Author: Hannah
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Benito & crew come to town!
My dear friend Benito came to visit us for three weeks in July. He came with an entourage: his husband Cliff, his co-parent Jeffers, their son Jonathan, friend Josh, and in-laws Papa David & Nana Barbara. Benito and family would like to live in a Spanish speaking country for a year in the future, and…
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Ma Chin turns 70!
Luz and I flew back to Washington State in June for my mom’s 70th birthday party, while Riki held down the fort in Cuenca with Tomu and Jade. Have I mentioned what a rockstar of a partner and father Riki is? My Ecuadorian friends are so impressed with Riki’s ease, ability, and willingness to take…
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Bike Shenanigans
We bike a lot here in Cuenca. Riki bikes pretty much everywhere—he meets me downtown for breakfast, and I take a bus while he rides. He rides up in the mountains all around Cuenca. I mainly stick to where we need to go, and to the river trails because the drivers here are not very…
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Camping
We like to spend time in nature as a family. In the States this often means car camping with family or friends, with our annual 2.6 mile roundtrip backpacking trip to Third Beach at La Push added in. Often when we car camp, we do it in Leavenworth or Vantage because we are really there…
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Growing kids
Jade Jade has been taking an art class on Friday afternoons since February. She absolutely loves it, and she often asks if it is art class day. She also loves to draw and paint at home. Jade has also make big strides in swimming class: she loves to put her head under the water now,…
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Perú
Does it sound fun to travel with 3 small children to Machu Pichu? Perhaps the 2nd kind of fun, that’s only fun in the re-telling. Let me tell you, it is not for the faint of heart! Getting to Machu Pichu entailed a taxi ride, an overnight bus ride, a 2 hour taxi ride, 2…
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A J-O-B
Sometimes my dad used to say that about jobs, call them J-O-B’s. Well, I got one, of sorts. A fellow Ultimate Frisbee player referred me to the job. At the end of January I became an employee of We English, a company that provides English tutors to students in China. I had my first interview…
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3 hospitals and my hero of the day
On the Tuesday of Carnaval, when everything was closed and everyone spends time with their family, Luz’ fever hit 103.5 degrees. Now, she had had a fever off and on for 10 days at this point, and I had been giving her infant ibuprofen when it got to around 101 degrees, but finally I was…
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4 small kids in one bedroom
On Sunday, February 24th, Tomu’s friend Scarlett (age 5 ½) and her family came to visit us for 12 days. Tomu and Scarlett met at Chavitos, the outdoor Spanish school in Tacoma, and Tomu put me in the awkward position of having to ask a complete stranger if her daughter could come play, right now.…
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New friends
We met an Alaskan family on the bus to Cajas back in January. Ashley, a Spanish teacher and Scott, an art teacher, are living in Cuenca with their two kids, Cormac and Story for the year. They return to Anchorage in June, sadly for us. We have decided to stay another year in Cuenca, and…
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