As most of you are aware, I am a sophomore at Incline High School in Incline Village,  Nevada. Currently, I am taking seven classes out of the required six. Predominantly these classes consist of Honors and AP (Advanced Placement) classes.  AP classes give me additional college credits. With alot of hard work in my honors and AP classes I have acheived a weighted GPA of 4.6!  In the three semesters that I have been in high school, I have earned nineteen A’s and only one B+. I am an active member of the High School JROTC program as well and am a squad leader with the rank of staff sergeant.

   Proud JROTC cadet

 I enjoy volunteering at the local animal shelter, along with other charity and community events in town. I am currently participating in Incline High School’s production of The Sound of Music as Louisa. I am honored and very proud that I have been requested to sing the national anthem many times over the years at events like the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, Lake Tahoe’s celebration of Independence day, and various school sporting events.

  National Anthem at Red, White & Tahoe Blue event

Why, you may ask, am I receiving this email? I am asking for help so that I am able to take advantage of an amazing opportunity.

Recently, I was nominated to attend a program called LeadAmerica. It is a program offered to high school students who show excellence in leadership & academic abilities. LeadAmerica offers college programs in fields like Medicine, Politics, Law & Justice, Entrepreneurial & various other careers.

The program that I am hoping to attend this summer takes place in June. It is a Law and Justice conference at Johns Hopkins University. The program is a week long and includes immersion in workshops that provide the experience in the investigation of a crime. From the crime scene itself all the way to the courtroom. This program will take me and other students to the National Crime and Punishment Museum to learn about the subject even further. There will be many presentations by well known guest speakers, lectures and various field trips. The program also will allow me to experience a taste of “college life”. The participants stay on campus and have a intense scheduled list of activities daily.

Being able to raise the funds to participate in this amazing opportunity is very important to me because I have found joy, challenge & desire in the areas of Math and Science.

 Bailey’s scientific study while abroad in Ecuador

 In Forensics I have found inspiration & interest unlike any other thing I have experienced. The law enforcement arena is a place that I hope to learn how to help “catch the bad guys” for lack of a better phrase and to bring closure to the victims and their families. My hope is to major in Forensics. By attending this program I will not only receive two college credits, but it will also help better prepare me for my upcoming collegiate career.

My goal is to raise the funds to attend the conference. The cost is approximately $3300. This includes tuition, accommodations, field trips, transportation, meals, etc…Thanks to my parents and the contributions of friends & family so far I have been able to raise $1200! I still need to raise another $2100.

It is my hope that some or all of you may be able to assist me with a donation of any size. If so, please make your check payable to LeadAmerica, mail it to LeadAmerica’s Fundraising Office at 1515 S Federal Hwy, Suite 301, Boca Raton, FL 33432. PLEASE WRITE MY NAME AND PIN# LA23824919 IN THE MEMO SECTION OF YOUR CHECK.

Thank you so very much for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you. I will keep you abreast of my success in achieving this goal via email.

I encourage you to visit www.lead-america.org to learn more about this great organization.

Sincere Thanks,

Bailey Stevenson

Sophomore

Incline High School
]]> http://tahoeluke.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/baileys-leadamerica-quest/feed/ 1 luke stevenson Bailey JROTC Bailey National Anthem Professor Bailey Bailey in papas grass http://tahoeluke.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/baileys-birthday-room-remodel/ http://tahoeluke.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/baileys-birthday-room-remodel/#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:41:28 +0000 luke stevenson http://tahoeluke.wordpress.com/?p=162 ]]>

That objective has been a challenge here – not that it wasn’t back in the U.S.  We’ve learned that our kids need structure.  A lot.  And it’s not always easy to maintain here in our home-away-from-home.

Bailey’s work is done primarily on the computer and whatever her online school sends her to download and complete.  She works anywhere from 3 to 8 hours a day on her assignments and has been very diligent with her work habits.

Professor Bailey, at work in her laboratory (above)

At least, that’s what I thought, until about a week ago when we learned that her grades had slipped to an all-time low.  After some investigation and repeated interrogation, Bailey admitted that she had failed to complete most of one her first unit tests and had missed deadlines for several other assignments.  If there was confusion about material, she was not contacting her online teachers right away to ask for clarification and neither was I.  Lesson learned: I need to be present on a daily basis to get concrete evidence that our kids are on track and succeeding.  Since that time, we are much more aware of what is or is not happening.  Bailey now makes a weekly schedule on her computer with all her assignments and checks them off as she goes -HELLO!  Seems pretty simple, right?  So does checking up on her everyday, too, yet I wasn’t doing it.

