Like a Hump Day, which comes a few days into the week. On Monday, you thought you would make it through the week. By Friday, you're cool again. But on Wednesday, things aren't looking so good.
The Friend Hump is similar.
Lilly made friends with Mallory right away. They started school on the same day; they live on the same block; they're both Americans with the Embassy; and they're in the same class. Lilly was good.
Sophia made friends with Benj right away. They started school in the same week; they live on the same block; they're both Americans with the Embassy; and they're in the same class. Sophia was good.
Then Mallory moved back to the states. And although everyone likes her in her class, Lilly seems to feel lost.
Then Benj started playing DS with Lucas on the bus. And although he still likes Sophia, they're not best buds anymore. And Sophia seems to feel lost.
This is the crummy part of moving. Making friends and fitting in just doesn't happen right away, and there's not really anything I can do to help either of them. They both feel like they're friends with everyone in their class, so time will come that school is their comfort zone and that their dance cards are full.
But time has not come yet.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Our Quirky House
I can't complain about where we live. We're on a quiet street with a beautiful view, a swimming pool in the backyard and a playground within 5 minutes walk. Still, in a company town where the boss is also the landlord, quirky things happen with the house. And I am under the impression that we're going to be living with some of these quirks for quite a long time.
the light bulbs
The lighting in the house is great. The electricity that's manning said lighting, well, I'm not holding out much hope. Within the first two weeks we lived here, we lost a full 15 light bulbs. One of them went out rather dramatically, with a quick explosion and glass all over the bed. Most have since been replaced. I'm assuming that replacing light bulbs will become a regular pastime.
the dishwasher
We never had a dishwasher in China, so I'm not complaining. Plus, we've got a housekeeper, so why would I complain? But all the same. The door doesn't open beyond a 45 degree angle, because its positioned too close to the wall. Functional, but quirky.
the spaceman shower
Full-on quirky, we have what has been dubbed a spaceman shower in the girls' bathroom. It could be compared to an old-school phone booth, free-standing and enclosed entirely in glass. It has knobs and gadgets and fancy lights and several sprayers, and you can even take telephone calls on its speakerphone. This thing does it all. And, for some reason, scares my kids. And leaks all over the floor.
the surge protectors
This quirk is entirely our own doing. We invested in surge protectors before we left the states, knowing that the flow of electricity is Venezuela is not always smooth. Apparently, we invested in energy-saving computer-desk-focused surge protectors. A good idea for a computer desk, this power strip de-activates entirely when the computer (or whatever is plugged into the first outlet) is not turned on. Want to watch a movie? The tv doesn't use enough power until the DVD player is on. The DVD player apparently doesn't ever use enough power to activate the power strip. Want to charge an iPad overnight? The computer will go to sleep within a few minutes, turning the entire system off when it does. Solution? A lamp. If you want to use electronics in our house, turn on the lamp in the den. And buy some new surge protectors from amazon.
the master bath
In this lovely jet bath, the water runs slow. So slowly that it takes a full 30 minutes to fill the tub enough to run the jets. Luckily, our kids prefer cold and shallow baths. And Dave and I prefer showers.
the bathroom accessories
There are none. Anywhere. In the whole house. No towel rods. No toilet paper holders. Some bathrooms even lack a mirror.
the fridge
A beautiful, sleek and monstrous side-by-side beauty that can hold any number of cold items for us. Except that its been installed poorly, and the fridge side won't seal.
the filthy floors
With the windows open, the floors gather dust and other particulate matter. And when the weather is always in the 70s, a little (okay, a lot of) dust is not going to close my windows. The first floor has marble floors. The second floor has lacquered wood floors. No carpet anywhere. Just hyper-smooth surfaces throughout the house. Hyper-smooth surfaces which create tumbleweeds out of hair, blanket fuzz and that same particulate matter always flying through our windows.
the mirrors
The house came furnished. The office that brings the furniture is not the same office who hangs the pictures on the walls. The house came with two dressers, each with a mirror leaning on top. That seems dangerous, I said. Shouldn't someone attach them to the wall? The office who hangs pictures on the walls will only perform that service once, they tell me. They suggest we ask for that service when our pictures arrive. That'll be in 3-4 months. Until then, the mirrors sit snug behind the dressers.
