Feb. 4, 2011 - Finishing the first week of school in Cuenca

Today, Friday was the last day of the first week of school for Ricardo and I. This might be a long blog as I will include our thoughts and things about life with our families and school. First a couple of quick things - we do love this city and it is very cosmopolitan and bustling as any city. There are about 400,000 people and maybe about 800 (supposedly) foreigners here. I have a feeling that this is just the beginning of a future influx of foreigners.  

Yolanda's daughter Bernarda

Our families I live with Yolanda (50 years old) and her 21 year old daughter Bernarda. Yolanda's ex, Diego is still very much a part of the family and they refer to each other as novio's (boyfriend/girlfriend). Yolanda has never cooked vegetarian before but is enthusiastic with everything I make and lets me help in the kitchen whenever I want (which is most of the time). She tells all her friends whenever we are with them about all the combinations of veggies that I have made and we are even planning to hold a "salad making vegetarian cooking class" one of these upcoming weekends. Our home is the third floor of an apartment building and it is 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and simple in design. I am happy to have my own space though we all spend alot of time talking together when we are all home at the same time.

Mi "mama" Yolanda





My house - top floor on the right.

 















Richard's family is composed of a grandmother Mariana, her two daughters (one with husband) and two grandchildren and in addition, one unmarried son which means it is 7 plus Ricardo making 8 in the family - a typical latin american family. Often one of the uncles comes over for a meal. In his house he has his own room (taken from one of the daughters) but they all share one bathroom so Ricardo comes home in the middle of the day for his shower!  They enjoy meals together and Mariana does all the cooking, in fact she does not even want Ricardo's help cleaning up after meals. He is getting spoiled again and I hope I do not have to send him back to "husband's training school" after our time in Cuenca!

El puente de amates - the bridge that we meet at each morning

A typical day for us

We both meet on the bridge which is less than a 5 minute walk from each of our houses - on each side of the River Tomebamba (which runs through the city).  We walk, speaking spanish to each other all the way for 30 minutes to school. Then we have classes from 8-noon with a break at 10:00 when all the students and teachers gather for snack and tea/coffee. It is a fun part of the day as we get to meet some of the other students. This school only offers one-on-one teaching and it is geared to the students level and needs. The first day I had a test and nearly freaked out and went home because it seemed so hard, confusing and I could not remember much of what I learned (or at least that is how I felt). Nevertheless, I was placed as an intermeediate and am reviewing all the tenses that I have learned with some new information and vocubulary. My teaching day goes like this - review homework, read a short story with a moral and then discuss the story, grammar review, conversation, more grammar if needed that day, reading for pronounciation and understanding yesterday a discussion on a controversial subject.  Richard's teacher spends more time on conversation. Next week we will trade teachers for a few days to experience different teaching styles. At the present time our plans are to stay here for the whole month - not sure what accomodations for the whole time but you can stay tuned for that.  At about noon we leave school and walk back to our homes for "almuerzo" the big meal of the day. I usually help cook and we eat together, often with some friendss of Bernarda's joining us. Richard has some subset of his family for his meal at 1:30.  Then we walk back to school when their is an afternoon event (including - city tour, cooking class, museum tour or salsa dancing) every day except Friday. Then back home for evening meal and computer for me and TV for Ricardo.  We have had several friends from San Miguel visiting in town so we have met up with them a few times and also have some new friends that we met at the hotel that we stayed at the first few days, along with some from school and will probably catch up with them next week.

And a little more....

Last weekend, the first day with our families, my family took Ricardo and me to two small towns outside of Cuenca that are known for indigenous crafts - one is Gualaceo and the other Chordeleg. We were able to go to the studio of a weaver who dyes all his own yarn and makes IKAT, a type of weave. Of course we bought me a scarf (and one for Yolanda too).  We have been to a "panama" hat factory. Panama hats actually originate in Ecuador and most are made in Cuenca and the small surrounding towns. They are really called Montecristi - named for the most famous town of its origins in Ecuador. In the 1800's the Spaniards exported them to Panama and soon the world began thinking they came from there. They are still made here, each by hand and there are several levels of hats. Here they run from 20.00-500.00 but apparently they can be bought in the US for much higher prices. I have not chosen mine yet, but I am surely going to get one - they are very lightweight.