Sawyer brought material from his teachers to stay on track with his class.  We’ve been pretty good about keeping him moving forward on his daily assignments but the time needed to complete his work (with constant supervision) is 3 to 6 hours a day (mostly math, which he hates) and, when coupled with not starting his work until around 10 a.m. doesn’t leave us much of the day (or much patience) to do fun family things.  We’re kind of locked up in our house until we get it all done and that feels like such a waste of our time here!

Above, Sawyer in his So. American school uniform

Clearly, I’m venting right now, but this is a real part of the challenges and frustrations we’ve dealt with since arriving.  Before we left the States we’d established several objectives for our trip to Ecuador:

1)  To give our kids a unique experience that would open their eyes on a life more consistent with the majority of the world’s population (Let’s face it.  Life in the U.S. is not the “real” world – and life in Lake Tahoe isn’t even the “real” U.S.).

2)  To learn more about another culture and language.

3)  To see if Staci could work remotely from Ecuador, using computer, FAX, MagicJack and Skype and successfully maintain a business.

4)  To see if we like living here enough to want to buy property here and return year after year.

5)  If the answer to number 5 was yes, then look for property in our price range.

With two weeks remaining in our stay here I’m evaluating how we’ve done with these objectives so far, kind of like sneaking a peak at our report card before taking it home to share with the rest of the family.

Objective #1  Grade:   C

Our kids have seen, and to some extent, experienced a different way of life.  We still live in a beautiful home, we have a wonderful housekeeper named Alexandra, who cooks and cleans 8 hours a day for about $60 a week, we have Direct TV, though we watch much less than before, the GameBoys are rarely in play and we go out to lunch and dinner more often simply because it’s just so darn cheap to do so.  BUT, our kids also see the poverty around us and the cheerful grace Ecuadoreans display, living on much less than we ever have.  The appreciate being able to swim in the ocean everyday (though we don’t) and have so much family time together (though we often drive each other crazy).  This trip has taught us a great deal.  We have a new and greater appreciation for many things, including high-speed internet access, bug spray, adequate refrigeration and public and private schools!

Objective #2  Grade:   B

The way of life/culture here is amazing.  Simple, relaxed, humble, raw and beautiful.  We haven’t done nearly as good a job of learning the language because we’ve found people around us that can speak English.  This part, I kind of regret because I think we’ve missed out on a valuable experience not knowing or speaking Spanish here.  However, given the amount of time needed to complete the children’s studies each day, it’s left little time or energy to take advantage of the Spanish speaking schools here.  We have picked up a bit more Spanish and a renewed commitment to work on the language through our Rosetta Stone course when we return home and the dust settles a bit.

Objective #3  Grade:   C-

Staci has had limited success conducting business from here in Ecuador.  Some of the challenges were aggravated by a weaker then anticipated internet signal.  This has rendered the MagicJacks and Skype (which we planned to use to make communication with employee and clients family and friends easy and free) totally useless.  We were hoping to extend our stay to have more time to look at property and travel but it’s become apparent that Staci needs to return and do some overhauling on her business.  If we decide to return again next year, the internet options and strength could be improved, possibly providing more of a “business as usual” operation.  Even if it doesn’t, we’d be more prepared for the current conditions and make adjustments accordingly.  It can be done from here, but changes at homein the U.S.  would be needed to make the contact with the office and clients more seamless.

Objective #4  Grade:   A+

There are a number of things about living here that I will NOT miss . . .  but far more that I will and maybe I’ll expound on those in a later post.  Could I live here?  In a heartbeat.  But with our children in tow, not quite so simple.  Because of their ages and other parents to consider, we probably couldn’t be more than seasonal residents for a while.  Which may be a good way to go, or at least start.  We have an amazing life in Tahoe, but it’s going to be very hard to leave this place.

