Ecuador 2/22/2022 - 3/8/2022 |
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Friday, February 25, 2022 - Working RemotelyToday I worked remotely again. My meeting schedule allowed me to eat breakfast with the family. We had potato and egg pancakes, bologna, cheese, yogurt, uvilla juice, coffee, and breadAdeliz Dashel was wearing an adorable Wonder Woman top that had a little cape attached in the back, and she was drinking milk from a mug that said (in Spanish) "Talk to me after I've had my coffee." It was quite cute. She is not 100% comfortable around us yet, but I have found that they way to break the ice is to take her photo. She is always so anxious to see the photo that she will stop whatever she is doing and come right over to look. Sometimes she doesn't even allow me enough time to actually take the photo before she runs over. Shina and Yupanqui came home from school at 11 o'clock. We all helped Aida to shuck beans. Sisa came home from school while I was in a meeting, and she brought lunch up to me in my office...fried chicken, corn on the cob, beans, salad, and lemonade. Craig and I decided to take advantage of the slightly warmer weather today and took showers after lunch. Even though we have hot water, the air can be so cold that a shower can still be slightly uncomfortable. It is best to wait until the warmest part of the day so that you don't freeze when stepping out of the shower. Sisa has been having tooth pain, so Antonio took her to the dentist. Sisa called us to let us know that Rosa was on her way to the house. We were able to say hello to her briefly when she arrived. We were grateful for the chance to see her; we love her and are sad about the dissolution of her relationship with Antonio. We love the entire family and hope that they can work things out somehow, as we know that the children really miss Rosa and vice versa. We learned that she stays in one of the casitas on the property when she isn't staying with her cousin. But she stays completely separate from the family. It was good to be able to give Rosa a hug, tell her we love her, and wish her well. We went back into the kitchen and sat at the table. Yupanqui did his homework. He seems to have much more patience for it now than he did the last time we visited. Once he was done, we presented the kids with a gift. Shutterfly, an online company that prints photos on various products, had run a big sale during the pandemic. They had many freebies that you could order for just the cost of shipping. We had been feeling homesick for Ecuador, so I had designed several Shutterfly gifts to bring with us for the family. The first was a concentration game. The pictures on the cards were photos of the family that I had taken on previous visits (and some photos of Adeliz Dashel that Aida had sent us). We know that they like playing concentration (we had played with them on prior trips) and were excited to show them this customized game. Craig and I arranged the pieces face-down on the kitchen table. It was great to see the flash of recognition and delight on the kids' faces when they flipped over the pieces and saw photos of themselves! Aida couldn't believe that we had included Adeliz Dashel as well, since we had never even met her. Sisa got home from the dentist. She is fine; the pain is from her wisdom teeth, which are coming in. She is at that age. She was very impressed with the concentration game, too. All the kids especially loved the photo of their former cat, El Señor Chipikins, posing at the dining table. We played the game again and again, and Yupanqui kept winning. He was really good. His attempts at cheating were fewer and further between than on previous visits. We tried to convince him that he doesn't need to cheat; he is naturally very good at the game! For dinner, we had soup, uvilla juice, chipped beef, rice, carrots, broccoli, and beans. The kids all got their report cards today, and everyone did very well. Craig hadn't been sleeping very well since we arrived, and realized tonight that he had forgotten to take his sleeping pills, which are always necessary for him here with all of the roosters, dogs, etc. that make noise throughout the night. |
 Adeliz Dashel  Shina, Aida, Adeliz Dashel, and Achi Taita shucking beans  Playing concentration See all photos from February 25 |
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