Thursday January 15
I got up, showered and went to the kitchen about 7am. Tarquin was already up but still in his bed clothes. Then he showered, got his son ready then said he was ready to leave.
Jayne was sick today as she was yesterday but I asked her if she wanted to get up to say goodbye to Tarquin. She got up and said goodbye. They left about 7.50am.
About 8.30am my gardener came over. After he was finished I asked him to come back next week. I want to have the yard look nice whenever a buyer comes over, as I’m selling the house.
About 1pm I went to the mall to check my email.
I sent emails to Matt and another guy to say that we might not be able to go to the party. The party is by an American couple who bought a flat in Quito. I don’t know them well but we have met. Jayne was looking forward to going but if she doesn’t fell 100% by tomorrow we won’t go.
The Contractor who did work on my house called to see if he could stop by to pick up the scaffolding that he left here (and forgot all about it until I told him). He said he will contact his real estate friend to come by and look at the property.
The Jayne got up for a few minutes. Then she went back to bed.
The electricity went off three times today! This is unusual as the electricity last went off over a month ago, and whenever it went off it was just one time – not three times in one day.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Wednesday January 14
Jayne didn’t feel good so she stayed in bed. She feels tired, but hasn’t thrown up or has a headache. I hope she feels better soon.
My worker came today. He said that he can’t work for a couple of weeks as he found out he has a hernia. He will need an operation. I feel sorry for him and hope for his recovery. Tarquin said that I would like someone to come one day a week to do weeding. Gonzalo said that he will ask his brother if he can do it. Otherwise I’ll wait until he returns to work.
I would like someone to come and keep the garden nice. The person I have that cuts the grass wants too much to weed so that is why I want someone else.
Then Tarquin went to the church plaza to meet his son. His mother-in-law took him by taxi, and then she went back to Quito. Tarquin came back in the taxi and we went to the mall. I had to go to the mall to go on the internet. Jayne did not get out of bed when I left.
I went on the internet while Tarquin and Martin walked around the mall. When they came back to the restaurant we all ate. I just had breakfast while he had lunch. Tarquin said earlier said that he would like to treat Jayne and me to lunch or dinner. So we’ll do this after Jayne gets better.
Tarquin bought some toys for his boy while at the mall. Later we had coffee at a coffee shop in the mall. He asked me to watch him while he went into another store. Then his son emptied the bucket that has his ‘building blocks’ inside and just dumped them on the seat and floor. While I observed this I notice something strange. He did not play with them and put the blocks together. He just looked at them like just pieces of things that he didn’t know what to do with! I showed him how one piece connected to another, but his attention span and interest was not there.
Then we went back home. When we got there I noticed that Jayne was still in bed.
When Tarquin’s son and I were on the patio he had dumped out the blocks again. He took a broom and swept them up as if it was trash. I noticed how strange. When I was his age (about 3-4) I was playing with blocks and knew how to build things. But for Martin this is beyond him.
I didn’t have to be shown at his age how to play with blocks, I automatically did it. I remember that I was given a bag of wooden blocks that was my father’s as a child and they were not like the Lego blocks that they make today where you can see how they connect. You had to carefully put one wooden block on top of another.
His child looks normal but he doesn’t act normal. It could be because his parents don’t spend quality time with him.
Years ago I read something about what was on National Geographic and the article said how they have to train Negros adults in Africa how to use a shovel and move dirt from one area to another. The author went on to say, “Have you ever had to train your child how to use a shovel? No. When you went to the beach with your child you gave him/her a shovel and bucket and they automatically start shoveling and putting sand in the bucket.”
Earlier I told Tarquin that I have some cartoons for him to watch. He said that he’s too young to watch them. He has to see something with colors and images. His son is really behind his age group. His son looks normal, he doesn’t look like he’s retarded or has Down’s syndrome, which would explain his actions.
When we were in the supermarket his son started to open the package of butter that I bought. When we got to the cashier she noticed that the plastic container of milk was leaking. So, he must have squeezed that, too!
Can you imagine if you had this much trouble with your child? I think this stems from the child not being correct as he grows up, and I don’t mean just with words but using the back of your hand – assuming the child can connect a little pain with what he/she did wrong.
