Too much craziness

I almost forgot Eric's birthday, but started planning as soon as I could. I spoke to Erika and Stephania yesterday, who were concerned that Isabel would not leave the house, but she was enthusiastic and so the plan was on. I wanted to surprise Eric, so all day I tried to tell him that he needed to go to ISabel's to get on the computer, or to work with Eric. Finally I despaired, and told him we were going to do 'something' after Maya's dance class.

Getting Maya to school in the morning is an effort. I sent Eric to take her and talk to the authorities about transportation. My impression was that we had paid for it already, but I was surprised she was not on the list for the bus yet. Of course, we had only been in the apartment for one night, but it was time to make the transportation happen. Taking a taxi in the morning and evening to pick her up was not expensive, but took too much time, at least two hours a day….I enjoyed listening to the taxi drivers spout about politics, but that was no longer much of a draw for me. 

We had some yoghurt and Cyrano bread and nutella, so we had our first breakfast in our new home, bathed in morning sunshine and mounting activity outside. I was happy to get back  into bed after I saw Maya and Eric off. The plan was to meet at El Espanol for coffee and internet access, and this time, we did connect. I was busy getting through to the office and to Tara. The coffee is not really my taste, but I am getting accustomed to a different product than that in Italy or at Starbuck's. We returned to the bank to withdraw the hundreds of dollars to deposit. I had to speak to my bank first to ensure that I could take out the money. I had been blocked yesterday by the fraud department wondering what I was doing taking out $1500. Going to the ATM on Seis de Diciembre and taking out all that money was nerve wracking, but we got the proper amount deposited, and took the rest to Megamaxi to buy mats and cleaning supplies and food for the apartment. We had hardly enough time to drop off our purchases and dash off to the Magic Bean for lunch and another phonecall to Tara (I had promised to call her later…) I was embarrassed to talk and eat on Skype at the same time and resolved not to do that again. We rushed back to meet the cable representative (Blanca) who knew exactly who Eric was and remembered that he had not turned in the equipment when we left the other apartment, and would have to pay for it this time. Eric was just interested in internet, and apparently we would get it installed on Monday(perhaps).

The streets were full of yellow shirted fans on their way to the stadium to watch the world cup qualifying game between Ecuador and Bolivia. People were selling tickets, tshirts, wigs in yellow red and blue, noise makers and other paraphernalia. The food shops were full of people buying lunch and snacks before the event. The Naciones Unidas in front of Atahualpa Stadium was closed to traffic and packed with Ecuadorian football fans on their way to the game. I wanted to go, but had MAya to get to dance class, so I had to be content with watching the people show. That is one advantage to living here, there are always football games and we will definitely get to one these next few months. The Ecuadorians won and are on their way to the World Cup. 

Maya came home on the bus, almost too late to get to her ballet class. We took the local transportation to Rio Coca and although late, were in time for the start of class. I jumped right back on the bus to Quicentro to buy a new computer bag as a gift and to choose a cake for the occasion, which I delivered to Isabel's before picking up Maya. Eric showed up just as Maya and I arrived, and when he learned that there was no water in the house, began fixing the water pump. Everyone came home ready to go while Eric continued on his project. Finally, we had to drag him away for his birthday dinner. Isabel chose to take us to 'Baalbek', a Lebanese restaurant, which was a great choice. The food was delicious, and the company delightful. We had cake at Isabel's afterward, and of course, Eric had his face smashed in frosting. I think he was happy with his birthday, but was too tired to appreciate it. I was just happy to not have forgotten his special day!