I was wrong.

Ecuador is experiencing their worst drought in decades.  Since Ecuador is so dependent on hydro-electric power, the government has begun to ration electricity.  We have had the power turned off for 4-6 hours most every day.

A while ago, we had issues with the water supply as well.  We are still keeping an eye on that.

Please join us in praying for rain.

Here’s the list:

1.  Copy of cédula of identification.  We don’t have a cédula. We have a censo, which is the identity card for foreign nationals.  I am told that this will suffice.  It has so far for all the other things we have had to do.

2.  Copy of your voting papers.  In Ecuador, the law says that everyone must vote.  It’s not just a right, it’s an obligation for Ecuadorians.  You have to produce this paper every time you do any type of other paperwork.  That’s their way of enforcing the voting law.  We have been told that we don’t need this either, because we are not Ecuadorian.

3.  Copy of blood type and group.  We had to provide this once already.  It involved three trips to the Red Cross to find someone available to do it.  Fortunately, we still have our card, so all we have to do is make a copy.

4.  Two color carnet size photos.  I didn’t even know what a carnet size photo was until we got here.  It’s a little bit smaller than a passport photo.  I think we have already printed and supplied enough of those to wallpaper a small bathroom.  But we’ve only got one left for each of us, so we have to get some more made.

5.  Original of the Legalization Form of the Non-Professional Certificate to Drive.  That’s the form, signed by four different people, that says that we passed the exam given in the drivers’ ed course.  That’s one of the forms that I picked up the other day.

6.  Original of the Non-Professional Certificate to Drive.  This is a suitable-for-framing (if anyone would want to) diploma-like certificate that says we finished the course.  I picked those up from the other day too.

7.  Medical Certificate of health.  This is a new one that we are not too sure about.  The lady at the drivers’ ed place said we could get a certificate of health from any hospital, including the HCJB hospital in Shell, but we have heard from one of the other folks here that they would only allow a certificate from an Ecuadorian hospital.  We’ll see.

8.  Pass the Provincial Transit Commission exam.  This is twenty multiple-choice questions, mostly on the traffic laws and the consequences of disobedience.  We’ll need to bring all of the above paperwork in order to be allowed to take this test.  If we pass, we will (supposedly) get our licenses.

So we will proceed through this list.  Hopefully, it’s the last list.  But it wouldn’t surprise me if some things change between now and the time we complete the list.  Maybe we’ll have our driver’s licenses shortly, and maybe not.  All told, it has been a great exercise in patience.

There is a faucet on the back wall that is connected to the ultraviolet filter under the kitchen sink of the guest house upstairs.

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Borrowing our neighbor’s little red wagon makes the walk to the house a bit easier.

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Pour the red ones to the blue one, and we’re good to go!

Please email us back if you would like a high resolution version to print out.

“200 meters south of the Margarita Laundromat,

San Francisco de Dos Rios,

Southeast corner,

Orange and White house.”

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Old Address - Orange and White

Well, the trim color was recently painted, so our new physical address is:

“200 meters south of the Margarita Laundromat,

San Francisco de Dos Rios,

Southeast corner,

Tan (café con leche) and White house.”

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New Address - Tan and White

These are not used for mailing addresses, only to tell someone where your house is.

It’s hard to believe that we have been here in language school for a year already.  We have made many new friends, and will miss them when we move to Ecuador on April 15.

When we arrive in Ecuador, our plan is to spend a few days in Quito before traveling to Shell.  Our mailing address there will be:

Steve and Diane Wilson

Hospital Vozandes del Oriente

Shell, Pastaza, Ecuador

Please only send letters, no packages, until we understand the mail system better.

Here is a more recent picture of our new house in Shell.  We’ll be in the left half.  The renovations inside are continuing.  Hopefully, it will be close to ready when we arrive.

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Our House in Shell

We are both taking a Grammar class.  But we have made some changes for our Language portion.

I (Steve) am taking the FARO option.  It’s an acronym for Facilitator, Ayudante (helper), Route, Observe.  Every week, I meet with at least 7 local people to discuss various themes, all in Spanish.  I review these themes with my helper, and discuss them in class with my facilitator.  Here is a picture of me with Henry, one of the people I have been meeting with.

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Henry owned a restaurant in a food court about a ten-minute bus ride from here.  I use the past tense because last week when we went to visit him, his restaurant was closed and locked.  I asked the lady in the restaurant next door, and she told me that he had gone out of business.  I called the phone number that he gave me, but it was disconnected.  I miss him already because we had some great conversations, and it was always so positive talking with him.

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Diane has chosen to have a private language teacher.  Maritza, who is a teacher at the Institute, comes to our apartment two days per week for an hour and a half.  This has worked out really well because Maritza is tailoring her teaching to language and vocabulary that is relevant to what Diane may be doing in Ecuador.  Here is a picture of Maritza and Diane at our kitchen table.

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Only 60 more days in Costa Rica   -   but who’s counting???

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Here is the outside of the house, taken in 2007.  It is a duplex, and we will be living in the left half.

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Here are a few interior pics that were just taken last week.  Looks like a lot of work to do.

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We’d like your opinion.

How do you like to communicate?  How do you like to be communicated with?  How can we best communicate with you?

Here are some options:

Blog entries on our website

Monthly (or regular) formal newsletter

Facebook

Short e-mails about daily life

E-mails with pictures

Snail Mail

Please tell us what you prefer.  Choose as many as you like.  If you think of another means of communication, please let us know that as well.

We can’t guarantee that we can do all of them all of the time, but we will probably do all of them some of the time.  Your thoughts will help us in determining how best to keep in touch.

Can’t wait to hear back,

Steve and Diane

We are back in Costa Rica after taking some time between trimesters to visit friends and family over Christmas and the new year. School starts next Monday, January 12.

First, we went to Maine and were greeted by a minor snowstorm. Then a few days later, we got another foot of snow. I (Steve) got a chance to practice my snow shoveling skills.

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We took the train to Philadelphia to visit Vicky and Jason and kids. The train is so much more relaxing than flying. And the elapsed time isn’t much different, all things considered.

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We were able to visit and speak (and sing) at two different churches while we were in Maine.

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Visiting with kids and grandkids is always a joy.

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We were greeted our second day back here with an earthquake. It was a bit unnerving for those of us not from earthquake prone areas. We only had one picture fall and break. People in other parts of the country were not so fortunate. Here is a link to one news story. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090109/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_costa_rica_earthquake

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We went over and set up the night before.

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Since turkey is so expensive ($40 to $75 per bird), we opted for chicken.  There is a place nearby that makes a great roasted chicken, so we ordered 20 of them to be delivered.  Most deliveries here are done on motorcycles, and the delivery person had to make four trips of five birds each to get them to us.

Delivery on the back of a motorcycle

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Five chickens per foil pan = four trips

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Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and we all got plenty to eat.  What a blessing!

The food table, after the first round

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Check out the Photo Album for more pics.

Now, we are in Costa Rica.  And the wind is blowing and it got into the 50’s here last night.  With no heat in the houses here, that means low 60’s inside.  And you guessed it, we’re feeling a bit cold.  I know, no sympathy from the northern folks.  That’s ok.  Even though there is no heat and you can’t close the windows completely, we have sweaters and blankets so we’re surviving just fine.  And in a couple of days it will be back in the 70’s and 80’s.  But I have a new understanding of my Dad’s point of view.  Yes, “cold” is a relative term.