7/2/2013

  Home at last!  The Los Llanos days are always long but today was much worse than usual because it was raining so hard every low spot on the freeway, and there are many here, were a foot deep in water.  It was so scary plowing through those.  Scott didn't seem to be bothered driving even though he kept making comments about fishtailing and running into the back of the car in front of us, but the rest of us in the car were nervous as can be.  I don't know why it can't just rain just normal amounts here.  Or why some of this rain doesn't fall at home where it is so dry...It was actually better in Los Llanos than it was here in the city.  We have forded many streams to get to the building in Los Llanos!  Richard was so excited to show me that he could play a song in the simplified hymn book.   When he started to play he didn't hit one note right.  It was a song they are not familiar with here so he didn't realize he was playing it wrong and he is just learning to read the music and find the keys on the keyboard.  So we worked on it for some time!
    Coming back was much better!  We got everything unloaded at Santo Domingo and only three students showed up.  Have no idea where all of the others were..  It did give us time to work with the ones who were there though.  Coolest thing happened:  Michelle, goth girl, had gone to the bookstore on the temple grounds and bought two hymn books, one in English and one in Spanish.  She went to church on Sunday and they had sung "How Great Thou Art" and she loved it so much she is determined to learn it even though in the hymn book it is pretty hard for her.  Then after class she said she had something for me.  She said she had been to the store and when she passed this "dulce" she thought of me and just had to buy it.  What a sweet thing for her to do!  Scott says it tastes kind of like fruit cocktail but a bit sweeter.  Just to see the change in  her is the most amazing and heartwarming thing. 

7/1/2013

How fast can a day free of teaching keyboarding go?  Pretty darn fast!  It was wonderful to have some time to study and practice - and get the car serviced.  Made some cookies for FHE 4th of July celebration.  Scott went to Spanish class and I stayed home to finish the cookies and waited for him to come get me for the missionary investigator hour ( you pretend to be non-members so the missionaries in the CCM can teach you) but he never came back.  His phone was here so he couldn't call so I watched out the window for 1/2 and hour so I could hurry down to the car but just like the pot that never boils if you watch it - he never drove around that corner.  The Yturraldes were going to pick me up for FHE but he came just before we left.  We had a wonderful 4th of July program that left us all a little depressed about the high intentions of the writers of the Declaration of Independence and what our country has become today. 

6/30/2013 Sunday again

  Sunday is such a busy day for us - will be happy when it actually is a day of rest!  Not sure when that will be though.  We left this morning a little after 8:00 am to pick up the kids for church.  William's three and two neighbors came with us.  Eliana came out first and gave me a big hug then handed me a rock.  It was shaped a bit like a heart and she was so excited to give it to me.  Then she tried to give me five pesos - which she needs much, much more than I do.  I am just trying to figure out how we're going to leave the people we love here without being bawl babies.  Scott says he doesn't care if they see him cry.  Me either, but sobbing is another thing!!  I just don't want them to feel worse than they already will.  They are so dear to us and I know we are to them.  On the other hand, I am so excited to go home and be with our family and friends.  To actually be part of a ward family will be a great and welcome change for us.  Here's Eliana:

     On the way to pick up the girls there was a kids chair salesman walking down the road:

In this ward we have two music students who are going to Mexico on missions:

That makes four of our students who will be missionaries before we leave.
   
Scott talked to the woman who lives down where William lives.  Hopefully she can help these kids when we leave.  She and her daughter rode home with us - that made one adult and six kids in the back seat:

From there we came home for 1/2 an hour then left for San Cristobal.  It is a beautiful ride out there.
We have loved working with this Canastica Ward.  Lucianni brought me a rose and a heart shaped sucker.  She was so funny about giving one to Scott - which she really wanted to do but didn't dare.so she asked me to give it to him after we got in the car.  Such a funny kid!  They all are working hard on their hymns for another recital.  All are doing well playing with both hands now. 
    Got to Oriental just in the nick of time to have the students who were gathered on the steps help us in with all of the keyboards, cords, books, etc... This is such a big class.  We had four of our old students helping us today.  There were two boys who take lessons already and play very well in the room because they were going to help us.  With 21 keyboards playing and kids that were not in the class meandering around the room distracting those who were supposed to be practicing it was more like policing than teaching.  Is policing a word?? I was ever so grateful when the class was over.
    And now we are home.  Eleven hours after leaving this morning - and I feel every hour of it!

