Be (Lated) My Valentine

Realizing I have taken a vacation while on vacation, I will do a little catching up. Being out of the center has been a very different experience. Having the river at our doorstep has been the ultimate relaxation experience.

We took a walk along the river on the path to the very end. What is stunning is that along the way, there are dozens of flowering plants all well maintained. On one side, you have the river rushing over rocks like rush hour traffic in a hurry to get somewhere. On the other side, you have grassy areas cushioning your feet like green foam rubber while you feast your eyes on the varieties of fauna.

After one mile of river walking, the path ended so we were going to take a cross street and return to the apartment

walking down the major road. What we did not expect when we started on the cross street was to find a small field with two cows and one bull tethered in their respective spots. Surrounded by high-rise apartment complexes, in the midst of all, there is a patch of country living.
 Roses may say, “I love you”, but here they also say you are cheap. Ecuador grows over 60 varieties of roses, with the multitude exported to the US, Canada, Italy, Germany, and Russia. They have over 5,000 acres of land devoted to roses and this is a (pardon the pun) growing field. Needless to say, browsing the flower market each time we are around the center square is a must thing to do. Strangely, we have not bought any for ‘home’ only because we never intend to return ‘home’ for hours.

Other surprises included seeing booth after booth appear on the side of the new basilica peddling Valentine’s

paraphernalia. Items ranged from helium balloons to stuffed bears that would dwarf me in size. Significantly, the flower market is directly across the street; gorgeous bouquets of assorted flowers are available for $3.
 

Carnival in Ecuador started on Thursday, February 12. Of course, we again were in the wrong place at the right time. I stopped at the tourism office to check on festivities as we had read this was a major celebration. It is, but not in Cuenca. Tourism informed me that all celebrations would be held elsewhere.  The one tradition that they do maintain here is squirting others with colored foam and

spraying them with water. With the advent of technology the spraying has progressed to powerful water guns, but for those financially challenged, buckets of water suffice. 

For days now, we have been relaxed, not doing much at all. We seemed to have visited all of the museums that are open for business. Being outside of the city center has been a deterrent for getting out early in the morning and going somewhere. Now, we laze about thinking about getting a bus to the center, and then laze some more. 

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More Cows

I went to meet with the restaurant owner of Spinoza's today. She also owns self-catering apartments and a nightclub for young people. I have all of this in the current book, so I was unclear why she wanted to meet with me. After we discussed the business at hand, updating the information for the next edition, she asked me how long I have lived here. She and I have had this conversation innumerable times over the years, even before I started writing the book, but since I metamorphosize every two years, I have to forgive her for not remembering. She tells me she loves Budapest and Hungary, but the politics are what is keeping it from progressing into the future. As I give her my most sincere sympathetic look, she says to me "There is a Hungarian story...you have a cow and your neighbor has a cow...." I could not help but laugh out loud causing her to ask "Have you heard this story?" Yes, as a matter of fact, when I first moved here, but as luck would have it, in the last two weeks, I have heard variations of it from four different people, you are the fifth to start it. If you don't know the story, look at July 1st posting on Cows.

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Universal Crankiness

Our dear Balazs called today, distraught to say the least. At first, I thought it was an issue in his life; he was speaking so fast and furious, I had to have him repeat it before understanding it was about us. He received a call from OUR building manager stating at the last apartment meeting there were two complaints about us. 1. We have too many guests who let the elevator door slam shut and they find it disturbing. 2. We have not swept and mopped our balcony to their satisfaction. Balazs started to tell me the cow story, but I stopped him assuring him I have heard it. Actually, in the last two weeks, I have heard four versions of it, but the outcome is always the same. Animal rights activists need to be checking up on all of these dead cows. If you don't know the story, it is in the immediately previous post. Using minimal critical thinking skills, I suggested that they fix the damn door. We took the initiative of putting a sign on both sides of the door in Hungarian and English asking that the door be held until it is closed gently. We also meet all guests at the elevator now to indoctrinate them in case, due to their excitement, they miss seeing the sign. I can count on both hands and then need a helping hand from others to count the number of times Hungarians who were not coming here, let the damn door slam shut. They claim it would cost too much to fix the door, so they would rather make a bigger racket complaining about it. We have inquired as to the cost of repair. It is cheaper to fix it than listen to them squawk about. At least they will have to be creative with finding something new that we do to irritate them. Mopping the balcony? Give me a break! I have never in 7+ years ever seen anyone mop the balcony. Since we are the first apartment in from the elevator on one side, it seems it is our responsibility to sweep and mop the balcony from the outer hallway door to the part past our windows. So here is my solution. We will mop, but then post signs saying "We have just mopped the balcony. Please remove your shoes from this point forward until you have past our windows. Those caught with shoes on will be asked to pay a toll. It has rained at least an hour for the last ten days. Are these people nuts?

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The Hungarian Cows = Jealousy Metaphor

When we first moved here and I started teaching at the university, my department head had some reason for telling me a Hungarian story. This is the way her version went. You have a cow and your neighbor has a cow. By some good fortune, you acquire a second cow. Your neighbor sees the second cow and starts to pray. "Dear God, please kill my neighbor's cows." I bet you were expecting the neighbor to pray for a second cow also, were you? Well, the moral of the story is that if you had two cows it would be twice as much work; however, the green eyed monster of jealousy does not want your neighbor to be better than you are or equal to you, but in more dire straits. Fire up the BBQ, the cow is dead. This little tale will be referred to in future posts, starting with the next one.

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