Sickies, Taxis, and Babies

A lot has been happening in our family over the last several days; some good, some not so good.

Sickies
Since coming to Ecuador, our family has suffered through some minor sickness or another: altitude adjustments, tiredness, stress, colds, and congestion. As one or two seem to start recovering, another one gets something new. Well, Levi, being the competitor that he is, decided that he was going to win. During the week, while playing soccer outside with the neighbor kids, he apparently cut is finger near the cuticle. Since it was late by the time we called him in, he got himself ready for bed and went to sleep. The cut was not noticed until the next day when it was completely infected and caused his finger to swell. We treated it and saw that the infection was under control and did not think much about it. A few days later, Levi's lips started to get chapped and it is only our guess as to what happened next. Our guess is that over night he rubbed his cracked lips with his infected finger and the infection spread.

If you look closely, you can see white crusties (infection) on Levi's lower lip...and yes, if you are sick you get special privileges, like playing games on the iPod all day!

We spent the next day taking care of him (instead of blog writing!). We were planning on taking him to see a doctor on Monday, but when he woke up, the infection in both places was almost gone. It seems that his body was finally able to deal with it. However, due to all of the stress in his body during this time, he also developed a rash. :-\

Levi resting in peace.

Now that Levi seems to be doing better, we are waiting to see who will fall next.

Taxis
Taxis are our mode of transportation when walking would not be acceptable. We only use a taxi once or twice a week, and we really appreciate the low cost of using them. Probably the main benefit that I get out of the taxi service is getting to talk with the taxi driver. In fact, it is one of my best times for Spanish discussion and practice. Two of my friends learned "street" Spanish mostly by walking around and talking with people on the street. At the time, I was completely amazed at this and wondered how they ever really learned that way. Now, as I semi-freely converse with the taxi drivers, I realize that I am not only gaining confidence in my Spanish, but also learning "street" Spanish as my friends did before me.
(You would be so proud of me mom, the other night I learned a new word from my taxi conversion: embriagado.)

Though having our own vehicle would be a wonderfully nice convenience, there are too many other irons in the fire to worry with it at present. We are looking and considering our options though and hoping that the Lord will open up a feasible way for us to obtain one in the near future.

Babies
This week we visited a birthing center to scope out some options for the delivery of our baby. We found one that we are both very pleased with. The Dr. is a certified gynecologist and is part of a medical clinic where there are various other specialists that work closely together, complete with surgery. However, he has a very hands off philosophy when it comes to birthing which we really appreciate. From discussions with people here, it seems that there is a huge difference in thought processes about labor and delivery here depending on if you are in the city or the country. Here in the city, having a baby is often treated as an illness which you should throw every medical aid into "curing". We are very glad to have found a clinic that thinks differently. :) The Dr.'s wife is also his nurse and works as a doula at the clinic. Alesha liked her a lot and found her Spanish very clear and easy to understand - which at this point in our learning makes a HUGE difference!

The family who recommended the clinic to us was also kind enough to drive almost an hour to come pick us up and introduce us, as well as sit through the appointment, watching the kids so we could both go down stairs and tour the clinic. They were such a blessing! Our God does indeed supply our needs...and in this, even lots of wants.

Enjoy!
Taylor & Alesha

Finding the New Normal

Greetings from Ecuador! Though I am not sure if I can commit to a weekly update as some have requested, I did feel that I had some things to blog about that may be of interest...or at least I found them noteworthy.

Nate facing North at Mitad del Mundo

Around the Home
We made a decent attempt at "normal" life this week: kids started school, I started full-time work from my office, kitchen (with oven!) is operational, bedrooms unpacked and semi-organized, etc. Some may think that it would be better to take more time off to "adjust" to the new surroundings, but Alesha and I have always preferred to "get on with life" and try to set up a schedule. For us, it is better when we get started with a daily routine, then we know what to expect, the kids are comfortable, and we function much better as a family unit.

Tuesday seems to be the day to get things done. Tuesday morning, I woke up to the apartment owner ringing at the door. She had a new stove to replace the one that was currently in the apartment which did not have a working oven. So my neighbor graciously helped me haul the old oven down and the new oven up and he even helped get it hooked up. Also, that same day the refrigerator repair man came by to replace the adjustment knob which had not been working since our arrival.

Last week we got 4 wooden pallets. This week we cut, pulled, hammered, and sawed three of those pallets into practical masterpieces...or something like that. I finished building my desk; I made it a stand up desk. No it does not look beautiful, but it is extremely practical! We (the kids and I) also build a couple of step stools with the principle intention being for Glory to be able to better help Alesha in the kitchen; they seem to be working out well.