It’s not that I’m a genius but I believe that most children of my generation are much further ahead than the generation of today. If children today are brought up with the morals and parental guidance as they did years ago they would be smarter and much better behaved. This is true when I was a child. But sad to say, Tarquin’s children are not like this.
One more thing about his son – who is 3 and closer for 4 years old – that he still wears diapers (nappies)! I noticed that when every his son did something in his pants Tarquin would say, “What did you do? Did you do a poo in your pants?” then he would smile. Now, here is a boy who is at least 3.5 years old and his father (and I presume his mother, too) does nothing to correct him. When you just say “What did you do” and smile, the child doesn’t learn has he thinks that everything is normal. What should be done is saying something like this, “Now you tell me when you have to pee or poo and I’ll take you to the toilet.” And when he does go in his pants say, “Now I told you to tell me before you go that you have to use the toilet,” or “That’s not nice, you’re a big boy (or girl) and big boys/girls don’t go in their pants.”
That’s how a child learns.
Later in the afternoon, Tarquin had to go to the city to meet his lawyer. He took his son with him. He told me he’d be meeting his wife there and they will go out to eat. Then he’ll return in the evening.
Jayne got up for a short time in the afternoon (after Tarquin left) then went back to bed. I sure hope she feels better soon.
In the evening Tarquin and Martin came back here. Katherine and one of his workers – Daniel – drove them back. Tarquin said his goodbyes to the worker and his wife.
At this time Jayne got up, as she was in bed all day. This was about 8pm.
Tarquin told us what happened. He said he met with his lawyer and his assistant. He found out that the State plans to detain him in the near future. He found this out by having a paid a worker to get the information. It was suggested that he leave the country as soon as possible. Though he said it will probably be a week before they issue the orders.
Even though he is just a suspect, they will keep you in prison until it goes to court. He did not know if they have bail or how much it would be if such as the case. Tarquin doesn’t want to spend any time in jail.
He went on to explain that the government will not issue and extradition orders on someone who is just a suspect. But I don’t know about that, as when people do become ‘fugitives’ it’s before a person goes to court. However with a fugitive it is a crime in the U.S. I don’t know about here.
So he plans to leave the country by way of crossing the border in Columbia. This is the easiest way to leave the country. Then he’ll fly to Argentina. The reason why he’s going there is that his wife plans to go to culinary school there to learn more about cooking. She made these plans back in the summer and already paid half the price. She still plans to go through with it, so by Tarquin being there he can find a flat for him and his family to live. The school starts March 1. He’ll also be able to find a school for his older son.
Life and business life is very fragile. Here is a good guy who wouldn’t hurt anyone now has to flee the country, leave his family and business behind.
He’s not charged with anything yet, they just want to detain him. Just on this bases it’s not right and there is no justice in putting someone in jail who is not charged with anything. I don’t blame him for leaving, I would, too, and so would others.
I talked to Tarquin about his property and he told me that the property is all in his wife’s name. however, they had bought (with financing) an apartment in Quito and I asked him about that. he said that they will keep it. They already paid $10,000. I suggested that if it comes to selling everything he can sell it (like millions do) before it’s paid off.
Another thought that I got later is, that he should give power of attorney to his lawyer (the same one that I have) if it has to be sold when neither of them can come back to the country. But I’m sure he didn’t do this. Maria, the lawyer, didn’t fly back from her trip to Spain until today and probably won’t be in the office until tomorrow. With such a long trip she will probably be home sleeping today and tomorrow. When she does go in when probably has so many things to do.
We chatted until about 10.30pm. Tarquin put his son to bed first then he watched a DVD for about 20 minutes while Jayne and I went to bed.
My worker came today. He said that he can’t work for a couple of weeks as he found out he has a hernia. He will need an operation. I feel sorry for him and hope for his recovery. Tarquin said that I would like someone to come one day a week to do weeding. Gonzalo said that he will ask his brother if he can do it. Otherwise I’ll wait until he returns to work.
I would like someone to come and keep the garden nice. The person I have that cuts the grass wants too much to weed so that is why I want someone else.
