Saturday, December 20, 2008
On the Road
Charlie and I have been on the road for a few weeks and are winding down the last few days of this "vacation". I will be posting a Christmas edition blog summarizing the many crazy encounters that we have had on this journey.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Don Sixto
This last week was perhaps less eventful than the prior two weeks, but life in Casa Victoria is never bland. On Friday night the 7th of November we had what was essentially a board meeting for Casa Victoria to usher in the new director and to appoint new honorary positions of leadership. We met at the home of former president of Ecuador - Sixto Duran Ballen. He is the father of the home's owner, mama Alicia. Sixto and his wife Fina were extremely hospitable and friendly, they are truly loved here in Ecuador because of their warmth. We were told that to get to his home you only need to find a older cab driver and just tell them "To Sixto's house". This didn't work and we spent the about 10 minutes trudging through the rain to actually find the house. It is in a very normal, non-pretentious part of town. While the meeting went well, it was mostly administrative and not too interesting. Afterward, however, Sixto and I hung out and conversed for a few minutes. He gave me one of his personal cigars which is labeled "Don Sixto". Here is a photo of the man and me:
Wednesday of this last week we then hosted a breakfast for the Ecumenical council of pastors that have gotten together to unite the church of Quito for over 11 years. It has long been a dream of the directors to share our ministry and home with this council in hopes that it can better connect us with the larger community. About 25 total attendees made it and we received numerous compliments about the home and the program. Here is what the dining room looked like:
The week then ended shockingly and the majority of the last two days have been spent glued to the internet and Skype trying to find out about the tragic fire in Santa Barbara. It has been difficult to try and make sense of this from so far away. It is just unthinkable that so many friends have lost their homes and my heart goes out to them. I wish there was something that I could do but from here I can just send sympathies and prayers. Being that the community is just waking up to these realities much more prayer will be needed. I am very thankful that my home was spared but many more friends were not so lucky. The Montecito community does not often need to reach out for help but this is one time where there is much vulnerability. Casa Victoria sends thoughts and prayers.
Wednesday of this last week we then hosted a breakfast for the Ecumenical council of pastors that have gotten together to unite the church of Quito for over 11 years. It has long been a dream of the directors to share our ministry and home with this council in hopes that it can better connect us with the larger community. About 25 total attendees made it and we received numerous compliments about the home and the program. Here is what the dining room looked like:
The week then ended shockingly and the majority of the last two days have been spent glued to the internet and Skype trying to find out about the tragic fire in Santa Barbara. It has been difficult to try and make sense of this from so far away. It is just unthinkable that so many friends have lost their homes and my heart goes out to them. I wish there was something that I could do but from here I can just send sympathies and prayers. Being that the community is just waking up to these realities much more prayer will be needed. I am very thankful that my home was spared but many more friends were not so lucky. The Montecito community does not often need to reach out for help but this is one time where there is much vulnerability. Casa Victoria sends thoughts and prayers.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Long Overdue
Seeing that it has been just about one month since my last post there is much to be covered. I can promise no coherent structure and I can't mention everything but here is what La Vida Loca has looked like over the last 4 weeks.
We invited a new member into the home about three weeks ago. His name is Ivan and he is by far our youngest member at 17. He is also the only guy in the house with a girlfriend so I guess the age thing doesn't matter much. He has been a great addition to the home and he is soaking in everything very well. He is somewhat the archetype candidate for the house because he comes in with great people skills and lots of maturity. He can potentially come out of this experience with great leadership abilities and we are all excited about his presence here. His arrival also spells the end of a short tenure for Ricardo who moved in the week after Char and I. Ricardo has some pressing financial needs that have required him to get a job and look for a place to live outside the house. His addition here was really valuable and he will be missed.
Just in the last week the house has acquired a new director named Carolina Bueno. It is a very exciting time of transition and it will bring about many good changes. Jose Luis and Carolina are excited and grateful as they are busy enough with their 2 year-old daughter Julia Isabel and work demands. They are largely responsible for the success of this house both structurally and idealistically and they will remain involved on a more casual level. The timing is great though for the new director. New vision and energy is always a good thing. Carolina will spend 40 hours a week in the house involving herself in all of the activities and implementing new strategies. This all begins this week.