So, we keep the housekeeper busy sweeping the floors and washing the dishes and replacing the light bulbs. And within an otherwise pretty great house, the quirks make it feel a bit more like home.
the light bulbs
The lighting in the house is great. The electricity that's manning said lighting, well, I'm not holding out much hope. Within the first two weeks we lived here, we lost a full 15 light bulbs. One of them went out rather dramatically, with a quick explosion and glass all over the bed. Most have since been replaced. I'm assuming that replacing light bulbs will become a regular pastime.
the dishwasher
We never had a dishwasher in China, so I'm not complaining. Plus, we've got a housekeeper, so why would I complain? But all the same. The door doesn't open beyond a 45 degree angle, because its positioned too close to the wall. Functional, but quirky.
the spaceman shower
Full-on quirky, we have what has been dubbed a spaceman shower in the girls' bathroom. It could be compared to an old-school phone booth, free-standing and enclosed entirely in glass. It has knobs and gadgets and fancy lights and several sprayers, and you can even take telephone calls on its speakerphone. This thing does it all. And, for some reason, scares my kids. And leaks all over the floor.
the surge protectors
This quirk is entirely our own doing. We invested in surge protectors before we left the states, knowing that the flow of electricity is Venezuela is not always smooth. Apparently, we invested in energy-saving computer-desk-focused surge protectors. A good idea for a computer desk, this power strip de-activates entirely when the computer (or whatever is plugged into the first outlet) is not turned on. Want to watch a movie? The tv doesn't use enough power until the DVD player is on. The DVD player apparently doesn't ever use enough power to activate the power strip. Want to charge an iPad overnight? The computer will go to sleep within a few minutes, turning the entire system off when it does. Solution? A lamp. If you want to use electronics in our house, turn on the lamp in the den. And buy some new surge protectors from amazon.
the master bathIn this lovely jet bath, the water runs slow. So slowly that it takes a full 30 minutes to fill the tub enough to run the jets. Luckily, our kids prefer cold and shallow baths. And Dave and I prefer showers.
the bathroom accessories
There are none. Anywhere. In the whole house. No towel rods. No toilet paper holders. Some bathrooms even lack a mirror.
the fridge
A beautiful, sleek and monstrous side-by-side beauty that can hold any number of cold items for us. Except that its been installed poorly, and the fridge side won't seal.
the filthy floors
With the windows open, the floors gather dust and other particulate matter. And when the weather is always in the 70s, a little (okay, a lot of) dust is not going to close my windows. The first floor has marble floors. The second floor has lacquered wood floors. No carpet anywhere. Just hyper-smooth surfaces throughout the house. Hyper-smooth surfaces which create tumbleweeds out of hair, blanket fuzz and that same particulate matter always flying through our windows.
the mirrors
The house came furnished. The office that brings the furniture is not the same office who hangs the pictures on the walls. The house came with two dressers, each with a mirror leaning on top. That seems dangerous, I said. Shouldn't someone attach them to the wall? The office who hangs pictures on the walls will only perform that service once, they tell me. They suggest we ask for that service when our pictures arrive. That'll be in 3-4 months. Until then, the mirrors sit snug behind the dressers.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
The Company Town
I am frequently struck by how many aspects of our life these days are bizarre.
We live in a standardly large city - Caracas has a population of around 2,000,000 people. That's about the size of Houston and would make it the 4th largest city in the U.S. (No, I don't know if that is metro area or city limits. Lets just be okay with the ballpark.) The U.S. Embassy employs a few hundred people. A fair number of those are Americans, but not all of them. Many positions in the embassy are held by locals - in government speak, they're called FSNs, or Foreign Service Nationals. All of them that I've spoken with have been very nice folks, but by and large the people that I'm building relatioships with are the English speakers associated with the embassy. That's a group of a few hundred people total, including spouses and kids. And this same group of people live within walking distance of each other, take our kids to the same playground, frequent the same three grocery stores and send our kids to the same school.
The school has families from all over Caracas and the world, so my kids live in a large city rather than a company town. The church, albeit a small congregation, has families with varied reasons for being in Venezuela as well. Our circles will grow. But at this point, we very much live in a company town, where everyone knows everyone, and you should be careful what you say.
Case in point:
I went into the embassy on Friday to discuss a job.
I received an email from an office in the embassy earlier in the week. They remembered my having interviewed last fall for a contract position there, and wanted me to come in and talk to them about a new position opening up. I found this a bit laughable, because I performed pretty badly in the interview. Spoiler alert: it remained laughable afterward, when I found him hoping I would apply to make badges for their office. It seems that I did interview poorly.