Then Tarquin went to the church plaza to meet his son. His mother-in-law took him by taxi, and then she went back to Quito. Tarquin came back in the taxi and we went to the mall. I had to go to the mall to go on the internet. Jayne did not get out of bed when I left.
I went on the internet while Tarquin and Martin walked around the mall. When they came back to the restaurant we all ate. I just had breakfast while he had lunch. Tarquin said earlier said that he would like to treat Jayne and me to lunch or dinner. So we’ll do this after Jayne gets better.
Tarquin bought some toys for his boy while at the mall. Later we had coffee at a coffee shop in the mall. He asked me to watch him while he went into another store. Then his son emptied the bucket that has his ‘building blocks’ inside and just dumped them on the seat and floor. While I observed this I notice something strange. He did not play with them and put the blocks together. He just looked at them like just pieces of things that he didn’t know what to do with! I showed him how one piece connected to another, but his attention span and interest was not there.
Then we went back home. When we got there I noticed that Jayne was still in bed.
When Tarquin’s son and I were on the patio he had dumped out the blocks again. He took a broom and swept them up as if it was trash. I noticed how strange. When I was his age (about 3-4) I was playing with blocks and knew how to build things. But for Martin this is beyond him.
I didn’t have to be shown at his age how to play with blocks, I automatically did it. I remember that I was given a bag of wooden blocks that was my father’s as a child and they were not like the Lego blocks that they make today where you can see how they connect. You had to carefully put one wooden block on top of another.
His child looks normal but he doesn’t act normal. It could be because his parents don’t spend quality time with him.
Years ago I read something about what was on National Geographic and the article said how they have to train Negros adults in Africa how to use a shovel and move dirt from one area to another. The author went on to say, “Have you ever had to train your child how to use a shovel? No. When you went to the beach with your child you gave him/her a shovel and bucket and they automatically start shoveling and putting sand in the bucket.”
Earlier I told Tarquin that I have some cartoons for him to watch. He said that he’s too young to watch them. He has to see something with colors and images. His son is really behind his age group. His son looks normal, he doesn’t look like he’s retarded or has Down’s syndrome, which would explain his actions.
When we were in the supermarket his son started to open the package of butter that I bought. When we got to the cashier she noticed that the plastic container of milk was leaking. So, he must have squeezed that, too!
Can you imagine if you had this much trouble with your child? I think this stems from the child not being correct as he grows up, and I don’t mean just with words but using the back of your hand – assuming the child can connect a little pain with what he/she did wrong.
It’s not that I’m a genius but I believe that most children of my generation are much further ahead than the generation of today. If children today are brought up with the morals and parental guidance as they did years ago they would be smarter and much better behaved. This is true when I was a child. But sad to say, Tarquin’s children are not like this.
One more thing about his son – who is 3 and closer for 4 years old – that he still wears diapers (nappies)! I noticed that when every his son did something in his pants Tarquin would say, “What did you do? Did you do a poo in your pants?” then he would smile. Now, here is a boy who is at least 3.5 years old and his father (and I presume his mother, too) does nothing to correct him. When you just say “What did you do” and smile, the child doesn’t learn has he thinks that everything is normal. What should be done is saying something like this, “Now you tell me when you have to pee or poo and I’ll take you to the toilet.” And when he does go in his pants say, “Now I told you to tell me before you go that you have to use the toilet,” or “That’s not nice, you’re a big boy (or girl) and big boys/girls don’t go in their pants.”
That’s how a child learns.
Later in the afternoon, Tarquin had to go to the city to meet his lawyer. He took his son with him. He told me he’d be meeting his wife there and they will go out to eat. Then he’ll return in the evening.
Jayne got up for a short time in the afternoon (after Tarquin left) then went back to bed. I sure hope she feels better soon.
In the evening Tarquin and Martin came back here. Katherine and one of his workers – Daniel – drove them back. Tarquin said his goodbyes to the worker and his wife.
At this time Jayne got up, as she was in bed all day. This was about 8pm.
Tarquin told us what happened. He said he met with his lawyer and his assistant. He found out that the State plans to detain him in the near future. He found this out by having a paid a worker to get the information. It was suggested that he leave the country as soon as possible. Though he said it will probably be a week before they issue the orders.
