The Beauty of Ecuador

We have not had to travel far from Loja to find some amazing landscapes and beautiful flowering plants and trees. We have been amazed by the beauty of God's creation. This time we will let the photos speak for themselves.

On Being Grandparents

We think it’s true what they say: grandchildren are one of the greatest gifts your heart will ever know. We were so fortunate to be able to go home for a visit last month to meet our precious granddaughter, Charlotte. We marveled again at the miracle of a new baby as those tiny fingers grasped ours. To finally be able to hold her in our arms after 6 weeks of looking at pictures was such a joy! We held her at every opportunity because “you can’t spoil a baby before they’re three months old.” (Not that we would have worried about it. From what we’ve heard it’s a grandparent’s prerogative to spoil their grandchildren anyway.) Needless to say, she was the centre of attention and the longer we were there, the more attached we became.

It’s an amazing thing to see your baby with a baby of her own. It makes us wonder where the years have gone and yet it seems right. To see your children as parents is somehow gratifying and we hope that they have learned from our example, as well as from our mistakes, for we know there were many. In a way, being a grandparent gives you an opportunity for a do-over. The following poem really expresses our thoughts.

We'd wish our kids were small again...

If we were granted any wish, I'll tell you what we'd do,
We'd wish our kids were small again, for just a month or two.
To hear their squeals of laughter, to watch them while they play.
And when they ask us to join in, we wouldn't say, "Not today."

To hug again their chubby frames, to kiss away their tears,
and cherish childhood innocence that washed away the years.
Then when it's story time again, we'd stay a little longer,
to answer questions, sing the songs, so memories would be stronger.

But time is callous, wishes, myth, yet God in all his wisdom,
has given us another chance before we join his kingdom.
Your faces may not be just the same, your names are changed, 'tis true,
but yet the smile that radiates, reminds us so much of you.

God must have known that grandparents would need a chance or two.
For many little happy things we hadn't time to do.
So God gave love to grandparents to equal that before, that,
in effect embraces those little lives they bore.

http://www.dennydavis.net/poemfiles/bbychld/grchild.htm

Although we are again on the other side of the world, Charlotte is very often in our thoughts. Once again, we are relying on pictures, videos and Skype to watch her grow and change. We hope for many opportunities in the future to spend time with her and be a part of her life. She is indeed a gift from God to be cherished.

Life without Lily

It was on December the 10^th that Lily was providing some entertainment for us while we were eating supper, as she often did. (Yes, we had come to enjoy her antics, some of the time.) On this particular day she raced in and out of the room, jumped in and out of the basket on the bookshelf, and tried to climb up the curtains. After this burst of energy she meowed at the door to be let out. Getting out through the skylight was proving to be more difficult since the landlord put a tarp over it to keep the rain out. Although she could still do it, when we were home, she preferred to go out through the door. Dave let her out, and we’re sad to say, that was the last time we saw her.

She almost always returned about the time we were going to bed. This time we thought it a bit strange that we hadn’t heard the familiar meow at the door but didn’t think too much of it. The next morning she still wasn’t there. When she wasn’t there when we returned from school that day, we were starting to fear the worst, although we didn’t give up hope. After several days, however, we were quite certain she wasn’t coming back. After a couple of weeks, we washed her blanket and packed up her stuff. It seemed so final.

As much as we complained about her disagreeable personality, we had come to an understanding. When I petted her as she sat on my lap I just expected that after a few minutes she would try to bite me. Dave came to expect a swat on the leg when she walked past. She even seemed to have learned the word, “NO!”, or maybe it was the fact that we were always coming after her when we said it. But either way, she left the kitchen in a hurry when we yelled at her.

So now, we are once again without a pet. Dave is sleeping much better at night, not having to worry about Lily crashing in or out through the skylight, or meowing at the door to be let in or out. I can sit down to drink my coffee in the morning. We don’t have to worry about getting fleas. We don’t have to clean out the litter box. We can leave the kitchen and bedroom doors open. (It was always a bit of a guessing game trying to find each other with all the doors closed.)

