Friday, Dec 15, 2017
Welcome to 10 days before Christmas! Wow. I can’t believe another year is coming to an end. Did you accomplish what you wanted to this year? It is never too late to begin or too early to start. As long as you have breath, you have potential to create that life you want to be living.
I’ve been in life coach mode lately and it’s running over today into my blog. Such a different energy I operate in when I am coaching. The clouds don’t even bother me. Guess I need to coach more June through December while I live here. 😉
‘Tis the Season
So all decorated for Christmas? People are here too. It is a little different from what you usually see in the states.
First some background. So many houses here are just cinder block structures with a kitchen, maybe a bathroom, and a single room with a bed or hammocks, maybe a table and chairs. The room serves as a gathering place for the family. There usually are no glass windows, just a squared out hole. If there is electricity it often is a single bulb hanging from the ceiling in the main room. People use propane to cook with inside, but often cooking is done outside over an open flame in a metal BBQ type stand.
And people here love Christmas and love to decorate for it. There usually is a decorated Christmas tree outside the home by the front door, or if the family lives on the second floor of a building, the tree is on a balcony. You can see here how this family has decorated for Christmas.
Español
The Spanish classes Easton and I take have been moved to a new location. This building you see on the corner in the above picture was the old location. The new place has areas outside made to hold different classes. There are a lot of trees and foliage to look at while trying to figure out my past tense verbs.
On our first day at the new place this little guy came over the wall to see who we are and what we were doing.
I wish he could do my homework.
Feliz Compleanos Olon
Olon had a big celebration for several days. The town was celebrating its birthday I guess. Each of these little towns along the coast celebrate the town’s birthday. Olon was filled with a County Fair type energy. There were 10k races, dancers, parades, and a whole lot of hoopin’ and hollerin’ every night. On the night of the actual birthday (Tuesday), the music went until 6 am.
Now I live in San Jose which is about 5 miles up the road. It was muy tranquilo and quiet for me where I live. In fact I missed almost all the activities because I didn’t know and/or forgot about what was going on in Olon. Still, it seemed a good time was had by many, many locals, and even a few expats. Our Spanish teacher was one of them. She had a chuchaki (hangover) the next morning.
By the time I made it into town, there was just a lone horse with its owner hanging on the street in our friend Teresa and Shawn’s neighborhood.
I guess Olon is truly a one horse town.
Week in Ecuador
It has been a nice week living in Ecuador. Nothing much of consequence has been going on. All of us are our pursuing our interests, and doing what we need in creating the next phases of our lives. It’s a nice pace, but not quite as nice as this dog’s pace.
It’s a Dog’s Life
Nothing more from Ecuador this week, except for this sunset to enjoy. Right now the sunset is directly in front of our terrace.
Chau
Hi Todd. Is it possible to send you a private message? I’d like to ask about living in Ecuador.
Thanks. Gretchen
Hey Gretchen, I’ll email you at your email on the blog. Thanks for reading! Todd
My husband and I just arrived last night to enjoy Ecuador for a few months. The air bnb is charming as advertised (Adobe style with lots of flowers). We are looking forward to the Christmas celebrations in Cuenca. I hope your Life Couching business triples in the New Year 2018. Did you move from your location to another along the coast? Scott and I are in hopes we meetup for a lunch at some point.
Hey Catherine, bienvenidos a Ecuador! I expect you will love all there is to do in Cuenca. We are still in the Olon area on the coast. Let us know if you may be over this way while here. Would love to say hi face to face. 🙂
Todd
Hola – Will you and your wife be able to have lunch on January 25th? Scott and I will be on the coast visiting another friend who lives north of you and the 3 of us would drive down to your area for lunch. Our friend is a retired Doctor from Canada so I thought a meet and greet would be fun for all. Catherine
Hey Catherine, I think we can work that out! Look forward to it. I hope your trip in Ecuador is going great!
Todd
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas, Todd! I wanted to ask if there are any stores in the area where my son could buy a fan and other household things like pots and pans? He’s going to be renting an apartment through January and needed to buy a few things.
Hey Laura, There is a Tia in Puerto Lopez (45 min bus ride from Olon) that has them. Also in Libertad, which is an hour and half bus ride. Those are the best options. Merry Christmas!
Todd
Thanks, Todd!