Feliz Cumpleaños

This is a public happy birthday greeting to my brother, T.J.; my friend, Sarah; my dad, John; and my mom, Kay....all of whom had birthdays in the last week!!!!! I will refrain from stating their ages so publicly, but suffice it to say that my mom is partying it up in Paris in recognition of her BIG birthdayTODAY... Woohoo!!! Have some good wine for me, too, mom!!! (oh, and mom, you were traveling the wrong direction to defy time...just ask Zuber. She tried to fly westward half way around the globe in an failed effort to prevent turning 30!!! Luv ya Zuber!)



This is also a public guilt trip to all who have not sent me any emails or letters or packages (the King clan is 3-for-3 on mail we have received so far... NICE! thanks!!!!!! what´s up with the Studers??? OEC??? Gruver groupies??? Dick´s Den crew??? Give it up! We´re starving for news down here!

Sooo...Jer and I were just in a hardware store buying some supplies for the garden we´re helping to build tomorrow...and I ran into some rolls of wire fencing stuff, and instictively and reflexively tried to catch the roll as it fell...and I shredded the tip of my left middle finger...which then proceeded to bleed all over the place. Luckily Coach King had some bandaids and he basically did triage outside the store. Not a lot of pain...just a lot of blood. Good thing I´m typing with a bloody finger on this keyboard at the internet cafe, eh??? I could really go for a nice glass of wine right about now, though...

Speaking of wine....a week or so ago, I bought a 1 liter box of wine (boxes are the preferred wine packaging here) for $2.59. It a Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile (how bad can it be, right??? My other options were ---seriousy--- boones farm knockoffs...with all our favorite flavors from college!!!) ...and well, the Cab is...well...did I mention that it was less than $3 for a liter? (We´re surviving on a SERIOUSLY small budget right now!)

On to more serious topics, we just had a really interesting meeting with the mayor of Cayambe...fascinating chap who gave us a brief history of the area and of Ecuador... he had studied at Stanford and talked to us in English (I´m guessing because he doesn´t get a lot of practice here?). The Ecuadorians are proud people...and never hesitate to boast about how much cooler it is here than in Columbia or Peru. Funny stuff.

Anywhooo... I passed my little language ¨test¨today...which was basically going through various scenarios to see if you have enough survival spanish to get you out of a pinch. There are days when I feel like my Spanish is improving and other days where I feel like it takes a serious nose dive. Beyond the 20 minute test, I did little speaking in Spanish today, so I feel it is on the downward slope...

Well, enough rambling for now. I hope to get back into town sometime this weekend to type som more individual emails to people. Until then, you all have to keep checking back here...same time same channel...for the boring and bizarre details of my life here. Ciao.