6/29/2013 Dinner with the Morenos

I am just assuming that I am only one day behind - certainly not going to check because I really don't want to know if I am farther behind than that...Scott had invited this woman doctor and her two daughters that live in this apartment complex to dinner.  We stopped in at her apartment Thursday night to see what time they wanted to eat.  An hour later we had tried some kind of dulce she had made, knew she had a Mormon friend in the states and that she is a Catholic who is very happy with her religion.  The Catholic church here is very strong and has probably been one of the few influences for good here.  They are very actively involved in promoting good values here.   I have gained a great appreciation for any organization that teaches some kind of a value system.  Anyway, Milagros, her name, and her two daughters, Sarah and Beatrice came for dinner around 7:00 pm.  We had been at the Institute teaching keyboarding until 4:30 so it was kind of a rush.  Scott wanted to feed them some hamburger vegetable soup and some vegetable cheese soup.  Then Sister Mahon told us that when she took soup to the Institute for their pot luck dinners, no one ever touched the soup.  PANIC!
Scott decided to cook up some chicken and broccoli because we know that's two things they eat.  As it turned out they really liked the soup.  I had mentioned to Yturraldes that it would be nice if they dropped by to visit - so they did. 

Sister Yturralde          Milagros, Sarah 12 years old, and Beatrice, 17 years  old.  They are such a cute family.  It was fun to have them all here.  She is a dermatologist that lectures at the colleges here.

   So today we started off around 9:00 am for our usual Saturday.  Normally when we get to La Caleta there are some kids waiting for us.  This time no one was there, the gate was locked and no one came.  Worse though was I had to go to the bathroom and there aren't any fast food places with restrooms here.  Scott got out of the car to walk around the fence and see if by chance someone was inside the church yard.  Just as he looked up the missionaries came walking down the street.  They had a key to the gate and the church.  Now if that wasn't a tender mercy I have never seen one!
They told us that the kids were all at the temple doing baptisms.  So we had time to meander around the city of La Caleta.  It looks just like the other smaller cities around.  It is right across from the airport so every time we go there I think it won't be long before we are taking the other road and going to the airport.  When we got to our next class at Los Molinos the gate was actually open so we pulled in but couldn't see anyone around.  Thought we would just rest in the air-conditioned car for a while.  After fifteen minutes we went into the building only to find that all of the kids were there and had been since before we pulled into the parking lot.  They must think we are crazy!  This is the most talented class we have if you can just keep them focused on practicing.
    At 2:45pm we left for the next lesson - this one in Hainamosa.  This gate was open too - what a surprise!  I don't know if it is the heat or what but we were pooped and when we got everything hauled into our room it was 87 degrees and the air conditioner wasn't working and they have no ceiling fans in that room.  We had some plastic sheets with music information on so passed them out for everyone to fan themselves.  Finally before we left two hours later it had started to cool off a bit.
It isn't as easy to be patient when you are hot and miserable!  But the students had a good practice time despite their discomfort.
    We were home by 7:00pm.  Our internet hasn't been working but it was fixed when we got home. We had a spliced wire smoking in our closet.  It's the water heater for the bathroom so Scott thinks he got it put back together.  Guess we'll see in the morning! 

6/24-26/2013

Where does the time go??  I think I won't blog just one night and before you know it two or three days have passed.  We had a lot of fun practicing for the talent night for FHE.  Since we really don't have any talent Scott decided to do a parody of "King of the Road".  Which was about things we have experienced here.  On of our friends posted it on you tube but I don't know how to find it.  Here one of the most common sights are street vendors in Claro hats and aprons.  Claro is an internet provider here. Scott has wanted to get one of their hats for some time and since he has made friends with one of the sellers, she was able to get him the hat and the apron thing.  So he donned the outfit and filled the pockets with all sorts of things that they sell on the street here and made up appropriate words.  The skit was a hit!  Scott wants to leave the outfit here as an initiation costume for new comers when they introduce themselves.
   I can hardly believe that we are the ones who will be leaving soon - after seeing many of our friends leave it shouldn't be surprising but it is.
 
