Rain Rain Go Away!

After breakfast and once CC returned from the dentist we went to a school where CC lead a boy scout troop on Saturdays, before coming to los Estados Unidos to teach. It is a Catholic school that teaches preschool through high school. In the two years since CC left, the school has undergone some major transformations. They are now focused on becoming a bilingual school and are actively recruiting American teachers. It is a very large and very well kept facility.

There was playground in the back, so Little Mermaid and Little Dude ran around and played a bit. Soon our stomachs were growling, so we returned home for lunch. CC wanted to take us to a large fun park after lunch, but just as we got in the house the clouds descended and Manizales was deluged. So the park was out. Lunch was Arroz con Pollo. Chicken and rice. It was tasty; apparently it is CC’s favourite meal. The chicken and rice were all mixed together, as were some vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans). In the afternoon, Little Mermaid and the Dude watched Spanish TV in our bedroom. CC went to visit her aunt and uncle, and Little Dude and I stayed downstairs. By some miracle I was able to connect the laptop to somebody’s wireless server and attempted to upload some pics and vids. It is a painful process, as the connection is so slow the computer tends to time out before the uploading is complete! ARGH!

The adventure of the afternoon was the spilling of the bucket of water.

I have to set the scene for this properly. The only people around are Little Dude, CC’s mom and me. She’s reading the paper at the table. FYI: her leg was operated on this spring and she can’t walk too well. All of a sudden we hear a SPLOSH sound. Little Dude has dumped over a bucket with water in it! Sandra, the housekeeper, has left for the day. Once the lunch time meal is finished she is gone. So I jump up and head for the kitchen looking for some towels. CC’s mom is talking a mile a minute in a language I don’t understand and is limping after me into the kitchen. She gets to the kitchen door and I say, in my best American accent, “Do you have any dirty towels?” Did I mention that CC’s mom doesn’t speak a WORD of ingles? I point to the paper towels and she shakes her head, I think she was laughing at me. She goes out to the enclosed patio and comes back with a mop. I grab it and head to the mess. As I’m going THE FREAKING TELEPHONE RINGS! CC’s mother is limping in the kitchen and I have 2 problems. 1- I don’t know how to turn on the phone, 2 – Should I figure out how to turn on the phone I have no idea what to say! So I grab the phone and run back to the kitchen. Then I dart to the mess. Which really isn’t that bad of a mess. I mean it’s water and it spilled on a tile floor. So I try to absorb the water and spread it around. The mop gets most of the water, but the floor is still wet and slippery. So I take the mop back to the kitchen (limpy is to the dining room table now, no doubt telling who ever is on the other line how crazy Americans are!) and grab a handful of paper towels. So I end up on my hands and knees trying to dry the floor that just doesn’t want to dry. I look up to find Little Dude, all 20 months of him, pushing the mop back to me from the kitchen!!! I really don’t want the floor to be wet; I can just see CC’s mother going spread eagle and breaking something.

In the end, CC’s mom didn’t really care about the water. She kept saying how cute the Little Dude is pushing the mop (she’s kind of difficult to understand, but sometimes I can figure her out.) and how precious he was looking for the turtle. I just smile and nod and continue on my hands and knees working to get the floor dry as a bone.

So that was the big to-do this afternoon. Don’t know what, if anything is in store for us later. I’ve brought the Little Dude upstairs for a nap and I’m lying on the bed next to him.

More later muchachos!