hairdresser

One would think that after being here for 11 months now, that I might not need some of the modern conveniences that I was used to at home in the U.S.  To some degree that's true, but I have my limits.  I've been going to the same hairdresser here in Cuenca since I arrived in October.  I know that compared to some, where I go is a little more expensive & definitely more modern, but I've been satisfied & hair is important!  Due to my lengthy hospitalization, it had been a very long time since I've gotten my hair cut.  It could be described as lifeless, long, generally yucky.  Way overdue.  Esperanza has wanted me to go w/ her to her hair dresser, but up until now I've wanted to stick w/ the person I've been using.  On Monday I decided to go with her.  We took a taxi of course, because I cannot yet take a bus as they lurch & swerve & my back does not need to be tested to see how much it can tolerate.  Her hair stylist is a single woman (as opposed to where I've been going where there are several stylists & it's a bigger, more modern operation).  There were 4 people ahead of us, which meant a significant wait.  At 1st I didn't mind, especially because Esperanza wanted to go to a phone store to buy a new phone, which meant some walking, which I hadn't done enough of yet, & I'm supposed to walk 2-3x/day.  When we got back to the hairdresser, there were still 2 people ahead of us & the 1 that she was working on involved the lengthy process of having her hair colored.  At that point it was 5 PM & I was getting tired.  I figured we would be there probably 2 more hours, which was too long for me, but more importantly, the 1 sink didn't look like it worked.  When I saw the hairdresser put water from a bowl into a large uncovered coffee pot & plug the coffee pot into the wall, I realized that that was how she heated the water.  This was enough for me to decide that I wasn't going to get my hair done there.  I told Esperanza that I would wait for her while she got her hair cut, but I couldn't wait another 2 hours for mine.  Fortunately she  decided that she didn't want to wait any longer either.  So I spent $5.50 on the round trip taxi ride & never got my hair cut.  I did, however, see how someone could creatively heat water!  Yesterday I went to my regular hairdresser, spent more money than I would have if I had stuck it out at Esperanza's, but I guess I need the modern convenience of hot water coming form a sink to wash my hair.  By the way, I am used to no hot water in the sink at home, but that's for hands, not heads.   

Moving on.....

I'm getting out a little now & does it ever feel good.  On Saturday I had breakfast out with Esperanza & her daughter at her brother's new restaurant.  Great food & the 1st time out & away from the house.  Then I had lunch at my friend Meredith's house.  She is great company.  We always have so much to talk about.  Sunday morning, Rodrigo & Rocio, the parents of  Camila, to whom I tutored English, drove me to Baños, a place where there are thermal pools.  The water, which is heated from lava under the earth, is very warm, soothing, & therapeutic.  My PT had suggested that I walk in a pool over the weekend as he would not be coming for PT then.  Sunday afternoon, my friend Hugo called, offering to take me to get ice cream.  We went to this little place about 15 minutes away, where there was a long line & lots of cars.  Everyone was there for the ice cream.  Reminded me of some special deal on a hot day at Ben & Jerry's.  Then we went for a walk at Parque Paraiso, where there were crowds of people.  Unbeknownst to us, they were celebrating Colombia's Independence Day.  (There are many Colombian's here.)  Many people were flying kites.  Everywhere it seems, they are selling kites.  This is the windy time of year and it's school vacation.  

kites for sale

not bad for someone who was discharged from an 18 day hospitalization only days earlier

Hugo & me (he asked a police officer to take our picture)

additional memories from my medical ordeal

I still review in my mind what I've been through.  The support stands out above everything else.