So do we miss her? Yes, actually we do. But only if we spot any rodents will we be tempted to get another cat. 

Christmas in Ecuador

For the first time ever, we were away from all of our kids for Christmas, a time of year that is traditionally spent with family. Although we missed them, and longed to be there (even more so after Charlotte was born), we were really blessed this Christmas.

On December 23^rd we celebrated with our SIM “family”. The whole team got together at the home of one of the missionary families. We enjoyed an evening of good food, games, singing and a gift exchange. Even though we have only been here a short time, we have been accepted and made to feel that we are part of the team.

On Christmas Eve our church had a candlelight service, very similar to services at home. We listened to the familiar scripture passages being read in Spanish and we sang familiar Christmas songs in Spanish. The language was different but the message was the same – we celebrate and rejoice because of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. At the end of the service the pastor talked about us and told everyone that we were away from our family in Canada and that we had a new grandchild. Then he said to us, in English, that they loved us and were glad we were here and glad that our grandchild was well. When it was over, I think almost every person there came and hugged us.

In Ecuador, Christmas Eve is the important day when families celebrate together. Gifts do not seem to be the focus but rather the food and fellowship. We were very honoured to be invited to an Ecuadorian family celebration on Christmas Eve. The woman who invited us goes to our church and has lived in the United States. She said she knows what it’s like to be away from home at Christmas so she asked if we would like to join her family. We arrived at her sister’s place around 9 p.m. Other family members began arriving and there were soon close to 30 people there. Everyone greeted us in the traditional Ecuadorian way, with a kiss on the cheek, as if we were part of the family. Anyone who could speak a bit of English made a great effort to talk to us. Around 11 we sat down for the turkey dinner. When the host proposed a toast before the meal (in Spanish), he was talking about the importance of the occasion and celebrating it with family. Then he looked at us and someone supplied him with the English word “friends”. We so appreciated their kindness in welcoming us into their family.

Christmas Day we were invited to the home of one of the missionaries. They said they didn’t want anyone sitting at home alone on Christmas Day so there were 10 of us altogether. We had a great meal, visited and played a couple of games. Then we were all anxious to get home to Skype with our families. We were fortunate that our internet was working and we were able to talk to the kids later in the day. Not the same as being there, but better than nothing!

New Year’s Eve is probably the biggest celebration of the year in Ecuador. It is more than just welcoming the new year. They have a tradition in which they make life size figures, called Ano Viejo, meaning Old Year. In Loja these figures appeared to be made out of paper mache or some type of hard material and had elaborately painted clothes and faces. We were in Cuenca for a few days between Christmas and New Year’s and there they were stuffed with sawdust or newspaper and were wearing clothes. They were for sale on every street corner. On New Year’s Eve the people light fires in the streets and at midnight throw their “Ano Viejo” into the fire, symbolically getting rid of all the negative things from the year just ending. Then everyone jumps over the fire three times for good luck.

We didn’t venture out on the streets that night, but we watched the goings on from our rooftop. We had a great view of several fires on our street. Following the burning of the Ano Viejo there was an incredible fireworks display. Here anyone and everyone buys fireworks to set off at midnight (with little thought to safety it seems). From our roof we can see all across the city and there were fireworks going off everywhere! We didn’t know which way to turn; they were all around us. It was amazing!

So, we have celebrated Christmas and said good-bye to 2012 in a new culture. Although it was difficult to be away from our family during this time, our lives have been enriched through our experiences here. 

Things You Don’t See at Home: Part 2

Tiendas – These are little shops which we might call convenience stores, however, they are nothing like convenience stores at home. Most are so small that you cannot go inside. In fact, many of them have bars across the front and you have to ask for what you want. It is passed to you through an opening in the bars. Others just have a counter across the front. Needless to say, there is no “looking around” to decide what you want to buy. Most tiendas have baked goods, although, how fresh we don’t know, some fruits and vegetables, and the usual junk food.  Some tiendas specialize in baby things, like diapers, some in paper and school supplies, some in plumbing and electrical supplies. As we walk down the street from downtown to our apartment we pass by many tiendas on every block. Some of them are open from early in the morning until late at night. We wonder how much business they do but it must be enough to make a living.