Even though he is just a suspect, they will keep you in prison until it goes to court. He did not know if they have bail or how much it would be if such as the case. Tarquin doesn’t want to spend any time in jail.
He went on to explain that the government will not issue and extradition orders on someone who is just a suspect. But I don’t know about that, as when people do become ‘fugitives’ it’s before a person goes to court. However with a fugitive it is a crime in the U.S. I don’t know about here.
So he plans to leave the country by way of crossing the border in Columbia. This is the easiest way to leave the country. Then he’ll fly to Argentina. The reason why he’s going there is that his wife plans to go to culinary school there to learn more about cooking. She made these plans back in the summer and already paid half the price. She still plans to go through with it, so by Tarquin being there he can find a flat for him and his family to live. The school starts March 1. He’ll also be able to find a school for his older son.
Life and business life is very fragile. Here is a good guy who wouldn’t hurt anyone now has to flee the country, leave his family and business behind.
He’s not charged with anything yet, they just want to detain him. Just on this bases it’s not right and there is no justice in putting someone in jail who is not charged with anything. I don’t blame him for leaving, I would, too, and so would others.
I talked to Tarquin about his property and he told me that the property is all in his wife’s name. however, they had bought (with financing) an apartment in Quito and I asked him about that. he said that they will keep it. They already paid $10,000. I suggested that if it comes to selling everything he can sell it (like millions do) before it’s paid off.
Another thought that I got later is, that he should give power of attorney to his lawyer (the same one that I have) if it has to be sold when neither of them can come back to the country. But I’m sure he didn’t do this. Maria, the lawyer, didn’t fly back from her trip to Spain until today and probably won’t be in the office until tomorrow. With such a long trip she will probably be home sleeping today and tomorrow. When she does go in when probably has so many things to do.
We chatted until about 10.30pm. Tarquin put his son to bed first then he watched a DVD for about 20 minutes while Jayne and I went to bed.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Smart-ass Remark by Estate Agent!
Thursday January 8
Today would have been Jayne’s father’s (Bill) birthday. God bless him.
It was raining today, to I asked Gonzalo to go with me to Quito. I wanted to buy some seeds and I was told by another friend that it’s in front of Plaza San Francisco.
When we were walking there I got a call from the real estate agent. He told me he’s on his way. I told him that we changed our minds and won’t need his services. Do you know what this IDIOT said? He said, “Screw you!”
Then he hung up the phone right away.
This guy is really sick! I can’t understand their mentality.
I told him yesterday to meet at 10am as I had someplace else to go. He said he’d call to confirm this, well when he called it was 10.23am. And the fact that they were on their way it could have been close to 11am by the time he arrived. He should have called earlier – but I would have said the same thing. At least he would not have been on the road.
I was thinking if this jerk called home first and Jayne told him the same thing that I did, he would probably said the same thing to her (screw you), which would not have been nice to say to a lady.
No wonder people are poor – because they work to be poor. Even if he isn’t he just has one less house to sell. You can be sure that he will never get any more recommendations from Matt – so he’ll lose more money in the long run. Good!
I can’t get out of Ecuador fast enough and I’m sure Jayne feels the same way.
Jayne and I already decided not to use him after what happened yesterday – with not calling and lying saying he sent a text message. Now his true colors came out. This is how problems are really a blessing in disguise. Having a guy with a bad attitude showing property is not good.
What this real estate agent did shows that he’s a coward. When he lied he sends a text. This way he will not have to answer questions and he doesn’t doesn’t show his emotion – which reveals that he’s lying. Also, by saying something nasty and hanging up shows that he would not have to hear any rebuttals.
Then Gonzalo and I went to the store that sells seeds. I bought about a dozen packs of seeds that came to $5.50. I told him he could have the rest of the day off and I’d see him tomorrow.
Then I went to Papaya Net to get something to eat and go on the internet. Shortly after I got on the internet I called Matt to see if he was in his office. He was and said to come now.
When if first got there I met an American and his Belarusian wife. She speaks Russian of course. I spoke with her a little in Russian. Matt told that they bought an apartment on the same street that I have mine and have had it since July 2007.
