The South American Way

   Every day we continue to learn new things, new ways and a new language.  We don't expect the Ecuadorians to know English, so we are working very hard on learning as much Spanish as we can. Fortunately they are really patient with us as we try to explain what we are trying to say. Google translator is great if you have internet and a computer nearby.  Once we get settled more, we hope to take some Spanish classes to help us along.  Watching tv with the Spanish subtitles has been a great way to pick up new words as well. Even the dirty ones : ). 
   Living on the coast we do not have the shopping available to us that the larger cities do. We travelled to Guayaquil this week to try to find some things that we couldn't find in Salinas or La Libertad or to find more choices (such as light fixtures). Hiper Market only has so many items available.  We hired a bilingual driver (Juan) along with his pick up truck to make the trip to Guayaquil. One of the big stores there is Boyaca, which has many household items.  Juan also took us to another area, where we were able to find a new couch (which is actually comfortable and fits us). Most of the Ecuadorian furniture is very hard with not much padding. It also doesn't fit us larger gringos very well.  Juan was an expert in maneuvering around the crazy city of Guayaquil.  I have never seen people drive so crazily. 
   Since last weekend was a holiday weekend here, there was more people around and some of the homes were filled with famlies visiting from out of town.  We met our other next door neighbors for the first time. They are very nice and also live in Guayaquil.  They don't speak English but we were able to introduce ourselves and them to us. Then they brought us over lunch the next day.  We are so fortunate have such kind neighbors.  Our caretakers, Jimmy and Mirian cooked us lunch on Sunday. We are definitely enjoying the Ecuadorian cuisine. I have no idea what is in most of what we eat, but I can tell you it tastes awesome!  Our friends, Gary and Kathryn have had us over every Sunday since we have been here for dinner.  It is always delicious since Kathryn is a great cook. This week we had Gumbo with sausage and shrimp. It was so yummy! And her desserts, over the top good.
   Kathryn had 3 very small kittens at her house this week that she was trying to find homes for.  I was very tempted, but the timing is just not right for us.  With all the construction and noise going on, together with the fact that the kittens weren't much more than 4 weeks old and needed a lot of attention, we just couldn't justify it.  John really wants a dog, so that may be what we get eventually.
   John and I continue to walk as much as we can.  Walking along the beach is my favorite of course, but I get very distracted with all the shells and things there are to pick up .  I am still running at least three times a week, just to try to keep in shape.   There is a very heavy police presence here in Punta Carnero. The police are always driving up and down the road.  We have gotten to know a couple of them and I know they watch out for me while I am out walking or running.  They always honk or toot their siren when they see us.  I guess we kind of stand out a little...  John and I really saw how much taller we were than the average Ecuadorian when we were riding the bus to Guayaquil and we were the only ones whose heads stuck over the seats.  It was pretty funny. 
    Construction on the house is slow right now as we have decided to re-tile the entire house.  The tile won't be in until next week.  Then we can finish up some of the other things.  Hopefully the kitchen construction will start soon as well, since that has been the most challenging to be without.  Thank goodness to our friends, Bob and Freda for loaning us a George Foreman grill so we can have some hot food now and then : ).  When we get going on the tile and the kitchen, I will start posting more pictures.