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Craig has been fighting a cold pretty much since we arrived here. This morning it got the best of him during breakfast. We were enjoying our hard boiled eggs, fried dough, juice, coffee, and colada, when he started to get very dizzy and overheated. He decided that he would take it easy and stay in bed all day to get plenty of rest.
Sometimes Craig overdoes it a bit. He forgets that he has MS, and he tries to do his normal activities. But sometimes that makes him run down. And especially in a place like this, where high altitude (~ 8000 ft) can take its toll on those of us who live at sea level. Also, he has a suppressed immune system from his MS medication, so he is more susceptible to illness than most people. I was proud of him for listening to his body today and opting out so that he could rest up and hopefully be back to himself again tomorrow. Unfortunately, this is the reality for Craig now. He can never predict from day to day how he will feel. He needs a lot of extra rest, and this factored heavily into his decision to stop working. Rosa made a sweet tea for Craig from a root vegetable in the hopes that it would speed his recovery. Aida placed leaves on his forehead and then secured them in place with a linen scarf. The family was very concerned, given Craig's medical status. They were very attentive, and told me on numerous occasions that they could take us to the hospital if we wanted to go. We were very grateful for their concern, but assured them that it just seemed to be a cold, and that we would let them know if we thought it turned into something more serious. I am still working from the dining table in the kitchen, since the wi-fi signal isn't strong enough in the casita. Most of the time, this is fine. Aside from mealtimes, I usually have the kitchen to myself. Today I had a conference call that happened to fall over lunchtime. All three kids were by my side, chatting away, Sisa and Yupanqui having just returned home from school and wondering where Craig was (he hadn't felt up to eating lunch). Then Antonio, a professional musician, broke out his saxophone and started practicing. Thank God for the mute button! While juggling all of this, I also needed to eat my chicken soup, sweet potato, rice, peas, and meatballs. I checked on Craig periodically. He decided it was best to continue to rest, so that he would hopefully recover soon. Antonio and Marcelo completed the gable walls today, and worked on an interior wall as well. Once again, we can't believe the progress! In less than 2 weeks, the third floor went from basically a patio to two complete rooms with the gables in place for the roofing. Sandra and the kids came over. Tayanta and Yupanqui played together, making a tunnel out of a tortora reed mat and then crawling through it. We love how they make use of their surroundings and find fun everywhere. They are imaginative as well as practical, and they are not dependent on commercial toys. I wandered around the property taking some sunset photos. The late afternoon sunlight beamed into the window of what would become our bedroom on the second floor of the main house. Before dinner, I enjoyed some nice quiet time with the kids. We watched YouTube videos teaching them to count and learn the ABC's in English. All three kids were captivated and repeated the numbers and letters. Then they watched a shape video. It showed an animated train with shapes on it, and the kids repeated the names of the shapes...square, circle, heart...then it started to get a little weird...ellipse, rhombus...but when it got to parallelogram and the kids dutifully tried to pronounce it, I couldn't help but laugh. What kind of preschool video was this?! The videos kept the kids' attention for over an hour. The normally squirmy Yupanqui laid calmly on my lap. The teacher in me really loved this. It is really amazing to see how much of a positive impact the internet can have on people around the world. The availability of free content (especially multimedia) opens up educational opportunities that were not possible in remote villages like this only a few years ago. For dinner, we had chicken noodle soup, rice, mashed potato cakes, radish salad, and an omelet. Craig was a bit hungry at dinner time, so I brought him a bowl on home made chicken soup in bed. This livened him up a bit, and he was able to sit at his computer for a while before we went to sleep. |
 Yupanqui  Abuelita and Chipi sitting in front of the fire  Antonio 
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