I told Matt I the story of the so-called ‘real estate agent’ and he was surprised. He said he can’t figure Ecuadorian thinking either.
We discussed of other ways for me to sell the house – which I had already thought out. He said he would list the property on his website and put an ad in the Quito newspaper. I’ll also place an ad on eBay.
Today would have been Jayne’s father’s (Bill) birthday. God bless him.
It was raining today, to I asked Gonzalo to go with me to Quito. I wanted to buy some seeds and I was told by another friend that it’s in front of Plaza San Francisco.
When we were walking there I got a call from the real estate agent. He told me he’s on his way. I told him that we changed our minds and won’t need his services. Do you know what this IDIOT said? He said, “Screw you!”
Then he hung up the phone right away.
This guy is really sick! I can’t understand their mentality.
I told him yesterday to meet at 10am as I had someplace else to go. He said he’d call to confirm this, well when he called it was 10.23am. And the fact that they were on their way it could have been close to 11am by the time he arrived. He should have called earlier – but I would have said the same thing. At least he would not have been on the road.
I was thinking if this jerk called home first and Jayne told him the same thing that I did, he would probably said the same thing to her (screw you), which would not have been nice to say to a lady.
No wonder people are poor – because they work to be poor. Even if he isn’t he just has one less house to sell. You can be sure that he will never get any more recommendations from Matt – so he’ll lose more money in the long run. Good!
I can’t get out of Ecuador fast enough and I’m sure Jayne feels the same way.
Jayne and I already decided not to use him after what happened yesterday – with not calling and lying saying he sent a text message. Now his true colors came out. This is how problems are really a blessing in disguise. Having a guy with a bad attitude showing property is not good.
What this real estate agent did shows that he’s a coward. When he lied he sends a text. This way he will not have to answer questions and he doesn’t doesn’t show his emotion – which reveals that he’s lying. Also, by saying something nasty and hanging up shows that he would not have to hear any rebuttals.
Then Gonzalo and I went to the store that sells seeds. I bought about a dozen packs of seeds that came to $5.50. I told him he could have the rest of the day off and I’d see him tomorrow.
Then I went to Papaya Net to get something to eat and go on the internet. Shortly after I got on the internet I called Matt to see if he was in his office. He was and said to come now.
When if first got there I met an American and his Belarusian wife. She speaks Russian of course. I spoke with her a little in Russian. Matt told that they bought an apartment on the same street that I have mine and have had it since July 2007.
I told Matt I the story of the so-called ‘real estate agent’ and he was surprised. He said he can’t figure Ecuadorian thinking either.
We discussed of other ways for me to sell the house – which I had already thought out. He said he would list the property on his website and put an ad in the Quito newspaper. I’ll also place an ad on eBay.
Idiot Real Estate Agent!
Wednesday January 7
Today Jayne and I prepared for the real estate agent to come by cleaning up the house. He told me he’d be here at 2pm. We rushed around to get everything done.
Two o’clock came and went. Then 3 o’clock came and he still wasn’t here.
What the hell is wrong with these people?! Jayne and I were pissed!
I gave him a call and he said that he sent a text message to say that he couldn’t come. I told him that I didn’t receive any messages. He told me that he didn’t have a car at his disposal. I knew at this time it was BULL!
He asked if he could come tomorrow and I said that it would have to be in the morning at 10am as I have to be somewhere else later. He said he’d call to confirm this.
I told Jayne he was lying. This guy has our home phone number and he could have called here as we were home all day. When you have a business meeting you don’t use a text message when you should call first. He has my cell phone and home phone. I told Jayne that when I talked to him he sounded like he just got out of bed. He did not have the enthusiasm as yesterday.
For a business meeting you call and talk to the person, you only use a text message when you can’t reach the person. Plus, like I said there were no missed messages.
If he had any business sense he could have taken a bus here and it would have cost him only 30 cents. Just because he speaks English he might thing that we are depended on him – well he’s wrong!
What I’ll do is when he calls tomorrow (if he calls) I’ll tell him ‘You’re fired!’ I get a gut instinct that he will not be a good agent. So maybe this works out for the better. After all, he wants an exclusive listing and if he doesn’t have the initiative to be here, he will probably do very little to sell the property.
