Monday, January 22, 2018 - Family timeThis morning the kids went to school and I got up early for work. When I woke up and went outside this morning, I found Rosa using her Pre-Columbian style volcanic stone to grind corn. She knelt on the ground and put her whole body weight into pushing a large oval stone over the corn kernels, pulverizing them with the friction against the heavy stone base.From my office, I heard the tell-tale sign of the blender, the signal that breakfast was served. I met Craig and Sonam in the kitchen. Rosa served us fried eggs, papas fritas, bread, cheese, coffee, and juice. Rosa's stove and the hot water heater are fueled by canisters of gas. The family buys tanks and then a truck comes by on a regular interval to collect empty tanks and replace them with full ones. It costs less than $3 for a tank's worth of gas. The cost isn't prohibitive, but availability is often a problem. The gas truck has not come in several weeks. Each day Rosa hopes that it will show up, but to no avail. At this point, the tank for the water heater is empty, and the one for the kitchen stove is nearly so. If it were to run out, Rosa would need to cook outside on the fire, as she had on a past visit when gas was also in short supply. It was too cold to take a shower without heating the water at least a little bit, so our lack of gas meant that we hadn't showered in a couple of days. I had really been counting on taking a shower today, and was disappointed. Then I realized that I had been coming at the problem with a very first world mentality. Abuela always has a fire going, and the family owns many large metal pots heating things over the fire. We could heat some water on the fire, and then take a bucket shower. I asked Rosa for help preparing the water. While we were heating it, Javier called. He would be returning to Morochos for his final week the morning, and he wanted to know if we still needed gas because his friend had an extra tank. We told him that the truck still had not come, and that we were now dangerously close to running out of gas for cooking. Javier and his friend to the rescue! He told us that they would arrive soon, with a gas canister in tow. Now that we would be getting a full canister for the kitchen, the remaining bit in the current canister could be put toward the hot water heater. We could have just held off until Javier arrived, but we were already heating water on the fire. Once it was warm enough, we each took a bucket shower. Javier and his friend arrived via camioneta. We exchanged our empty gas canister for her full one, and now we have a supply of gas for cooking! Thank you Javier and your generous friend! They hooked up the new canister to the stove, and attached the almost empty one to the water heater. It would probably run out soon, but at least we would have some hot water! This afternoon when I was done with work, we heard the telltale song heralding the arrival of the "Cosmic Cat" ice cream truck. The kids danced down the driveway to meet it, and we bought 7 soft-serve cones for just $1.75 from a red pickup truck with a cap on the back decorated like a cross between Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine and the Great Space Coaster children's TV show. Trippy stuff! It was nice to have Javier back. Although it didn't rain today, it was chilly and windy, so post-ice cream we all went to Abuelita's outdoor kitchen and huddled by the fire. Abuelita loves Sonam. He jokes with her and gets her laughing harder than we have ever seen in 8 years of visits. They share a special connection that is beyond language. He aspires to live a life as happy as hers, and we have no doubt that he will succeed. Tonight Sonam made Craig's favorite Bhutanese dish: ema datshi (Bhutanese chili peppers and cheese)! It is so delicious! Thank you, son!! We enjoyed it along with our dinner of soup, chicken, rice, beans, and cabbage slaw. Note: We were so relieved for our friend Felipe to hear that his nephew was found alive this morning after a kayaking accident. The steady rains here in Ecuador have made all of the rivers very high with strong currents. The kayakers had been missing since Saturday. Unfortunately not all on the expedition were so lucky; there was at least one casualty, with two others still missing. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. |
 Cosmic Cat ice cream!  Sonam entertains Abuelita in her outdoor kitchen  Dinner: Achi Taita, Sisa, Javier, Rosa, Yupanqui, Shina, and Sonam See all photos from January 22, 2018 |
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