Tuesday, 7/12/16 - Working RemotelyToday I got up early to log in to work (we are back to a 2-hour time difference, so I start work before much of the family is even awake!) We had oatmeal for breakfast, along with fresh carrot juice, bananas, various breads and muffins, and coffee. We gave the family a jar of fresh honey that we bought at Peguche Falls in Ecuador. It was a delicious addition to the oatmeal. Yum!Vanesa and Aracely gave the stuffed Teodoro the Chipmunk that they had purchased in Otavalo to little Ian Ivan. Craig played with the kids in our room and outside while I worked. For lunch, we had chicken with salsa and rice, and fresh pineapple juice and a slice of watermelon. When I was done with work, we played Mad Libs with Aracely and Eddy. We are very proud of their progress in school. Eddy's confidence in his English has grown, and we had fun doing the English Mad Libs and then showed them some "School House Rock" videos on YouTube to reinforce the parts of speech. Ian Ivan was being extremely cute (as usual) as he fed the bunny a carrot. The water delivery man came to the house with a carboy of water perched on his shoulder. A little while later, Ian picked up an empty paint can and hefted it onto his shoulder like the delivery man. So adorable! I took some photos of Paulina in her traditional Kaqchiqel dress and sent them to Ecuador, so that Rosa and the girls could compare and contrast with their own traditional clothing. The flowers in Humberto's garden were blooming beautifully. Humberto had made a lot of progress on the office renovation during our week-long absence. An addition was made which would house a bathroom, so that day-tour clients would not need to go into the house/hotel area to use the rest room. Since we first visited their home in 2007, they have made a constant stream of improvements to the property and the business. It really is amazing! The kids' cousin Fatima came over, and Aracely showed her "El Pastorcito de Otavalo Buscando El Dorado" on Youtube. Chilo, the kids' cousin on the other side of the family, came over to play with Eddy. Many of the kids' cousins live in the same alley, and the others are just a 10 minute walk away. Paulina asked if I would like to help with dinner. She had mixed up some dough in order to make tomalitos and tayuyo. For the tomalitos, the dough was mixed with chipilin leaves. Vanesa and I rolled the dough between our palms and wrapped it in a corn husk leaf. It was fun to learn how to roll and wrap them. Tayuyo is a Guatemalan spin on the tamale. Paulina patted the tayuyo doughy flat and spread a layer of black bean paste on top. She cut the dough into strips, and then rolled it between her palms. She then wrapped each piece in a corn husk leaf. Paulina then steamed all of the little leaf bundles. They were served with salsa, cheese, guacamole, and hot sauce. After dinner, Aracely and Vanesa distributed the gifts that they had bought for their family in Ecuador. Everyone was quite happy with their gifts, and it was obvious that everyone was even more happy to have the whole family back together again. |
 Ian Ivan emulates the water delivery man See all photos from this day |
|
 |
|
 |
