We're keeping busy, but also have relaxing times at home and away. We generally have to go away, to an internet cafe to get online, so you're not hearing as much from us. Thanks for personal notes, for prayers, and for keeping in touch :)
We've made a habit of stopping for a scoop of locally made ice-cream on the way home from our afternoon classes each day....it's just so hot we can't resist! Kent always has the same, maracuyá (passion fruit). The rest of us like to try a variety: cappucino (local coffee beans); camu camu (a jungle fruit); guanabana; queso y canela (cheese and cinnamon, both fresh); mint chip (fresh mint and cacao); strawberry chip (both fresh); pinapple (fresh, of course); rum raisin (both fresh!); mango; chocolate with peanuts (both fresh); etc. Amazing!
Other new habits include.....
Luisa now eats all day long; seems like a growth spurt coming on! Her favorite snacks here are hard-boiled eggs and mixed nuts. Nice and healthy, and snack carts are in good supply here. She hasn`t tried the hard boiled quail eggs that are sold on the street; she sticks to chicken eggs that we boil at home. One day she ate a total of 7 hard boiled eggs!
Magdalena has taken a liking to the granadilla fruit, with her record being 10 smallish ones in one day. They are a strange looking and textured fruit, but cheap and delicious. Magdalena also has gotten smart about when to take her daily (cold) shower, and tries to get it in while she`s still sweaty in the evening :) Once the sun sets at 7pm and the air cools (8-9pm) it's harder to motivate ourselves to jump in a cold shower.
Kent´s new habit is taking warm showers with the help of boiled water. The rest of us are too lazy to take the time for this kind of preparation, and our hosts think it`s kind of funny, but they understand at the same time. Rosa is happy to aid Kent in his shower preparations and they enjoy his happiness after a nice shower :)
One of Teresa`s new habits is getting up early to open the curtains and windows. The bedroom windows are closed at night to keep out mosquitos, but in the morning cool air pours in when we open them. I love to lay in bed, feel the cool air and enjoy the amazing scenery of green mountains, fruit trees and all kinds of birds. I`ve been watching a hummingbird that regularly visits around the house, quite large by our standards, and colored in greens, purples, browns....just gorgeous.
We´ve also been developing some new skills....
Luisa has become very skilled at flagging mototaxis, and directing them to pick up her slower parents! She took on this job when I was having foot pain, so didn´t want to walk very far to locate a taxi. She takes off running from the house and returns in the taxi with a big smile! We wonder what the taxi drivers are saying about us!
Magdalena is develping amazing teaching skills. She is doing quite a bit of small group teaching in our classes, and she`s also offered regular teaching session to Kent, since she`s dismayed by his grammatical mistakes (in Spanish). After some conversations, Kent is graciously receiving tuturial sessions from Magdalena and his Spanish is improving by leaps and bounds! So, I guess this is also a report on Kent's new skills.
Teresa is becoming more skilled with determining when to hang out laundry around the rainy season showers...but this was reported in a previous post :)
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