Ecuador 7/20/2023 |
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Thursday, July 20, 2023 - Quality Time with the FamilyWe woke up around 10:00 a.m. I was originally supposed to have a job interview at 9:30 a.m., but the company postponed it since I wouldn't necessarily have stable enough internet access to have a video call. I was glad that I didn't have to have an interview this morning, as I was quite tired after yesterday's long travel day. Instead I was able to sleep as late as I wanted.We had crepes for breakfast, mora (blackberry) juice, and much-needed coffee. Then we went upstairs to Sisa and Shina's newly painted and tiled bedroom. It looked beautiful. All of the kids congregated in there, and we played Jenga and did a puzzle. Craig went downstairs to get our casita in order. We have certain supplies which we keep down here so that we don't have to schlep them back and forth each time we visit. The casita is comfortable and having our things makes it a true home-away-from-home. Nena speaks a lot more than she did when we last saw her in October. She sings "Baby Shark" in English. She points to the brand name of the freezer ("ecasa") for us to read each letter aloud. When we get to the last letter ("a"), she repeats it. Then she points to a Dora the Explorer sticker on the fridge ("Dora Exploradora"), and a sticker of the earth ("mundo"). She then repeats "mundo." It is her little ritual that she would perform every day for the duration of the trip. She is so cute, happy, and very affectionate. (Note: we would find out as the trip progressed that she is not always happy and affectionate. She is a three-year-old who is still at times in the terrible two's.) One-year-old Kuri is adorable and very chill. He just hangs out. He is not walking on his own yet, but he has the strength if not quite the balance. He has two little teeth on the bottom, and they are sharp! He doesn't have stranger anxiety, which means that he will allow himself to be picked up by me and will sit happily on my lap for extended periods of time. The family has three pets: Negra the dog, as well as two cats (one of whom is the mother of the other one). They also have close to 30 chickens: roosters, hens, and baby chicks of varying sizes. One baby chick is black and so tiny! Its mother often sits on it to protect it and keep it warm. Lunch was corn soup with cheese, chicken, potatoes, radish, carrots, and broccoli. We had fresh pineapple juice to drink. Sisa practiced "Dust in the Wind" on her guitar. We played with Kuri and Nena. Craig and I made coffee in the late afternoon to stave off tiredness. Yupanki wants to be a chef and helps with cooking. For dinner we had tomato soup with popcorn, fried breaded shrimp, fried egg, French fries, tomatoes, and lettuce, with freshly made juice to drink. Nena went to bed mid-dinner because she was so exhausted. We always bring a jar of spicy Lao Gan Ma chili crisp with us when we visit. We had first tried it in China and we love the spiciness. The family was originally hesitant, but eventually Antonio, Aida, and even Yupanki have fallen in love with it. Aida put some on Yupanki's plate, and he said in Spanish "Protect me Lord with your spirit." Everyone cracked up! We went back to our casita for the night shortly after 10 o'clock. |
 Shina and Kuri  Yupanki, Sisa, Shina, and Nena See all photos from July 20 |
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