  TUESDAY
We were reading the scriptures in Spanish this morning when we heard lots of noise outside.  (Not that it is unusual or anything) But it continued for fifteen minutes so we finally went to the window to see what was the going on.  Close to a thousand people in green shirts were walking in the street carrying banners and shouting.  It was a "teacher rally" to get more money.  They walked past here for at least half and hour, filling the right hand lanes.  It is never quite on this corner of the city!
   We traveled to Los Llanos today with the Grays.  It has been fun getting to know them.  Sister Gray is a lot of help with the lessons and makes sure that the students have an opportunity to play on Sundays.   Got to see Sister Farris again and take another photo for her mom.
    The trip home was uneventful and quick because we took a different route.  So we were actually on time for our Santo Domingo lesson. However we got to the church the gate was locked and no one was there to open it.  Since the attack on Sister Hernandez they have hired an armed guard and changed the locks on the gate. It was a bit disconcerting to see a security guy with a big rifle standing inside the gate. They finally got the little walk through gate open so I went up with some of the students and left Scott sitting at the gate waiting to get in.  About half and hour later the Stake President, who had been called, came and opened the gate.  It is still a novel idea to me to have locked gates on all of the churches.  We got home around 9:00 pm.

WEDNESDAY
     Went to the temple this morning.  I forgot to put on my white socks over my support hose.  When we were dressing in the session I looked down and realized I didn't have them on and wondered why no one had said anything to me.  Then of course I was so self-conscious.  However it soon became apparent to me that because my legs are so white even with pantyhose they probably thought I did have them on.  Their legs were darker than mine with their white socks on!  It reminded me of the time the kids and I were having leg wrestles on the bed and one of them asked me if I had on white pantyhose - --I did not..  We took Sister Cuenot to the grocery store and came home to make hamburger vegetable soup. 
  Barely finished the soup in time to leave for Las Caobas for two lessons.  The students were sparse for the first hour but the next hour plus was much better.  We had time that first hour to work with a new student and a young girl who belongs to the ward music director.  She never smiled and looked so serious and sad.  It was fun to have the time to work just with her - and she actually started smiling.  This second class has some fun adults in it.  Only one of them is actually catching on two playing with both hands though.  We are glad they can laugh at themselves. Got back after 9:00 and sat it the car until we found enough energy to get out and go up to our apartment.
  

6/24/2013 Confesor

   I have wanted to add to the blog Confesor's funeral pictures.  He was one of our students at age 75 who finally gave up on being a musician because his fingers were so stiff and it was so difficult to learn.  A very humble, quiet man.

Elder Leavitt and Confesor

 

If ever we feel that we need more stuff, we just need to look at this picture and realize you can have nothing and be happy if you choose to be.

 

6/23/2013 A surprise at Tres Brasos

    The kids were all ready when we got there to pick them up today.  We only had four though so it seemed like a small crowd in the back seat.  I have been playing for RS if the kids were ready on time and we got there soon enough.  Well we were there on time and I went in to set my things on a chair and a

sister motioned to me to come over to where she was.  When I took time to look at her the first thing that registered that the woman by her had an awfully white face - then I realized it was Sister Wegener.  What a happy surprise!  We just love them.  They have been working in the Institute right next to where our music classes are so we get to see them but now they are being transferred to Santiago.  They just church hop on Sundays finding different LDS wards to attend.  She was amazed at how many beautiful babies there are in this ward and wanted to take pictures with a couple of them.  It was fun to see them there.  The kids were good. Laney, the extra girl today that has been with us for the past three weeks cut the palm of her hand on a piece of glass and had about 20 stitches.  Not covered or anything - it was ugly enough it should have been covered...
We planned with the kids to have them come to our apartment next Monday.  William was getting his hair cut in a "barbershop"  as we passed by so he followed us down and we got to talk to him.  Just can't be sure what is going on in his life but he looks 10 years older than when he worked here just last year.  It is always good to see him.
   Got home just in time to grab some lunch and head out of the city for San Cristobal.  I realize that leaving this ward will be just like leaving family.  Carolina is planning on packing herself in my suitcase - we'll see how that works!  Realized I didn't have any pictures of the building so I am putting one on the blog:

For weeks I have wanted to get a picture of this yellow flamboyant tree because all we have seen has been red.  But then I would have forgotten my camera, or I would get it out and had left the media stick in the computer or who knows what other hair brained thing kept me from getting it.  But today was my lucky day.  Here it is:

Don't now why it looks so blurry - maybe because we were going fifty miles an hour past them.  But  these  trees are beautiful everywhere now.                                                                                        

We have passed many moving trucks full of stuff with men sitting on top holding it on but this time it was three women standing in the back holding everything in place the truck drove down the freeway.

Our drive back through the city and out to Hainamosa was uneventful.  Half of the students were gone to various and assorted events so it was fairly quite today.