new experiences

As of now I have gone out 3 times with my new friend/tourist guide, Hugo, who wants to improve his English, while giving me tours of places that for me have been little secrets about Cuenca.   Last week he gave me information about the statue in the Parque Calderón, central park of Cuenca, which I must have walked past dozens of times, but never took note.  He also took me into 2 magnificent colonial houses, explaining their history, who lived there, what happened in these homes, etc.  Theses are not places that anyone off the street can enter--you must go with a certified guide.  I had no idea what these places were like & really never looked at them beyond the superficial.  Hugo keeps opening my eyes to things that are right in front of me.  How lucky I am!  Today I went with him to Turi, which is a lookout, way up high, looking down on Cuenca.  I had been there before, but missed things that he pointed out.  We also went to the ceramic studio of Eduardo Vega, whose work I have seen all over Cuenca, but seeing his studio and his work on display, gave me another dimension of this well-known ceramacist.

The biggest event in my life is that I made the very difficult decision to move to a different family's home. Suffice it to say that the previous family, with whom I lived for over 4 months, wasn't the right fit.  I do believe, even though it has only been a matter of days, that my current living situation is more my style and will meet my needs.

Last Saturday I went with my new host 'mother' to visit her brother and his family.  He is an unbelievable wood craftsman.  Part of his house is his studio where you can see some of the amazing work that he has done.  He studied at the Univ. of Connecticut and is a master wood craftsman.  He recently purchased a huge machine that is in his workshop which he uses to design wood for furniture--like the backs of chairs, headboards for beds, designs, wall hangings, cabinets, a play set for his daughter, etc.  First he makes his design using specific software on his computer, which somehow through 2 other computers communicates the design to the machine that cuts the wood.  I am/was in awe.  His wife is an equally talented chef.  We had patacones that she made.  She is hoping to open a restaurant here soon & he is making beautiful chairs for the restaurant.  What a delightful experience this was.