Many of my memories from my medical ordeal are positive--the outpouring of support will forever be a gift that I will treasure.   One friend took my dirty laundry to her home and washed all my clothes.  (I had a week's worth of laundry because I had been traveling prior to entering the hospital.)  Another offered to pick up the MRI so that Esperanza, who was going to take a taxi to pick it up, didn't have to.  2 people brought flowers.  Visitors were practically constant.  I never felt that I was alone.  My friends became my family.  Aside from Nurse Ratchett and her twin, I felt very well cared for by all the medical professionals.  The doctor who visited me in the hostal in Olón, before I was hospitalized, offered to put more money on my cell phone when I said that I was running low.  This was after he told me to call him again if needed.  I gave him the money and he followed through as promised.  I quite frankly can't imagine something like this happening in the U. S., but this is typical here.  When I walked into my doctor's office yesterday for a follow-up visit, I was so touched by his greeting.  He got up and gave me the biggest, warmest hug.  He did the same when I left.  I think that he was as happy to see me up and about as I am.

One ridiculous/aggravating memory, which I can laugh about now, has to do with the ambulance driver who drove Nancy & me the 5 hours from La Libertad to Cuenca.  About 5 minutes into the drive, we stopped to pick up the ambulance driver's sister.  I guess she sort of came along for the ride.  When we arrived 5 hours later at Clinica Santa Ana in Cuenca, and I was transferred to a stretcher in the emergency room, I was  still laying on a sheet from Clinica Baste, the name of the hospital in La Libertad.  The name Clinica Baste was painted in large letters on the sheet.  The ambulance driver said he had to return to La Libertad with the sheet.  There was no way that I was moving to get that sheet out from under me.  Impossible.  The pain would have been insuportable (meaning intolerable; I like the word insuportable very much because it so accurately describes how I felt).  So I said that I would pay for the damn sheet.  I don't know what 1 sheet costs in the U.S., everything is SO much cheaper here.  The driver said it cost $20.  That was highway robbery, but I was in no position to argue.  I told my friend, Nancy, who had my $ to just give it to him so that he could be on his way.  She did & later said that he & his sister probably went out & had a fantastic lunch.  Oh well.  Really not important.

The end of the vacation to the coast (Part 2, the bad part!)

Nancy & I took it easy the first, which was supposed to be the only, day at the spa-hostal in Olón because both of us had upset stomachs.  We both thought that perhaps what we ate in Agua Blanca did not agree with us.  During the night, not feeling well, I fell in the bathroom, got back to bed, but found that something was terribly wrong with my legs when I tried to get up again.  I could not stand or walk without feeling horrible pain.  It was worse the next day so we decided to stay because I was becoming increasingly immobilized.  A doctor came 2 times to the hostal, giving me an injection for pain, but it wasn't enough.  The following day, 3 men carried me in the sheet from the bed to a car because I could neither sit nor walk.  I laid across the back seat of the car and we were driven to a hospital in La Libertad, which was 1 1/2 hours away.  The pain was excruciating.  Nancy, my guardian angel, stayed with me, helped me, anticipated my needs, and was supportive beyond words.  After 4 days of hospitalization in La Libertad, we took a 5 hour ambulance ride to Cuenca.  This was through Cajas National Park, which has steep, treacherous winding roads that I find scary in the best of circumstances.   I had to holler to the driver numerous times to slow down.

We went straight to a hospital in Cuenca, where I remained for another 14 days.  The pain was off the charts.  I could go on & on about all the trauma of this experience, but the worst was the pain and the ensuing fear of the pain.  I had and still have a wonderful doctor and there were many good nurses, but Nurse Ratchett and her twin sister, unfortunately, were there too.  I also had Esperanza, with whom I live in Cuenca.  She stayed with me in the hospital overnight the 1st 5 nights.  I don't know how I would have managed without her, just like I don't know how I would have managed without Nancy.  In addition to them, I never knew how many wonderful, dear friends I have here--both Ecuadorians and Gringos.  The support that I received and continue to receive overwhelms me.  My recovery has been slow, but steady, and I don't think I would be doing as well as I am without the constant supportive visitors, who have done so many things to help.  As I get more distance from the acuteness of the situation, the memory of the intense pain is subsiding, while the outpouring of help, support, true friendship continues to warm my heart.  I don't think I ever knew what true happiness was until the day I started walking independently again.  My first steps in the hospital were with a walker.  I couldn't lift my legs, only slid them an inch or 2 on the floor.  I believe that I looked like I was over 90. When I was able to walk again I told the doctor that I wanted to hug him.  Before I finished my sentence he hugged me!  This is the kind of  memory that I want to keep, not those of the pain.