Objective #5  Grade:   A+

Opportunities are nearly boundless here for those looking for a new life.  Property prices are rising but bargains are still everywhere.  We have a lot to think over that would have a bearing on whether we buy down here.  Suffice it to say that it’s been very intriguing to see what’s on the market -  and what’s not on the market but available.  There’s no Multiple Listing Service here so finding info on the market is more complicated then walking into a real estate office and thumbing through the latest MLS catalog. In fact, in some cases, you can find the exact same property being offered by three different people for three different prices.  There are some reputable people in the business down here.  Our favorite is Mike Sager.  He’s located in the Salinas area a bit farther down the coast but he has numerous properties listed in the Olon/Montanita area and owns two properties here himself.   We looked at a property on the beach that was absolutely beautiful – 75 ft. of sand and gently sloping 600 ft. back,  all the way up to the main highway – 300K for that one.  They won’t get it. We looked at a small hotel that has about 10 rooms, a full commercial kitchen and restaurant that seats 50, a 2000 sq. foot owners apartment, all right on the beach – listed at 380K.  That one wouldn’t take much occupancy to break even, but it’s in San Jose, which is a bit too far down the beach to attract many visitors yet.  Still, it’s interesting.  Another was a jungle property behind Olon, where we’ve been living.  This is virgin jungle and, although it’s only about 2 km off a good road, it takes about 15 minutes by 4×4 to reach it.  The owner took us up there and told us that if we wanted to see more of the property, he could put a couple of his workers from the farm on it, to hack a trail with machetes back to the high point to see the view from there.  Two laborers for a day of that backbreaking job hacking through the jungle would set us back $40.  The owner is in no hurry to sell but seems very willing to work with us.  He’s asking around 40K – for 125 acres!  Probably the most attractive thing we’ve seen so far is a property on the hill behind the coastal highway.  It’s close enough to the beach to hear the roar of the surf and boasts a refreshing breeze almost all the time.  From the high point of the property, you can see the entire coastline from Montanita Point all the way to the next point to the north past La Entrada (about 11 miles total).  Some of our new and sweetest friends bought the property right in front of this one 15 years back.  Now in their 70′s, they’d really like us to be their neighbors some day.  The asking price was 100k for the 7.5 acres, but the owner just dropped it to 80k.  This one would be great for a small B & B we might want to have, with enough room for horses (that would make Staci very happy), cows, chickens, and a sizable garden or fruits and veggies.   I think the jungle property has the most potential, but don’t think I could talk Staci into living in the jungle:-).

Part of the ocean view from one of the properties

Yes, we’ve learned a lot during our 2 months here – about Ecuador, it’s people, culture, language, customs and, most of all, about each other.  It hasn’t always been easy to be together virtually 24/7, but we’re definitely closer as a result.  The kids have made great strides here.  Bailey no longer screams like she’s having her spleen removed with a dull knife when she sees a bug and has become much more tolerant and appreciative of her younger brother.  Sawyer has become totally comfortable in the ocean, even tried a bit of scuba, learned to share a room with his sister,  has widened his food palette a little and dropped a few pounds.  Staci and I have been reminded that even though we love our kids dearly, we need to still find regular “grown-up” time to maintain our sanity.  We’ve also realized that we miss our friends and family back home, Hazel, the best dog ever and very little else.  Our voyage here is quickly coming to a close, but our love affair with this South American paradise may just be warming up. . .

I saw this bug last week during supper. I thought it looked like a scorpion because it has claws. It was super hard like a turtle shell.

This may look like a leaf but it’s a slug. It looks like a leaf because it’s camouflaged so predator’s won’t eat it.

Last but not least Mothra!
The biggest moth I‘ve ever seen. He’s about 5 in“. For some reason all the bugs down here are bigger.

And that’s the 411 on Ecuador insects. Stay tuned for more blogs…



So the other day we saw  these cute little ducklings that were with their mother. Here I’ll put a picture below so you can see.

So you saw that the ducklings were yellow and black so I call them Beeducks. So if you look closely you see the mother duck has a peacocks color. So I’ll call them Peaduck and the 7 Beeducks. The were so cute I just wanted to take them home. Animals here roam  as they please. Most farm type animals walk around all over town. There is a baby horse (a foal)  and it’s mother &  father that walks up & down our street. Here is a picture of them below.

