2012 Cuenca Perspectives Collage

2012 Cuenca Perspectives Collage
VIVA CUENCA

VIVA CUENCA!

My mission in publishing this blog is first to provide a living history of my settlement and life in Cuenca, and to provide myself and the reader with a journal account delineating my reasons for why I have chosen to settle in Cuenca. Second, the posts are my way of staying in contact with family and friends back in the states, and to provide them with an understanding of a country and culture that most North Americans have little knowledge and awareness. Third, the blog is open to one and all who wish to compare and contrast the experiences of expat bloggers living in Cuenca, so that you can determine whether or not from your perspective Cuenca is an appropriate move for you. Fourth, my blog provides another example of how expats view and interpret life in Cuenca. Ecuadorians and Cuencanos who may read this blog are especially invited to post comments that may enhance all expats understanding and appreciation of Cuneca and its people, or to correct any misinterpretations in my assumptions and perceptions of Cuencano culture. Finally, I hope I can convey the feeling of love and appreciation that grows within me each passing day for this heavenly city nestled in the Andes and its very special people.

Monday, October 1, 2012

VACATION ALONG ECUADORIAN COAST: PART I

Eight days were spent on the Ecuadorian coast.   We had a fluid group of traveling buddies throughout the duration of the eight days. We made our way from Cuenca to Guayaquil in three and a half hours, which was a record for me.  The fog- covering was heavy, so not much to see at the higher altitudes.  I was most impressed with the bus station in Guayaquil.  In a country that has no functioning rail road system, except for one line that I believe has more appeal to tourists, and in a country where most Ecuadorians do not own cars; buses become the main mode of transportation.  I hadn't seen anything like this since I was a kid and Chicago was the railroad hub of the country.  The then two Greek style temples that made up the station with a walkway under the street that adjoined the two stations was congested with passengers back in the 50's and 60's.  What I enjoyed most was my mother, I, and my brothers as we made our way on the Milwaukee Road Hiawatha to Wisconsin Dells to visit my maternal grandparents, uncles and aunts, and an incredible number of cousins over the years.  Traveling in early June meant school was out for the summer.  The Union Station in Chicago would have literally hundreds of nuns of every order imaginable scurrying about as they searched for their respective trains, and made their way to their order's mother houses for two months of relaxation.

The Guayaquil bus station was mammoth, modern, and clean.  While the station was big, it looked even larger because located above it was a large mall.

We proceeded to take a bus to Salinas.  Salinas has a facade along the ocean of modern day high rises that are reminiscent of Miami Beach.  However, with nowhere near the action or the egregious prices of Miami Beach.  The swimming and jet skiing was good here.  Little else was happening during the week.

We stayed on the edge of the strip, so we had to walk about twenty minutes to the beach area.  Our first night we walked in the opposite direction of the strip in the hope we would  find a nearby restaurant.  Meeting with little chance of success; we came across a restaurant, with an expansive patio, and a convention center/hall as well.  However, the small complex was open only on weekends and this was a Wednesday night.  There were three men sitting inside the restaurant watching television.  One of my amigos rang the door bell.  Believe it or not, we were invited in, and the owner offered to cook us dinnersThe dinners were quite good.  It included soup, of which Ecuadorians excel.  The juice was not watered down, the main dish of chicken,plantain and rice was good.  Price was only $2.50 for each of us.  It was like an amuerzo (lunch plate), but far better than most.  We came back another night and while the owner was fixing us another plate, we played billiards with some of his friends, and took the customary photos.  I thought I took some photos, but I guess I was using some of the other guys cameras to take photos for them.  I hate lugging my camera about.  It's a nice Nikon, but bigger than most cameras.  I also get tired of being an observer through a lens, when I want to be busy being part of the experience.  Yet I also want the photos.  What's a fella to do?

While eating dinner, the hombres setup a makeshift screen.  This is a shout out to my brother Ron Mola, who is a huge Andre Rieu fan as we watched the DVD while eating.  The owner said he was a big fan of Rieu and had the complete collection of all of his DVD'S with the Johann Strauss  orchestra.  Rieu is a Dutch violinist, composer, conductor and creator of the Strauss orchestra.  Rieu and the orchestra perform all over the world.  Surprisingly, everybody enjoyed it, and were contented to sit through the concert.  One Ecuadorian amigo especially liked it, which was easy to believe, Ecuadorians seem to love every kind of music, and know the lyrics to so many songs.

Our next stop was Montanita.  Unlike Salinas, Montanita is compact in size and easy in which to maneuver.  The town or pueblo is arrayed in color and life.  Everything is located at your finger tips.  There is a tremendous amount of colorful products, which some are of value and others just junk.  The merchandise and souvenirs fill the booths and open front stores that are a trademark of Montanita.  People can drink openly in the streets, and the town has a reputation for drug usage.  Of course, if that is what some people want to do, if they have the money, someone will have the product any where in today's world.  

There is some hippy-like influence here among the young.  Montanita appeared to be very safe.  There were times when I walked the streets by myself at night, and I never saw or encountered any kind of problem.  Especially on Friday and Saturday nights don't expect much sleep unless you find a hotel or hostel in the right area, which is either above the main route that parallels Montanita, or a place like our hostel which faced the beach, and was down from the other end where discotec music was blaring maddenly.  