The challenge I faced was discussing this "interview" with anyone. The whole thing seemed rather laughable to me, both before and after I went in. But to share this hilarity with anyone else would be akin to shutting the door to the available position - anyone I know could be good friends with the interviewers. I managed to keep my laughter to myself before the meeting, but went ahead and shared it with my friend Anne afterward.
And this is where the company town became so much more apparent. Anne is wonderful, always helping me to get adjusted to our new home. So, when I told her that I had been willing to come in for an interview, she heard that I was interested in working. She walked me over to HR, to introduce me personally to the woman in charge of hiring. We looked at the hiring board together. I pointed out the job that I would love - a job that I am underqualified for. She knows the boss, and offered to introduce me right then. She encouraged me to apply.
It was a little disorienting, both the Company Town aspect of the conversation, and also how quickly I had begun considering taking a job at the embassy.
And now, here is the question of the weekend:
Do I want a job?
We are at this post for 2 years. These 2 years will be the last with little Annika at home. She will begin kindergarten at our next post. Do I want to give up 20 hours a week right now? I'll never get this time back.
Then again, I will want to work at our next post. And via telephone interview, I only made myself appealing for a job printing badges. This job, which is a long-shot, would have me working with the political section and a lot of important people. It would be secretarial work, but with some serious responsibilities and with a lot of connections. Most importantly, it would be embassy experience, and work experience. And it would plug the 7 year hole in my resume.
Its only 20 hours a week. I don't do any household chores. Annika takes a nap every afternoon, and I want her to spend more time alone with the housekeeper so she will learn Spanish.
Plus, we drained our savings while living in DC. We're focusing on rebuilding those savings while we live here, and 20 more paid hours every week would go a long way.
But then again, I have not found myself with extra time since we arrived. Life has a slow-pace these days, which we all enjoy. Dave and I have time to talk every evening after the girls go to bed. We can spend hours on homework, whenever necessary. And I can attend every meeting at the school and still meet Dave for lunch somewhat regularly. Its not a bad life as it is.
It is a Company Town. And I currently interact with a very small subset of the population - the stay at home moms of young kids. Do I want to expand that?
We live in a standardly large city - Caracas has a population of around 2,000,000 people. That's about the size of Houston and would make it the 4th largest city in the U.S. (No, I don't know if that is metro area or city limits. Lets just be okay with the ballpark.) The U.S. Embassy employs a few hundred people. A fair number of those are Americans, but not all of them. Many positions in the embassy are held by locals - in government speak, they're called FSNs, or Foreign Service Nationals. All of them that I've spoken with have been very nice folks, but by and large the people that I'm building relatioships with are the English speakers associated with the embassy. That's a group of a few hundred people total, including spouses and kids. And this same group of people live within walking distance of each other, take our kids to the same playground, frequent the same three grocery stores and send our kids to the same school.
The school has families from all over Caracas and the world, so my kids live in a large city rather than a company town. The church, albeit a small congregation, has families with varied reasons for being in Venezuela as well. Our circles will grow. But at this point, we very much live in a company town, where everyone knows everyone, and you should be careful what you say.
Case in point:
I went into the embassy on Friday to discuss a job.
I received an email from an office in the embassy earlier in the week. They remembered my having interviewed last fall for a contract position there, and wanted me to come in and talk to them about a new position opening up. I found this a bit laughable, because I performed pretty badly in the interview. Spoiler alert: it remained laughable afterward, when I found him hoping I would apply to make badges for their office. It seems that I did interview poorly.
The challenge I faced was discussing this "interview" with anyone. The whole thing seemed rather laughable to me, both before and after I went in. But to share this hilarity with anyone else would be akin to shutting the door to the available position - anyone I know could be good friends with the interviewers. I managed to keep my laughter to myself before the meeting, but went ahead and shared it with my friend Anne afterward.
And this is where the company town became so much more apparent. Anne is wonderful, always helping me to get adjusted to our new home. So, when I told her that I had been willing to come in for an interview, she heard that I was interested in working. She walked me over to HR, to introduce me personally to the woman in charge of hiring. We looked at the hiring board together. I pointed out the job that I would love - a job that I am underqualified for. She knows the boss, and offered to introduce me right then. She encouraged me to apply.
It was a little disorienting, both the Company Town aspect of the conversation, and also how quickly I had begun considering taking a job at the embassy.
And now, here is the question of the weekend:
Do I want a job?
We are at this post for 2 years. These 2 years will be the last with little Annika at home. She will begin kindergarten at our next post. Do I want to give up 20 hours a week right now? I'll never get this time back.
