Guesthouse issues - plumbing and internet

The past couple weeks have been a little challenging as we have dealt with water problems in the kitchen (again) and problems with our internet service.  Both issues have been a nuisance, especially when there are so many guests in the house.

Kitchen Plumbing

In July, we had to repair a plumbing issue in the kitchen, which we wrote about here: Kitchen Plumbing Issue.

Repair from July

Well, a couple weeks ago the leak returned, at the same spot where it had been repaired.  We called our plumber, and unfortunately it was during a holiday weekend so he wasn't able to come for about 4 days.  In the meantime, we kept towels on the floor and turned off the water supply when we could.  When he came, the water was no longer leaking.  We knew we wanted to fix the issue, but since it was not leaking anymore, we didn't think it was that urgent.  Of course, the day after he left it started leaking again.  We had to wait a few more days for him to come back because of other work that he had.

We had a couple options for the repair.  The current plumbing is under the tile floor and about 3 inches of cement, which means it is quite the hassle to do a repair.  The current plumbing is not of the best quality so we knew we wanted to put in new pipes.  We could either cut out a new channel in the tile floor and run the new plumbing beside the old plumbing - but still it would be under the tile floor - or run the plumbing outside and around part of the house and through the wall and behind the cabinet drawers.

One option was to lay new plumbing under the tile, next to the current plumbing.

We decided on going around the house so that any future problem (if there is one) would be much easier to repair.  Since we are planning, at some point, to put down new flooring in the kitchen we didn't want the possibility of a plumbing issue where we would have to dig up the new floor.

Water supply cut off to the old plumbing

New pipe added to the main feed

Up...

around...

and in.

New plumbing goes from the wall, behind the cabinets, and to the sink.

The plumber did a great job and is almost done.  He installed the new plumbing for the hot water line and will come back to install the cold water line.

Internet

We have WiFi at the house that everyone can share.  A couple weeks back I was checking the speed of the internet and was getting much slower results than what we were paying for.  I called the company and they wanted me to send them evidence of the speed we were getting.  So I emailed them the documentation. After a couple emails I didn't hear back from the person who was helping me.  I called the next day and told them the situation and they said they would put in a service request.  Well, I never heard from anyone so I called again another day and didn't get anywhere with that person either.

When Augusto went to pay the internet bill I told him to ask them about the service and to tell them that we weren't getting the speed we were paying for.  They told him that we needed an upgraded modem and that someone would bring it by the next day.  I was thinking we were finally getting somewhere.  The technicians came the next day as expected and replaced our modem.  Before they left I made sure it was getting the appropriate internet speed.  It was.  Hannah and I went to have lunch and buy some groceries for the Guesthouse.  When we returned we did not have internet.  I looked at the "new" modem they had given us and it was quite used.  I couldn't even read most of the labels on the front of the device.  I was a little upset.  I called the company and they said they would send out a technician the next morning.

The technician came and couldn't get it to work.  He called his office and they did some sort of diagnostic and decided the modem was no good.  I asked the technician why the other technician would give my a used/faulty modem if we were trying to upgrade/improve our performance?  He didn't have an answer and actually wondered where the other technician got the equipment.  He told me they didn't have any new equipment to give out and that they were waiting on more to arrive.  He said more would arrive on Tuesday and that another technician would come to install it.  On Tuesday he showed up but for some reason wasn't in on any of the previous communication and did not have new equipment for us.  He did the exact same thing that the previous tech did and of course figured out the modem was no good.  He called the office and they said that Wednesday (the next day) the equipment would arrive.  Well Wednesday came and went and they didn't have the equipment.  They told me today (Thursday) they would have the equipment but they called earlier and said they don't have it but that it would be in on Monday.

I would have already cancelled and switched to another internet provider, but it is a hassle to cancel a service here and since I had my hopes up that they would follow through on their word, I kept waiting.  But now, I think it's time to make a change.

Fortunately, we've been able to use someone's open WiFi network in order to get a few things done.  But the signal is not super strong and definitely not adequate for a house full of guests.

Update (November 17, 2015) We have internet fully functioning again! We have stayed with the same internet company; now we have a new modem and it is working properly.  Because of the delay in getting internet working again, last Friday I went to the office of another internet provider to ask about getting service with them.  The company is the same one we use for our home phone service.  With that company we would have been able to get internet service, however, it would have been at a slow speed because our phone line is so old and the technology doesn't support faster speeds.  We had the option of getting a new phone line in order to get the higher internet speeds, but that would mean a new phone number.  I wasn't interested in a new phone number since so many people know our current one.

