Botaanikaaed, missa ja kolimine/Botanic garden, Mass and moving

Kuna mu perekond, kes pidi veebruari lõpuks Ecuadori tagasi jõudma, otsustas alatiseks oma teise poja juurde Italliasse kolida ning maja oli peaaegu alati tühi, väja arvatud majahoidja, kellega hommikupoolikud veetsin, otsustasin perekonda vahetada. Reede pärastlõunaks olin oma kotid kokku pakkinud ja õhtust sõin juba uue perega. Nüüd elan kesklinnale ja töökohale oluliselt lähemal, salsaklassid ja park on jalutuskäigu kaugusel ning busse ja muid transpordivahendeid möödub siit tosinaid.

Elan kolme daamiga - pensionärist ema (Maria Teresa) oma kahe tütrega (Martha ja Maria Augusta). Lisaks käib tööpäeviti koduabiline, keda Maria Teresa hellitavalt oma sekretäriks kutsub. Kõik kolm on erialalt õpetajad, noorim neist õpetab hispaania keelt. Suurepärane! Seetõttu on neil majas ka mõned vabad toad, sest mõnikord majutavad õpilasi, kes siia mõneks ajaks peatuma on otsustanud jääda. Nõnda on mul oma tuba eestoaga, oma isikliku vannitoa ja köögiga ning korrus kõrgemal on terrass. Terrassist üks aste veel kõrgemal on katusekorter, kus üks nende lapselastest, kes Belgias elab, mõnikord peatub. Muul ajal kasutab katusekortertit üks Maria Teresa poegadest, kes on kirjanik ja sinna oma ateljee teinud. Lisaks on majas veel kaks koera, kellest üks on pime, ning mõnikord käivad siin õpilased hispaania keelt õppimas, hetkel näiteks üks tüdruk Hiinast. Ühesõnaga on kõik väga kirju ja maja tavaliselt rahvast täis.

Kuna Maria Teresa kokkab nädala sees , sekretäri abiga, siis nädalavahetusel süüakse üldjuhul väljas. Sellele eelnevalt veedab Maria Teresa pool laupäeva juuksurist sõbranna juures, kes talle lokke keerab, et ikka nädalavahetuseks kena välja näha J Samal ajal käisin mina Maria Augusta ja Marthaga maja lähedal asuvas pargis ja puuviljapoes nädala varusid ostmas ning hiljem kohalikus supermarketis, kust me taksoga koju sõitsime (siin üsna tavaline). Pühapäeva hommikul, kuna päike paistis ja oli meeldivalt soe, otsustasime Maria Augustaga botaanikaaeda minna. Pühapäeviti on bussiga liiklemine Quitos veidi keeruline, kuna üks peatänavatest on suletud ja liiklemine lubatud üksnes jalgrattaga. Ja jalgrattureid oli palju! Lisaks on siin veel ’pico y placa’ autudele, mis tähendab, et vastavalt numbrimärgile ei tohi teatud päevadel sõita. Sellest hoolimata on tänavad aga tihtipeale musta suitsu täis ja sõita võib ükskõik kui vana liikumisvahendiga. Rikkamad muidugi soetavad ’pico y placa’ tõttu mitu autot, et piirangut vältida.

Pärast botaanikaaia külastamist otsustasin teistega kohalikule missale kaasa minna. Midagi eriti aru ei saanud, aga ega ma sellepärast sinna niiväga ei läinudki, rohkem seetõttu, et läksime ühte vanasse kirikusse mis asub kesklinnas ja mis on basiilikale sarnase arhitektuuriga. Peab tõdema, et seest oli kirik veel kaunim, kui väljast paistis! Pärast missat sõime lõunat. Mina sõin krevettidega cevichet, mis on üks traditsioonilistest roogadest. Külm supp, rohkem nagu kaste,  tomatite, sibula ja maitseainetega. Kõrvale paukmais, praetud mais ja banaanikrõpsud.  Maitses hea! Minu kiitvate sõnade peale lubas Maria Teresa, kellel kokaraamatu kirjutamine pooleli, mind mõni päev traditsioonilisi Ecuadori roogasid valmistama õpetada ja mina lubasin vastutasuks pannkooke ja rüütlisaiu teha J

Õhtul vaatasime kohalikke saateid ja rääkisime Eestist. 