We had a tremendously good time in Montanita.  The waves are bigger than in Salinas, and we were able to watch surfers perform.  Rather than sit in noisy discos each trying to blast its music louder than the other, and paying bar prices for booze; we bought our beer from the local tiendas, and spent the first night on the beach until  sunrise as we met people in their 20's and early 30's.  Some of these young people would become part of our group; not only in Montanita, but also as we made our way to Puerto Lopez.  Saturday night was the big night.  Many people were on the beach and we positioned ourselves closer to the music from the discotecs, where we could dance to the music while enjoying the beach and the sound of the waves as they rose to a cresendo and then broke across the shore line.  

Next we headed to Puerto Lopez.  This was a town that had many activities to do in and around it.  We could swim, take a day trip out to Isle de Plata, snorkle, view whales in what was their last two or three days of the mating season, when they would no longer stay close to shore.  Horseback ride and hike in the Parque Nacional Machalilla, which is about a thirty minute ride northeast of Puerto Lopez.  You may read more about the forest and activities on tomorrow's second posting, which is primarily photos with some comments.

It had rain the night before, and the top part of Machalilla was very muddy, and extremely difficult in which to maneuver since the altitudes were high and steep.  Going up was bad enough as the horses in this five and a half hour combination of riding and hiking, at times needed a rest or could not carry us up the steep inclines and down the equally challenging slopes.  Going down was as bad as going up, because the natural inclination of our weight was to rush us downward.  I wanted more than anything not to belly flop in the mud.  Like the typical Norte Americano, whether going up or down, I wanted to bull doze my way through.  Others in the group had to tell me to take it slow, relax, no hurry, don't push against nature, ride and walk with nature.  My buddies gave me a free lesson on Daoism, which I should have remembered.  One of the fellows in my group showed me an easier way to incline and decline, which was a help.  Then I ran into a narrow not very deep ravine, where I lost my footing on the way down and fell on one knee, which led to one pant's leg completely covered in mud.  Other than that, neither I nor any one else suffered a spill.

My horse the entire trip would not stop eating.  The lead horse barely attempted to eat any of the vegetation.  However, by the last thirty minutes the lead horse began to act very strangely as he began to take wide weaves from side to side sometimes almost wanting to move in a circular fashion.  Needless to say, our horses followed whatever path the lead horse took.  I don't know if he ate some marijuanja leaves, or if he was famished from so little eating during the ride.  I really thought the horse was going to keel over with my amigo on it.  Nevertheless, we made it back to where our guide lived His wife had a hearty meal waiting for us.  After which we headed back to Puerto Lopez.

Carlos, our guide, spoke very little English.  Both in this adventure and the one to Isle de Plata, I had to depend on others who spoke and understood sufficient Spanish to provide me with a synopsis.  I am in awe of Carlos.  Not just his love for the forests, but by the fact that he walked the entire ride, either walking from behind or leading the horses from the front when all of us riders had to hike through the mud.

The biggest payoff for most of us was as we entered the steepest part of altitude upwards we began to see monkeys.  These were not your ordinary monkeys.  These monkeys were at least the size of chimpanzees.  Possibly even a little bigger.  I marveled at how they could be found in the tallest part of the tree branches, which are the newest and weakest.  From those branches they would swing to another branch, and the branches always held their weight.  Later that evening, a couple of the girls said that we may have seen Spider Monkeys.  I don't know one monkey from another, and after we literally spent forty minutes spotting and shooting photos of the monkeys, the fog kept the photos from being very clear.

The Parque Nacional Machalilla was a welcome relief with its greenery from the extremely dry brush and low lying trees along the coast.  Don't think that the Pacific coast of Ecuador looks anything like the West coast of the United States, nor like most of the East coast. nor like the coasts of Hawaii.  No wonder the coastal areas of Ecuador have been among the last to be settled.  No doubt everything is green during the first quarter of the year when there is a combination of rain and sunshine.  For those of you in the Chicago area, the coastal areas are less attractive than along the Indiana Lakeshore Dunes National Park, following the lake up to Warren Dunes state park just across the Indiana border in Michigan.  Along the coastal areas we visited, we saw no dunes.  One Ecuadorian has told me that the best coastal areas are in the northwest corner of Ecuador in what is known as the Esmeraldas, which are also located across from the Galapogos.

I need to withhold judgment on the Parque Nacional Machalilla, although it is part of the Amazonas (Amazons), we entered what was basically the perifery of the park.  It might be fair to describe this part of the park as jungle with low lying trees and dense foilage.  The park from our bearings was more a reminder of a number of the state parks in southern Indiana.  Nice forests, but lacking the mammoth trees one finds in Sequoia and Redwood National Parks, or parks I have visited in Japan where the trees tower over you, are hundreds if not a couple of thousand years old, and it takes at least four adults to extend themselves around the tremendous girth of the tree.  Possibly deeper in the Ecuadorian rain forests or maybe into Brazil one might fine the slow growing hard wood trees like Mahagony, Ebony, and Teak that one associates with tropical rain forests.