Street Food – On any given day you will see people selling food on the street. Carts loaded with skewers of meat, candy apples, or frozen treats are common sights. There are many events in the squares downtown in the evenings. As soon as things get underway, you start to see people hauling in their little tables, propane bottles, hotplates and big pots of something (we don’t know what!). They are set up all around the square in a matter of minutes, ready to do business. Again, there are carts loaded with skewers of meat and others making cotton candy. Bags of popcorn also seem to be popular. It seems any event is an opportunity to make a bit of money. We’ve even seen someone with a little table and a plate of sandwiches for sale. I suggested to Dave that maybe we could go home and make some sandwiches and set up our own little stand. But he reminded me that we’re not allowed to make any money here.

Babies on Motorcycles – Here it is the law for the driver of the motorcycle to wear a helmet and most do, although not always on their heads. Sometimes it’s on their arm. Passengers, however, are not required to wear a helmet so very few do. We have seen small children and even women holding tiny babies wrapped in blankets on the back of a motorcycle.

Cows Grazing in the City – Across the street from our apartment is a small park. At the back is a chain link fence and on the other side of the chain link fence we often see cows grazing. It appears to be a fairly large pasture area but we are not sure who owns the land or the cows. There doesn't seem to be a barn anywhere or a place to milk the cows. But then on a bus ride out of town, we have seen women carrying their pail and milk stool out to where the cows are to milk them right there in the middle of the pasture. Perhaps that’s what happens here. I guess we’ll have to take a closer look through the fence.

Gaps Around Window and Doors – Here the curtains often blow in the breeze, and that’s with the windows closed. At first we were amazed that we could see daylight through all the gaps between the windows and the wall and that the door to our balcony is a few centimetres from the floor. When we started to realize that winter was not coming, we knew why the holes in the walls were not a concern. With no heating or air-conditioning bills to pay, it really doesn't matter. Occasionally we have to inhale the fumes from vehicles that go by and Dave is kept busy mopping the dust off the floors but other than that, the gaps are not a problem!

Photocopy Shops – These are similar to the other tiendas but their main service is to make photocopies for customers. There is obviously a need, since most people probably don’t have personal computers and printers. But how much photocopying do people need to have done? On our ten minute walk downtown we counted over 20 shops advertising “Copias”. It is hard to believe that all these shops can stay in business when they are so numerous.

Street Cleaners – Loja is a very clean city. The street cleaning here is done by hand like most other things. These men are kept busy all day, every day, picking up the garbage on the streets and sidewalks. Some have a cart and a big broom made out of branches and others just walk along with a bag. The public garbage cans are few and far between so most people seem to just drop their wrappers and bits of garbage on the sidewalk. We wonder, if there were more garbage cans around, would it put someone out of a job, or would people not use them out of habit?

Laundry (and other things) on Rooftops – Everywhere you look over the city, you will see laundry hanging out to dry on the flat rooftops. Clothes dryers are obviously a luxury here. And really, when the weather is always nice, why not hang your clothes outside to dry? There are some roofs that are not flat and have all manner of plants growing out of them. As mentioned in Part 1, there are many dogs around and when they’re not on the street, they’re on the rooftops looking down at us. I just don’t think we’d trust little Ollie on the roof with no wall or fence or anything around the edge!

Venders Outside the School Doors – Here the schools, like almost every other property, have a wall around them, opening right onto the sidewalk. When school is out and the kids start flooding out onto the sidewalk, there is usually someone with a cart, immediately outside the door, selling ice cream treats, little trinkets, some sort of egg white “cones”, and anything else that might appeal to kids. They seem to do a pretty good business and consequently, there is never a shortage of work for the street cleaners either.