Since our current company was supposedly going to be coming on Monday (yesterday) with a new modem I decided to wait to make a decision on the other service.  Fortunately, they did show up.  However, when the tech showed up he did not have a modem with him.  I couldn't believe it.  I asked him why he didn't have it and he said that his service order did not mention that.  How frustrating.  I told him that he was now the 3rd different technician to come without a new modem, and that we had been waiting over a week for a new one.  He apologized and said he would go back to the office and get one.  I had my doubts but he came back about 45 minutes later and installed it.  Finally!

A few happenings from this month

Thought I would share a few different happenings from this month, maybe I'll make this a monthly activity. No promises.

1)  Recently, our employee Mery came to work quite shook up.  She was teary-eyed and a bit out of sorts. She told us that she had been robbed at knife point by two men near her house.  They approached her and put the knife against her side and told her to give them her things.  She told them she didn't have much - they looked at what she had and took her cell phone.  She told them "God bless you".  Those words impacted them right away - they hadn't walked too far and they turned around and gave the cell phone back.  She told them they don't need to be doing this sort of thing (robbing people) but to go look for a job and do something good with their life.  We are thankful to God for protecting her.

2) There are a couple stores nearby that we go to when we need fruit or vegetables or other small grocery items.  Many times we go to these stores because we forgot to buy the item when we did our "big" grocery shopping at the grocery store.  One store is only a block away and the other is about 3 blocks away.

Store one block from the guesthouse

Recently, we went to the store that's only a block away to buy cilantro.  As we were getting ready to pay, we saw a bird (I think it was a pigeon) flying back in forth in the store before it flew out.  We both ducked and were a little freaked, but it was pretty funny afterwards.

3) The cell phone I use is also a contact number for the Guesthouse.  Our business card has our landline number and that cell number on it.  Our in country guests are starting to use that number quite a bit to get ahold of us for reservations, etc.  And many guests communicate with us via email, so it is important to be able to respond when we are away from our home WiFi. Up til now, we have only bought "pre pay" cell phone minutes.  We thought it would be good to purchase a plan for the cell phone (including talk, text, and internet) since that would be more economical.

As we already know but are still surprised each time, things just don't go that smoothly around here.  It took us 4 (!) trips to the cell phone store to get this plan set up.  Unfortunately, the cell number for that phone is listed in Hannah's name.  The 1st trip - I went to the store without Hannah to try and set up the plan.  The employee says that even though she is my spouse, I can't set up the plan unless she signs over that phone number to me.  Not interested in doing that.  The 2nd trip - Hannah goes with me and we hope we don't have to deal with that same employee.  We see him in the store but another employee helps us. Everything seems to be going well but then she says she can't do it.  Their computer system requires 2 last names (this is the norm in Ecuador - for men it is your father's last name followed by your mother's maiden name, for women it is your maiden name followed by your married name).  For some reason, when Hannah initially set up the number, she wasn't required to have 2 last names, but now that we want to set up a plan she is required to (who knows?).  So the employee tells us that she can work around it but her boss has to authorize it.  And of course her boss is not at the store so we have to come back another day.  The 3rd trip - We go back to the store and talk to that same employee and she remembers us (shocking!) and her boss is there.  They make the changes in the system to accept only one last name and we wait a few minutes for the employee to come back and get this finalized.  She comes back and tells us that it will take at least 2 hours for the system to accept the change and we should come back later.  The 4th trip - We go back later that day and are finally able to sign the paperwork and get the plan set up.    

4) Hannah has recently begun taking Spanish classes with a tutor.  The tutor is a teacher at Alliance Academy which is a few blocks from the Guesthouse and is also where I attended my Sophomore and Junior years of high school.  So far, I have gone with Hannah to the school.  While she is in her class I spend time in the gym reading or studying the Bible.  After 20 years of being away from Quito, it's very interesting for me to be back and spend some time at the school.

One of the times when Hannah was in her class, there was a girls volleyball game going on in the gym.  I played volleyball and basketball during my years at the school, so I spent many hours on that gym floor. Several times during the game, the girls on the bench led their own cheers and the small crowd in attendance sort of responded to it.

The "main" cheer they did is the same cheer that was around when I was in high school, and probably the same cheer that was around years before that.  The name of the school in Spanish is Academia Alianza.  The cheer goes like this: one person yells "Ali, Ali", the rest follow with "anza".  After a few times repeating this, everyone yells "Alianza" followed by clapping, this is also repeated several times.

Hearing that cheer I had an instant flashback to my time at the school and the many times I heard that cheer while I was playing a volleyball or basketball game.  I also had this thought: the cheer is the same cheer as 20 years ago, it hasn't changed.  What about me? Have I changed in the last 20 years? Have a grown spiritually? Is my relationship with God the same/stronger/weaker than it was 20 years ago? Do people see more of Christ or less of Christ in me?