Okay so one of my best friends commented on my last blog “Thanks for keeping it real”. Well I can tell you that real is so freaking hard and I am trying everyday to hold onto the beauty, serenity & love that SURROUNDS me amongst the chaos. Our week unfolds like this.
Monday through Friday: Wake up slowly, eat breakfast, get the kids started on their classwork. Sawyer’s consist mainly of math ( the subject he despises the most). He has to read one chapter in a book a week and do a chapter summary on it. He is supposed to blog everyday to cover his science, art, Spanish & PE classes. With the internet & computer issues Luke described, this has been quit the challenge. He will do a country report on Ecuador when he returns to cover social studies and lastly he swims or does some activity to cover PE daily! This also helps him sleep. If he is not active, he doesn’t sleep. Sawyer’s attitude around doing his math is the biggest challenge. Most days when the tears, negotiations, arguing, procrastinating & screaming can ruin the mood of the entire day, we try our best to rally and stay positive. I am not great at this as I let it get the best of me. Luke is the poster child of patience and can get us all reconnected.

Bailey gets started, needs little or no coaxing from us and usually her internet & school computer are cooperative. She sails through her classes within 2 to 4 hours. Her attitude around school has been great. Much less stress than at Incline High. However…she is a hormonal teenager who misses her friends dearly,cries at least once a week, hates

Our buckaroo, Sawyer’s first solo ride on the beach

sharing a room with her brother (duh), hates being uncomfortable ( who doesn’t), is lazy and daydreams of saving every kitten in Ecuador.

For me…I TRY to work. That consist of writing insurance still. Communicating with clients the markets, cost, carriers, etc….Since we are 3 hours ahead, I get started around 11:30 my time as I try to talk with my companies in the states which are based on the west coast mostly. Note though that work has started with the kids here at 8:30 and ends early, my insurance & music management job goes until sometimes 9pm here due to the time change. Still trying to enjoy the beach & hang out with my family. Calling clients, companies & staff to try to resolve underwriting issues and get policies issued with temporary internet & phone service is hit & miss at best. Do I miss the daily grind at Farmers…NO. Do I miss the consistency of being able to complete work task effortlessly….HELL YES!!!! So wha, wah, wah. I’m dealing…some days better than others and certainly not when I am PMSING!. THANK GOD for the amazing people who are helping me with the work struggles back in the states!!

Luke tries all day everyday to keep things moving along with as little emotional upheaval as possible. He is the glue, the balance, the voice of reason, the fixer, the maker-uper. The “what can I do to help” guy. This amazing demeanor of his has also become  a problem at times. WTH right? How can that be. Well when you are always trying to help every one else. You forget to help yourself and at times others will and do take advantage. Luke has spent countless hours holding the hands of others and taking on their problems at a cost to him and his family time.

Everyday there is an issue, some big roadblock, emotional breakdown, technical problems, etc…I and Bailey each have been blessed with a stomach bug that kicks your butt. I went through mine in about 24 hours. Severe diarrhea and joint aches that I have never experienced before, slight fever and the nausea. We were a little more cautious with Bailey being that she is so small. She spent the day in bed. All the same symptoms as mine. We kept her hydrated and gave her an antibiotic. The doctor came to the house. She gave Bay a shot and literally instantly she felt better and was cheery as can be. She charged $25 for the house call, wrote out 5 prescriptions. (most of the items we already had), gave her a shot and 1 follow-up visit.

The biggest lesson….LEARN THE LANGUAGE FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!  Being able to communicate would have eliminated so many of our struggles!!!! Dumb a–!!!

On another note….

So the two-day a week gig with our fabulous Alexandra (maid/cook) has turned into 5 days a week. God bless my man!!!!!!! I open the double patio doors to a big beautiful blue sky and listen to small waves crashing, fill my lungs with the smell of sweet fragrant flowers, & salt air. Listen to the fountain, birds & bugs of every color & size sing continuously. I watch the hammocks of every color sway in the breeze. When all the task are done, we decide what to do. Rent quads for a drive on the beach, horseback riding, swimming, getting ice creams, going into Montanita?????? Bummer huh?

We have had many walks on the beach and have witnessed ALL kinds of sea life. We went tidepooling and saw a baby octopus and baby lobsters & shrimp. Sometimes the tide is so far out you can walk 1/8th mile from the sand until you are knee-deep. No dolphin sightings yet. You can look in the sky at any given moment and see a formation of pelicans surfing just above the waves for lunch or swooping the nearest cliff. On a drive one day we saw 5 Toucans flying from one tree to another. We see families of Donkey’s and horses daily. The babies are so sweet and will allow you to approach them. One ate a carrot out of my hand. I have to say. Horseback riding on the beach is my most favorite thing to do next to a long walk with my family.

