Family Day

Toya and Fabian's son Diego came with his two children Alegria(7) and Philippe(1,5) to stay with us for three days because today, Friday, is a day off to comememorate the day Ecuador took its independance from the Spanish colonial empire, on the 24th of May 1822.
So in the morning, Toya decided to take her grand children and me to the sport centre which is right by her house. It was a lot of fun, we all played together in a park, had a little snack and then drove back home around twelve.
On the way back home, I had taken a bet with Alegria that her father was going to be awake as we get home (her father just came back from a very busy business trip in the US), but as we got home, Diego was still fast asleep. So I lost my bet and I owe her an ice cream.
For lunch, Toya's father (Benjamin) had invited us all, and so we all went.
Benjamin still lives with one of his son named after his father Benjamin, this is quite usual.
As soon as I got there, Benjamin showed me the card table and explained me the rules of a game called forty. But he told me we would only play after lunch. So we went straight for the dinning table. During the meal, there have been a lot of national political talks in which I couldn't really get involved because it was far above my knowledge.
But after lunch, as promised, we sat around the card table and started playing forty. I had teamed up with Toya and Benjamin had teamed up with Diego. I came up with that usual beginner's luck and Toya and I have beaten twice in a row our opposing team. What a joy it was to win both those games. I made a little pocket money (75c), but as I've been told so many times, the most important is to participate.
After the card game, another of Toya's brother, Santiago, joined us with his wife for the rest of the afternoon. Gathered around the card table, the family discussed about the book that Benjamin is writing about his memories. Benjamin has been extremely involved in Ecuadorian politics, and definitely has a lot to say about his past experiences.
After that lovely afternoon spent with Toya's family, I drove with Fabian to the National Theatre to listen to a concert of classical Ecuadorian music which had been set up by Fabian's niece. After over two hours of listening to sharp and deep voices, I got to meet one of Fabian's brothers, Ricardo.
Then Fabian and I drove home. For the rest of the evening, we have talked about all kinds of economics and politics, once again what an enjoyable conversation and what a lovely day.