who begged off sick.

We gathered up tables and chairs and stools, plus the small BBQ grill and the kids all came early, and started piling themselves in orderly fashion in the box of the truck as well.  We were only going about 3 blocks away, as the crow flies, to a park on the Tomebamba for a picnic.   The kids were having a blast.

http://youtu.be/NHJ21g_7oVY

Tom and Linda had made some scoops out of 2-litre bottles and added some tennis balls for the kids to toss and catch with.   They were a hit!   Chris and Bettye supplied snacks to accompany the hotdogs and juice.  Balloons helped occupy the younger ones for a bit too.  We had a 3-legged race that many kids participated in.  The park itself had the usual swings and slides and climbing apparatus so the kids always had something to do.   A couple of the older kids were enjoying the features of my Ectaco translator.

Tom led the hotdog cooking while everyone pitched in for distribution and cleanup.  Several parents and some older teens joined in to help.  It really was a satisfying cooperative effort.   The community people were all in attendance and even one city official stopped by for a while.

Linda found two tomatoes somewhere and stuffed them in the pockets of my hoodie.  Of Course I forgot about them until I stuck my hand in there later and mush…  It colored my sweat pants and everything, and I couldn’t do anything until I got home.

I keep asking myself why I keep doing this, but all it takes is the one smile or hug from that once shy youngster to make it all worthwhile.

When we got the whole crew back to the school, the community President, Patricio, explained to all the kids about the two weeks off while they start regular school again.  The kids seemed disappointed at that but gave us a huge applause of Thank You.  In turn, we thanked the kids for being so well behaved and helpful.

Leaving by Feria Libre again I noted all the child shoeshine boys hanging around today.  Some of them didn’t even look school age yet.

The bus ride home was an adventure.  The bus took all manner of crazy detours to avoid a soccer game happening tonight.  Our fan club failed to notify us so now we have missed yet another one.

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

Thursday August 23, 2012

Thursday August 23/12 update

Today is a day of rest, so I didn’t rest of course.   I caught the #15 to the end of the route in El Valle, south of here, over the mountain.    El Valle is aptly named because it has tremendous views of two valleys and it is so quiet, I just love it up there.

There are many indigenous people in the area and there are many homes without fences, gates or grates.  They feel very safe and secure up there.

I met with a fellow named Mike Pena who has a small house at the top.  He speaks good English and he hires himself out as a cabbie.   He also has a buddy with a pickup if necessary.

I walked all the way home, about 5 miles, and I was glad to reach there.  My legs felt like rubber.

Part of the reason I went up there was to see if the two homes I like up there are still for sale.  The other part was to try to do my videos in HD to see how they would work.   I think that succeeded.

http://youtu.be/-bTvK_A6osU

The furthest home is just a block above the Los Olivas Garden convention center.  While it only has a view of one valley, I like the yard and the quiet of this property.  Its only drawback is the neighbors are a little close in the rear, but I have yet to see them.  Of course I would have to buy an Ecuadorian lawnmower that Bella would have to learn to milk.

The second house is not much farther down the hill and it needs a lot of work yet.  I had a closer look after I took the video and it is much larger than it appears.  Its main drawback is the sports field to the rear.  I have no idea who would use this, but it would be cause for concern. 

Both places have bus stops right near the properties so basic daytime travel would be very easy.   I love our present house, but I could sure use the quiet of El Valle.

I was actually surprised to see a tractor tilling a large garden.  Farm machinery is such a rarity in this country. 

There are a few industries on the lower part of the hill, a couple of concrete block makers, a paving company, some ferreterias, bus repair, a lumber yard, internet cafes, and lots of little tiendas, to name a few.

That huge townhouse complex in lower El Valle appears to be gaining a rec plex of sorts, with lots of steelwork in progress.  It is funny that the #15 bus goes by the lower entrance while the #14, I think it is, ends up at the top side.

I was nearly home when this funeral procession crawled by me with lots of pickups packed with mourners.   That was totally unexpected as I didn’t see any services anywhere on my long walk.

The house on the corner across our street is finally progressing on the interior.  It appeared that an electrician was adding some conduit to the ceilings while other workmen were completing some interior walls..