Two weeks ago Char and I took a day trip to a friend's plantation in the rain forest zone to the west of Quito. The drive took about 2 hours and saw us descend from 10,000 feet to almost 2,000 feet. The landscape was rugged and awesome. The plantation itself was like nothing we had ever seen. He has more than 6,000 African Palms planted between wild jungle which produce the fruit responsible for conventional cooking oil. We got to relax in his pool, swim in the river, eat rotisserie chicken which probably was anything but safe, and fine dine at Arasha (a premier resort near his property). Being that it was the first trip we had taken, Char and I were especially appreciative to our friend Maurizio for generously sharing his home with us.
Just this past weekend we then made our way to Naranjito 235, home pueblo of former Casa V resident Lenin Pavon. We have been spending a good deal of time with Lenin of late and he was really eager to share his home and family with us. Char and I were very excited to get to know the place as it came very highly recommended. We left Saturday morning and arrived by 5pm. The hike into the village from the main road is about 15 minutes and we arrived to a driving rain and a mud covered path. No one fell but we got to Lenin's house thoroughly soaked and with mud-covered shoes. It was a humorous way to start the weekend. We spent the night playing guitar and drinking "el beso del diablo" (the most intense liquor that I have yet tried) with Lenin's extended family. In the morning we awoke to roosters and dogs going crazy, and it was only 430am. We got up later and ate a humble breakfast before gearing up and heading out to hike the mountain behind the village. We left by about 1030am and climbed all the way through the fresh mud to the peak. We were completely exhausted at the top and the three of us shared one beer to celebrate the achievement and the incredible view of the valley. The descent was much drier and faster but very difficult given the severity of the trail. We also got back to find that Lenin's brother had drank all the cold beer that morning with a friend so we were bummed. (The water is not good to drink in the village so beer is the new water when there). The weekend was phenomenal and it proved to be the polar opposite experience of the previous weekend. We ate the same soup for every meal (not breakfasts) and just spent time conversing. We played soccer, drank more "beso del diablo", shared about ourselves, and just generally enjoyed great fellowship with genuinely loving people. The generosity of these people who have next to nothing is an incredible thing.
Charlie and I have been cultivating a great new friendship with the neighborhood baker and his family over the last two weeks. Charlie spent nearly 10 hours with the family last friday helping make bread kids (GuaGuas in quichua) and all the guys in the house took turns lending a hand. the experience really endeared us to the family and we have since eaten with them twice and spent probably at least an hour a day hanging in the bakery getting to know them. We are planning a fishing trip with Edwin (the baker) and then a potential trip to Cecilia's (the wife) home town to meet her family and see another part of Ecuador. They have been exceedingly welcoming and generous to us as well and we are so excited to bring them into Casa V to know the whole house. On friday afternoon we made pizza in his bakery and had their family over to eat it with us and it was a phenomenal time. Just know that Edwin makes the best bread in Quito and if you come to visit you will have a friend in the barrio.
Yesterday, the gringos played in the Quito Turkey Bowl which is hosted by the Alliance Academy, a school in the north of town which has most of the missionary kids and American families living in Quito. Jon, Char, and I played for the Youth World team which comes highly respected due to years of success. We played four games of flag football over about 7 hours and eventually lost in the championship to the teahcers of the Academy. Lots of men went down due to injury but nothing too serious. As I am wiriting this you should know that all three of us are in a world of pain from sore muscles and aching joints. It was a gringo-filled day and it was a great networking opportunity for Casa Victoria among the giants of ministry here in Quito.
On the horizon we have several large plans. On Nov. 24th we have the arrival of Chris and Angela Bouma, a couple from Washington DC who are coming to serve for 1 year in the home. They are great friends with Los Eshleman and having another woman in the house will be a great blessing for Anita. On that same day we have Byron and Robyn Beck arriving for a short visit and we plan on showing them a great time. A few days after their arrival we are going to head out via bus to Chile for about 3 weeks. We are going to stop along the way in Lima and Guayaquil and on the way back we hope to climb Machu Pichu. More to come on that in the coming weeks as we still have no definite plans in place. Look for a new blog next week as well, but in the meantime watch Char's video blogs at his site www.charbeck.blogspot.com. Ciao from Quito.
