Glenn's Attic: Time of Adjustment

jueves, 25 de febrero del 2010

This was a day of rest and acclimatization. Such a time is important when you fly from 60 feet above sea level to about 10,000 feet above sea level in five hours. I did nap quite a bit, as well as beginning a diary. Marilyn napped a little but also spent some time making friends with Victor’s dog, Laddie. He’s pretty rambunctious, which is why he’s on a chain. Also, he had a bad habit of trampling the flowerbeds when allowed to roam free. Marilyn decided she wanted to take Laddie for a walk around the yard, so she borrowed a thin leash from Maria (Victor’s domestic helper) that Maria uses for her dog. Before he was even off his chain, Laddie broke the leash Marilyn put on him. So, Laddie didn’t get his walk, and Marilyn owes Maria a leash. Probably just as well. Laddie would probably have dragged her down the hill! I must say, though, there were times when Marilyn exerted a surprisingly calming influence on him. He’s smart, listens, and could be well trained if someone had time to work with him.

viernes, 26 de febrero del 2010

The main event planned for today was a two year Memorial Service for Violet Vaca (Victor’s deceased wife). Tragically, she entered the hospital with a relatively minor ailment, caught a virulent infection there, and died within a few days. Victor has been very lonely without his wife of 43 years.

We met Anita, Aldo, and Maria Helena (Victor’s sister-in-law), who were all board members of FEDICE. Blanca and Marlene (who works at FEDICE) were also there.

During breakfast, Victor mentioned we’d be leaving for Otavalo tomorrow, and he would return alone. We were taken aback. I mean, we came down here to live by ourselves in Otavalo, but we somehow figured we’d be staying with Victor a few more days to get used to things and learn more about how FEDICE operated, since they were based in Quito. To be honest, we felt a little abandoned. But, we knew coming down to expect the unexpected. And this was one of those unexpected things.

sábado, 27 de febrero del 2010

Marilyn felt sicker and sicker throughout the morning. She threw up just before we were to leave for Otavalo at 3:00 p.m., so we had to postpone our move. I was a little smug because I’m usually the one who gets sick when we travel south of the border. My smugness didn’t last long, though. I started getting sick about 10:00 p.m. – at both ends.

domingo, 28 de febrero del 2010

I was sick all day, while Marilyn felt much better. Victor felt bad, too, so whatever it was did not only affect gringos.

Blanca and Luis came and spent some time with all of us sickos. They brought over more medicine besides that which Victor had gotten for us.

Someone Maria knew brought over a small blue van he wanted to sell, which meant I had to rise from my sickbed to look at it with Marilyn. (It was probably good for me.) Marilyn liked the van, but I wasn’t convinced it was what we needed, so I made a very low offer. Consequently, we didn’t come to terms.

I stayed up a few hours, but then went back to bed. Oh, that felt good.