Ecuador 11/27/2014 - 12/2/2014 |
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Monday 12/1/2014 - Neighboring FarmlandWe woke up at 7 a.m., took hot showers, and heard the national anthem in Spanish and Kichwa blaring from the loudspeaker way over at the school. It was an obvious "red song." We also heard the dulcet tones of the trash truck, which plays a meoldy to let people know it is coming.We went out at 8:30. Yupanqui and Mi Nena were awake, and Sisa was at school. Breakfast was crepes with raspberry marmalade, croissants, passionfruit juice, and coffee. We played with the kids and Antonio talked to us about his idea for adding a second story on to the house. This would allow for Aida and the kids to have their own living space, and they could expand the kitchen / dining room into Aida's current bedroom. He knew that we had added an upstairs addition to our house for Craig's brother and his kids, and he asked about the design. Craig drew it out for him. Antonio has been traveling for his music, and will continue to do so for festivals. The group will also record in Colombia, because it is cheaper there than in Ecuador. He wants to start house construction in February or March, when things quiet down gig-wise after the holiday season. Craig and I went for a walk shortly after noon. We walked down the dirt road to some land which is for sale. Land in the community doesn't come up for sale often, as most of it is passed down within families. The land has a great view of the mountains even though it is across from a small water pumping station. We continued walking down to the sign at the limits of Morochos and then walked back toward the house. Now that Sisa had returned from school, the three kids had come to ambush us with hugs. We walked back to the house together. Back at the house, we played with blocks. Then it was time for lunch. The soup was bola verde (a soup with beef, potatoes, and a dumpling made of banana filled with onion, carrots, etc.). Then we had rice, beans, mashed potato on a lettuce leaf, and a radish and tomato salad. We had babaco juice to drink. We talked to Antonio about the land for sale. The family decided to purchase this land for Sisa and Yupanqui. They could use it in the short term for additional farmland (there are no structures currently on the land). Rosa killed the second rooster, but we only saw the butchering stage at the sink (with the kitten eagerly meowing for her share). We played with the kids and gave them the stuffed animals that we bought them in China. They loved them. The suction cups on them were fun too, and they stuck them to the windows and the fridge. They wrapped the dolls in blankets, pretended that they were taking them to the hospital for an eye operation, etc. We all went for a walk, and the kids all took their dolls. Sisa and Mi Nena were very good on the walk, but Yupanqui wasn't listening. Shina would then copy his bad behavior, not knowing any better. We got to a point where we just turned around. Mi Nena was getting tired so I carried her. Yupanqui threw his doll down the ravine even though we warned aganst it, and he and Sisa were shocked that Craig and I wouldn't go down to get it. We just continued toward home. Sisa was a good big sister and helped him to get it, but they learned that we are not pushovers. Mi Nena fell asleep in my arms, and I put her to bed when we got home. Abuelita brought the cows home for the evening. Rosa got the chickens out of the little shelter and put them up in the trees to roost. The neighbors across the front ravine were putting up their Christmas lights. We walked to the end of the driveway to watch. The bus came by at 6:30 p.m. and Aida got off up the street and walked back to the house. Yupanqui and Sisa ran to greet her. Then Craig ran to her calling "Mami!" The kids as well as Aida thought that this was hysterical. We went back to the house. Mi Nena was sleeping hugging her new doll, and chipi the kitten was curled up with her - so cute! Antonio and Aida made a preparation of leaves in a plastic tub of boiling water. They had Craig sit with his feet elevated on a little stool, and put the tub under his legs. They covered his legs with a blanket for 6 minutes. It got hot and the water condensed on his legs. Then they took of the blanket and stirred the water around, and then put the blanket back on for a few more minutes. It was like a mini-sauna. Then they took the stool away and had him put his feet directly in the hot water for as long as he could stand, while Aida bathed his knee with the water. Then dinner was ready: soup, the fresh rooster in some sort of marinade, beet and hard boiled egg salad, rice, potatoes, broccoli, and melon juice. Sisa and Yupanqui seemed sad because they didn't want us to go home tomorrow. They had been saying "don't go" since the day we arrived. Antonio said that Sisa and Yupanqui play together saying they are coming to our house. They will pack a backpack and walk around the property, come to the door of our casita, and knock on the door and play inside. Rosa had hemmed my anako skirts with fancy multicolored stitching. Beautiful! The family disappeared and reappeared with presents. Sisa gave me mine, and Yupanqui gave Craig his. We each got nice heavy wool zipered cardigans (similar to the ones they had given us in May which I wore all fall and into the winter), knitted infinity scarves made by Aida's employers (a lavender one for me and gray for Craig), woven scarves for each of us, and a beautiful reversible shawl for me. It was too much! We really appreciated it. The kids perked up with the gift giving and didn't seem as sad any more. Antonio, Rosa, Aida gave little thank you speeches, and we did too. Aida said that Sisa and Yupanqui think of us as parents. Mi Nena came to the door. She wanted to be a part of the festivities, but she was very out of it, having just awoken from a deep sleep. It was so cute. We then gave our final gifts. We gave a Crane Beach T-shirt to Antonio. In addition to the dolls that we had given the kids, we had bought some other gifts for the family in China. We gave hair adornments to Rosa and Aida, embroidered pouches and bracelets to the girls (tiger for Sisa, monkey for Mi Nena), and a dragon pouch and dragon necklace to Yupanqui. We gave the whole family panda chocolates which they shared. While we were on the subject of China, we showed Rosa and Aida some photos of different types of Chinese embroidery. They were particularly interested, since they do a lot of hand embroidery themselves. We went to our casita, and they wrapped Craig's left leg in leaves for the final time. However, they used a different type of leaf this time, as it was the last treatment. We said goodnight at 9:30, packed our things for tomorrow's departure, wrote in journal, texted Steve, and went to bed at 10:24. That was late for us here! |
 Achi Taita, Shina, Antonio, and Yupanqui  Planning an addition to the house  Yupanqui and Sisa  Achi Mama and Mi Nena  Yupanqui, Sisa, and Achi Taita See all photos from this day |
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