We invited a new member into the home about three weeks ago. His name is Ivan and he is by far our youngest member at 17. He is also the only guy in the house with a girlfriend so I guess the age thing doesn't matter much. He has been a great addition to the home and he is soaking in everything very well. He is somewhat the archetype candidate for the house because he comes in with great people skills and lots of maturity. He can potentially come out of this experience with great leadership abilities and we are all excited about his presence here. His arrival also spells the end of a short tenure for Ricardo who moved in the week after Char and I. Ricardo has some pressing financial needs that have required him to get a job and look for a place to live outside the house. His addition here was really valuable and he will be missed.
Just in the last week the house has acquired a new director named Carolina Bueno. It is a very exciting time of transition and it will bring about many good changes. Jose Luis and Carolina are excited and grateful as they are busy enough with their 2 year-old daughter Julia Isabel and work demands. They are largely responsible for the success of this house both structurally and idealistically and they will remain involved on a more casual level. The timing is great though for the new director. New vision and energy is always a good thing. Carolina will spend 40 hours a week in the house involving herself in all of the activities and implementing new strategies. This all begins this week.
Two weeks ago Char and I took a day trip to a friend's plantation in the rain forest zone to the west of Quito. The drive took about 2 hours and saw us descend from 10,000 feet to almost 2,000 feet. The landscape was rugged and awesome. The plantation itself was like nothing we had ever seen. He has more than 6,000 African Palms planted between wild jungle which produce the fruit responsible for conventional cooking oil. We got to relax in his pool, swim in the river, eat rotisserie chicken which probably was anything but safe, and fine dine at Arasha (a premier resort near his property). Being that it was the first trip we had taken, Char and I were especially appreciative to our friend Maurizio for generously sharing his home with us.
Just this past weekend we then made our way to Naranjito 235, home pueblo of former Casa V resident Lenin Pavon. We have been spending a good deal of time with Lenin of late and he was really eager to share his home and family with us. Char and I were very excited to get to know the place as it came very highly recommended. We left Saturday morning and arrived by 5pm. The hike into the village from the main road is about 15 minutes and we arrived to a driving rain and a mud covered path. No one fell but we got to Lenin's house thoroughly soaked and with mud-covered shoes. It was a humorous way to start the weekend. We spent the night playing guitar and drinking "el beso del diablo" (the most intense liquor that I have yet tried) with Lenin's extended family. In the morning we awoke to roosters and dogs going crazy, and it was only 430am. We got up later and ate a humble breakfast before gearing up and heading out to hike the mountain behind the village. We left by about 1030am and climbed all the way through the fresh mud to the peak. We were completely exhausted at the top and the three of us shared one beer to celebrate the achievement and the incredible view of the valley. The descent was much drier and faster but very difficult given the severity of the trail. We also got back to find that Lenin's brother had drank all the cold beer that morning with a friend so we were bummed. (The water is not good to drink in the village so beer is the new water when there). The weekend was phenomenal and it proved to be the polar opposite experience of the previous weekend. We ate the same soup for every meal (not breakfasts) and just spent time conversing. We played soccer, drank more "beso del diablo", shared about ourselves, and just generally enjoyed great fellowship with genuinely loving people. The generosity of these people who have next to nothing is an incredible thing.
Charlie and I have been cultivating a great new friendship with the neighborhood baker and his family over the last two weeks. Charlie spent nearly 10 hours with the family last friday helping make bread kids (GuaGuas in quichua) and all the guys in the house took turns lending a hand. the experience really endeared us to the family and we have since eaten with them twice and spent probably at least an hour a day hanging in the bakery getting to know them. We are planning a fishing trip with Edwin (the baker) and then a potential trip to Cecilia's (the wife) home town to meet her family and see another part of Ecuador. They have been exceedingly welcoming and generous to us as well and we are so excited to bring them into Casa V to know the whole house. On friday afternoon we made pizza in his bakery and had their family over to eat it with us and it was a phenomenal time. Just know that Edwin makes the best bread in Quito and if you come to visit you will have a friend in the barrio.
Yesterday, the gringos played in the Quito Turkey Bowl which is hosted by the Alliance Academy, a school in the north of town which has most of the missionary kids and American families living in Quito. Jon, Char, and I played for the Youth World team which comes highly respected due to years of success. We played four games of flag football over about 7 hours and eventually lost in the championship to the teahcers of the Academy. Lots of men went down due to injury but nothing too serious. As I am wiriting this you should know that all three of us are in a world of pain from sore muscles and aching joints. It was a gringo-filled day and it was a great networking opportunity for Casa Victoria among the giants of ministry here in Quito.