Neighbors & New Friends
We recently had a chance to visit with our neighbors and let the kids play together outside...yes, our children are learning to play in the street. Does that make them "street kids"??? The street that we live on is more of an ally, so there are not many cars that drive down it. It was fun to watch Levi and Dan playing soccer and Glory play dolls. Playing dolls still seems to be a very common thing for little girls to play around here.

While the children were playing, we invited our neighbors over for supper...I did warn them that they might be eating "gringo" food. They laughed and said that would be ok...little did we or they know what to expect. We had pancakes. Simple. Right? The Hondurans knew all about pancakes, surely it was not THAT uncommon, right? Wrong! They had never met pancakes and were not entirely sure what to do with them. It was initially a bit awkward, but after the nephew eagerly asked for seconds, I realized it was not too strange. I showed them how to put the butter on then pour honey and then eat it with a fork, not a spoon. The next time I saw the boy, he asked when we could make those pancakey things again!

Ultimate Frisbee
I played Ultimate Frisbee on Tuesday!!!
'nuff said.

The Equator
We visited a city called Mitad del Mundo, which is translated as Middle of the World. There is a large area dedicated to being on the equator (by the way, equator translated into Spanish is ecuador).

Growing Glory

I wanted to mention a few things about Glory from this week. She, being the oldest, is more aware of the changes going on in our life and she is adapting well to her new surroundings. This week, Glory began/continued learning to play guitar (we decided to encourage her in guitar over piano since the guitar is slightly more portable!). 

One day while the boys were all napping, Alesha, Glory, and I played jacks. I then showed her how to spin the jacks and she played with those jacks for much of the rest of the afternoon. 

Look carefully. There are four jacks: red, blue, silver, and green. 

Glory and Alesha noticed that there were lots of birds in the city, so they converted one of our porch railings into a bird feeder. Glory is always on the prowl to catch that perfect shot of the birds just outside the window. 

A few nights ago, while playing in the street with our neighbors, she was asked which place she liked best: Texas, Honduras, or Quito. She responded that she liked them all equally well. She later confirmed my suspicions that she likes the place most when we are together as a family, wherever that is. 

Glory walking the equatorial line. 

Enjoy!
Taylor

Nate's masterpiece...

The three older kids paint with watercolors.
 Nate paints with Ketchup. He doesn't seem to mind.

Granadilla

 While I was at the store around the corner, I saw yet another fruit I didn't recognize. I asked the owner what it was and she told that it is Granadilla. Because I am learning from previous mistakes, I asked her if it was for eating or for juice. She assured me that you just eat them and let me try one that she had broken open. As I left, she gave me one to take home. The shell is light and brittle like a gourd and about as big as a pear. Inside is a whole mess of seeds and gel. After getting over the fact that it looks like a cross between small watermelon seeds and fish eggs, we decided that we liked it. :-P At first we tried to spit out the seeds; this proved tasty, but very time consuming. Thanks to an internet search, we discovered that you are supposed to just chew up the seeds. The kids asked to buy some more next time, so I guess Granadilla is a success. :D

Happenings in Ecuador

Though Alesha has already blogged about some things going on, I thought that I would give a more detailed account of our travels and initial adventures (i.e. surviving the first week) here in Ecuador.

Traveling
Friday, we left out of the Lubbock airport, which ended up being a very wise decision even though there was a slightly higher cost for the extra air travel. Checking in our 12 bags went along smoothly. The flight to Houston from Lubbock was a rather rough ride. In fact, it was so rough that the stewards did not get out to serve drinks until more than halfway through the flight. Also, Glory and I got a bit motion sick toward the end of the final decent; I was able hold on to my breakfast, but Glory was not.

The flight to Quito was uneventful (thankfully). Everyone was tired and it was a joyful blessing once all of the children got some rest. Our little Gorditos all woke up as soon as the meal was served though. At the Quito airport, we must have been quite a sight hauling 12 checked bags plus 7 carry on bags. Bags were balanced like only a Dr. Seuss book could describe.


