Ecuador 1/11/2019 - 2/2/2019 |
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Monday, January 14, 2019 - Working remotely, Sisa attends English classOvernight I felt quite sick, with a headache. I also vomited a few times. This seems to be a fairly common occurrence when I am acclimating to the altitude. Still, I had to get up early to work today. Luckily, it is not daylight savings season, otherwise I would have to go to work an hour earlier.Before breakfast we enjoyed looking at photos that our dear Bhutanese son Sonam Tshering had sent to us. He and his bride Sonam Choki had a wedding celebration in Shelmakha, Bhutan over the weekend. We had been eagerly awaiting these photos, wishing that we could have been there to celebrate. Exactly one year ago, Sonam Tshering had been here in Morochos with us, enjoying time with the family. So much had changed for him over the course of a year! We announced his marriage to the family yesterday. They were especially intrigued that his bride's name was also Sonam, though this is a fairly common occurrence in Bhutan. Bhutanese culture traditionally has had a limited set of names, and they are used interchangably among genders. When we brought up the subject, Yupanqui immediately said that it's now tomorrow morning in Bhutan. The whole concept of time zones had obviously made an impression last year! When we emerged from our casita, the kids had already left for school. At 8 o'clock we had breakfast: fried egg, bread, ham, cheese, coffee, and juice. When I told Rosa that my stomach had been upset overnight, she went to the garden and picked some tea to prepare for me. We love the fact that they grow much of their own food and natural remedies. While we were eating breakfast, El Señor Chipikins was obviously hungry. He went under the kitchen counters where his plastic tote of dry food is kept and rubbed his neck along the lid to see if he could open it. When that failed, he kicked it so it tumbled onto its lid. He got his point across and Rosa fed him. We then enjoyed chatting with Antonio and Rosa. I went upstairs to what will eventually be Sisa's bedroom and logged in to work on my laptop at the little desk next to the bed. While I was working, Aida took a suitcase of pajamas to Ibarra to sell. Rosa walked up to the community school to volunteer. She helps with bookkeeping and procuring the the school food. On Mondays and Thursdays, Sisa goes to English classes in Ibarra. It makes for a very long day for her...she goes to school at around 7:30 a.m., and is dismissed from school a bit early so that she and Antonio can catch an hour and a half worth of buses to Ibarra. Then she has two hours of English class, after which they catch the bus home. They usually arrive at around 7:30 p.m., making it a 12 hour day for poor Sisa. Luckily her teachers don't give her homework on these nights, as she barely has enough energy to eat dinner and go to bed. She loves her English classes and takes them very seriously, and we are so proud of her! For lunch we had chicken soup, spaghetti with meat sauce, and juice. The kids were very quiet at lunch, and we wondered if they were very tired, or possibly not feeling well. They denied that anything was wrong. After lunch, I went back upstairs to work. When, I was done, I returned to the casita. During the afternoon, Shina became sick with a fever (explaining her earlier lethargy), and went to bed before dinner. Yupanqui was very attentive to her, which the family says is a common occurrence; he likes to take care of his little sister. Antonio and Sisa arrived home from Ibarra. For dinner, we had chicken fried steak, boiled potatoes, rice, radish salad, and juice. Antonio was helping Yupanqui to cut his meat when Yupanqui spontaneously burst into song. "Tingolayo, come little donkey come...my donkey eats with a fork and knife!" This was a song that Sonam Tshering had taught them last year and that they had really latched onto. It made us realize that Yupanqui is making connections with English words as well...his grandfather cutting meat with a fork and knife brought that English song to mind. As he and Sisa sang the song together, they then segued into "Jump jump jump jump - hey!", a haka-like song and dance that Sonam had also taught them. It was great that they have such fond memories of their time with Sonam! We went to bed soon after dinner, as it had been a long day for everyone. As we walked back to the casita, the flood light shone through a layer of fog, casting a picturesque glow over the casita. |
 Steph's office  Shina with El Señor Chipikins  Yupanqui, Sisa, and Shina See all photos from this day |
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