Weaving IKAT - a type of weaving style



Church in Chordeleg

Today, still Friday as I am writing, both of our teachers took us to a marketplace where indigenous women use plants, eggs, herbs, flowers, water and not sure what else to bless people and to remove evil spirits. They do this for adults and children. They also can be seen spitting some liquids on their clients.


my professor - Mayra



Richard's professor - Patricia

in the market

We've arrived in Ecuador - still January 2011




Vulcan Sangay - over 15,000 feet - a view from the airplane

 After spending one night at an airport hotel in Mexico City we flew to Bogota, Columbia, Quito and then on to Cuenca, Ecuador. I had done lots of reading during the flights from our Lonely Planet Guidebook and knew that we were flying over volcano areas and was amazed to see this sight - Vulcan Sangay which is over 15,000 feet. Here you see it above the clouds from our plane. Now we are even more excited to visit some of the volcanos in the national parks here in Ecuador. Following a good night sleep we headed out he next morning to see some of the sights of the town. There is really so much to see and do - many museums and churches as well as plazas, shopping and a beautiful river running right through the town. Actually there are 4 rivers and hence the original name given by the Incas of Tomebomba which means many rivers. Here is just one of many views from the river looking at the houses along the Barranca - ridge above the river. It is a very clean and cosmopolitan city with flat stone streets which are much easier to navigate than San Miguel. Sidewalks are also much wider. The people before the Incas were the Canari people and there are still decendants of these people living in Cuenca and the surronding areas.

View from the Tomebomba River in Cuenca

 

 

View from Turi - the mirador above the city

 We took a tour bus around town to get the lay of the land and find out all the places to return by foot. A fantastic view from Turi - the Mirador above the town showed the large size of this city - somewhere between 300 and 400,000. There is so much to see and we are trying to pack in some before the beginning of our classes which start next Monday, Jan 31st. We are also all set for our homestays beginning Sunday. Our houses are just a few blocks from each other and within a 20-30 minute walk from school. I am nervous but excited for that part of our adventure.

 

 Back to Cuenca. Right by the river, right in the middle of town are ruins called Pumpungo which were Inca ruins. It is always amazing to see such ancient history in the proximity to modern times. Tomorrow we are off to the largest Inca ruins in Ecuador - Ingapirca and I shall write about that in the future.

 

 



Replica of gardens at Pumpungo



 

There are many churches in town and during a bus tour we heard the driver say that you could go to a differrent church every Sunday for a year without repeating. I don't think it is on our "to do" list but we may at least visit a few. The inside of this large old church on the main Parque Calderon has an alter all in gold and silver. It is one of the largest churches in all of Latin America.



Blue tiles from Czechoslovkia



Cajas National Parque

These next pictures are from our trip today to Parque Nationale de Cajas - about one hour away from Cuenca by local bus. Our 2 1/2 hr hike was around this lake with all kinds of beautiful scenery and a variety of plants, trees, flowers - distinctly different than city life. It is a 'must see' and I am sure we will go back for several of the other hikes. I had wanted to visit all the National Parks in the USA but now will have to add some more as this was just amazing. Like our National Parks - there are well planned hikes and rangers to explain them all. Many take guides for the more complicated hikes and we may do that in the future. 



Cajas National Parque





Cajas



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  Cajas as we were leaving and clouds rolling in - over 12,000 ft

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Happy Hikers at Cajas National Parque
















Llama at Cajas



Here is a typical Cuenca indigenous woman - called Cuencana's and they dress in this white hats and skirts with different embroidery at the bottoms which represent their home areas.


una cuencana



January 2011 - the year end and the new year begins



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Our 20th anniversary



Laura and Noah with us for the last week of 2010



We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary on Dec 30th - going out to dinner to "El Tomate" and then a very different New Years Eve than our many past ones - usually we celebrate with friends at the beach - often a quiet night. This year we had big fireworks at the "jardin" to bring in the new year. It was the finale to a big December with guests every day which was wonderful but I would by lying if I did not admit that I was quite tired by the end.

