Celebrating the Founding of Cuenca

Cuenca was founded on April 12, 1557.  In honor of this event, the city celebrated this past weekend with not 1, but 2 parades, and a concert which took place at Parque Calderon.  The first parade was on Friday, April 10th.  It included many of the children from the surrounding schools.  I always enjoy seeing how well dressed the students look in their school uniforms.  

Check out the hairstyles on these boys.  Almost all young men here have a similar hair style...shaved on the sides, and full on the top.

On Saturday, April 11th, there was a second parade that featured people from many of the surrounding areas.  This parade had colorful outfits and lots of dancing. 

These first four pictures were taken by a fellow expat, Barley D'Alfonso.  We ran into him after the parade, and he offered to send me a few of the photos that he took.  I love the one of the fire breathing boys.  

On Saturday night there was a big concert in the park.  We left before the end, but it must have lasted late into the night, because the fireworks weren't set off until after midnight.  

In other news, I continue to do my volunteer work at the Cuban school.  Last week we read the story of Jack and the Beanstalk in English and Spanish.  Each student was assigned a body part of the giant to draw and then we assembled it.  Below are the results.

I also did my last stint for David at the after school program in Chilcapamba.   

I'm going to miss this little guy.  

I thought perhaps my family and friends back home might enjoy seeing a picture of my Spanish teacher, Tatiana, and my class mate, Carol. Tatiana works hard at helping us learn Spanish every Tuesday and Thursday.  We appreciate all of her hard work.    

  

    

Happy Easter!

It's been a quiet Easter Day in our neighborhood.  We rarely see a car driving down the street or a person walking along the sidewalk.  We believe that most celebrations here take place on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday and not on Easter Sunday.  We happened to have our good friends, Mara and Glenn, over for dinner on Friday evening, so we were not able to see some of the activities that took place in El Centro.  However, some of the other bloggers were able to capture some great pictures of the events that took place.  

If you would like to see photos of the Good Friday processions that took place in Cuenca, please check out Nancy and Chuck's blog...watsontravels.blogspot.com...or...Al Bourassa's blog...souvenircuenca.blogspot.com, then click on his post dated Friday, April 3, 2015 - Good Friday.  They both are very good photographers and do an excellent job capturing the spirit of the day.  Both these blogs are listed on the right hand side of my blog under Favorite Blogs and Websites.  If you click on them, they should open up.

For all of you back home who are awaiting the coming of spring...here is a little preview of what you can look forward to.  (These photos were taken in Lance's garden...a true labor of love.)  Most of these plants have flowered once and have since grown new buds to flower a second time.  While waiting for the plants to flower again, Lance will place them on the balcony upstairs.  He calls this location the plant hospital.  Only flowering plants are allowed downstairs in the garden.  

Above is a rustic planter made to look like a wheelbarrow that Lance purchased at the rotary market.  Lance planted pansies inside.  Pansies love the cool, shady weather we have here in Cuenca.  

 We brought this pretty plant inside, so we could enjoy it while we ate our Easter brunch.

This is a picture from our neighbors apple tree.  As you can see, these apples are almost ready to be picked.  They look good, but I am not sure how they taste.    

Lance enjoys working and sitting in his garden every day.  It brings him great joy!

In other news...I continue to stay busy between my two volunteer jobs.  Last week I filled in for David at the after school program in Chilcapamba.  This time I traveled on the bus with Eric, who also does volunteer work at the center.  I plan to fill in one more time for David before he returns from Germany.

Most students come for help with their homework.  My job when I am there is to help with their English homework. 

This boy and girl were busy playing with the water.  The little girl was washing off the gate and the boy was getting a drink from the garden hose.  Of course, there is always time for a little bit of play when their work is done.     

    

On the way home Eric and I stopped to buy an ice cream cone from this truck that was touring the neighborhood.  He had a loud speaker used to advertise his wares.   

I also continue my work at the Cuban school.  This week, the students heard the book, Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews.  I downloaded the book on my Kindle App.  I was lucky enough to have one of the bilingual mom's read it in Spanish while I read it in English.  Then, we did a project that showed what you can make with ten (or fewer) black dots.

   

Last week Lance and I saw the marching band from the Conservatorio de Musica practicing on the street in front of our building.  Here are a few photos we took as they marched by our home...

And now... 3 things that are different here...

All fresh onions and peas come peeled and shelled, no matter where you buy them.  These pictures were taken at our local supermarket.   

Many of the old colonial buildings in El Centro have a courtyard that can not be seen from the outside of the building.  It's always fun to peek through the doorways as you walk through El Centro to see what is hidden inside.

In many places you see garbage placed on medal grates located on the front of the buildings.  They are placed up high so the animals...mainly dogs...can not get into them.  It seems to work...at least in our neighborhood.  No one that I know of has garbage cans.  We have garbage pick-up 3 times a week and recycled materials are picked up once a week.  

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday weekend.