The boys are really enjoying the returning heat in the lavanderia and the rooftop terrace.  There has been a definite warming trend with the return of steady sunshine, which is most welcome.  In about 5 weeks we wuill have the sun directly overhead.  http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunearth.html

I am really impressed with the progress of our lemon and lime trees.  We really have fruit growing, so soon we can make our own juice.

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

Wednesday August 22, 2012

Wednesday August 22/12 update

Good news!   We have 5 of us committed to go see the Tungurahua volcano on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Now I just need Miguel to give us more ideas of itinerary, etc, and we will be sailing.   Miguel’s van will hold 5 passengers very comfortably and 10 uncomfortably.  If someone begs to join us I am sure we can accommodate them.

Where does the time go?    Between feeding cats, cleaning litter, doing laundry, having lunch, checking 5 emails, uploading photos to 3 sites, etc, it is 1:30 before I know it and I have to shower to get to the Amigos English School.   But this wasn’t before I was mopping up a load of water seeping from the water bottle container, on the island top, down the side and all over the floor.  I wasn’t sure if it was cracked or what but I gambled…  I knew there was a fair amount of water in the crock when I tipped in the new bottle so this may have been simple overfilling giving way.    I filled a jug with water and put that in the fridge.   I hoped reducing the amount of water would help, and it must have, because it did not bubble at all as I was draining water.  I then gingerly put a cloth underneath the crock to see if it needed to soak up any more overflows.  Six hours later it seems I was correct and we have no problems.

At the school we were really hoping to build on the tremendous success of Monday but things went south in a hurry.   Chris was away at an appointment, and Chris #2 was too sick to stay today so he and Pamela went back home.   The new bilingual teacher, Victoria, never called or showed up and Miguel stopped by with the news that we were going to be visited by City officials today, then he disappeared too.  Panic stations!!

So Tom, Linda and I, along with a few parents, tried to salvage the day, especially when the city officials came calling.   We were thankful they did not stay long, and thank God for the coloring pages which kept the kids occupied during that time.  The officials left us with 38 notebooks which we will use later.   We can’t let the kids take them home or we will never see the books again.

Plans were made for a trip to a nearby riverside park on Friday.  We will have games and food for the kids.  We can bring friends so we expect about 50 people to be there.

Then the school will take a two-week hiatus while the kids adjust to returning to regular school and we get a needed break to sit back and assess how we will reopen the school.  Honestly, without a proper teacher in attendance it is really tough on the rest of us.   We really like Chris and Victoria so we hope they will stick around.  We also have four others coming from the US over the next few months so hopefully things will work their way out.

The kids smiles, handshakes and hugs make it all worth it.  When the teeniest shy ones flash you a satisfied smile it really makes your day.

Returning home via Feria Libre again I was struck by how the outside parking lot was completely jammed with booths, on a Wednesday, rivaling the space in the huge building.   I took a panorama shot so you can get an idea of the size, and it goes way-y-y-y-y-y back!

From the moving bus I saw that this beautiful house one block south of the Banco Pichincha that had been under renovation is to become a Chinese Restaurant!   That will be very welcomed here because there are only a handful of those and gringos like a little variety.

At a bus stop by the Inca ruins, I saw these two gals laughing at me for taking a photo through the bus window so I took their picture and showed it to them through the glass.   They just laughed some more.

I then stopped at the seamstress’ place to get a connecting strap added to my backpack to stop it from sliding off my shoulders all the time.  She had gotten the exact length of similar strapping and I supplied the clasp.  10 minutes and the job was done.

I had defrosted some tilapia fillets and within 15 minutes I was enjoying a delicious fish supper.

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

Tuesday August 21, 2012

Tuesday August 21/12 update

In one month we will be starting our second summer season.   Bring it on!!!!

Bella sent me a note that CIBC had not cancelled a credit card as requested when I had called in May and now they were trying to charge us the fee again.   It did not take long for me to straighten that mess out.

I slipped downtown to the Book/Movie Exchange at the Windhorse Café.   I saw Garth and Orilla there but they didn’t see me and then they slipped away before we could chat.

On the Escalinata, and on the riverbank, there were so many beautiful artworks on display.  The wire motorcycle was about 9” long and the artist wanted $40 for it.   The artist by the tree, Freddy Peralta, was selling the painting of the blue woman for only $30.

