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Today was the first day that I worked remotely from Ecuador. Craig retired early a couple of months ago, as his MS made it very difficult for him to work. The climate and slower pace of life in our compadres' village in Ecuador is good for his health, and my employer was kind enough to allow me to work remotely so that we could stay for 3 weeks.
I tried to log in to work in the casita, but the wireless signal was not strong enough for me to maintain my VPN connection. So instead, I set up shop in the main house at the kitchen table. It worked out nicely because I wasn't isolated from the family. Ecuador is an hour behind Eastern Daylight Time. Sisa and Yupanqui had already left for school when I logged in at 7:30. Tayanta woke up late and she was uncharacteristically quiet and subdued. Her eye was hurting her. At the beginning of September, she had artificial lenses implanted in her eyes. She is still healing, and even can't attend nursery school right now because there is too much dust at recess. I called into meetings, talked to colleagues, and was able to do everything I could do from my cubicle, with the added benefit of being able to eat lunch with the family and play with the kids in the evening. Craig arranged our things in the casita (rearranging the furniture, hanging up our mirror, coat hooks, etc.) Craig's fatigue is still an issue, but he is able to rest as needed throughout the day, with no real obligations. All in all, this experiment seems to be a success. Technology is a wonderful thing. I was amazed by how much I got done today from a remote village. It is amazing to see all of the changes to the property here within the 5 years since we first stayed with the family. We originally came as tourists doing a 5-night homestay. At that time, they had a 4 room house. Antonio, Rosa, Aida, Sisa, and Antonio's mom lived in two relatively small bedrooms, and there was also a kitchen and bathroom. They also had a guest house which had two units which each contained a bedroom and bathroom. This was built with the assistance of a local indigenous tourist agency. This is where we stayed. In the intervening years, Aida had two more children. We wondered how they all fit, especially when back home, many people think that children should not have to share bedrooms with siblings, let alone parents/grandparents/great-grandparents! But here it all worked. The house is purely functional, and the family spends most of the time outside. Even laundry is cleaned by hand in an outdoor sink. In 2013, they built a casita (cottage) specifically for us. It has a bedroom and a bathroom, and is so comfortable! But as the kids started to get bigger (they are now 7, 5, and 3), they decided that they would need more living space. Recently, they started construction on two additional levels on the main house. Antonio and his friend Marcelo have been doing the majority of the work, with assistance from Rosa and Aida. The second floor is nearing completion, and the third floor construction had barely begun when we arrived on Friday. It was little more than a roof deck. Family friend Marcelo spent the entire day working on the third floor. He ate breakfast with us. His 4-year-old son Jung came by shortly before lunch. Sisa and Yupanqui arrived home from school and we all enjoyed lunch together. We had cabbage and quinoa soup, lentils, meat with medulla (marrow), and cole slaw. Jung was shy and afraid of us at first. There were several construction-related deliveries today: sand and wood-framed windows. Abuelita found some orange mushrooms on a rotten stump. Rosa showed us. The inside looked like cooked chicken breast. Rosa said her mother used to gather these when Rosa was young. It is so interesting to get to experience this subsistence-based lifestyle firsthand. They grow crops and raise animals and forage. So much of their food and medicine comes from their own garden! After my lunch break, I went straight back to work. The kids were very good about just throwing me a wave or getting a quick hug and kiss, being very careful not to bother me while working. We heard Aida screaming outside. She had just noticed that there was a huge swarm of honeybees in the avocado tree right outside the front door. Apparently, the drought of the past few months had resulted in a severe lack of flowers. The community's honey bee population was on the run looking for a new source of nectar. But not before one got stuck in the outdoor sink, and Rosa used it to sting Aida in the spine as natural medicine! More screaming ensued. After logging out of work at 4:45, I took a shower and was ready to spend some quality time with the kids. The family planted some saplings in the front yard. The recent dry weather has wreaked havoc on plants and trees, and now that some rain has come, it is time to get planting once again. We gave the kids new outfits. Sisa was thrilled that we gave her a sweater dress...she had been asking Aida to buy her a dress. Clothes are always the best presents for the kids, as they really enjoy them and get so much use out of them. The kids watched Pink Panther cartoons on Youtube. Tayanta requested watching "Lobito" (little wolf). They asked me to search for it on Youtube. Umm...the last time we had been here they had been watching a modern take on Little Red Riding Hood, but I didn't know what it was called. They pointed at the Google search box. "Lobito!" So, I entered it, and the first hit on the result list was Disney's 1933 classic Three Little Pigs. They excitedly pointed to it and settled in to watch it dubbed in Spanish. These nearly century-old cartoons seem to be experiencing a resurgence in popularity. The last time we visited Guatemala, the kids there were watching it as well! We enjoyed a nice dinner. We got to eat the orange mushrooms that Abuelita had brought home from a foraging mission. It really was amazing how much they looked like white meat chicken. The texture and color was absolutely the same. They were quite delicious. We also had homemade chicken soup, spinach quiche, rice, mixed vegetables, and juice. We went back to the casita to get ready for bed, thankful that my first day of remote work had gone off without a hitch! |
 My "office" in Ecuador  Marcelo working on 3rd floor construction  Hanging with my girls after work  Bees swarming in the avocado tree  Craig and Yupanqui  The kids watch Three Little Pigs 
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