Then again, I will want to work at our next post. And via telephone interview, I only made myself appealing for a job printing badges. This job, which is a long-shot, would have me working with the political section and a lot of important people. It would be secretarial work, but with some serious responsibilities and with a lot of connections. Most importantly, it would be embassy experience, and work experience. And it would plug the 7 year hole in my resume.
Its only 20 hours a week. I don't do any household chores. Annika takes a nap every afternoon, and I want her to spend more time alone with the housekeeper so she will learn Spanish.
Plus, we drained our savings while living in DC. We're focusing on rebuilding those savings while we live here, and 20 more paid hours every week would go a long way.
But then again, I have not found myself with extra time since we arrived. Life has a slow-pace these days, which we all enjoy. Dave and I have time to talk every evening after the girls go to bed. We can spend hours on homework, whenever necessary. And I can attend every meeting at the school and still meet Dave for lunch somewhat regularly. Its not a bad life as it is.
It is a Company Town. And I currently interact with a very small subset of the population - the stay at home moms of young kids. Do I want to expand that?
Thursday, January 24, 2013
The Killer Clunker
Today is Dave's birthday. I got him a nice present, and shipped it in our air shipment. He'll get it in a few weeks. And so, the girls got him a big thing of Nutella. But the thing is, they didn't have Nutella at the store I had a ride to this morning. And so, feeling strong, I put Annika down for her nap at 2:00, did a few of the naptime things I do, and then raced down the hill (on foot) to another grocery.
It was a 30 minute walk, and so I arrived at 3:00. I found the Nutella, asked the price, decided Dave is worth the largest size they have. This all went quickly. Then I stood in line for maybe 10 minutes. There were 2 people in front of me, but there seemed to be some other business going on with the credit card machine, and then each of the ladies had some questions and some conversations. Lines don't ever seem to move very quickly here.
Now its 3:15. The school bus arrives at our front door at 4:00 and will only release the kids to myself or my husband. The walk was 30 minutes down, which indicated to me that it would be more than 30 minutes up. I waited 10 minutes for a taxi. No taxis came. At 3:25, I faced the hill and started climbing. Quickly.
Now, here's the taxi story. Each shopping center has their own taxi brand. One particular shopping center has a very strong taxi brand, and if you see one of those out and about then you are safe to flag them down. Otherwise, if you see some random car brandishing a taxi sign, its wise to stay away. Likewise, we are actually forbidden from riding the bus or the metro. As a sidenote, it feels pretty weird to be forbidden from anything at age 35. But, when the Uncle who pays our paychecks, pays our schooling, pays our rent and guarantees our Rule of Law says to stay off the bus, I stay off the bus.
So, I'm climbing the hill. I'm wearing jeans, because you never see ladies in Venezuela wearing shorts. You only rarely see rather sporty looking guys wearing them. I'm wearing slip-on shoes. Luckily, I'm only wearing a tank top with the jeans, and I've got a hairband. Because although 80 degrees is truly gorgeous from the breeze coming through my windows, it is stinking hot when you're climbing a steep hill in jeans and the equatorial sun.
I made it about a quarter of the way up the hill, constantly turning back in search of a taxi. And that's when I saw it. The killer car from the seventies, purring like a kitten up this mighty hill. Now I don't know cars, so I can't tell you what it was. But I can tell you that it had been mighty smooth in its day, it looked every ragged bit its old age, and it had a taxi sign plugged on top.
I thought two things:
Classic Taxis. Awesome.
and also...
You could not pay me enough money to get in that taxi.
I kept walking. And lucky for me, a reputable taxi met me just over halfway up the hill, dropping me at my home just in time to grab a bottle of water and meet the school bus.
It was a 30 minute walk, and so I arrived at 3:00. I found the Nutella, asked the price, decided Dave is worth the largest size they have. This all went quickly. Then I stood in line for maybe 10 minutes. There were 2 people in front of me, but there seemed to be some other business going on with the credit card machine, and then each of the ladies had some questions and some conversations. Lines don't ever seem to move very quickly here.
Now its 3:15. The school bus arrives at our front door at 4:00 and will only release the kids to myself or my husband. The walk was 30 minutes down, which indicated to me that it would be more than 30 minutes up. I waited 10 minutes for a taxi. No taxis came. At 3:25, I faced the hill and started climbing. Quickly.
Now, here's the taxi story. Each shopping center has their own taxi brand. One particular shopping center has a very strong taxi brand, and if you see one of those out and about then you are safe to flag them down. Otherwise, if you see some random car brandishing a taxi sign, its wise to stay away. Likewise, we are actually forbidden from riding the bus or the metro. As a sidenote, it feels pretty weird to be forbidden from anything at age 35. But, when the Uncle who pays our paychecks, pays our schooling, pays our rent and guarantees our Rule of Law says to stay off the bus, I stay off the bus.