This lady and her daughter were posing for her husband taking shots with his cel phone so I asked if I could take a picture and they easily agreed.  Isn’t that shot just the greatest statement about Ecuadorians and how they love their children??!!

The rivers are exceedingly low so we wouldn’t mind a good rain to replenish them.   We are getting dangerously close to seeing a "River of Rocks" again.

On my way home I stopped at the local video store and picked up 8 more movies.   My time was limited and I tried to keep an eye out for our maid, Rosa, but somehow she got by me and was waiting at the door, early, and ready to start work.

Later I decided to slip out and get some shelving at Rotary Market for our DVD’s  so I promised Rosa I would be back in time.   I couldn’t immediately find what I wanted, but did finally locate a unit somewhat close and usable for our collection of almost 150 in stock now..   I haggled the price down to $40 and was on my way back home.

I made a mess of the newly cleaned floors when I had to make holes in the hardboard backing to allow cords to be run through.  My initial thought was just to use the unit for the DVD’s and put the plant on top but it was way too high for that so I had to move all the electronics into this new unit.   The DVD’s are now housed in the old TV unit which is the right height to support the large plant.   I am glad it worked out.  The stack of DVD’s you see in the big unit are those we have yet to watch.

I got an email from Martha Mays asking if I would consider continuing with the Spanish classes.  Unfortunately I had to respond that I couldn’t.  I am just too darn busy and I have oodles of Spanish material on hand that I need to absorb.

I was watching AlJazeera news while suffering through some filet mignon and they had a brief clip about the Tungurahua eruptions which has been quite active these last 4 days.  Many people had to be evacuated from the vicinity.   I don’t wish anyone any harm but I sure hope there is still activity by the time we get our tour organized, which won’t be before next Tuesday for sure.

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

Monday August 20, 2012

Monday August 20/12 update

I had a good sleep but only the clock was forcing me to rise and shower and do chores, like laundry and the dreaded cat litter.

When I flicked on my computer I was flabbergasted to see 71 Undeliverable Mail emails for something I did not send about 2 hours earlier, something about properties for sale.  I hurriedly sent an email to my whole address book warning folks not to open that particular email (and not one of those came back…).  I am in a quandary how some AOL account in the US (received this info from Gmail later) hacked into my email???   I NEVER give out my password to ANYBODY so this came as quite a shock.   On the advice of two good friends I have now changed my password to something completely new so we should be safe again.

My dear wife bravely visited my Mom yesterday with my sister Leonie and most of the day went well although Mom apparently wanted them to stay much longer which caused a bit of a scene.   Mom wants everything her way and her schedule uninterrupted but has no patience for the schedules of others for others and their families.  It is truly sad and this causes a lot of heartache for Leonie who really busts her hump for Mom in our absence.  We love you Leonie and truly appreciate your efforts.

I am trying to set up a Photography Club here, beginning with some of the fine folks we have already met.   We will have to see how that will unfold as the response so far has been light.

We have an erupting volcano to the North, many miles away and it has always been on my Bucket List to watch one in action.  So I have discussed with Miguel setting up a trip for about 5 of us for 1.5 days with a few side trips in the bargain.   Miguel says he knows a local guide and a hotel for $15 a night.   The following report is only a few hours old.   

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/20/life-idUSRTR36ZNI

Then I got an email enquiry from an overqualified Ecuadorian teacher named Victoria who speaks great English about our Amigos School so I called her right away.   We arranged to meet in an hour near the school, which just gave me time to bus there, drop off my photos to Joseph at Joe’s Secret Garden, and get to the meeting corner.  She drove up in a little white car and, just as I climbed in, Chris came up behind us, so he got in too.

We had a full complement of kids, teachers and parents and community help today.   Chris #2 did a fabulous job with the kids with some practice introductions and replies, even drawing out some of the shiest youngsters.  Chris and I and Victoria busied ourselves preparing foam letters and sorting them so the kids could come up and grab letters for their names and paste them on the wall.  It was so much fun watching them place their letters themselves, especially Santiago who had to bend his name around the pole.   Linda again kept them occupied fully during the second part of class with the coloring pages which the kids dearly love.  Even the mischievous boys were behaving today and the class easily ran over an extra ½ hour but nobody minded because they were all having fun.  This is the way we envisioned the classes would go and today was just ideal.   I just wanted to kiss and hug every kid there.