On the horizon we have several large plans. On Nov. 24th we have the arrival of Chris and Angela Bouma, a couple from Washington DC who are coming to serve for 1 year in the home. They are great friends with Los Eshleman and having another woman in the house will be a great blessing for Anita. On that same day we have Byron and Robyn Beck arriving for a short visit and we plan on showing them a great time. A few days after their arrival we are going to head out via bus to Chile for about 3 weeks. We are going to stop along the way in Lima and Guayaquil and on the way back we hope to climb Machu Pichu. More to come on that in the coming weeks as we still have no definite plans in place. Look for a new blog next week as well, but in the meantime watch Char's video blogs at his site www.charbeck.blogspot.com. Ciao from Quito.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Photos
Char and I upon arrival to Mariscal Sucre Airport
Casa Victoria from the front entrance
This is Char doing what he does best...eat dessert
Dinner with Eshes, Char, and the Landreths
Me...thousands of feet above the world and inches from death
Char's head stitches were the focus of much attention...and laughter
But he still takes his photography this seriously
Of course the bowling had to be documented
Anna's birthday dinner...this chocolate dessert put the Eshes down for the countAs always please visit the blog links on the right for even more information about Casa V and what kinds of shenanigans we are getting involved in.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Reality Check
Yesterday was an unusual day for us here at Casa Victoria. We were in the midst of our normal schedule of morning tasks when we were shocked by the sound of gunshots just outside of the house. Esteban got to the balcony first to find a man laying the street motionless. The man had been gunned down in broad daylight by another man to whom he was in debt. The scene was utterly surreal as almost fifty people stood around the man as he died. Children were among the first reactors the incident and there was no censorship at all. This man's death was a stark reminder or how vastly different this part of the world is to the one that we know at home. Below are a few photos of the shocking scene.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Diarrhea Dialogues
For those of you brave enough to read this it should be a pleasure. I guess I should mention that diarrhea is a really common conversation topic down here. While dissension is rampant right now in the midst of a heated debate over a new constitution, diarrhea is perhaps the greatest uniting principle in this city. I know of no other aspect of life, in this barrio at least, which is more commonly understood. Casa Victoria has met this phenomenon head on in the past two weeks. Anita came down with some very unfriendly amoebas and was bed-ridden for two days until she was able to go to the hospital and receive some heavy-duty medicines. Jon then came down with a cold and a subsequent diarrhea stint as Anita came back around to full health. Char is working on week two of a lingering sore throat and he has had a couple of diarrhea cameos in that time. I had one day of stomach awkwardness that included several ventures to the toilet as well. Meanwhile the Ecuadorian housemates are healthier and happier than ever. They must think we are a weak country with all the illnesses and ailments that we bring up each day. Suffice it to say we are taking on everything that this country has to to offer the digestive system and we are paying the price at times. But this is a very small part of what has been happening here, let me share the good stuff too...
Movie Night - Last Friday night we gave an open invitation to the neighbors to join us for a free presentation of Life is Beautiful. We cleared out the dining room and set up the projector screen and chairs for the film. The expectation was that between 5 and 20 people would show up. In a matter of ten minutes we had 30+ neighbors (mainly kids) packed into the room as we had to turn away all other comers. The movie was great and we had an intermission for free popcorn and soda for all the viewers. After the movie Javier (a housemate) gave a small address about the movie's theme and about our mission at Casa Victoria. The event was a huge success...and the floor was a huge mess afterward but we felt good about providing at the very least some shelter and safety for the kids who were certainly headed for no good otherwise.
The Mago - The following day we hosted a little magic show for all the willing children in the neighborhood. Due to some miscommunication not many kids were informed and the crowd was small. Once again food was provided and the show happened to coincide with the largest rainstorm that I have seen thus far in Quito. Everyone enjoyed the show and especially the fact that we stayed dry through the storm. El Mago has been invited back and assured of a larger audience for his next show here at the house.
Club de Ninos - Every Wednesday we have a "Club de Ninos¨ and a ¨Club de Madres¨ so that basically each of them can have a break from the other. It is supposed to be just an hour but it always runs a little long and usually for the kids it includes some drawing and a video. It always ends with Char and I chasing the kids around the hallway. It turns into absolute bedlam for about twenty minutes at the end of the club and we can hardly push the kids out of the door when it is time to go. It is a great release for the kids and it is a rare time for the madres to have with peers in order to share thoughts-complaints-celebrations-questions or to just talk about life. Wednesday afternoons the house is completely full and running at its best.