I've been home for 1 week, since July 16.  I get physical therapy daily at home.  Esperanza is unbelievably wonderful and I am getting better.  Although slowly, I can walk without assistance.  I can sit without pain.  The word pain is no longer in my vocabulary.  At worse, I have discomfort and my energy level is not what I'm used to, but I do believe that after almost 3 weeks flat on my back, this is to be expected.

I'm happy to say that mostly I've had a positive attitude and even was able to crack jokes on occasion.  No doubt all the support has helped me to be positive.  I will add that of course no one in either hospital spoke English, and although most of the time my Spanish is adequate, it is far from perfect.  It took more mental work than I wanted to use to communicate and understand what was said to me in Spanish, but somehow I did it.  Technical medical terms are hard enough in English and trying to describe the nuances of my pain was at times quite challenging.  I never thought that I would learn the words of bedpan or catheter in Spanish, but I did!!

So our trip to the coast did not end on a high note.  I lost my job as a result of not being able to work, but recuperation is more important.  Six people from my school visited me in the hospital, including several more than one time and many of my students with whom I am Facebook friends, have sent wonderful encouraging words.  My memories of my students and the entire teaching experience leave me with a smile.  I do have some good memories of the trip, but more importantly, I will look back on this experience and recall all the wonderful people I have met here.  This has been a life-altering event.  My priorities have changed.  I am so aware of all the things that I have to be grateful for and my perspective on what is important is not what it was.  I believe that I have come out ahead and feel very good about that.

Vacation to the Coast (Part 1, the good part!)

Since I was between cycles at the school where I teach, and had time off, it seemed like the right time to do some more exploring.  My friend, Nancy, and I decided to go to the coast.  I had been to one beach once, back in February and knew that there was much more to see.

We left on June 22, with the plan to return on June 28, so that I would be back in time to get my class schedule, books, student lists, etc.  We took a 3 hour van ride from Cuenca to Guayaquil, where we were met by a man whom we had pre-arranged to take us to the bus station.  The bus ride was another 4 hours to Puerto Lopez.  All went perfectly.

Puerto Lopez is a sleepy little fishing village on the Pacific Ocean.  It was wonderful being away from the generally cool, erratic weather of Cuenca, to warm rather tropical weather.  We took a 3-wheeled motorized cart-like taxi to where we were staying and settled in.  I loved walking on the beach & getting my feet wet in the ocean.

The plant life is very different on the coast compared to Cuenca:

flower of the banana plant!

The biggest industry in Puerto Lopez is fishing.  

fishermen repairing their nets

more net repair

the fisherman are out before the crack of dawn & are back on sure early in the morning 

bringing the fish to shore from a fishing boat

fishing boat

On Sunday, June 24, we went to Isla de la Plata, which is also known as Poor Man's Galapagos because it's much less expensive to take a day long trip to this island and see some of the same wildlife that can be seen on the Galapagos, i.e., blue-footed boobies & frigate birds.  It was about an hour each way by boat.  We did see some whales come up & then go back down, which was fun.

the blue-footed boobies are very cute;  they're usually in pairs, with their mates

frigate bird 

Probably my favorite day on the coast was Monday, June 25.  We went to Playa Los Frailes, a bit north of Puerto Lopez, one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen,  If the sun hadn't been so strong, I would have stayed there all day.  I did go in the ocean & enjoyed riding the waves.

The afternoon of June 25, we went to Agua Blanca, an indigenous community, where we had lunch and took a tour.  I even swam in the sulphur pool there.

this is the restaurant where we had lunch in Agua Blanca 

women doing their laundry in the river

swimming in the sulphur pool

swimming in the sulphur pool!

wild pigs!

mother pig & her children!