Puerto Lopez was overall a low-income area of friendly people, which we could observe as we made our way through, to, and from the national park and view the homes.  Many people lived in concrete buildings with concrete floors often no bigger than a garage with electricity and running water.  Some even has TV dish satellites.  Advantages for such Ecuadorians compared to other countries is that they did have a roof over their head, and there is mostly enough food grown in the rich top-soil of Ecuador to keep the people's stomachs full.  I would not refer to these people as poor or poverty-strickened.  I find such terms as condescending.  These people are not victims.  They are rich in family and community.  They are rich in the respect that they overall demonstrate to one another.  The children are happy and playing outside continuously.  Compared to the many disfunctional, affluent families in the states today; these people have what is lacking in much of the states, which is a spirit of well-being that material things at a point begin to produce the wholesale narcissism found in the states among many people.  In fact, the problem has become so bad that the American Psychological Association, an organization which never lets scientific evidence get in the way of its major pronouncements, declared this past year that narcissism was no longer a psychological disorder, because it was so prevalent in the United States.

I did see more men here than in Cuenca, who did not work. Drinking is a major problem, but only to those who see drinking as a problem.  Many of these hombres do not.  It has been an engrained part of their culture for a very long time.  There are also men like Carlos, our guide through the park, who absolutely work their behinds off to make a living.    

Saying goodbye to new found friends the next day as well as everybody heading to various destinations, left us with one unanimous agreement we did not want to leave the coast.  Once I and my orginal traveling buddies reached Guayaquil, they chose to spend a couple of nights visiting the Malecon.  I had already experienced the Malecan area when my brother and his wife visited in March of this year.  No doubt I will do likewise again if any other friends or family members come to visit.

I headed back across the Cajas in a van.  When we entered the Cajas it was very foggy, so I didn't expect to see much.  Keep in mind that when we left Cuenca about 1:00 p.m. to start our trip, it was one of the most sunny and warmest days at that time that I could remember.  We would not see the sun again the entire trip until the van made its way through the Cajas.  Suddenly, out of nowhere the fog lifted, and we saw into deep valleys and gorges for almost an hour before it became too dark.  I had reached the point when I ride through the Cajas to either sleep or study SpanishWhen one generally reaches the high altitudes, fog with a possible intermittent break is all one will be experiencing.  There was a young couple in our van from French Canada who only had time to spend one day in Cuenca.  This couple lucked into it as they had their camcord whizzing.  We arrived in Cuneca and the rain and drizzle was waiting for us, but we were able to see some awesome views of the Cajas, and the ride took only three hours, another new record.

Some travelers might be put off by the heavy cloud cover this tme of year.  I wasn't.  The temperatures were warm, without being scorching.  I did not want to spend the day on the beach under an umbrella.  Despite the heavy cloud cover, the intensity of the sun at the equator is so great that I still was able to tan in a week.  The water was at a nice swimming temperature, although I will never like the salt in ocean and sea water

I also need to say something about the food.  When I was in Playas with a friend many months ago, fishermen would come up to us in the open-air restaurants and attempt to sell us live fish and lobsters.  For five dollars a piece we bought live lobsters just caught that morning.  The lady with whom I had traveled according to the fisherman's instructions took the lobsters back to the hotel, where the desk clerks kept them in their bags behind the desk until 5:00 p.m., which was about the time the fisherman told us that the lobsters could live outside of water.  We then took the lobsters over to the same restaurant from that morning, where the owner had the cook prepare them for us and he also provided us with all the sides and beverages for the price of five dollars per lobster.  In other words, we enjoyed a lobster dinner for ten dollars a lobster.  There was nothing like this in any of the three coastal towns we visited.  We never even saw any fishermen from the coast fishing the same way Jesus' disciples fished with nets 2,000 years ago.  I found all of the seafood and their preparation not to be on par with what I had experienced in Playas.  The seafood was about the same in quality as one could find in many places in Cuenca.   Most likely, fishermen may have been out earlier with their catch.  I can just share with you what we experienced.

What really made the vacation so great and so enjoyable were the people, especially the young people we met along the way and with whom we had spent time.  Having taught and been an administrator at the secondary and college level in the United States, I probably feel more comfortable relating to young people than most people my age.  It was also special in the sense that I was not having to play "the heavy".  I was very proud of myself that I could keep up with, and at times even ahead of some of my young mates.  Of course, everything in life is not perfect.  There is always that yin and yang.  Upon returning home, I discovered I lost my ATM card, and I came down with a bad cold two days later. Not even the perfect vacation is completely perfect, but I wouldn't trade the last week for anything.   

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

THE PALERMO VIDEO

Recently, I received a video from a gentleman, Mike Harrison, who has been an avid reader of my blog.  I receive many compliments usually by email about the quality of my writing, and the information packed in the posts that have proved helpful for many readers who consider visiting or making a move to Cuenca.  However, no one has ever paid me as high a compliment as Mike.  Mike was so impressed with my photography and how I generally format it in a way that tells a story, that he made a video using my photos.  The video is of my Palermo photos and is of such a high quality, that as I emailed to him, "The Palermo owners should be paying you for your highly professional presentation."