Clases de Ingles - Tuesday and Thursday afternoon Charlie and I become profesores for an hour as we teach English to the housemates and several faithful madres from the neighborhood. For many of them not even a word of English is familiar, or if one is they have no idea how to pronounce it correctly. We are starting from total scratch with the class and we are still reviewing the very basics now 5 classes into the ¨semester¨. Charlie and I have a hard time keeping it together when someone tries to pronounce ¨which¨ but it comes out bitch. The rest of the room doesn't get it but we have a pretty good laugh anyways.
Visita Vecinos - Tuesdays and Thursdays are the days when we are scheduled to go out a "meet the neighbors". Many of the neighbors are coldly uninterested about meeting the house and about us, but if for nothing else they at least get to learn why there are gringos walking around the neighborhood during the days. For a good lesser number of them they love meeting us a sharing every complaint they have about the neighborhood and its other residents. Because we are a foundation they feel it is our job to deal all the municipal problems like the trash piles, the urine "problem", and the noise polution. By urine "problem" of course I mean the entire city smells like urine. This is probably due to the fact that men will urinate anywhere and any time throughout the day without the slightest bit of shame. So naturally as a foundation we have to find the solutions to these things. Believe me, we would love to solve all of these problems. We do, at times, encounter a nice neighbor who supports the fact that we are trying to help the neigborhood. These are the neighbors that we can wave at as we leave the house and they will return a warm greeting. It is these people who make it feel like home here in Quito.
In between all of these activities we continue to explore Quito and to get to know the locals. We are teaching them how to throw a frisbee, how to be on time, how to mop a floor, and how to speak english. They are teaching us spanish, how to deal with the community, and how to undrestand their culture. We are not far from being here one month and we have so much more to see and experience. Plus we have some travels upcoming...
Movie Night - Last Friday night we gave an open invitation to the neighbors to join us for a free presentation of Life is Beautiful. We cleared out the dining room and set up the projector screen and chairs for the film. The expectation was that between 5 and 20 people would show up. In a matter of ten minutes we had 30+ neighbors (mainly kids) packed into the room as we had to turn away all other comers. The movie was great and we had an intermission for free popcorn and soda for all the viewers. After the movie Javier (a housemate) gave a small address about the movie's theme and about our mission at Casa Victoria. The event was a huge success...and the floor was a huge mess afterward but we felt good about providing at the very least some shelter and safety for the kids who were certainly headed for no good otherwise.
The Mago - The following day we hosted a little magic show for all the willing children in the neighborhood. Due to some miscommunication not many kids were informed and the crowd was small. Once again food was provided and the show happened to coincide with the largest rainstorm that I have seen thus far in Quito. Everyone enjoyed the show and especially the fact that we stayed dry through the storm. El Mago has been invited back and assured of a larger audience for his next show here at the house.
Club de Ninos - Every Wednesday we have a "Club de Ninos¨ and a ¨Club de Madres¨ so that basically each of them can have a break from the other. It is supposed to be just an hour but it always runs a little long and usually for the kids it includes some drawing and a video. It always ends with Char and I chasing the kids around the hallway. It turns into absolute bedlam for about twenty minutes at the end of the club and we can hardly push the kids out of the door when it is time to go. It is a great release for the kids and it is a rare time for the madres to have with peers in order to share thoughts-complaints-celebrations-questions or to just talk about life. Wednesday afternoons the house is completely full and running at its best.
Clases de Ingles - Tuesday and Thursday afternoon Charlie and I become profesores for an hour as we teach English to the housemates and several faithful madres from the neighborhood. For many of them not even a word of English is familiar, or if one is they have no idea how to pronounce it correctly. We are starting from total scratch with the class and we are still reviewing the very basics now 5 classes into the ¨semester¨. Charlie and I have a hard time keeping it together when someone tries to pronounce ¨which¨ but it comes out bitch. The rest of the room doesn't get it but we have a pretty good laugh anyways.
