Aloha Everyone,
J.J. is seeing a dentist to have root canal work done. Dra Isabel Galarza is one of the young associates of the dental practice located on the ground floor of our apartment building.
For my dental check up, Dra Galarza greeted me with a warm and friendly hug. She gave me goggles to wear, then for about 40 minutes she examined and cleaned my teeth. Most of the time she had conversation with her assistant. But at least 5 different occasions, she broke into song. I used my time to try to pick up new vocabulary words. Dra Galarza congratulated me for having no cavities. I promised to email her information regarding the book, "Kiss Your Dentist Good-Bye." Since I began following the suggestions in the book over 2 years ago, I have not had any new cavities.
There are many traffic lights and traffic police in El Centro. However the truth is that no one follows them. Cars cross whenever they see fit and pedestrians run across between cars. After nearly a month of living in Cuenca, J.J. and I have joined the locals. J.J. would hold my hand and say, "Let's go" and I run along with him.
One of our friends wrote that an Ecuadorian restaurant in his town has rodents on the menu. Cuy may be Ecuador’s most famous national dish. It is Guinea pig which was a traditional delicacy in the times of Incas and it is still a popular dish. J.J. and I were invited to try Cuy by our language school director as well as our tour guide, Sandra. Even for J.J. who is much more adventurous than I am about trying out new food, there is a limit of what he would eat.
Yesterday, we saw a man selling Chontacuro – palm tree worm. They were large, about an adult thumb size and alive. Again, these are more exotic dishes we are by-passing. You can Google and see photos and read about them.
Ecuadorians eat lots of fruits, grains, beans, pasta, vegetables, beef, pork, chicken and seafood. In Cuenca, fresh seafood are shipped from the coast on Wednesdays and Saturdays. These are the days when J.J. and I choose to eat seafood.
Our dinner was at a small family restaurant more frequented by local businessmen. The proprietor/cook got very excited when J.J. ordered Seafood Paella. She quickly disappeared into the kitchen and sent her little girl of about 12 to take my order. I asked for Asparagus Soup which was excellent.
Popcorn is a popular free appetizers served in Cuenca
Aloha -- Cathi
