The U.S. Department of State takes great care of us diplomats overseas. Our houses, while sometimes modest by U.S. standards, are adequate and most of all, safe. The government works hard to assure we have access to potable water and uninterupted electricity. In places like Ecuador, that means we must have a water sistern and a big diesel power generator in case public services fail. Imagine Shelly's eyes when she first saw the in-ground cement sistern and this big, green generator smack dab in the front yard of our new house, and just outside the kitchen window:
It was not a pretty sight. Our first impression of the home was that we were living in an industrial zone So, we immediately made a plan to beautify this necessary evil . . . and now after our first 100 days, things are much better. First, we sought out a builder of good reputation in the community for carpentry work; after a bit of searching, we settled on Juan (not his real name), shown here at his workshop:
Juan took measurements, sketched out a proposal, assured us he knew what he was doing, and devised the "Bamboo Box" strategy. Not knowing any better, we quickly agreed. Over the course of several weeks of extended deadlines and more than a few cost overruns, we visited Juan's "workshop" (the street outside his house in a nearby barrio) as the strategy came to fruition. Juan recruited his kids, grandkids, nieces, and the family dog to help out with the Campbells' Bamboo Box. Despite our skepticism, we kept our contract and learned some valuable cross-cultural lessons to begin our life in Ecuador.
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| Juan supervising his relatives |
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| Ferocious guard dog protecting our stacks of bamboo |
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Standing on the board while sawing
is cheaper than using a vise |
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Juan's granddaughter watched the family project
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At long last, the Bamboo Box was ready to be moved to our house and installed. We hired a guy with a truck and made the 4 mile journey with Juan's family member workers having a grand time holding the materials on the vehicle.
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| Oh what fun it is to ride! |
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| Arrival and unloading |
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Getting the Box off the truck
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Installation was next . . . and the surprise that Juan's earlier measurements were off by several inches . . . we would need to improvise. More cutting and cursing . . . Check out Shelly's grimace!
Now, Shelly's had a few weeks to work on the look of the Bamboo Box and to do some decorating. As they do in HGTV, we are ready for the Big Reveal . . . . we went from this:
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Before
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to the final product 100 days later:
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| After |
So the story has a happy ending, and we get to enjoy our Bamboo Box, along with all the valuable Ecuadorian lessons we learned along the way!
