The Consul General in Phoenix is a quiet, thoughtful man who asks why we want to go to Ecuador. When we speak of our interest in language and culture, he says there are 15 different dialects and cultures there. I probably talk too much [during the interview]…Bill later reminds me of the [Latin American] cultural deference to males.
[Later] sitting by the hotel pool, I relax in a way I've not done in recent months. I'm like the overworked computer that must be turned off…reset or recalibrated in order to work again…there is grieving and perhaps other emotional work that cannot be done until I am recharged.
May 21-27, 2013: Last Week in Colorado City, Colorado
Hit the wall yesterday with packing, but today can see the end! Bill doing a marathon of dealing with all financial issues, car transfers, utility changes, repairing things, etc., and taking carloads of stuff to town almost daily. Yesterday the piano went [to our church's preschool chapel] and [son] Owen was here to help. A soft, cool evening rain and mist blankets the [Greenhorn] valley and I think of how God will water our lives and refresh us in coming weeks.
May 28, 2013: Guayaquil, Ecuador
Falling into exhausted sleep after a morning of driving around Guayaquil…to one place we did not need to go (Jefatura Provincial de Migracion) and then to the wrong place (registration for visas), and then to the right place, learning we must come back tomorrow to pick up our passports. My thoughts between snoozing run to relief that we have exited what was feeling like a toxic environment and a profound sense of needing to rest and recoup in the way a baby does after the birth process.
I also think of the excess of our material possessions and howmuch effort it took to deal with them all, marveling that we packed 65 boxes [to be shipped later to Ecuador...3/4 of them books], and thinking I'll give more stuff away when it gets down here! Bill and I talk about what we will learn together and joke that between us we will manage Spanish and whatever else we need to thrive here.
Hi Jan, I love the blog! Randy and I are enjoying the many items that we received from you. We have the Indonesia bench in our front entry way and I'm thinking of creative colors to add to it. Tell John that I upcycled his desk, it is now a funky gray with the same hardware and lives in my art studio. My grandson, Mason, has adopted John's bed and hides underneath the "trap door" when we play hide and seek. The golden lamp and rug adorn our bedroom. Oh, and you should see the giraffe chairs in our kitchen, Randy loves them!!! The other beautiful chairs are in our bedroom in our reading corner. Your simpler life is making our life richer because we think of one of our favorite families each time we use those items. God bless and we will see you in the future. We hope to visit someday!!
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Warms our hearts that you enjoy these things, and was a boost to our pocketbooks that you purchased them! The guest room awaits you!
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