It seems we have mastered the mosquito issue as well. In the first two weeks Bailey & Sawyer’s little bodies looked like they had a severe case of chicken pox. It appeared as if they had somewhat of an allergy to them. I think their bodies have developed a type of resistence now. Actually all of us. The bites are less frequent and the inflammation not even close to what it was. I put a plug-in mosquito repellant in our bedrooms and we only put the spray on our bodies at dusk.

So on the weekends…Claudia, Raoul and Matias arrive around 9pm on Friday nights. We try & have dinner together. This family is so special. They always arrive with a smile. Thier oldest son Ignacio who is 13 is currently on a student exchange program in Germany. He is handsome, a gentleman, smart and fun!! We can’t wait for him to return! Matias is wild, silly, loud & charming. Much like Sawyer. Claudia is relaxed, colorful, happy & very easy to be around and lastly Raoul. He is the most amazing chef, always smiling, diving, napping, cooking & singing. He went to culinary school for fun and graces us with his creations all weekend long. Saturday he made so much Sushi that 9 of us could not eat it all. While we laid on the beach, he was back at the casa creating!!! Yesterday he made a peruvian dish with giant prawns, squid, cheese, onions, tomatoes, garlic. It was decadent! When we hang out with them & I bartend (duh). We play cards, board games, puzzles, tell stories. I love learning how they process things and see the world and their impression of us westerners. Luke plays the guitar and we all sing along. Claudia’s parents come regularly also. Chicho & Marcella. Chicho is so jovial and sweet. I find him on Saturday mornings laying in the hammock with a cold beer reading the newspaper & doing crosswords. Marcella is the presence of calm & grace. She always has a wonderful story to tell and a twinkle in her eye. I want to adopt this woman as my mother. I always feel safe with her. She is fiercely competitive in cards. They all come every weekend and whenever I can’t find Bailey all I have to do is look out my door and there she sits at their table being engaged and enchanted with them.

Our other friends Fonda & Randy are a couple that Whit & I met in October. They are from Kingston Texas. They live here most of the time. They are the salt of the earth. What you see is what you get. Authenticity at it’s best. They have worked hard, raised 3 kids & now are trying to enjoy the fruits of their labor with a simple & uncomplicated approach to life. They have been great supporters of ours. Always there to listen & laugh. We vent to each other, help each other, share dreams and stories with. It feels like I have known them all my life. How we got so lucky to find “family” 1/2 a world away…I will never know, but boy am glad. Randy is quiet but  when he says something, you listen. He makes us laugh and sees pleasure in the simplest of thing. His core is based on integrity and his family. Fonda talks fast and is more tan than most Ecuadorians. She is full of life & smiles. She again has the same core as Randy and I have such respect for them. They have been there done that and offer an ear and advise when asked. We make a great team of four!

This coming Thursday the kids Fonda & I will go to Claudia & Raoul’s home for the night. We will go to a SPA!!!!!!! We are going to look for furniture for Fonda’s house and Claudia is going to take us to the Guayaquil marketplace. Another adventure awaits us. Luke is going to hang out with Randy and have some guy time. Hopefully check out some property and relax.

We are all healthier here as far as what we eat & drink. Because the foods have little or no preservatives. The fruit & vegy’s go bad within 24 to 48 hours. So the buy it eat it motto is what we do. Sawyer has barely broadened his horizons, but hardly any pop corn anymore and very little mac n cheese and a daily dose of excercise has had him drop a few pounds! He eats hamburgers & hotdogs more often now which gives him the protein he needs! I eat fruit & vegy’s all the time. The taste is so much better! The beef has little to no fat. It is so lean you sometimes have to cook it in oil! The chicken again…fresh with no preservatives! Chicken is my hopeful next big hurdle with Sawyer that doesn’t look or taste like a McDonald’s nuggets! Fish…fresh daily and eaten often! Now if I can just layoff the beer. I rarely drink it at home, but it is sooooo good here on a hot day with a bowl of ceviche & fried patacones! I have not given up champagne. I found Moet Chandon for $16 a bottle. The taste is stronger here. Diet coke is too sweet and I can only tolerate the regular coke. How weird is that. I can’t EVER drink regular coke at home. I make green sun tea all the time! Bailey eats almost everything unless it has the bone on it. Luke eats everything also.

