Mi Familla y Mi Casa

I really believe mi familla (my family) is the best in all of Montañita. I have been waiting to write about them until I had some pictures to share with you. I also really like mi casa (my house) and will tell you about that, although don´t have enough pictures of it yet. Families in Ecuador (or at least in Montañita) live together for a long time, possibly forever. Other family members are always visiting for meals, or just fun. This can be confusing for students living in families, like Mitch and me, because you never really know who lives there and who doesn´t. The houses are also confusing, as they have several stories and meandering rooms. I don´t think I have been in half of the rooms in my house...in fact, I didn´t even know they existed until last week!

The ¨father¨in my house owns a store which makes custom board shorts for surfing. This store is on the street level. Behind the store are the sewing machines, where 2 or 3 women work. I am not sure if they are family or good friends, or if they stay in our house (in those mystery rooms) or not. Behind these machines I believe is the room where my mom and dad (Jolanda and Alejandro, which I have likely spelled wrong) sleep. There is also an area for hand washing of clothes (my mom is always washing my clothes) and line drying.

It is difficult to get from this main floor to the ¨first floor¨of the house...there is a ladder, but people usually go around outside and up the normal stairs. These stairs are steep and narrow. It is kind of cool. They take you to what I will call the first floor of the house. There is a living room, with a balcony overlooking the street. The grandkids have tons of toys here, a tv, and a playstation 2. Coming off this room are the mystery rooms. I looked in the first one and it had bunkbeds. Don´t know if it is still used, or what lies beyond!

Off the living room, going up a few steps is the kitchen and dining area. The kitchen is very similar to our kitchens, but they do not have microwaves. Jolanda has a very nice stove. The one and only bathroom is off the kitchen, between two bedrooms. One of these rooms is mine. It has some open windows high up onto the street, and one big window that overlooks the living room and down to the shop. This can make getting dressed a challenge. But I have mastered it after years of changing on a soccer field! The other room is for another student, but right now I am the only one, so they use this as a room to watch TV, or for the little kids to have naps. They don´t nap very often at all though. Up a very steep circular staircase is an openair room where the oldest son in the family, Hamilton, sleeps. Hamilton is 27 and a professional surfer. He is sponsored by a salt company, and has shown me the ads he does for them, etc, in surfing magazines. Kind of cool. Hamilton also has a dog, but I can´t remember her name. She is in heat right now so she has to stay upstairs in his room for 2 weeks. This is because no dogs are fixed here and they all get very friendly on the beach.

There is another in the family, Saul, who is maybe 21. He goes to university for graphics design. I think he must sleep in one of the mystery rooms, but I´m not sure. He plays soccer a lot as well. Although they wear cleats, I don´t think there is grass here. I saw a couple soccer fields and they seemed to just be dust. There is also a daughter in the family, Grace. She is the oldest and married to the mayor of the town, Joni. They have 3 kids. Their youngest, Alejandra (likely spelled wrong) is 3, and my best friend here. We play together a lot. She is super patient and repeats things for me all time and sometimes teaches me new words. I think it might be a problem for her when I leave. Her brother Belfour is 4 or 5, and is totally loco (crazy). He is one of those kids who does crazy things because he knows it will make people shake their heads and laugh. The oldest son is Frekson (spelled wrong for SURE) who is maybe 8 or 9. He is a bit too old to want to play with me, but sometimes we play cards.

Last weekend I took the three kids to the piscina (pool) at the hotel owned by my school. They don´t have a pool in town, and they are too small for the ocean, so this is a big treat. Then on Sunday the family (Grace, Joni, and the kids) took me to Guayaquil, the big city 3 hours away. We went to a fair with a bunch of rides, which was the first time any of them had been on a rollercoaster, so that was nice for them. Not too thrilling for me! The next day we walked around a restored part of the city, near the river. (Guayaquil is the main port in Ecuador). There were a ton of playgrounds there, which the kids loved. Although there is a very small playground in Montañita it is old and not very nice. Joni and I also climbed 444 steps (all numbered) up a recently restored hill to see the view. The path up the hill is lined with restored homes and restaurants, which were really cute to see. Each building has a picture on it so you can see what it looked like before.

My family has really made my stay here fantastic. Every morning Jolanda makes me breakfast (I know I will have to write to you about the food soon, but today it was a big bowl of papaya and peaches with yogurt and granola, toast, and a cup of milky coffee type stuff), and every night she makes me dinner. She will also feed me lunch if I happen to be around when they are eating ... I had a great lobster soup on the weekend! She is super patient talking to me in Spanish (she speaks no English) and really really cares about her students. She would worry to death if I didn´t come home one night. I don´t see the father a lot because he is busy at work, but he also is happy to try to talk when we are at the table together.

Hamilton is a good friend of Mitch´s and sometimes I hang out with him too. Last night we watched a movie, in English, with Spanish subtitles. I knew almost all of the Spanish words, and learned a few new ones and ways to use old ones. For example, tranquillo can be used about a thousand different ways, as can claro, which means right, or light, or got it, or yes. Grace´s family live in a different house, which I visited last weekend. However, she is a teacher at the kids school, and he works too, so the kids are almost always at our house when they are not in school. They also often come for dinner. We don´t eat dinner together, but are served one at a time, as we come to the table.

Okay I think that is enough rambling for now. Today the sun is out for the first time in a long time. I need to go have a nap on the beach! Here are a few pictures first though!

Here is my whole family, as well as the other student who lived in our house for 2 weeks (she has gone home now). Starting with the red and white striped shirt and going around, there is Grace, Me, Tony (the other student), Jolanda, Alejandro, Frecson, Saul, and the kids Belfour and Alejandra. Hamilton and Joni are missing.


Here are Alejandra and Belfour in Guayaquil. You can see why I love her so much!



Here are Hamilton and Alejandra en la playa (on the beach). One day I took her to make sandcastles and watch the surfers (like Hamilton)