Sunday, Jan 24, 2016

It is a very chill Sunday morning. The sky is gray and it has been raining off and on throughout the morning. We all slept in later than normal and it felt great knowing there was nowhere I needed to be and nothing I had to get done.

When I got up I slid open the balcony doors and back windows of the condo to encourage and pull that nice pacific breeze through. I brewed myself some coffee and began working on my blog. I’ve decided that having access to the internet for such activities is a luxury I do not want to be without again.

Heidi has been playing chess with friends on her Ipad with our son in Guyana. Easton has spent the morning editing his video of our journey to Ecuador. I know when it’s done it will show a story I could never capture well enough in words.

The Bronco-Patriots game is today at 3:05 Eastern. We are all hoping it will be televised on some station that we can connect to here in wet, sleepy, breezy  Bahia today.

A new sports bar opened in Bahia, called H Sports Bar, run by an ex fireman from the states. I met some friends there and watched the Bronco- Patriots game. Heidi and Easton were in the middle of some things and the game was on ESPN Spanish, so they stayed in the condo and watched it. Later we all met up at H Bar to catch the Cardinal-Panthers game. It’s going to be a great place to hang out when I need a little “back home” time. They serve nachos, French fries, and good American barista coffee. Comfort food!

I am amazed that I can be in Ecuador and sit in a sports bar watching American football, commentated in English no less, drinking a beer and eating nachos. Crazy world we live in! Being here with a couple expat friends this afternoon is a moment to catch my breath. It’s been a great week interacting with the locals; me trying to speak Spanish with them….trying to understand them, traveling in taxis and on buses with them, buying fruits and fish from them. Truthfully it is mentally draining, and emotionally taxing to not really be able to communicate fully.

When we are in a cab I want to ask the driver how his day is going? Ask him how long he has lived in Bahia? What does he like best and least living here? Lots of questions in a desire and attempt to connect, to common ground. I do what I can with what I’ve learned to speak so far. It is insufficient. It’s unsatisfying, and it is also a beginning.

Right now, here at the H Bar, it is great to be heard and understood. To hear and understand. It is a moment that I don’t have to concentrate and struggle. The beer is icy cold, the nachos are hot, the conversation is good…and the Broncos are winning. A+ day.

Tomorrow morning we get on a bus and ride for 5 hours into Guayaquil. We spend the night, and that following morning we are going to an Ecuadorian Ministry office to finish our visa applications!