Mike, his wife, Sharon, and his son, Nolan will be moving to Cuenca in July of next year.  Mike's professional background has been in Web Page design and professional photography.  No doubt the Harrisons will be a welcome addition to the gringo community in Cuenca.  Mike's video effort, which was a complete surprise to me and the first time we had contact with one another, really is appreciated by me after all the frustrating hours I have posting photos and figuring out all the different photo programs I have endured.  It makes what so often times feels like a humongous loss of hours worth the effort. Thanks, Mike, and Haste Luego.

"http://www.youtube.com/embed/HP1paT0gU18

Monday, August 27, 2012

LIVING LIFE IN CUENCA



It has certainly been some time since I have posted.  I owe my apologies to some friends back home who wondered if I was all right, and I ask your forgiveness for failing to respond to some of your emails.  I am doing fine.  I have just been very busy the last two months with company, with particularly studying Spanish with an excellent tutor, and with endless frustrations with Internet problems.

Otherwise, at least until today, the weather has been unusually warm for what is suppose to be Cuenca's coldest temperature averages during the year in August and September.  Compared to last year at this time, it has been quite sunny for Cuenca and the rains have subsided.  It has been reported by one climatologist (for whatever that may be worth) that Ecuador for the remainder of this year is expected to have 40% less rain than last year at this time, as well as 40% warmer temperatures.  Since I returned from the states in June, there definitely has been a fall-off in the amount of rain we have been enduring.  Well, at least until today’s rain and chilly temperatures, which led me to only the second time this year that I used my Endu-Pure heater.  Last Friday, however,  was so absolutely beautiful, no breeze, sunshine, warm temperatures—just a perfect day of paradise in Cuenca.

My biggest frustration in Cuenca has been the Internet Service.  Without going into a long tirade about Etapa, the largest Internet service in the city, a story in itself that I do not want to relive.  I will just say I dropped Etapa for Punta Net, and I am very happy with my decision.  I also dropped Direct T.V. Cable simply because I don’t watch enough television, most of the programming is in Spanish, and what channels there are in English are usually reruns.  Of course, I’m talking about the basic package.  

With Punta Net I have the mega power to be able to stream live T.V. programs and free movies.  While Punta Net is not cheap, one truly needs to buy the five mega package to be sure videos and streaming will run effectively.  The price is still ten dollars cheaper than when I used Etapa and Direct T.V.  The price is also forty dollars cheaper than what I last paid eighteen months ago in the states for Comcast Cable T.V. and Internet service. However, no more than I dropped Etapa, they came up with a much less expensive package than Punta Net.  However, Etapa's service is lousy to the nth degree, and you will never receive the megs they promise.  Much of Etapa is still phone line usage, while Punta Net increasingly is installing and using fiber optics for their lines.  To date, Punta Net’s service has been excellent.  In fact, they showed up one day earlier than their appointed day for installation.  Yes, such things do happen in Ecuador.

No more than I am getting through all the adjustments with the Internet service and how to use all the new programming, then YahooMail decided it was time to attempt to raise my blood pressure.  Someone hacked into my email, or I had picked up a virus from another email.  The virus broke into my contacts, and spread the virus to whoever received an email from me and clicked on it, which then spread the virus to all of their contacts.

Then for a week, I was unable to receive emails.  Another night-marish attempt to get the problem resolve.  I love Indians. I love India.  However, don’t put me on the phone with one more Indian who has no idea how to resolve the problem.  I read recently that we have a right to ask where the customer representative is located, and we can request and be given a customer representative in the states.  I decided to exercise this right, since the American government is busy taking away all of our other rights day by day.  I was told by the Indian customer service representative that it was against corporate policy to divulge their location.  I had it with the wasted hour and talking in circles.  I fixed and ate dinner, and an hour later decided to try again.  I received an American speaking representative, who within 45 minutes had the problem resolved and worked with me until we were assured all was rectified. 

It took days to get from reporting in type each day to YahooMail’s Help Center before I was given a code number and provided with a telephone number, so I could finally talk to a real person.  All my emails ­­­­­­during that week were bounced back to their senders.  Some daily financial and news emails were removed when my emails  were returned to them as undeliverable, and time was wasted returning to the source to get the emails restored.  For a few days I lived without any Internet problems. Of course living without Internet problems never lasts more than a few days with me.  I continued to receive emails, but suddenly I couldn’t send or respond to any emails.  That took three days to resolve.  So goes the bane of my life and electronics.

My computer problems have been a blessing in disguise, as I spend less time on the computer.  I loved spending the last few weeks late at night in my Man Cave--being the history buff that I am—watching the ShowTime series on “The Tudors”, and then the HBO series on “Rome”, which dealt with the fall of the Republic and the rise of empire.  The focus was mainly on Julius Caesar and the first Roman Emperor, Octavian.  The Tudors were filled with political and sexual intrigue, but Rome made the Tudors look like Puritans.  It sure was nice sitting in my very comfortable lounge chair, with a relaxing glass of wine, and watching two or three episodes late at night, and giving myself and the computer a rest.