TV is hardly on the radar even though we have Direct TV outside of Sawyer’s cartoons for about an hour a day. No gameboy’s even though we brought them. No ringing phones. We occasionaly watch a DVD that we bought for a $1.50. All the new movies that are still in theaters in the states. Like Avatar, Sherlock Holmes & The Blind Side. We are currently searching for Alice in Wonderland.

Well I hope you feel that my entry has kept it “real”. I also hope you feel and hear the frustrations and the victories in my post. I still feel i am the luckiest woman alive to have this experience. Will I do it different next. Oh yeah! Have I learned and continue to learn…no doubt. Do I want to kiss my kids a 1000 times a day as well put them in a sleeper hold? You bet. Do I want to quit? Sometimes, but not right now!

We thought we wanted to take our kids to Disneyworld upon re-entry to the states as a reward for this grueling, harrowing, rewarding experience. But as Marcella so graciously put it. This is the reward! Duh!!!

The things I miss and yearn for…My dog (Hazel)!!!! My Yaya’s!!!! The things Sawyer misses…his Dad & the Drawing Dudes (Miles, Jay & Rain) his friend Calyn and his dog (Hazel). Bailey misses…her friends, her Mom & reliable electronics! Luke misses…watching the Cavaliers & Hazel

Chat soon…chow from the equator!

In George Harrison’s breakout solo album All Things Must Pass, he penned a song called, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.  In it he offers the following poignant perspective:

With every mistake we must surely be learning . . .

Native American Indians believe in something called, for lack of a better description, a “Mistakes Wheel”, part of the Sweet Medicine Path, to help them process and accept experiences for what they are.  It has 5 parts: four “spokes” around the outside and one in the middle.  The first spoke encompasses “Learning From Our Own Mistakes.”  The second is, “Learning From The Mistakes Of Others.”  The third is, “Learning From The Mistakes Of Our Teachers” and the fourth spoke covers, “Being Willing To Make As Many Mistakes As It Takes.”  Finally, the piece right in the middle is to remember, “There Is No Such Thing As A Mistake.”

Our trip has been a huge learning experience for us and we’re grateful for the lessons, at least we try to be grateful.  Sometimes the smile of gratitude is offered through clenched teeth:-).  Clearly, there are many lessons here, not all of them pleasant or easy.  One recent lesson learned by Staci and me is the value of our public and private school systems.   Now, we love our kids and, by and large, they’re doing great here in Ecuador, but we underestimated the value of those 6 or 7 hours that they had at LTS and Incline High that gave us a chance to catch our breath, focus on something other than picking up after them, refereeing them, reminding them, scolding them about basic human and social responsibilities, giving us a chance to regain some shred of our questionable sanity.

Put another way, we now understand why schools were invented - to keep us from killing our children!!!!!

Each of us have certain, shall I say, tiny habits, endearing quirks, amusing perspectives on life that, when accompanied by the traditional separation between parents and children created by the typical school day schedule, keeps the American family generally humming along at a hectic but manageable pace.  However, the absence of those fleeting little middle of the day breaks that allow us to view our children as the little angels that they are, as gifts sent down from heaven to give our life meaning, means that we spend each waking moment together, living with the tapping the pencil, the music too loud, the constant need to babysit them to do their assignments, the interruption of the conversations,  the spilling the milk, the breaking of the computer or Kindle, the reluctance to share the gameboy, the loosing of  the shoes, the whining about what we gave to one and why can I have that, too?, that, often by days end, someone has picked up the meat cleaver and is waving it ’round in a menacing  fashion. . .

Lesson #2.  We heard this from a number of folks before we left on our trip.  Things don’t happen or even function at the pace that we Westerner’s are accustomed to.  At first we thought,”We can do this.  We can use modern technology to stay connected.  We can utilize Skype and Magic Jack and cordless phones and video recordings and You Tube and WordPress to make our transition to the tropics smooth and seamless. . . . . .  and then a gnat craps in the jungle, setting off a chain of unanticipated events that turns the world upside down and washes our vision of our days in paradise out with the evening tide.