Ah jaa, nägin siin paar päeva tagasi poes musta leiba, ent tol hetkel ei olnud aega osta. Eile tagasi minnes enam ei olnud L loodetavasti ei olnud see hooajaline kaup..

L.

Elutuba/ Living room

Söögituba/ Dining room

Teeserviis/ Tea set

Katusekorter/ Penthouse

Botaanikaaias/ At the botanic garden

Maria Augusta lehega, mille nimi on elevandi kõrv/ Maria Augusta with a leaf that's called elephant ear

Triibuline/ Stripes

Kakaopuu/ Cacao tree

Rusika suurune mardikas/ A beetle as big as a fist

Füüsalid/ Physals

Saiategu/ Bread making

Cyclo paseo

Kirik/ The church

As it turned out, my Ecuadorian family who was supposed to return to Ecuador by the end of February never came since they decided to move to Italy to live with their other son. So the house was almost always empty, except for the maid with whom I usually spent the mornings. Thus I decided it’s best if I change the family. I was all ready to go by Friday afternoon and had dinner already with the new family. I now live much closer to everything, salsa classes, downtown and some parks are just a short walk away and there are dozens of buses that pass my new home.

I live with three ladies, a retired mother (Maria Teresa) with her two daughters (Martha and Maria Augusta). We also have a maid who comes every weekday, who Maria Theresa caressingly calls her secretary. All three of them are or used to be teachers, the youngest of them teaches Spanish. Great! Therefore they also have a few spare rooms in the house since they sometimes accommodate students who decide to study Spanish in Quito and want to live with an Ecuadorian family. However, there are no students staying here at the moment, so I have my own room with a living room, my personal bathroom and kitchen and there is also a terrace on the roof. Next to the terrace there is a penthouse where one of the grandchildren, who now lives in Belgium, sometimes stays. One of Maria Teresa’s son’s, who is a writer, uses it in the meanwhile as his office. On top of that we also have two dogs, one of whom is sadly blind. Maria Augusta also gives classes to some students at home a few days a week, at the moment she teaches a girl from China. Thus the house is always full of people and there is always something happening.

Maria Teresa is the one who usually cooks during weekdays with the help of her secretary, thus the family tends to eat out during weekends to give her some rest. So Maria Teresa spends half of her Saturdays at her friends house who does her hair so that she would look nice for the weekend J Me, Maria Augusta and Marta went for a walk to a park and brought some fruit in the meanwhile, after which we went food shopping and returned in a taxy (very common here). We also wanted to go to a botanic garden, but unfortunately it started raining, so we had to postpone it until Sunday morning when the weather was perfect!

It’s a bit tricky to get to places by bus on Sundays since one of the main roads in Quito is only opened for cyclists and there are lots of them! Furthermore, there is a ’pico y placa’ system in Quito, which means that depending on the plate numbers some cars are not allowed to drive on certain days. Nevertheless there is always lots of traffic and you can drive no matter how old your car is. The rich, of course, own two cars to avoid ’pico y placa’

After visiting the botanic garden it was time to go to a Mass, I decided to join the others because they went to one of the most beautiful churches here, similar to the basilica in the old town. I didn’t understand much, but that wasn’t the point, I mostly went to be part of the tradition and to see the church. It was even more beautiful inside that it lookes from the outside! Then we had lunch, I ate ceviche with shrimps, a typical dish here. It’s a cold soup, more like a sauce with tomatoes, onnions and herbs accompanied with popcorn, toasted corn and banana crisps. Delicious! Maria Teresa, who is in the middle of writing a cookbook, promised to teach me how to cook typical Ecuadorian dishes one day and I, in return, promised to teach her how to make pancakes and french toast J

We watched some local programs during dinner, after which we spoke about Estonia.

Oh and also, I saw black bread in one of the supermarkets the other day, but I didn’t have time to buy it then. I went back yesterday and they had none left L I hope it wasn’t some seasonal promotion...

L.