Visita Vecinos - Tuesdays and Thursdays are the days when we are scheduled to go out a "meet the neighbors". Many of the neighbors are coldly uninterested about meeting the house and about us, but if for nothing else they at least get to learn why there are gringos walking around the neighborhood during the days. For a good lesser number of them they love meeting us a sharing every complaint they have about the neighborhood and its other residents. Because we are a foundation they feel it is our job to deal all the municipal problems like the trash piles, the urine "problem", and the noise polution. By urine "problem" of course I mean the entire city smells like urine. This is probably due to the fact that men will urinate anywhere and any time throughout the day without the slightest bit of shame. So naturally as a foundation we have to find the solutions to these things. Believe me, we would love to solve all of these problems. We do, at times, encounter a nice neighbor who supports the fact that we are trying to help the neigborhood. These are the neighbors that we can wave at as we leave the house and they will return a warm greeting. It is these people who make it feel like home here in Quito.
In between all of these activities we continue to explore Quito and to get to know the locals. We are teaching them how to throw a frisbee, how to be on time, how to mop a floor, and how to speak english. They are teaching us spanish, how to deal with the community, and how to undrestand their culture. We are not far from being here one month and we have so much more to see and experience. Plus we have some travels upcoming...
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Chillando
So I am not the most faithful blogger, that much we can all agree on. To my defense I have been busy. It feels like I have been here for a month already because every day is so full and we have had so many people come through the house. As I am writing this the guests have left the house and it is just seven of us here. The squad includes: Jon and Anna Eshleman (the house parents), Javier Cuchipe, Esteban Jaramillo, Ricardo Navaraez, Charlie Beck, and myself. During the day we have an accountant, librarian, handy-man, and contractor here to maintain and improve the house. Now that it is just us here, we have developed a consistent schedule which looks something like this.
Breakfast - 8am
Kitchen and house clean-up - 9am
Required reading time - 10am
Morning meeting - 1030am
Lunch - 130pm
Those are the established activities for the house and depending on the days we play sports together, walk the neighborhood, or do house chores. At some point each day we have free time and that usually falls in the afternoon and evening. Being that we are in Ecuador the schedule is questioned and manipulated almost daily. This is not a culture of planning and following through in the long term. The guys we have in the house are awesome guys, each one is at least 3 years my senior. They all have their own outside pursuits which requires their attention away from the house. For part of each day it is just gringos here and thus a lot of English is spoken. So much so that we have begun teaching English classes to all the willing members of the home and community.
I have been cooking, gardening, and painting around the house. I have also been commissioned to help in the library in preparation for the October 1st grand opening. In reality I have not pulled my weight with this assignment but I will be working more in there this week. I have taken a select few photos around the house and of the city (having a photographer in the house takes away all motivation). I will post photos in the coming days...Adios
Breakfast - 8am
Kitchen and house clean-up - 9am
Required reading time - 10am
Morning meeting - 1030am
Lunch - 130pm
Those are the established activities for the house and depending on the days we play sports together, walk the neighborhood, or do house chores. At some point each day we have free time and that usually falls in the afternoon and evening. Being that we are in Ecuador the schedule is questioned and manipulated almost daily. This is not a culture of planning and following through in the long term. The guys we have in the house are awesome guys, each one is at least 3 years my senior. They all have their own outside pursuits which requires their attention away from the house. For part of each day it is just gringos here and thus a lot of English is spoken. So much so that we have begun teaching English classes to all the willing members of the home and community.
I have been cooking, gardening, and painting around the house. I have also been commissioned to help in the library in preparation for the October 1st grand opening. In reality I have not pulled my weight with this assignment but I will be working more in there this week. I have taken a select few photos around the house and of the city (having a photographer in the house takes away all motivation). I will post photos in the coming days...Adios
Thursday, September 04, 2008
La Primera Semana
A few really noteworthy things have occurred already in the house even though we are just a week in. Charlie already got a lecture from both Ecuadorian house-mates about the bad language that he always uses. He didnt mind of course because as he said, "I just love using bad words in Spanish too much". More fireworks to come soon I am sure.
The house alarm went off twice last night which is pretty startling. We average a break-in every three weeks according to those in the know so there is cause for concern when it is triggered. In these cases there was no break-in but rather doors left unlocked and the alarm system decided not to respond to it until the wee hours of the night. Also, the alarm company called at 530am to ask if everything was OK, a mere two hours after the incidents. What a tremendous display of the punctual nature of this country.