The gnat, in our case, was the internet here.  Yes, they have internet, even wireless internet, but the signal is noooootttt quite fast enough to support aspects of communication that we’re accustomed to.  Not quite fast enough for Skype (sorry Sean, Monise) or the MagicJack (sorry clients, friends and family) or video uploads (sorry WordPress blog followers).  Add to that Sawyer broke his NetBook computer we gave him for Christmas, diminishing his ability to entertain himself and, since that was my main computer to use for my internet access, limiting my ability to keep writing these posts, check e-mail, facebook, etc.  Then, Staci’s laptop’s mouse stops working which, for about 4 days wait until we could travel by bus to Libertad maybe 75 kilometers away to get an external mouse, turned her work computer into a 12 pound paperweight.   About the same time our wireless modems stopped functioning.  And Bailey broke her Kindle and the electricity goes out and, well, you get the idea.

The lesson to be learned here is that maybe we need to pay attention to a level of life obscured by our reliance on technology.  We (not just the 4 of us in Ecuador) need to put down the computer or the Kindle or the Gameboy and the remote and enjoy the sunset and go for a walk and talk to one another . . . face-to-face, not on Facebook, or through text messages or some other technological “advance”.  Read a book.  Listen to the birds or a rain shower.  Play a board game.  Tell stories. Listen to others tell theirs.  Feel our own heart beat.

Hardly a day goes by when one or more of our family breaks down and pleads to go home.  It’s beautiful here.  We’ve made some wonderful friends and had memorable family experiences.  But it’s hard, too.  Things don’t work here the way the do back home.  It’s manana, amigo.  It’s, “Lo siento, no habla Ingles.”  Even the simplest tasks can become difficult to complete because we don’t speak the language, or don’t have the right papers, or haven’t learned where to go to get our laundry done, or WHATEVER.  But it’s all going to be ok.  It’s supposed to be hard.  That’s part of the lesson! And, in spite of the inconvenient truths about living in a 3rd world country, I’m so very grateful that we are here, making “mistakes”, stumbbling, fallings, crying and picking each other up and trying again and again.

With every mistake we must surely be learning . . . .

The sun’s up again and I think I just heard the school bell ring.

We’ve settled into the “dog days of summer” here.  What I mean by that is the initial excitement about being here has started to abate  and we’re now knee deep everyday in finding a way to accomplish our tasks here.  Things don’t work here the way they work back home and there’s a valuable lesson to be learned from this reality.  Since we often don’t have the resources we’re accustomed to, we have to make due with what’s available.

Take the internet access here, for example.  Yes we have it, but it isn’t strong enough signal to support the MagicJacks or Skype system that we intended to keep us connected at our U.S. efficiency.  Not only that, but I’ve discovered in the last few days just how difficult it is to upload the videos we’ve taken to include with these blogs.  It sometimes takes days to upload one 30 second video and that has almost brought the companion blogging ideas to a grinding halt.  So, we have to make due with what we have.  After a week of borrowing a phone from Ljubo and Loly (two of our guardian angels here) and much time and assistance from them, we  finally got Staci’s business cel. “unlocked” and an Ecuadorean cel. chip installed so that we could have a phone available to call clients and friends back home.  I’m trying to be patient with the snail pace of videos uploading and will probably focus more on photos that have shorter load times to keep the blog posts cranking out at a more regular pace.

I was feeling a bit sorry for myself about this issue until I recalled a story shared by a local named Mike Sager.  Mike’s an American business person who came down here 4 years ago and he recently described what internet in these parts used to be like.  He explained that not so long ago, he couldn’t type more than a few sentences in an e-mail before he would lose his internet connection.  The way he managed this shortcoming was to type the body of his e-mail text into a Word document, save it and then, when the internet god chose to smile on him, he’d quickly copy and paste into an e-mail and hit the send button before the process all unraveled again.  That’s the kind of “can do” or make due”, resourcefulness that is so amazing here.

Another example of Ecuadorean ingenuity was displayed by a local laborer at our compound last week.  There is a trealace made of local trees and a thatched roof that separates our patio area from the house next door and it had started to lean markedly to one side.  A local gentleman was called in to repair it.  It was fascinating watching this guy work.  First he removed the sod around the broken concrete footing.  Then he dug out a larger hole about a foot and a half deep around it.  Next he removed the old footing and prepared a mold for repouring a new concrete footing.  Once he had mixed the new concrete and poured the new footing, he relaxed in a hammock nearby.  He arose after a two hour siesta, removed the mold, added several coat of clean white paint, replaced the dirt and sod and watered it to make sure it blended in with the rest of the grassy area.  He did all this work with little more than an old rusty trowel, a claw hammer and a machete.