We left early on January 1st in a rental car to the town of Xilitla, MX which was about a 6 hour drive through windy mountain roads from San Miguel. We went with our friends Bob and Marybeth Bates and both hombres did the driving. Though it was a rough ride for the stomach - it was SO very worth it for the sights both along the way of the mountain scenery and for the final destination - Las Pozas which is outside the town of Xilitla.

(From Wikipedia) Las Pozas ("the Pools") is a sculpture garden built by Edward James, more than 2,000 feet above sea level, in a tropical rain forest in the mountains of Mexico. It includes more than 80 acres of natural waterfalls and pools interlaced with towering Surrealist sculptures in concrete.


Las Pozas is near the village of Xilitla, San Luis Potosí, a seven-hour drive north of Mexico City. In the early 1940s, James went to Los Angeles, and then decided that he "wanted a Garden of Eden set up . . . and I saw that Mexico was far more romantic” and had "far more room than there is in crowded Southern California”. In Hollywood in 1941, his lifetime friend and cousin from Paris, British born Magic Realist painter Bridget Bate Tichenor encouraged him to search for a surreal location in Mexico to express his diverse esoteric knowledge. In Cuernavaca, he hired Plutarco Gastelum, then a young manager of a telegraph office, as a guide. The two found Xilitla in November 1945. (We stayed at the hotel which is owned and managed by the daughter of Plutarco.)

Between 1949 and 1984, James built thirty-six concrete follies - palaces, temples and pagodas, including the House on Three Floors Which Will in Fact Have Five or Four or Six, the House with a Roof like a Whale, and the Staircase to Heaven.There were also plantings and beds full of tropical plants, including orchids - there were, apparently, 29,000 at Las Pozas at one time - and a variety of small casas (homes), niches, and pens that held exotic birds and wild animals from the world over. Massive sculptures up to four stories tall punctuate the site. The many trails throughout the garden site are composed of steps, ramps, bridges and narrow, winding walkways that traverse the valley walls. Construction of Las Pozas cost more than $5 million. To pay for it, James sold his collection of Surrealist art at auction. James was a friend of Dali, Magritte and other surrealists. I have included several pictures of our time at Las Pozas and have many more for those who wish to see them.

 



"The Wedding Ring"

 

These hands are about 6 feet high




The Necktie door



At our hotel - La Capilla



Our friends whom we traveled with - Robert and Marybeth



Now we are winding down our time here and getting ready for our travels to Ecuador. We leave on Jan 23rd for Mexico City and then on to Cuenca, Ecuador. This month is filled with spanish study, especially for me. I figure that I should cram as much into my brain as possible before I start my immersion experience.

I suppose that my next post will come to you from Ecuador....will have to change the title of our blog to something else during those upcoming 7 weeks!

Happy New Year to all and much love.





Last post of the year....Feliz Ano Nuevo

Guanajuato - capital of the state - about 1 1/4 hr from San Miguel

 The last few weeks of December brought us a few more family to visit in our large house at Vergel #1. We did similar activities with many of the guests and visiting Guanajuato was one of them. This is a beautiful city where most of the roads are underground. At one time it was the richest city in the world - because of the gold and silver mines. With Alan and Marilyn we had a tour of the mines which was new for us.
We managed to have time for most of our usual activities and our guests joined us for many - yoga, spanish classes and of course our weekly breakfast with NC friends - usually at Mama Mia's. This is always a chance for guests of the various families to meet each other and we always catch up on what we have been doing all week. It is amazing how retired folks can have so much to do!