Lastly, Charlie and I went mattress shopping yesterday and met an effervescent salesman named Xavier Guzman. Xavier was very helpful but took a massive fall. While trying to retrieve a mattress off a children's bunk-bed set Xavier fell, hit a coffee table and slammed onto the floor, hitting his back. He bounced right back up as if nothing happened but Charlie and I had to get out of there in order to laugh. We got his business card and I should call him today to make sure both ego and body are in full health. Xavier, thanks for the memories.
As far a the living situation goes, every day is very different. We always eat breakfast as a house at 8am. The day workers (accountant, librarian, handy-man) arrive about 9am. We have down time or reading time thereafter and we try to meet every day in order to learn each other's schedules. Mostly we try and leave the house for a little while before lunch (at about 1pm) but sometimes we just do cleaning and odd-jobs for the few hours in between. Afternoons often include tourist activity or trips to the market. We have not yet seen much of tourist Quito but we have ventured the city on buses and we are quickly acclimating to the altitude and the layout of the place. The house is good health but changes are taking place daily. We have a guest bedroom which would love to welcome any visitor at all. Go to the house website at www.casavictoria.blogspot.com to check the newly renovated guest space! For pictures see www.charbeck.net.
The house alarm went off twice last night which is pretty startling. We average a break-in every three weeks according to those in the know so there is cause for concern when it is triggered. In these cases there was no break-in but rather doors left unlocked and the alarm system decided not to respond to it until the wee hours of the night. Also, the alarm company called at 530am to ask if everything was OK, a mere two hours after the incidents. What a tremendous display of the punctual nature of this country.
Lastly, Charlie and I went mattress shopping yesterday and met an effervescent salesman named Xavier Guzman. Xavier was very helpful but took a massive fall. While trying to retrieve a mattress off a children's bunk-bed set Xavier fell, hit a coffee table and slammed onto the floor, hitting his back. He bounced right back up as if nothing happened but Charlie and I had to get out of there in order to laugh. We got his business card and I should call him today to make sure both ego and body are in full health. Xavier, thanks for the memories.
As far a the living situation goes, every day is very different. We always eat breakfast as a house at 8am. The day workers (accountant, librarian, handy-man) arrive about 9am. We have down time or reading time thereafter and we try to meet every day in order to learn each other's schedules. Mostly we try and leave the house for a little while before lunch (at about 1pm) but sometimes we just do cleaning and odd-jobs for the few hours in between. Afternoons often include tourist activity or trips to the market. We have not yet seen much of tourist Quito but we have ventured the city on buses and we are quickly acclimating to the altitude and the layout of the place. The house is good health but changes are taking place daily. We have a guest bedroom which would love to welcome any visitor at all. Go to the house website at www.casavictoria.blogspot.com to check the newly renovated guest space! For pictures see www.charbeck.net.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Labor Day
Now that I have spent a couple of days here I can report just a couple of things.
-The home is very large and really an oasis in what is a pretty rough neighborhood.
-The people we live with are great (although three of them got out of dodge right when we arrived). The home is cared for by all of us who live here but is mainly directed by the Patrones Jon and Anna Eshleman who are here for about a year.
-The weather has been un poco frio and looks to only be getting more cold (we're talking mid-50s right now so not freezing or anything)
I still will be adjusting to daily routines and my role here at the house but every day will include at least some home maintenance, some reading, and some adventure. This is the real third world and we gringos really don't blend in too well. It will take time for the neighborhood to adjust to another gringo and prove to them our intentions are to help. With time it will happen...more to come soon.
-The home is very large and really an oasis in what is a pretty rough neighborhood.
-The people we live with are great (although three of them got out of dodge right when we arrived). The home is cared for by all of us who live here but is mainly directed by the Patrones Jon and Anna Eshleman who are here for about a year.
-The weather has been un poco frio and looks to only be getting more cold (we're talking mid-50s right now so not freezing or anything)
I still will be adjusting to daily routines and my role here at the house but every day will include at least some home maintenance, some reading, and some adventure. This is the real third world and we gringos really don't blend in too well. It will take time for the neighborhood to adjust to another gringo and prove to them our intentions are to help. With time it will happen...more to come soon.
Friday, August 29, 2008
I'm Back
I have relocated to a new spanish speaking country and I will be sharing some details of this trip in the coming days.....until then: Vayan con Dios!
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