The next day, June 26, we took a bus to Olón, about an hour south, to stay at a spa-type hostal, which was heading south, the direction that we would take to go home.  The hostal was at the top of a mountain, only reached by a steep, windy, rutted road.  Little did I know how different things would be when we left there!

Trip to Susudel--June 21, 2012

On June 21, I went with my friend, Nancy, & a group of other Gringos to Susudel, a town about 2 hours south of Cuenca to tour the biggest roof tile factory in the country, see some weavers who make beautiful rugs, wall hangings, etc. and visit an organic farm.

Surprisingly, the roof tile factory was the most interesting of the 3 places we visited.

one of the machines at the rood tile factory

roof tiles ready to be boxed & shipped

men working on assembly line; picking up a damaged piece of clay that was to have been a roof tile

roof tiles dried & ready to be painted

the oven where they're 'cooked'

boxes of roof tiles

roof tiles on the roof of a local building

The women who do the weaving work very hard & make beautiful tapestries.  Unfortunately for our tour, most of their work was on display, coincidentally in Cuenca!  I had been to the display, so knew what their work looked like.

Update on the last week's adventures

Another week has gone by with the usual high points.  One day last week (I don't remember which one),  Esperanza & I made quimbolitos:

cleaning the leaves

making the leaves flat

Quimbolitos ready to be steamed

Quimbolitos ready to be eaten!

Thursday I went with Esperanza, her friend (& my friend too) Lia, and Lia's son Pancho to Gualaceo to have lunch & do a little shopping.  Lunch was in the big market, where we were served pork straight from its carcass.

Here's what my plate looked like:

Here's the view looking down from where we were eating:

Gualaceo is known for good quality, inexpensive shoes.  We went to many shoe stores.  Lia bought a pair of shoes, but neither Esperanza nor I found any that we wanted.

Thursday night was the 20th anniversary party celebration of CEDEI, the school where I teach.  It was a formal affair in an elegant reception/party hall.  Some dignitaries, including a U.S. consular from Guayaquil, a person involved in the foundation of CEDEI, & others.  Dinner was gourmet, starting with champagne & toasts.  Mine wine glass was never empty as they were very attentive in keeping the glasses full.  Then there were fireworks and little hot air balloons going off into the sky.  Quite the festive event.

Friday night was the last concert of the season (I didn't know there was a season) of the Cuenca Symphony Orchestra.  It was all Tchaikovsky, with a solo pianist, who was fantastic.  After the concert, Nancy, with whom I went to the concert, and I walked around Parque Calderon, the central park area of Centro Historico where the festivities were well underway for Corpus Christi, which began on Thursday.  Apparently there is a bigger celebration of Corpus Christi in Cuenca than anywhere else in Ecuador.  Fireworks, more little hot air balloons than I could count, these paper-wired castles that when lit, sort of explode with quite the fanfare, and mountains of everything sweet:  cookies, candies, sweets of all sorts sold by hundreds of vendors all over the area.

sweets

more sweets 

and more sweets!!

On Sunday I decided to swim again at the U. of Cuenca pool.  It's so therapeutic!!  My friend, Meredith arrived not longer after I did & invited me to have lunch at her apartment after swimming, which of course I did.  She's great.  It's wonderful having so much in common to talk about with her.  We chatted for hours.  Not long after I got home, Esperanza arrived & suggested that we go to Parque Calderon to see the fireworks.  So I went again, this time with Esperanza, her daughter who is home visiting, her sister, and niece & nephew.  Lots of fun and great to go back.  It looked like there was more candy & sweets than Friday night.  Esperanza's niece & nephew (in their mid-20s at least) want some English tutoring, so I will meet with them for an hour tomorrow morning.  I think it will be fun.

Last, but not least, I took photos of my the English beginner's children's class in front of their project.  They made a 'city' and practiced using there is, there are, there isn't, there aren't, and next to, on, under in working on this project.  They did a good job with the project and with their developing English skills.

my students posing behind their 'city'

a closer view of the city they made