It also got me thinking about when John the Baptist said of Jesus, "He must become greater, I must become less", or "He must increase, I must decrease" (John 3:30).  Over the last 20 years, has that happened/is that happening in my life?

Visit from Hannah's parents

It was nice to have a visit from Hannah's parents September 16 - October 1.  It was their first international trip and they were a little anxious about it.  We let them know as best we could what to expect, and my mom, based on her recent trip in August, sent them some notes on what to expect as well.  Thankfully they made all their connections and arrived here safely with all of their luggage.  A lot of what was in the luggage was for us so we were thankful about that too!

Here they are arriving after a long day of travel:

And they were tired the next day:

We had just purchased our vehicle the day of their arrival, looks like the backseat is comfortable!  

They got to experience a lot of Quito driving, and both of them were quite certain they would never want to drive here.  It is definitely a challenge and you have to have some daredevil in you in order to survive.  There are so many cars on the road, so many people at the intersections, and so much bad driving that you can hardly blink without endangering yourself.  But surprisingly, we really don't see many accidents.  It seems everyone expects the unexpected so we can all drive badly together.

For Hannah's mom, it's hard enough being away from her daughter, and since Hannah is also her hairdresser it's a double whammy.  So one of the first days they were here Hannah gave her a perm.

Changing of the Guard

Every Monday at 11:00 AM at the Presidential Palace there is a changing of the guard ceremony.  Hannah and I had not gone before so we decided to go there with them.  A convenient way to get to that area of town is to take the "trole" (trolly), which basically looks like a bus, not like a real trolly.  The trole only costs $.25 and there are many different stops from the north end of Quito to the south end of Quito.  The trole is generally pretty crowded and we have heard many reports of theft.  You just have to be aware of your surroundings and belongings at all times.

Trole station

A few pictures and videos:

It was a very sunny day so Hannah and her dad bought matching hats

Markets

We took them to a nearby artisan market, simply called "Mercado Artesanal", and we took them to a big open air market in Otavalo, 2 hours north of Quito.  They had a lot of fun looking at all of the different items at the shops and booths.

Mercado Artesanal in Quito

Mercado Artesanal in Quito

The market in Quito has over 10 aisles/rows and over 200 different booths.  Some people can spend all day here, and others need to sit on the bench and wait for them.  :)

On Saturdays in Otavalo they have a huge open air market at the town plaza.  We thought it would be fun to take Hannah's parents there.  It is a a 2 hour drive with a lot of mountain scenery.

We made a reservation at a hotel near Otavalo and we had planned to drive to the hotel, drop off our things, then spend a good amount of time at the market. However, it did not go as planned.  We arrived in Otavalo just fine but it took us another 2 hours to find the hotel! I talked to the hotel owner 3 times trying to figure out the directions.  We drove up and down the main road 3 times trying to find the correct turn off.  We found the sign he told us to look for, but the arrow indicating which way to go was mis-marked.  Coming down the main road from the other direction, we saw the sign, which we had missed the first time because it was somewhat covered by trees, and the arrow was correct.  Finally, we were able to find the hotel.  We still were able to get to the market and have a good amount of time there, but the extra time trying to find the hotel put a little damper on the trip.

Teleferiqo

We went to the Teleferiqo (cable car up the mountain) with them.  Unfortunately it was kind of a cloudy day (like it was when we went with my parents) but we were able to see part of Antisana Volcano.

Antisana Volcano

Mitad del Mundo (Center of the World)

One of the most popular tourist destinations is the Mitad del Mundo.  The name "Quito" is an old Indian word that means "center of the earth".  The Mitad del Mundo is where the equator separates the northern and southern hemispheres.  The equator line is a few miles north of Quito, about a 45 minute drive.

Interestingly, there are two equators.  The first is the original Mitad del Mundo tourist attraction that has a big monument, shops, and restaurants.  The equator line at this site was calculated a long time using man-made instruments.

The other equator line is very close to the first one at a site called "Museo de Intinan".  They say this equator line is the official line since it was calculated with GPS.  At this site you pay for a tour and you can learn some history of Ecuador as well as do some experiments right on the equator line.

One of the experiments is to balance a raw egg on the top of a nail head.  The pillar/post is directly on the equator line and there are 2 nails on the top.  Supposedly the gravitational pull directly on the equator causes the yoke of the egg to move in such a way that it is easier to balance it.  Hannah and I were able to balance the egg, but her parents were not.

It was fun to have them here so they could see our ministry at the guesthouse and experience some of Ecuador.  Next time they will know what to expect.