Paperwork and processes

Yesterday we headed down to the office where foreigners have to renew their registration with the government. We had all our paperwork in order. Graham left the house at 6:45 in the morning to get a number in the line (the office opens at 8:00). He was able to get ticket numbers 502-505. Fortunately, the series started at 500. A few minutes before 8:00 Sharon and the girls arrived. We thought we were in good shape.

It turns out that the part of the office that handles this paperwork didn't start working (for whatever reason) until about 8:15 or so. They called "500." The first guy goes up. He doesn't have all his paperwork correct, so he leaves. "501." A young mother goes up. She waits. And waits. And an hour later, is still waiting. The natives are restless. The young man behind the counter is on the phone with his supervisor, unable to get the computer to accept the inputed information. Finally, it works. Now it won't print. More phone calls. A visit from a co-worker. Finally, the documents (called a censo) print.

Meanwhile, an hour and 25 minutes has gone by. Everyone is restless. This is supposed to be a 10 minute procedure. The young man behind the counter is flustered. And then a lady who does not have a ticket tries to jump into the line. You can imagine how that was accepted. (In case you can't - it wasn't!! Lots of raised voices and yelling between the others in line and this lady).

Our turn. Graham gives our documents to the young man, and he announces "You are in the system twice. You have to go to another office on Monday to fix that, then come back." Sigh.

Fortunately, Sharon and the girls are not duplicated in the system, so they proceed to get their new censos and a second document called a "salida" (a document confirms you have Police permission to leave the country). You can't get a salida without a censo.

But not everything is bad . . . in the mall across the street there is a Baskin & Robbins. We head over there and have ice cream to celebrate the partial victory. On Monday Graham goes to the other office to start the process of getting the duplicate entry erased from the computer system. Then you have to wait 24 hours for the system to be purged. On Tuesday he can go back and try to get his censo and salida again. We'll keep you posted!

Feria de la Salud

Dental station #2.
Originally uploaded by EyeMax

We ran a pilot project today, offering free or very affordable health services on the HCJB compound and at the Quito hospital. We want to make health services affordable for people of few economic resources. So today, (and hopefully once a month or so) you could get your blood pressure checked, eyes checked, teeth cleaned and body mass index checked for free. For $5 you could make an appointment with a specialist in the hospital.

We did this without advertising, except one brief interview during the morning on the radio. We rendered approximately 900 services, and had about 2000 people visit the radio compound or hospital. By all measures it was a success.

While people were getting checked - or waiting to get checked, or waiting on someone else who was getting checked - a musical team played Christian music, and for a short while, the Ecuadorian Police Band played patriotic music.

More photos are on our flickr website here.

Rainy, Rainy day update

It poured all night. It is raining right now. So we all eagerly ran to the laundry room to see if it leaked. And, except for two little spots where there were drips (due to the building design, not the roof) it is as dry as a bone inside. WOW! It has NEVER been this dry since we moved in a little over six years ago. Way to go Marcos and German - good job guys!

On the downside, the soggy weather has forced us to cancel our get-a-way plans for today. We were going to head to a hosteria named "San Luis" and then up to the town where they have a huge outdoor market (Otavalo). But, alas, an outdoor market in rain is not very fun. Nor is a hosteria where all there is to do is walk through the woods. So we'll go grocery shopping in the mall instead. Kind of boring, but necessary.

Home Improvements IV

Finished!
Originally uploaded by EyeMax

Yup, the job is done. Just as they finished up the rain started. So far no drips. They also improved the exhaust vent for the dryer so we hope that will solve a few problems too (i.e. lint and moisture in the laundry room).

Home Improvements - III

In with the new.
Originally uploaded by EyeMax

The new panels are being installed. One of the good things is they are (where possible) full length of the laundry room, eliminating a lot of seams (where it leaked terribly before). Between panels (width-wise) they are caulking (wow, there's a novel idea) before attaching to the steel beams.

Home Improvements - II

Old panels - for sale!
Originally uploaded by EyeMax

This is the state of our old roofing panels. Many of the hooks holding them down were completely rusted due to the water leaks. The guys have just left to our local Home Depot (Mega Kywi) to buy new panels. The new ones will be thicker and of better quality - should last a lot longer than these ones did.

Home Improvements

The view from the building roof.
Originally uploaded by EyeMax

After a loooong period of tolerating wet floors and dirty "stuff" in our laundry/storage room, we finally decided to hire a couple of guys to put on a new roof, clean the eavestroughs, and generally give the room a make over. Why wait so long? Our landlord had made arrangements to have it done, but those fell through. What made us decide to do it ourselves? The leaks had changed from being small drips to something more akin to Niagara Falls. Our washer and dryer were in the line of fire and we didn't want to damage them. As the work progresses today we'll keep you up to date with photos.