Sunday, March 15 Open House, Open Heart

This morning, Anaís made breakfast for us, then she went out to join Aida and Yamani to sell soup (encebollada--delicious!) from the little booth right outside the gate of the compound. We are so amazed by this way of life. Everyone does everything they can to earn money and still they share so freely with each other and with us. Vincent had a hard time trying to pay for the soup that we bought from them.

Later he went to the town market, which is only for the weekends. Everyone had something to sell, usually made of wood, because of the kind of town it is. There are vegetables and eggs everywhere, and beautiful fruits. I was working on reports, so I stayed behind. After the day's sales, Aída was very disappointed. She had few sales on Saturday, and sold very little encebollada on Sunday. She had to give one of her daughters the bus fare to make it back to school the next day. We know how hard it is to work so hard, invest so much money in something that gives very little return sometimes. We also know how happy it is when something succeeds far beyond what we had hoped. This was one of the former times, so we could very much sympathize. We shared some sadness, then Aída shook herself and said, "Tomorrow's another day."

She came back a few hours later saying her sister had invited us to cena, which is about equivalent to an Irish tea. So we walked over a few houses and shared bread and tea with her sister, the cousins joyfully reuniting, even though they live practically next door. I talked with Aída about how it was to live with so many brothers, sisters, in-laws, cousins, nieces, nephews AND her mother all in the same  compound. Someone else was nearly always in the house--a two-year-old niece needing to be watched for a while, a sister getting a haircut.

She replied that her brother, in particular, had done a lot for her son when he was a teen-ager, and she would do anything for him in return. She also said there were some that weren't that close with the others, but that after a while, people got over their differences and went back to normal. I thought about some of the long-lasting breaks in our family and also of the attitude of "tranquilo" that I saw in Quito. Many people here seem to know from family life that it's important not to take upsets too seriously and keep in mind the knowledge that we all depend on each other for our very survival. There's not much reason--or opportunity--to separate from each other when we realize that.

We called Osh about the Open House, which a lot of people had attended. He suggested we counter the offer on the house, as a lot of bargaining seems to be expected, so we told him to go ahead. We've been working very hard on the last several interviews, trying to get caught up and also trying to understand the big picture down here. Interestingly, we were up very late talking about the various issues. When I woke up the next morning, it all seemed much clearer, and we were able to finish the report on time.

We were also able to connect with our own family during the day--both Terry and Elspeth, which reminds us that we, too, have ties to places and persons dear to us. The feeling of being alone is an illusion. We are always connected, heart and mind, with those we love, so long as we keep the door open.

Monday, Feb. 23, 2015 Faithful in a Little

Writing, writing, all day. Magdalena teased, "I think you are more interested in writing than visiting the workshop." Not true, but deadlines definitely loom large in my mind, and today is the deadline, both for the artisan interview and for the weekly report. Tomorrow we leave for Peguche. I feel so comfortable with Magdalena and Albert, I don't really want to leave. At supper tonight, they expressed so much kindness, welcoming us to come back to visit any time. We returned the invitation in a heartfelt way.

Their son Fernando has a birthday today, and they kindly included us in the modest celebration. His response: "Muchisimas gracias!" This just totally sums up this week here. Incredibly hard-working, dedicated, gracious and hospitable, they are nevertheless grateful for their family, friends, their business, and the opportunity of a new day. We have to leave early in the morning tomorrow, Albert is driving all of us to Otavalo, as has an errand there, too, and it fits into his schedule, or more likely, can be made to fit. What a blessing they have been to us, and teachers as well. If we keep on being faithful in the little we know to do, the road will open out and offer us more opportunities than now we can imagine.