Chris #2 and Pamela were very comfortable in front of the class and Victoria was an incredible asset because of her fluency in both languages.  I believe she was a hit with everyone, even offering to Miguel that she would like to work with teenagers at a later point if our little schoolhouse ever evolves in that direction.  Finally we feel that everything is falling into place.   The Community President, Patricio, says we can expect to see some donated desks on Wednesday.   I mentioned to Miguel that we need to seek donations of computers and free Internet to really make our jobs easier as there are so many visual resources on the Net.  He said the Kookaburra Café is looking to donate us one or more computers!   I suggested that maybe he talk to the Judge Juanito to see if he can get Etapa to donate some free high speed Internet….  Then we would really be cooking!!

As usual I walk by the edge of the Feria Libre market to catch a bus home and past the live animals for sale.  How these animals don’t just take off is beyond me, since most are not tethered in any way.

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

Sunday August 19, 2012

Sunday August 19/12 update

I let the boys in the room last night and that was a mistake of course, so I was up early and did the chores and washed my bedding before heading out.

Then I caught the #16 over to Parque Paraiso for a children’s festival centered around kite flying.   There were many kids helped by parents trying their hand at it with plastic kites or homemade kites from newspapers.  At times it was quite windy which created havoc with large signs and even an air-filled amusement slide overturned.   Luckily it did not appear that any children were hurt.  They just deflated it quickly and set it up again later.

Almost immediately I came upon some new white faces from Wisonsin/Arizona that have only been here for four days.   They said they have so far been rescued by Canadians at every turn and are very grateful.   We spent quite a bit of time together as I explained many things and gave them my card with my cuencaresidency blog on it.  They are pretty adventurous so I helped them catch the #16 back to Solano.   They only live a few blocks west in the Otorongo area but they also wanted to go to the big Mercado on Calle Larga.   I am pretty sure his name was Walt.   They will probably do 6 months here and 6 months in Arizona each year.

I was also hoping either my language buddy Juan (Gilligan) or some of my photographer friends would join me at 1pm but nobody showed.   While waiting near the bridge I met 4 more gringos from Hawaii and Colorado.

I had a large piece of fried chicken with a few fries for $1.50 then started to head home following the Yanuncay and Tomebamba rivers.  Since this is Sunday there are always families out playing sports or having picnics.  At this one futbol game this family had a baby Chihuahua that was so darn cute, and it didn’t yap at all!!  I wanted to grab it and hide it in my backpack.

I broke down and stopped at a video store that I had seen on my nightly walks and bought 4 more videos for $5.  I am sure the boys will enjoy Forrest Gump.

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

Saturday August 18, 2012

Saturday August 18/12 update

Last night I took another walk and ended up watching some local soccer and volleyball.  Then the boys and I watched The Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes with James Franco which was amazingly good.  I don’t know why they put such a tacky title on such a fine movie because it was not at all like the old Ape movies.  Then I had the best sleep in months!

I slept in and did my chores today and then had a nice nap in Bella’s recliner.   It makes me realize how much I miss my old recliner that was donated to me by Tom and Betty.

I fed the boys then caught the #50 to the Rotary Market area.   I wanted to pick up 3 more folding hair brushes for $1 each and I picked up a cheap but complete manicure set for another 50c.

Then I hopped the next #50 over to Joe’s Secret Garden for their Shrimp Scampi supper which was absolutely delicious!   There were many nice people there including 3 more Canadian couples.

One of the patrons asked if she could follow me around and pass out postcards of an apartment they have for rent on the coast.  I saw no harm in that so I said OK.  I didn’t realize she was doing a major sales pitch that apparently some folks didn’t appreciate with their leisurely supper.   When I found out that complaints had been made to Joseph I had to apologize to both Joseph and the lady for my error in judgment. 

Other than that the evening was awesome and Joe regaled us with some more tunes on his Baby Grand.

I caught a cab home and this cabbie had spent 10 years as a cook in the Hamptons in New York so he spoke pretty good English.

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