Otherwise, I have not been socializing much in large group settings lately.  Rather I have been getting together with friends over intimate lunches or dinners.  I was sorry to have to say goodbye to two good friends, Jim and Carolyn Lawson, who chose to return to the states to live and are currently residing in New Mexico.  They are missed, and I especially miss Carolyn’s homemade bread.

The only exciting thing in Cuenca lately was the burning of the seminary located adjacent and to the rear of the New Cathedral.  Fireworks are very unregulated in Cuenca.  Displays are often times launched from the sidewalk in front of the New Cathedral with the crowd standing only a few feet from the action.  A balloon type of firework was launched, but made its way into an open window or space in the seminary area of the complex, and at that point folks really had something to get excited about.  Fortunately, the New Cathedral itself was not subject to any damage. Those of you who have visited Cuenca probably ate at least one meal at Ramipampa’s and possibly had ice cream at Tutu Freddo’s.  Both businesses which are also part of the block complex of the New Cathedral have been closed for what is anticipated to be about 45 days.

That’s pretty much it for the time being.  Best wishes to all of you.  I’m sure you’re glad to see the end of a very hot long summer approaching. 


Sunday, July 1, 2012

OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CUENCA, ECUADOR

It was recently brought to my attention by a friend, Al Bourassa, a professional photographer, (Shameless advertising for photos we have for sale:http://saccc05.tripod.com/)  that the city of Cuenca issues a monthly calendar of events produced by "Official Guide to Cuenca, Ecuador".  

"Gringo Tree", which emails one to three times a day to those who sign up for its email list, does a fine job of listing events, rentals, items people wish to buy or sell, or people just looking for particular services.  However, social and cultural events are often times not submitted to "Gringo Tree" until days before the event, which means people are not alerted until almost the last minute about such events.  A monthly calendar allows for people to plan their schedules around any particular event that transpires in any given month. The calendar also provides the user with a graphic web page of all events in one month.

The monthly calendar offered by the "Offical Guide To Cuenca, Ecuador" unfortunately is quite sparse in the events listed for the month of July.  Certainly major city-wide and neighborhood social, athletic, and cultural events should be listed.  Workshops and other things of that nature should be listed as the sponsors present them in the prior month to the officials responsible for the publication of the "Official Guide".  Since the calendar is a computerized web page, events can be added as they are submitted, and the viewer can click on a particular event and additional information is provided.  Nevertheless, it is the convenience of early listings at the beginning of each new month that allows the viewer to make ample use of the calendar.

Officials need to work closely with the universities, the Cuenca Orchestra, and other concert venues as examples of events which should be submitted to the Guide Office well in advance, so that the events can be placed on each monthly calendar in a timely manner.  For example, I would think the Cuenca's professional futbal team and those of its two major universities, as well as the venue for the season of the Cuenca Orchestra are set months in advance.  I would suggest that somebody working in this department should have the responsibility to follow-up on procuring the schedules for these type of events from these major venues rather than wait for them to be submitted.  The monthly calendar can be a valuable asset to residents and tourists alike, but only if the events are listed.  

I know from the last two years that this is the month where I believe it is called the Church of St Carmen on the square of the Flower Market, which will be having cultural and religious activities on the square each evening for a week.  Some of these activities involve music, traditional dance, plays, etc.  It would be nice to see what is being offered each evening and approximately the time, so people can plan ahead to whatever nightly program may appeal to them.  Tourists, for example, would only stumbled across nightly activities like these by chance, and I know people living in Cuenca who are unaware that such events are even taking place.

The "Official Guide To Cuenca, Ecuador" does a very good job of offering a number of informational tabs that once again can  prove of interest to both residents and tourists.  Below is a copy of just one example on Geography taken from the "Official Guide".  The Guide includes tabs that provide information about hotels, transportation, Carnival, Handicraft Basin, history, Basic Cultural Heritage, places to visit, other activities from churches to adventure tours, etc.  There is also a tab that deals with services from the consulate, to mail, to hospitals, to laundry, and a great deal more.

If you have not already visited the "Official Guide to Cuenca, Ecuador" site and live in Cuenca, or plan to visit Cuenca, or are seriously thinking of moving to Cuenca; I would encourage you to browse this site.  My congratulations to the officials responsible for putting such an attractive and informative site together.  Make the monthly calendar more useful and complete with events, and the site will be perfecto.
Here is the link to the site


 http://www.cuenca.com.ec/cuencanew/
 

http://www.cuenca.com.ec/cuencanew/calendar 



 

Geography

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

RETURNING TO CUENCA


I haven’t blogged in some time.  I was way too busy while in the states, and working through my usual computer problems, which for me is a way of life.  First, I stayed with a friend for three weeks who had no Internet connectivity.  My days and evenings were busy, so I accessed the Internet when I could visit at a commercial establishment like “Starbucks”.  Since late in the evening was usually my best time to access the Internet, these places were usually closed.  I had better access during the week I spent with my one brother, and the weekend with my son was too busy to worry about the Internet, except for quick email checks.  While in Miami, I faced more connectivity problems at the hotel I was staying, and by the last four days, my computer went into a permanent sleep mode, and I or no one at the hotel had any idea how to wake it up.  After returning to Cuenca, it took Jose Cortez, the computer whiz, less than two minutes to fix the problem.