I’ll tell Matt that this guy is useless. I’ll have him (Matt) put my property on his website and to place some ads in the city newspaper. I know he will do a good job.
Last night Jayne and I saw a documentary from a DVD that Richard made for us, of which he got off the internet. There was very important thing that was said by the speaker that I never thought of. He related a story whereby real estate agents were going to the farms and homes in the area of Colorado where they had buyers who wanted the properties no matter what the price. Some people started to ask who the buyers were and they wouldn’t reveal it. Finally one did and said that they have wealthy Chinese businessmen who want to buy property with their US dollars.
The real estate agent called yesterday. We had seen this documentary last night. I think that God is telling us something. Had we not seen this film we might still sign on with this lazy estate agent of which he would have an exclusive (this is the only way his company works). Now we have been warned and now have the freedom to list the property on eBay.
The wealthy in China knows that the dollar is collapsing and China – collectively – holds about $1 trillion! They know that the US Treasury bills are only paper, too. So they are looking to put their dollars into something of value – and property is what they are investing in.
This gave me an idea – to somehow get the attention of the wealthy Chinese – of listing my property on the Internet. Of course, I already had plans to put the house on some website. So, if the Chinese – or any other foreigner – who has a lot of money to buy property, can by here in Ecuador. After all, their dollar will buy much more than in the US or Europe.
I’ll look first on eBay! eBay has the largest listing of property in the world – even though they have listing for every other conceivable thing available. I’m sure the Chinese, Japanese and other countries that are holding billions of dollars know about eBay and their real estate listing. And hopefully they will look there.
The reason why I didn’t just want to use Matt’s website was that he hasn’t got any clients to buy for the past year because of the economy. When I see him tomorrow I’ll talk to him about putting my property on his site and to place an ad in the city newspaper.
I’m sure you see that just about everything that is done in Ecuador there is a problem, delay or cost more money to get it done.
Today Jayne and I prepared for the real estate agent to come by cleaning up the house. He told me he’d be here at 2pm. We rushed around to get everything done.
Two o’clock came and went. Then 3 o’clock came and he still wasn’t here.
What the hell is wrong with these people?! Jayne and I were pissed!
I gave him a call and he said that he sent a text message to say that he couldn’t come. I told him that I didn’t receive any messages. He told me that he didn’t have a car at his disposal. I knew at this time it was BULL!
He asked if he could come tomorrow and I said that it would have to be in the morning at 10am as I have to be somewhere else later. He said he’d call to confirm this.
I told Jayne he was lying. This guy has our home phone number and he could have called here as we were home all day. When you have a business meeting you don’t use a text message when you should call first. He has my cell phone and home phone. I told Jayne that when I talked to him he sounded like he just got out of bed. He did not have the enthusiasm as yesterday.
For a business meeting you call and talk to the person, you only use a text message when you can’t reach the person. Plus, like I said there were no missed messages.
If he had any business sense he could have taken a bus here and it would have cost him only 30 cents. Just because he speaks English he might thing that we are depended on him – well he’s wrong!
What I’ll do is when he calls tomorrow (if he calls) I’ll tell him ‘You’re fired!’ I get a gut instinct that he will not be a good agent. So maybe this works out for the better. After all, he wants an exclusive listing and if he doesn’t have the initiative to be here, he will probably do very little to sell the property.
I’ll tell Matt that this guy is useless. I’ll have him (Matt) put my property on his website and to place some ads in the city newspaper. I know he will do a good job.
Last night Jayne and I saw a documentary from a DVD that Richard made for us, of which he got off the internet. There was very important thing that was said by the speaker that I never thought of. He related a story whereby real estate agents were going to the farms and homes in the area of Colorado where they had buyers who wanted the properties no matter what the price. Some people started to ask who the buyers were and they wouldn’t reveal it. Finally one did and said that they have wealthy Chinese businessmen who want to buy property with their US dollars.
The real estate agent called yesterday. We had seen this documentary last night. I think that God is telling us something. Had we not seen this film we might still sign on with this lazy estate agent of which he would have an exclusive (this is the only way his company works). Now we have been warned and now have the freedom to list the property on eBay.
