Ecuador: 1/12/2018 - 1/27/2018

Monday, January 15, 2018 - The arrival of Javier

We awoke to a rainy Monday morning. The kids had left the house before 7:30 a.m. for school. Although I will be working remotely during this trip, today is Martin Luther King Day, so I have the day off.

Rosa made patacones (pressed fried plantains) for breakfast. She served them with scrambled eggs, coffee, juice, and yogurt.

Every Monday, a truck comes to collect the trash. Trash pickup is something you don't want to miss, since toilet paper can't be flushed down the narrow plumbing pipes. The trash truck plays a pleasant song so that everyone knows when it is approaching and can run out to meet it with their trash.

It was pouring so hard that we couldn't hear the song from the kitchen above the sound of the pouring rain. Craig heard it from the casita, but by the time he was able to let us know, the truck had already moved on. Sonam saved the day by running after the truck in the rain, finally catching up to it at the school. Sisa saw him through the school window and waved to him.

The weather was so cold and damp. I decided to check on the cuy (guinea pigs). The family's guinea pigs had succumb to exposure in the past, so I was worried about these (especially the pregnant one) getting hypothermia. Rainwater had indeed gotten into their enclosure, and the wood and their food were all wet. One half of the enclosure was still dry, so Rosa managed to wrangle the cuy from the wet side to the dry side.

Meanwhile, Antonio was working on a plumbing project. He had dug a trench in the side yard to lay pipe to connect to the village's new sewer pipes. He headed into town this morning to procure a needed part, and then set to work on completing the project.

The family was expecting a tourist today, so I mopped the kitchen floor and helped to clean up. The guest was scheduled stay in the guest house for two weeks! This length of stay is more or less unheard of. When we visited for 5 nights on our first visit in 2010, that was five times as long as most tourists stay. We were all immediately curious about the guest, whom we had been told was a woman who would be doing some volunteer work in the community.

It turned out that pretty much all of that information was incorrect. After lunch, the tourist arrived. His name is Javier, and he is a professor and doctoral student at a university in Quito, writing his thesis on Andean culture. He would be staying Monday through Thursday nights for two weeks, learning about Kichwa traditions.

We introduced ourselves to Javier and explained our relationship with the family. Javier speaks English in addition to Spanish, so we found him to be quite helpful when we needed some translation assistance.

The kids had gotten home from school at lunch time, and were doing their homework while we chatted with Javier outside. Yupanqui didn't want to do his homework, so I went inside and helped him. He needed to cut out a set of 10 pictures and glue them onto a page of his notebook. He cut out 10 pictures of fruit, and cleaned up all of his supplies afterwards without being prompted. He was very sweet and spontaneously said "Gracias, Achi Mama" when he was done.

The kid really just needs some one on one attention sometimes. It can be hard to come by, because his grandparents are always busy with work and the chores associated with running a household that includes three young children. I resolved to try to help him as much as I could on this trip. Sisa really has an innate love of learning, reading, and writing. Yupanqui, on the other hand, struggles, and I don't want him to get turned off to learning.

When I emerged from his room post-homework, I found Craig, Sonam, Javier, Rosa, and the girls sitting on the patio shucking peas. Sonam kept the kids entertained with songs and games while Rosa and Antonio laid the plumbing pipes.

The plumbing project was progressing nicely. Yupanqui helped Javier, Sonam, and Antonio mix up some concrete. Antonio used a match to light an empty paper concrete sack on fire. Sisa held this like a torch, and Antonio used the flame to heat up the cut end of a PVC pipe. As it grew pliable, he was able to join it to another pipe.

As it was no longer pouring, we decided to go on a little outing to the tienda (store) with Sonam and the kids. As we were preparing to leave the house, Yupanqui fell into a mud puddle and got absolutely soaked. He was obviously frustrated, but he had definitely matured. He didn't lash out at anyone or throw anything; he instead cried and then went to change his clothes. I encouraged him and helped him to get dressed.

When he and I emerged from the house, we joined the others out at the street. Sisa had written Sonam's name with a stick in the dirt road. The smile on Sonam's face was precious, and Sisa was so proud. They gave one another a big hug!

The six of us walked up toward the store. There was a very unpleasant smell at the bottom of the hill, and it became obvious that as the trash truck had climbed the hill this morning, the garbage water had sloshed out the back. The abundance of rain meant that it had not seeped into the ground, and instead just festered there. It brought back memories of "the packer", the garbage truck at Whalom Park, an amusement park where I worked during college.

It turned out that the tienda was closed. So we walked up to the community center to show Sonam, and then walked back home as it started to rain again. We held our breath at the bottom of the hill to avoid smelling the garbage stench.

When we got back to the house, there was a colibri (hummingbird) flitting around the flowers next to our casita. It was nice to see him; they visit the property frequently to feed on the flowers. I tried to get some photos, but it was twilight and it was raining, so the pictures came out too dark.

There were nine of us at dinner tonight, and we enjoyed vegetable soup, steak, peas, rice, and red cabbage.

It was a lovely day full of fun, love, and laughter. The kids love Sonam so much and they have a great time playing together. Javier fits right in as well.
Sonam, Achi Mama, and the kids

Sonam, Achi Mama, and the kids

Shina playing with brother Sonam

Shina playing with brother Sonam

Yupanqui with a mango tongue (lengua de mango)

Yupanqui with a mango tongue (lengua de mango)

Sisa helps Antonio to heat the pipe to make a better seal

Sisa helps Antonio to heat the pipe to make a better seal

Dinner: Shina, Sisa, Achi Mama, Rosa, Achi Taita, Yupanqui, Antonio, and Javier

Dinner: Shina, Sisa, Achi Mama, Rosa, Achi Taita, Yupanqui, Antonio, and Javier

See all photos from January 15, 2018



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