Often we 1st world inhabitants either subtly or blatantly look down our noses at people who live or work in more primative circumstances.  We wonder how or why they choose live like that as they might appear to many to be totally unmotivated to strive for a “better way of life”.  Yet my friend Billy pointed out to me, as we watched a construction crew work with their crude hand tools on a nearby house, if we ever do experience a terrorist attack that cripples the technology that we “civilized” people utilize and depend on, it’s Manuel with his hammer and machete who will survive and thrive.  The rest of us upwardly mobile yuppies will be crying for the “can do or make due” common folks to save us.  That’s the lesson.

So here is our family, struggling with the internet, struggling to get the kids to study, struggling to contact clients and run a business from worlds away.  At the end of the day, we can walk on the beach, admire an amazing sunset, hug each other and thank our lucky stars for the chance to see, learn from and appreciate another people and their way of life.  That’s the payoff.

As Jose, our favorite cab driver, stopped his cab on the cliff overlooking our nearly pristine 10 mile beach below and shot the video you see above, we were reminded of something profound. That no matter how often we struggle to adjust here and shake our fists at the unreliability of Ecuador’s present technology, there are people all around us that have never had a computer, or a phone or air conditioning, or screens on their windows, or even teeth, to chew a good steak with (if they could ever afford one).  Yet they’re living a life with grace and pride and peace.  Thank you to all those who quietly show us by example that there is value in simplicity, in having less, in making do with whatever is available and be grateful for that.  It’s a grand lesson that won’t be lost on us.

I flew into Ecuador Feb. 13 2010. I met my Mom at the airport in Guayaquil. So guess what I arrived in? My ski jacket, sweats and snow boots.  It’s only 5000 degrees  here because were on the equator!!!! So when we were driving through Guayaquil I saw this guy with two little children and the guy was laying on a brick on the side of the freeway sleeping.

So we have this dog in our compound named Oso. That’s means bear in Spanish. We live a two minute walk from the beach and I swim there everyday. So that concludes my blog for the day so stay tuned for more juicy stories. If you have any questions you can email me at farnan7@hotmail.com

This is Manuel our care taker.

It’s the kick-off to summer, too, as people from Guayaquil (the largest and closest big city ) flee the concrete jungle and make a bee-line for the beach.  Now instead of 40 people per square mile of sand, there’s 500.  Still pretty easy numbers to deal with when compared to the French Riviera, Cabo in Winter or Tahoe in July.

Montanita, nearby is a different matter.  Montanita is to Olon what South Lake Tahoe is to North Lake Tahoe.   Wall-to-wall people partying non-stop for 4 days.  Sitting in one of the open air restaurants watching the passers-by, you feel a little like you’re might be in an Indiana Jones movie crowd scene.  Quite a mixed crew of characters.  It’s a show in itself.  Plus the food is generally pretty good and the prices are very reasonable.

Still, we prefer the peace and quiet of Olon.  Pronounced like O – Lone, the name really fits.  Most of the time, that’s why people come here- to relax and get away.  It also adds to the charm and hospitality that we feel here.  Incline Village is much like that, too.  People come there to escape the traffic and stress of the Bay area.  They’re there to relax and have a good time -  and my job, with that funny shaped piece of wood I often carry around, just try to assist them with that.

Ok, back to Olon.  In our little 3 house compound, we had . . . let’s see . . . .21 people this weekend.  That’s in 6 bedrooms total.  So even in our quiet little fishing village, it was a bit “festive” into the early hours of the the following day(s).  It was a wonderful famiily time with our new neighbors and friends.  After we enjoyed our amigo, Raul’s wonderful sushi feast, I played a bit of American music for our guests.  As always, my guitar has served as a vehicle to bring people together and form new relationships.  Every week has brought us new visitors and new friends who share their experiences and wisdom with us. 

We’re learning so much just by accident that there has been little need to study (although Bailey is diligently pecking away at her computer and Sawyer will start next week).  Several folks back home conceded that the best education we can give our children is to travel with them.  So far, I would have to agree . . . . 

Happy Valentines Day!