The wealthy in China knows that the dollar is collapsing and China – collectively – holds about $1 trillion! They know that the US Treasury bills are only paper, too. So they are looking to put their dollars into something of value – and property is what they are investing in.
This gave me an idea – to somehow get the attention of the wealthy Chinese – of listing my property on the Internet. Of course, I already had plans to put the house on some website. So, if the Chinese – or any other foreigner – who has a lot of money to buy property, can by here in Ecuador. After all, their dollar will buy much more than in the US or Europe.
I’ll look first on eBay! eBay has the largest listing of property in the world – even though they have listing for every other conceivable thing available. I’m sure the Chinese, Japanese and other countries that are holding billions of dollars know about eBay and their real estate listing. And hopefully they will look there.
The reason why I didn’t just want to use Matt’s website was that he hasn’t got any clients to buy for the past year because of the economy. When I see him tomorrow I’ll talk to him about putting my property on his site and to place an ad in the city newspaper.
I’m sure you see that just about everything that is done in Ecuador there is a problem, delay or cost more money to get it done.
Tuesday January 6
I went to Quito to get money out of the bank. When I went to withdraw I was told that I had to go to the desk. When I spoke to the woman she said that I could not withdraw what I wanted to but had to take all the money out.
Another problem in Ecuador!
I would have still had plenty of money in my account but I guess because of the bank’s stupid rules if it dropped below a certain amount you have to close the account. So this is what I did. I’ve had problems with this bank anyhow, so I closed it and got all my money.
I know other banks have minimum limits but I’m sure not set as high as here. You’d think that with this being a poor country they would allow lower limits, but such is not the case.
While I was at the bank I got a call from a real estate agent saying he got an email from Mathieu saying that I want to sell the house. He said he can come by tomorrow afternoon, so we made plans to meet. He said that his company only deals with exclusive listings. Other agents can sell but they will split the commission. Well, I hope his company does a good job. He told me that they have a website so I want to take a look at that first. And also see what kind of advertizing they will do. I will start out with a short contract – say 3 months.
Another problem in Ecuador!
I would have still had plenty of money in my account but I guess because of the bank’s stupid rules if it dropped below a certain amount you have to close the account. So this is what I did. I’ve had problems with this bank anyhow, so I closed it and got all my money.
I know other banks have minimum limits but I’m sure not set as high as here. You’d think that with this being a poor country they would allow lower limits, but such is not the case.
While I was at the bank I got a call from a real estate agent saying he got an email from Mathieu saying that I want to sell the house. He said he can come by tomorrow afternoon, so we made plans to meet. He said that his company only deals with exclusive listings. Other agents can sell but they will split the commission. Well, I hope his company does a good job. He told me that they have a website so I want to take a look at that first. And also see what kind of advertizing they will do. I will start out with a short contract – say 3 months.
The Day After
Friday January 2
We got up early as Matt wants to leave about 9am. There was no water in the bathroom as they have to fill up the tank on the top. The bathroom is too far from the house so if you have to take a pee in the morning, you have to get your clothes and shoes on and get a flashlight. He should have had it built closer. He should have another one build as Amparo, when she is there, doesn’t like to share with the workers. Plus if you are to have several guests you have a long wait.
We left about 9.15am. It was exactly a two hour drive back. The road to Matt’s farm goes past the tourist place of Middle of the World, where there are stores, a monument and a museum. This is where you are exactly on the equator. Jayne wasn’t there but I was there when I first came here in 2004. The real location is 300 meters away, where there is another museum. Where the big tourist attraction was build they had used the French explorers who surveyed it back in the 18th Century. This was found to be wrong using satellite measurements.
The road to the farm is on a good paved road but once you get off it you have to go down a dirt road for about 2 miles.
Matt dropped us off near his home where there are more taxis. When we got home we talked about our trip and had a cup of coffee. When we were there the coffee we got was weak so it’s not like having coffee. I don’t like strong coffee and I usually have one or two cups a day, but I do like a regular strength of coffee.