Technology problems were not helped any when after buying time to reactivate my Trac Phone from my last visit to the states, it wouldn’t work after I enjoyed one successful call from my son.  I finally had to have the company send me another phone, and go through the whole process of reactivating, and then getting my minutes transferred from the old phone to the new phone, as well as getting a new number.  By the final days of my trip, I had all these unused minutes that will expire in seventy days and are only usable in the states.  I also managed to leave a power cord at my son’s home.  Me and technology, the miscues just never end.  Other than the usual technology problems, everything else went well.

May was definitely a summer month in Chicago.  Except on the day I arrived and the day I departed, which were extremely cloudy and rainy, Chicago had beautiful weather with no rain all the other days of my three week stay.  Oh so much sunshine, and temperatures that ranged from the 60’s well into the 90’s.  I remember five days of 90 degree temperatures, with two of the days setting new records, one of which reached 97 degrees.  The beauty of it was that it was warm or hot without being humid.  Everything was so clean-looking and green, and in full foliage a month ahead of schedule.  It was really nice to be away from the daily rains of Cuenca.  I read at the beginning of my trip that an Ecuadorian meteorologist had stated that by the end of May, Ecuador should be over its La Nina.  Since I’ve returned the fall-off in rain has been very significant.  I hope I’m not jinxing us in Cuenca by even bringing up the topic of rain.

The big event while home in the Chicago area was the surprise celebration of my mother’s 90th birthday.  It was definitely a surprise for her, and it was great visiting with old family friends, some of whom we had not seen in years, as well as the many relatives from my mother’s and late dad’s side of the family.  The dinner was followed with socializing with out-of-state guests into the evening and over breakfast the next day, as out-of-state family members made their way back to Wisconsin and Ohio.

My mother's sister, Dorothy, and her husband Bob along with some of their adult children put together a printed family album of photos, most of which we do not have in our own family albums.  This was a really appreciated surprise.


A special thank you to my niece, Jennifer Banham, who spendidly handled the design and printing of the invitations, the mailing, and the RSVP's.


Also greatly appreciated was the gift of the Brownd's, Ron and Sandy, who did a professional job of taking the photos of the day's big event.

These are some photos from the big day:

Photo: Grandma's Cake






                  Mom at age two or three.



Jim Mola and Bernice Weber married on October 12, 1943.



            Greeting Table at the Birthday Party





Gamba's Ristorante Reception Room






Mom enters with my brother, Ron, thinking she is attending dinner with just the immediate family.





Mom is one of nine children.  Her brother Harry, and Ken (Duke) Weber are still with us, although unable to attend the event due to advance age.  The youngest member of the family, Dorothy Wick, mom's sister who will be 81 in November is having a little fun with mom as the various guests approach with hugs and well wishes after having shouted "Happy Birthday",  when she first entered the room.



Mom's sister, Dorothy Wick, Mom being hugged by her niece, Carmelina Spiccia, and Mom's youngest son, Ron.



Various toasts and testimonies were offered during the dinner.




               We only made mom blow out one candle from the birthday cake.






Mom thanked everybody for their coming and having been a part of her life.  Mom was not short on words once the microphone was placed in her hands.  Her last comment was, "And I don't want to wind up in no damn nursing home."





This is my brother Leo's family with his wife, Carla; his daughter, Jennifer and her   
husband, Dominic Banham on the left; and their son Brian and his wife, Christie on the right, with their two children, Joshua (21/2 years old) and Toby less than two months.  Their son Danny, and my two sons, Marc and Chris were unable to attend the event.  



Mom with her three sons, Ron, Jim and Leo






The oldest generation and the youngest generation--Mom with the youngest of her two great grandsons, Toby.


The greatest gift my mother and father ever gave us three boys besides their love was a strong sense of family pride and responsibility, which was handed down to them and their siblings from the generations that came before them.




Like the last time when I visited home, we experienced great weather the two days we traveled into Chicago, and the day we spent in Indianapolis as well.  With my brother, Leo and his wife, Carla, we walked along the three mile round-trip canal, the countless townhouse and condos, and the new museums—all of which were beautifully done and examples of the reconstruction and beautification that has taken place in so many American cities over the last twenty years in their efforts to revitalize downtown and nearby areas.  I only wished I had a few more days to spend at home with family, friends, and an additional trip or two into Chicago.

My brother, Leo and his wife Carla, who visited me in Cuenca about two months ago managed to locate the only Ecuadorian restaurant in Chicago called, “La Pena”.  It proved to be a very good choice and the food was delicious, and so were the martinis.  Our waiter’s family lives in Banos just a half an hour from me in Cuenca, once again a small world.  He also informed us that there is one other Ecuadorian restaurant in Chicago.

I visited my eldest son, Marc, in southern Maryland for a prolonged weekend, which went so fast, I felt like I was leaving as soon as I arrived.  Our first evening together, we ate at one of the best sushi places that was on par with the best I’ve had in Chicago and Hawaii.
 