One of the weekly breakfasts at Mama Mia's



The gang in Guanajuato

Richard, Nancy, Bryna, Greg, Sadie, Ben



Sitting at the Jardin



Christmas Pinata



One of the activities for every day is sitting at the Jardin - the central square in town in front of the church where it is great to people watch, read or relax. We were all lucky to see the fantastic light show on the Parrochia (the large church in town) which was designed for this year's bicentennial activities. We celebrated Christmas here for the first time - pinata's everywhere, usually in this star shape. There are posadas for the nine days before Christmas where folks go from house to house replicating the time of Joseph and Mary. They are turned away several times before being invited in. We were passing by one in our neighborhood and were invited to join with sparklers and candles as we walked and then invited inside for a prayer service with many children after which they received a bag or gift of candy which was to replicate a gift from god. We were a large jewish contingent yet it was very beautiful to see their rituals and religious celebrations. During the whole Christmas season there was no commercial activities and there are no gifts on Christmas - just a family dinner. We understand that there is simple gift giving on the "Three Kings Day" which is January 6th.



The larger celebration was the birthday of The Virgin of Guadalupe who is the patron saint of Mexico. On that day there were parades and many fireworks. Here is Alan walking behind the parade.

Alan joins the parade!

One of our side trips was to this very large Sabino Tree with an incredible root system. This is in a nearby town called Huerta, a very small pueblo.

The Sabino Tree

Now the year is coming to an end. We have our nephew Noah and his wife Laura with us this week and once again visiting our favorite places.

I would like to take this time to reflect on the gratitude we have for this wonderful life and for each other. I am writing this on Wed, Dec. 29th just before our 20th wedding anniversary which is tomorrow and I cannot think of a better way to celebrate than being together in this wonderful land.

We would like to wish you all a very happy New Year and may 2011 bring you everything you wish for.

December visitors, holidays and good wishes for all

December has been a busy time for us. We rented a fantastic and large home at Vergel #1 which is in Col. San Antonio so we would have room for our many family members visiting. First came Alan and Marilyn who stayed for over 2 weeks and we had a great time showing them all our favorite sights. Alan took no time finding new friends to "help" both with their home projects and with Casita Linda which is a program similar to Habitat for Humanity which helps build homes for less priviledged folks in the "campo" (countryside outside SMA). They both joined me out in San Miguel Viejo, the afterschool program called Ojala. Alan helped with the woodworking and we helped with the weaving class.

During most of December I took an off loom weaving course with Patricia Robeles (see picture at right) and learned many stitches using different fibers. Hopefully I will continue with this on my own as I enjoyed it very much and found it very meditative.
We spent many morning hiking up the canyon to the Botanical Garden and then down through the streets of the city. It was hard keeping up the pace with Alan but we all enjoyed the challenge. We have continued this tradition with all the guests who have followed.  During the time Al and Marilyn were with us we also had Nancy Reiss and Gary Hinz who were visiting from New Hampshire. They stayed at a small apt that we found for them. Shortly before A & M left, Nancy (sister) arrived and she just left today. During her week with us we had our cousins Greg and Bryna Rapp and their great teenagers Sadie and Bryna. We had fun again showing everyone our favorite places which included La Gruta (hot springs), Botanical Gardin, Artisan Market, Fabrica Aurora, jardin with special light show on weekends, Christmas Posadas and other holiday events and a progressive meal day yesterday to celebrate the holiday with our friends from NC and their families.
We kept up some yoga and our spanish classes during our visitor days and are winding down the year.

 I'll write a bit more before the year ends but will take this moment to wish you all Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year.

We are grateful for all our good fortunes and our wonderful friends and family and the chance to spend this incredible year here in Mexico and experience a wonderful culture.

Love and good wishes to all.

Arte en CASA - an art show

We have both been taking art classes weekly with maestra Liliana Zuppini. This is different for both of us as neither of us were doing painting in our past art experiences. Richard normally did b/w drawings of the nude or sculpture and I did collage and fabric art.

Here you can see Richard's three pieces - Llorona (crying woman); Amigos - which one is pulling which??; and a man with a flute and spirit coming from the fire.

This was an art show of all Liliana's students and here we all are at the opening of the show. It was a fundraiser for another worthwhile organization - CASA and I sold a piece and made a donation to the organization. (Thanks Marion!)

My pieces are - Inside the Instituto Allende with butterflies - my attempt at perspective and detailed architecture; Los colores - photographs and words with mexican designs painted in the orange and green piece. Lower left is cut paper and paint - Guanajuato which is a town near us; and lower right is Circulos (circles) of buttons, paint and other found objects.