I went the mall myself as Jayne didn’t want to go. I just wanted to catch up on my email. When I was there I noticed two guys walked in. I thought to myself, they look like Russian Mafia. They were not tourists by their dress. There was much noise in the restaurant as it was busy and they had the music on but I did pick up some Russian words. Later I asked if they spoke Russian and they said they do. I told them I lived in Moscow. He said that was nice.
I got the cue that they weren’t interested in talking to me. This would be true if they were Mafia. The funny thing is that Matt just told us earlier today that the Russian Mafia are getting into the flower business (probably threaten others to sell out or to deal through them).
I really don’t have time for Russian criminals (or any criminals).
All in all it was nice at the farm, but there were some things that could have been done better.
New Year’s Day 2009
Thursday January 1
Some people got up about 6am while others got up around 6.30am. There is a lot of work to do for the guests. The first thing that was done was to kill the pig. I wasn’t outside at the time but was awake. Then I got up and saw them gut the pig. Matt had bought the pig about a month ago for the purpose of eating it on New Year’s Day.
Some people got up about 6am while others got up around 6.30am. There is a lot of work to do for the guests. The first thing that was done was to kill the pig. I wasn’t outside at the time but was awake. Then I got up and saw them gut the pig. Matt had bought the pig about a month ago for the purpose of eating it on New Year’s Day.
We had breakfast, but again it wasn’t much as each person got one egg. So, Jayne and I were still a bit hungry.
The first guests arrived about 11.30am. in total there were about 23 of us including the children.
I knew about half the people there, as there was Judith’s family and the family of the godmother of Amparo’s new son.
With more children there they were riding the horse and mule constantly. Jayne and I felt sorry for the animals. What I should have done was as soon as two kids came back to say it’s our turn. I told Matt that the animals are being ridden too often and he said they didn’t look tired to him. Imagine!
If this was my place I would have organized it and say something like this, “The animals need a rest so wait 30 minutes. Then have ridden it enough it’s time for the adults to ride if they want to.” This is my character and by doing this it will give the animals rest and show discipline to the children – which the parents should have done. When kids act badly it’s a reflection on the parents.
About 6pm I got a ride on the horse. Jayne didn’t want to ride either animal at that time. I just took it for a short walk and did not make it run. Then there were two stops of about 5 minutes each. Probably the horse sensed that I was thinking of its health.
When I got on the horse, I had my ‘cowboy hat’ that I wore all day and my dress boots. Matt wanted to take a picture of me and said I looked like John Wayne. Then the worker that lives there got his old shot gun out and gave it to me. Matt said go get those Indians.
Anyhow, I took a lot of pictures while we were there. I’ll post them on this website.
I had fish, as some were saved from yesterday and yucca and some kind of corn. I didn’t want to spend all day picking the bones so some meat was left on it when I finished. There as a dog and cat sitting by me and I gave the fish to them. Jayne had the pig. She said it didn’t have flavor and it was tough.
Matt has chickens, too, but not enough eggs to feed even 6 people. He should have bought eggs at the market.
In the evening we talked on the cabana and drank wine. (They also had beer there but it was finished when all the guests went home. So there was just wine left.)
We all went to bed about 7.45am. We did sleep well there and the bunk beds were comfortable.
Matt had asked me to give the workers about $5 before I leave and he’ll ask the others to do the same. He said that they had to work hard as they never had to cook for guests before (I could tell by the lack of food for breakfast and lunch).
This is some nerve asking the people for money! Especially me, as Jayne and I were the only playing guests. I had given him $30 the week before to contribute to the food and drinks. Plus I bought a bottle of champagne, to be sure that we had this for midnight. Then when we were at a store the sold fireworks, I contributed $10 (half of what he spent). Then there was the restaurant that I paid for his meal, which must have come up to $10 for his share. Then we stopped at a store where he needed small change, and I forked over $2. The champagne cost about $3.
In total I spent over $50 and we did not get $50 worth of food and drinks there.
The other wrong this is, that this was a party and people understand that it’s free. I doubt if he asked them to contribute money to the workers. I don’t think Ecuadorians would like that. I know that Jayne and I didn’t like it. He should pay the workers extra money and not guests.
When we left (Friday) the workers waved and we waved back – but I did not pay them anything. They should get paid extra but that should have come out of Matt’s pocket!
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