We had two new students join us so we again have ten students at El Quebracho.
Laudi age 6 lives at nearby Carraya Ranch.
Joaquin age 7 who also lives in Carraya.
Don't they have the sweetest faces? There personalities are just a sweet.
Another Miracle (Otro Milagro)
You may be tired of hearing our stories about receiving help from above, but once again, there is no other explanation. We were on our way home from Los Perales after having dropped off a gaucho on Monday morning when we felt a change in the engine, the air condition stopped working, and some engine lights came on. We looked at the temperature gauge and it was rising quickly.
So, we turned off the air conditioner and cracked the windows since it was already a hot morning. The temperature gauge dropped to normal immediately though the engine lights stayed on. Our vehicle mechanic, Walter, was located on our way home, but since we didn't have cell coverage, and the temperature registered normal, we continued. When we were about 5 miles from town, we got a signal and called Walter. He heard our plight and said to stop by and he would look it over. At that point in time, the temperature gauge still registered normal though Walter still worried about the safety of the truck.
We pulled into the shop a bit later and turned off the engine. It was no more than five minutes when Walter turned the engine on to check it out. The temperature gauge jumped to the highest point and while looking under the hood, Walter saw the water in the radiator was boiling. He was baffled and not happy. We suspect that he thought that Americans simply can't read temperature gauges.
Long story short, the fan belt had broken and with the temperature so warm that morning, we should not have been able to drive 15 miles without overheating the engine. Walter changed the belt which you see below and wants us to bring the truck back for a 3 hour fix. We'll see what other damage was done, but the fact remains, we made it back to the ranch without bothering Yuca or any of the workers at El Quebracho.
Below is a landmark on the way to Los Perales that we call, "the bridge to nowhere". As you see, it sits undisturbed on the side of the road. We often wonder what is behind the story of a bridge in the middle of nowhere leading to nowhere.
Los Perales
Remember the blouse that Vanesa finished on her own last week? Well, there was extra fabric that she wanted to use for another shirt, but she didn't quite have enough for both the front and back. I showed her how to make a seam in the front and she had some left over trim to complete the design. Vanesa was on cloud nine and so was I observing her sense of accomplishment.
English Classes at El Quebracho
We had a great week with the English classes. We actually had school every day and the kids are still well-behaved and seem to be enjoying our planned activities. Monday, we were 30 minutes late for class with the engine problem, but we carried on as if nothing had happened. The kids observing that their ride was no where in sight, walked the mile or so from the new school to our house. They arrived about the same time we did.
Funny thing: One morning when picking up the kids we greeted Tiago with "Good Morning" rather than the usual, "How are you?" He replied, "I am fine, thank you" said monotone and very rapidly though every syllable was expressed. One of the moments we don't want to forget as everyone laughed and the day became bright and cheery.
The regular teachers are still on vacation though. Did I mention that the first and last month of school each year, the regular teachers take off for an extended period of time? This time two teachers both left for a month. Yuca is the only one that seems upset. You see there is a custom here that if someone uses the word, "Permiso", they pretty much have "permission" to do whatsoever follows the magic word. The mom's are ok with the kids having a substitute for a month because the teacher asked, "Permiso?". I'm sure we have some strange customs as well. What can you think of that compares? Hmmm.... I can't think of any at the moment.
Home repair
We have been trying to get the air conditioner fixed in the learning center since last December. When Yuca wasn't able to get anyone to come out by springtime, we hoped that the weather would change and we wouldn't need air conditioning. However, the Learning Center is simply too hot to use for very long. So, we made another request and this time it worked. Listen to the ordeal we all had to go through. The assistant manager, Ruben, lined up a company (consisting of one man and a helper) to come on Friday evening. We were asked to take the cook and cleaner, Cristina, home to Feliciano and she would show us where the "gas" company was located that would add Freon to the air conditioner. We were to pick up the men and all their equipment and bring them to the ranch, pay them in cash when the job was complete, and take them back home to Feliciano. Remember Feliciano is 30 minutes away. Well, it worked, and the learning center is much more comfortable. Now we know where the owner of the company lives, and we can pick him up without Cristina's help if needed.
We also got the WiFi working again. We've had so much trouble with the internet since the office renovation started. After weeks and weeks, Yuca finally got a representative from the internet service out here but it took threatening to use another company. The joke is of course there is no competition. Anyway, we finally got a break in the weather and they came out. They weren't allowed to leave until we had them verify that all our computers were on line. We have 11 devices counting our iphones and magic jack. The technician had to turn the satellite a bit, and all 11 were connected... but only for a couple of days. Without explanation, nothing worked just several hours before computer time with the kids. The kids would have been sooooo disappointed, but with a prayer and some work, we were able to get the kids computers working since they were connected by hard wire. We had internet but no wifi. We were afraid that it would be weeks and weeks before we got help again, but Ruben got someone committed (after he was pestered by Gregg) to come out on Saturday morning. He set up another desktop switch connecting our routers, and voila, we're functioning again. We are dead in the water without internet even if it is turtle slow.
When Yuca came to check on us, we showed him what we had done to the main outside door to keep it functioning; he said in English, "I love you guys living here." We're not exactly sure what he was implying, but he was happy so we are happy.
Nandu
We were on our way home from Feliciano when we saw a Nandu running the road ahead of us. We had to go fast to catch up with him, but at the point we reached him, the road didn't have a good place for him to run away. So, we followed him for a mile or so.
Amazing, he kept a good 30 mile/hour clip even when we backed off his tail and let him run on his own. We know because we watched the speedometer. (Proof that Americans can read gauges)
When he reached a clearing, he took off at the same 30 miles per hour pace.
More beautiful sunsets
Along with beautiful sunsets, we listened to General Conference this weekend which is a biannual event. We were so uplifted and motivated to do and be better. Here is a link if you'd like to check it out https://www.lds.org/general-conference?General Conference April 2017
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