The Lunch Shoppe
Saturday mid-morning we awoke to a whole new world. On this day, we discovered a small lunch shop just across the street from our apartment. They offer a large lunch consisting of soup, a main dish (always served with rice), a small desert, and a drink. All this for under $2. The catch is that there are no options. They make one meal and serve it. Each day has something different and it is all VERY Ecuadorian. We learned what the locals eat less then 14 hours in the country at this wonderful lunch shop:

The soup that day was a light soup with chicken pieces to make the broth. It was quite tasty, however, as Glory was scooping up a spoonful of broth and veggies, she found an interesting shape on her spoon that she did not recognize. I pointed out that it was a chicken foot. She graciously set it aside and ate the rest of her soup. (I unintentionally set the precedent that day that if we found something that was too strange then we did not have to eat THAT PART, but we did still have to finish the meal.)

Our next trip there was a couple of days later. We were a bit better prepared this time. Our soup was tasty and we had learned that after you finish the soup the main dish comes out, so we devoured our soup this time and awaited the dish. As usual, it consisted of a lot of rice with some small meat pieces. I tried it. The meat was tough. It also was a bit rough on one side. I could not figure out what it was, but my wife, smiling, told me it was "la lengua". Unimpressed, but humored we ate it...thanks to the tasty sauce that it was smothered in.

The people at the lunch place are starting to get used to having gringos around and we are getting used to eating as the locals eat.


Making Friends
On Lord's Day morning we hiked up a large hill to meet with a small gathering of Christians. We enjoyed the meeting and made several contacts that day. The kids, accompanied by Alesha attended the Sunday School for the children their age, while I sat in on a Bible Study. That evening, Glory told me something that was a bit of a surprise for my shy daughter. She told me that she really liked the meetings that day, she made some friends, and that she was excited to go back and see them again! Wow! Glory made new friends, in a new language!


Setting Up House
During our first few days, we spent most of our time trying to set up a house. I say trying, because this IS Latin America after all and things do not always run as smoothly as we are accustomed to. We did have a phone, but no one knew the phone number. Some of the furnishings were not in place yet: washer, beds, chairs to name a few things. Finally, there was no internet service. Yes, there was supposed to be, but for some reason it was not working that week. So for those of you who were concerned for not hearing from us, we apologize, but some things were beyond our control. I know that when my Mom had not heard from me by Monday (day 3), she was in a bit of a frenzy. Sorry, Mom, but it will probably happen again, and more often. Welcome to South America.

We did finally get the internet up and running Tuesday evening. Thank you Lord!


Around the House
Alesha has already started blogging about some of our day-to-day activities here and here. The apartment has a very nice floorplan that puts three of the bedrooms at the back. The extra bedroom we have converted into a playroom. There is also a room off of the utility room that was meant as a "servants quarters"; this is my office. Oh, and while mentioning the utility room, it is certainly something to be envied! We have a small fridge which would be inadequate if there was not fresh produce only 2 minutes from the door. The stove works fine, but we have yet to figure out how to get the oven to function. :-\ Finally, there is the roof! This has only been a recent discovery, but it is very quickly turning into a fun hang out spot. It is where we hang our clothes out to dry and it is spacious enough (and safe enough) for the kids to have some running room.


Around Town
Some notable things that we have done around town include signing up for cable internet service for my job, buying a used washer (and fixing it), and taking the boys to the big hardware store (we spent over an hour there oogling at all the stuff they had).

Of course there is always grocery shopping to do and that is one of the most fun parts about living in the tropics. Though there is no Walmart in Ecuador there is something called a SuperMaxi which is NOT affiliated with Walmart (yet), but it is similar to what you would expect to find in an American grocery store. We don't go there too often. Instead, we prefer to visit the local markets near our apartment. The little "tiendas" are fairly specific in what they offer: fruits and vegetables, grains, meat, locks and tools, bread, etc. Though we may end up going to 3-4 different tiendas to get the best produce and foods at the best prices we like the interaction with the locals. Oh! and the bread shop that I like the best bakes their own fresh bread...mmmm, it always smells so good in there!

That's enough for now.
We found our camera and we'll get some pictures up soon.
Enjoy!
Taylor

Washing!

This kind of washing is cuter, but what I really want to tell you is that my amazing husband bought and repaired a washing machine for me!!! We have a "pila", or as they call them here, a "piedra de lavar" (washing stone) which we used in a pinch while the washer was being delivered and while Taylor dissected it to find out why it screamed like a dying thing when it tried to spin...but yeah!!! We have a washer! That WORKS!!!! :D Our God has been so faithful to supply our needs...and even our conveniences.

Exploring....

...The closet. The boys have had more fun playing cave in there :P For those who haven't heard, we are here! And we have internet!!! And we will try to get more pictures up quickly.