I enjoyed meeting many of Marc’s friends and acquaintances on Friday evening as about two dozen of us attended a fondue party, followed by a symphony concert by the Baltimore Orchestra, and a return to the fondue party.  The rain was down-pouring heavily and assisted by a tornado as we left the symphony, and we were soaked to the skin getting to the bus stop and then walking back to the party, but we were having fun.
  
Baltimore actually runs bus lines into the downtown city, as a way to get cars off the street and to encourage more of its residents who live on the outskirts of the city to come into the city for evening attractions.  Would you believe the bus fare is free, so that certainly beats the twenty-five cents charged in Cuenca, even at the half-price senior-citizens rate.
 
Marc and I also dined at “Fogo de Chao”, which is an upper scale Brazilian steak house chain found in most large American cities.  The meal was excellent, with a salad and appetizer bar arrayed with high quality selections.  I really went for the cheeses.  The wait-staff at various times brought seventeen varieties of meat to our table and sliced them from the skewers.  Having the opportunity to particularly eat tender meats of sirloin, rib-eye, filet-mignon, shrimp, pork, beef, chicken, ribs, and my favorite, the garlic sirloin was a feast.

I continue to hope that Marc will come to visit me in Cuenca this summer.  There are places I would like to go in Ecuador that I’m just waiting for him before I tackle the rain forests, big Banos, etc.  Marc is coming out of the Air Force this summer, and the uncertainty on whether he will have the vacation time from his current job available makes a visit unlikely.  Just hoping a miracle happens.

I arrived in Miami on my last Sunday evening in the states, and I stayed in the art-deco historical district of South Beach in Miami Beach.  It was extremely busy with tourists and extremely humid.   I ventured out for only an hour to ninety minutes at a time.  I was left very exhausted from the heat, and couldn’t wait to get back to my very nice and very air-conditioned apartment.  My hotel, Casa Grande, was located on Ocean Drive, with restaurants, bars, and clubs running continuously for blocks.  Every establishment has an outdoor eatery, with the sidewalk cafes hugging the buildings separated by a three feet space for walking down the center and then more tables and booths along the curbside.  When I arrived Sunday evening, the place was hopping.

The greenway and beach was across from the restaurant establishments on the other side of Ocean Drive.  There are all kinds of high quality volley ball courts and interesting work out equipment in the parks.  The ocean is hidden by what appears to be man-made mounds of sand covered in grass, so one has to make their way through various paths through the mounds to get out to the beaches.  I rotisseried myself twenty minutes on each side and headed back to the hotel.  It turned out even twenty minutes was too long, as my ghostly white body parts that are normally covered by clothing instantly became barbequed red. 

I had done way more than my share of eating for the past month that I had been in the states, so I was glad I had a kitchen and fully furnished apartment that allowed me to eat-in and avoid the egregiously expensive venue of food, drinks, and entertainment.  A chicken wrap with a large coke costed as much as a dinner with alcohol at Tiestos in Cuenca.  


I actually lost weight while in South Beach.  True to my luck with technology, when I returned to my home in Cuenca and got on the scale, the disk battery was dead.  It took investigating three stores before I found one that carried the disc size I needed.  It was worth it, I was actually down a pound from when I left Cuenca.  How does one accomplish such a feat after eating three major buffets, indulging shamelessly in the dessert bars, and eating all the ethnic cuisines I can not get in Cuenca?

I must say this being my first time anywhere in Florida, besides traveling in and out of the airport, the city of Miami and its surroundings is very impressive by night with swaths of various colored lights which bring a glow to buildings and in some cases stream across bridges and areas that elicits an excitement and attractiveness to the city.  The city also has some very interesting architecture, and I love architecture.  As I mentioned I was staying in the Art-Deco Historical section of the city.  I was going to show you a smathering of photos of some very impressive  Art-Deco facades as well as photos of a small section along Ocean Drive in South Beach, but as only I can do, the photos were eliminated when I tried to transfer them from the camera.  Oh well, some things with me never change.  So that's it folks.  I'm back in Cuenca, getting settled, resting up, looking forward to seeing friends, and eagerly waiting to see what unfolds next for me in my life in Cuenca, and what role this city and its people play in my future endeavors.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

SEDER DINNER 2012


Easter season seems like a distant memory as time-travel moves the universe at an accelerating pace.  First, I immersed myself in a whirl-wind week of social activity, and then I have been busy preparing for my return to the states for a month, beginning May 6th and returning to Cuenca on June 9th.  I’ve also taken time trying to organize a great deal of paper work I’ve accumulated since arriving in Cuenca back in March of 2011, along with all the other sundry things of life that takes up ones day-to-day activities.  As a result, I haven’t posted as much, and my last post started out as a personal email in which I couldn’t stop writing, and finally decided to make the email a post.  However, there was an event during Holy Week that I attended, and did not find the time to share, and although it is out of place chronologically with my other posts,  I very much would like to share it with you today.

I was quite surprised without any prompting from me at the dozens of readers who recently read my post from last year entitled, http://cuencaperspectivesbyjim.blogspot.com/2011/04/passion-of-christ.html.  Last year I lived for two weeks in the heart of El Centro, and was overwhelmed by the numbers of people, church services, processions and activities that took place in Cuenca during Holy Week, which began with Palm Sunday and ended with Easter Sunday.  On Good Friday, I had even made the traditional visit to seven churches that so many Cuecano Catholic devotees fulfill on that day of the year.

This year I was looking for a new spiritual experience for Holy Week.  A Seder Dinner was advertised in “Gringo Tree”.  I had not attended a Seder since the 1980’s.  I thought that would be a nice, intimate way of memorializing the Holy Week.  Credit for the organization of the Seder went to Claudia Coplan, and the Seder was held in Emanuela Levin’s home in the Palermo.  The Seder meal is done in remembrance of the Passover, which was the Jewish celebration each year of the freedom of the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery.  The Passover is a reminder according to Biblical teaching of the final plague against the Egyptians as the Angel of the Lord passed over the slaying of the first-borns of the household, where the blood of the lamb had been brushed over the door posts of the homes whose occupants obeyed the injunction of the Lord.

Now the surprise was that I had no idea this was a Jewish Seder.  The advertisement in “Gringo Tree” just said “Seder”.  I assumed wrongly that Seder was a term used by Christians in commemoration of the Lord’s Supper.  Remember, Jesus and his twelve apostles were Jews, and kept the Jewish law and holy days.  What Christians call the “Last Supper”, was basically Jesus and the apostles celebrating Passover.  I assumed that Jews simply called the holy day Passover.  So after I arrived, it became clear that the Seder was intended as a Jewish event.  However, I was welcomed and treated with respect.  There was also a lady of Irish-Catholic background in attendance whose spouse was Jewish, a young Ecuadorian male with a very pretty little daughter, whose attractive wife was Jewish, and a gentleman who was half-Jewish.
 
We went through the ritual of the Seder, which was very much like the Christian Seders, I had attended decades ago.  The primary difference in Christian Seders is the addition of some prayers that tie the Passover to the Christian heritage and Jesus Christ.  Also, some Christian evangelical groups will substitute grape juice in place of the wine.  We all took turns praying and reading from the book that was provided, which I will have more to share with you at the end of this post.

Deke Castleman’s mother had baked matza bread, and it arrived just in time for the Seder.  The bread was delicious, and I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t a connection there between that matza bread and Deke’s love of Pizza and its crust.  Matza bread is the unleavened bread, for when the time came for the Hebrews to pick up and leave Egypt, in the rush of departure there was no time to allow the bread to rise.  Matza bread was also on hand at our dinner from Israel itself; but in a taste-test, Deke’s mother’s matza had it beat by a mile.  After the rituals were performed and the readings were completed, we shared a dinner together beyond the items that were used in the ritual Seder.  The evening was very meaningful for me, not only as a student of history, world cultures, and religious studies; but also on a spiritual level as well.  This is a Seder I will remember for a very long time.

I don’t know what beliefs were brought to the dinner by the Jews in attendance.  Obviously, there were no Hassidic Jews in attendance, and probably no one who might be identified as an Orthodox Jew.  These attendees appeared to be more of a liberal persuasion where their Judaism was freed from the highly ritualistic practice, for example, of various dishes having to be used and washed for various items, and someone had commented how when they were children the elders were involved in prolonged readings and prayer sessions that did not apply to this abridged edition of Seder.  This appeared to be a faith practiced without the many legalisms of traditional Judaism.  Among those in attendance, some may have attended out of deep faith; and others may have attended to simply share memories of childhood rituals and religious beliefs that may not have any significant impact on their lives today; or they may have attended simply to be part of the Jewish community in Cuenca, and to share a solidarity with their brethren over all that the Jewish people had to endure over the many past centuries, and continue to endure in the world today.  

I had the opportunity to make some new acquaintances, and hopefully some new friendships as well.  In fact, I knew three of the people in attendance from other social engagements prior to the Seder.  The Jewish people in attendance were by no means all the Jews in Cuenca.  With time, we will probably discover a significant growth in a vibrant Jewish community in Cuenca.

Below is a text that better explains the Seder, and is taken from Wikipedia:

The Passover Seder (Hebrew: סֵדֶר [ˈsedeʁ], "order, arrangement"; Yiddish: Seyder) is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in the Gregorian calendar.
The Seder is a ritual performed by a community or by multiple generations of a family, involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slaveryin ancient Egypt. This story is in the Book of Exodus (Shemot) in the Hebrew Bible. The Seder itself is based on the Biblical verse commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: "You shall tell your child on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" (Exodus 13:8) Traditionally, families and friends gather in the evening to read the text of the Haggadah, an ancient work derived from the Mishnah (Pesahim 10).[1][2] The Haggadah contains the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, commentaries from the Talmud, and special Passover songs.
Seder customs include drinking four cups of wine, eating matza, partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate, and reclining in celebration of freedom.[3] The Seder is performed in much the same way by Jews all over the world.
Below is a link that describes in detail the Seder Dinner and the symbolism of each of the foods used in the Seder, along with some beautiful illustrations:


Since I first posted this post, Claudia Coplan graciously sent me a couple of photos from our Seder Dinner evening, and I am sharing them with you below:











Once again, the link immediately above the photos helps to explain the symbolism of each of the items you see in the photos.