So, I'm climbing the hill. I'm wearing jeans, because you never see ladies in Venezuela wearing shorts. You only rarely see rather sporty looking guys wearing them. I'm wearing slip-on shoes. Luckily, I'm only wearing a tank top with the jeans, and I've got a hairband. Because although 80 degrees is truly gorgeous from the breeze coming through my windows, it is stinking hot when you're climbing a steep hill in jeans and the equatorial sun.
I made it about a quarter of the way up the hill, constantly turning back in search of a taxi. And that's when I saw it. The killer car from the seventies, purring like a kitten up this mighty hill. Now I don't know cars, so I can't tell you what it was. But I can tell you that it had been mighty smooth in its day, it looked every ragged bit its old age, and it had a taxi sign plugged on top.
I thought two things:
Classic Taxis. Awesome.
and also...
You could not pay me enough money to get in that taxi.
I kept walking. And lucky for me, a reputable taxi met me just over halfway up the hill, dropping me at my home just in time to grab a bottle of water and meet the school bus.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Progress
Progress on so many fronts today, its a almost unreal! A number of updates for you, in entirely random order.
A: The housekeeper does not hate me. She kept the floors and the table clean all day, and she chose to eat lunch with us as well. I think she had a headache this morning, and maybe she got a shot (or got punched in the arm?) yesterday. I'm also pretty sure that her son's girlfriend had a baby on Saturday (feliz!) in Colombia, and has no intention of bringing the baby back to Caracas (oh - triste, lo siento). That bought her enough grace to lose her cool yesterday. We're all good.
B: Our carnet came through. That is our diplomatic ID cards. These are provided by the Venezuelan government, and are important for more reasons than I know. For starters, I am always supposed to carry identification with me. It is certainly best that I always carry identification showing that I am on a diplomatic visa. But I'm not real excited about carrying around my diplomatic passport, or a grungy old photocopy of one. Hence the carnet. Also, as diplomats (or maybe just as foreigners?) we can get back all of the taxes we spend here - but we need our diplomatic ID number to do that. This is about 17% of most bills we have, making everything quite a bit more affordable than it already was. So, that's cool.
C: Our bank account is open. We have a few accounts in the U.S., and that's where the government slips Dave's paychecks. He is paid in dollars. But in this high-crime country, it is ill-advised to use an international credit card or debit card. So, we open an account in Caracas and only keep our minimum weekly or monthly budget there. We now have access to our own money.
D: Our Finser account is open. We can wire transfer money from our U.S. account to our Caracas account, but not directly. Let me warn you right away - finance in Venezuela is bizarre, and I'm only going to touch on it a bit right now. Bizarre. So, as Chavez hates America he is also opposed to dollars. So, you can not legally change dollars into bolivares in Venezuela. We transfer dollars to Finser. Finser takes those dollars and gives us bolivares. I don't know why. They put the bolivares in our account in Caracas, and we have money. Now, this takes some time and, apparently, a number of failed attempts on everyone's part. So we don't have money yet. But we will.
E: Dave does not have TB. Well, we only have results from his blood test and his skin prick. We don't have the results from his spit test. So, we're only 99.999% sure that he does not have TB. Good enough. Also, his cough has almost entirely left us. Hooray!
G: Most of the lights work. When we moved into out home, a few of the light bulbs were missing. Within a few days, at least half of our light bulbs had stopped working. One had even exploded! So, the light bulb guy came this afternoon and replaced nearly all of them. He ran out of stock before he could finish, and will return tomorrow. He replaced three of the four bulbs in the kitchen, which made cooking in there such a pleasure this evening!
H: I was offered a job interview. This is kind of fun because I didn't apply for a job. I did interview for a job back in the fall, and failed rather impressively. The group of security guys who interviewed me did not seem impressed with how I drew most of my answers and examples from caring for my children over the past 7 years. But apparently I made enough of an impression to be called in for another, much less impressive job. I figure there's no harm in checking it out, so I have an interview on Friday.
I: Our UAB has arrived in Venezuela. This is our air shipment. Your air shipment is intended to bring into the house the things you'll most need to be able to survive until your sea shipment comes. We have been here nearly 4 weeks, and it looks as if our UAB will wait another 3 weeks or so to be cleared from customs. It alternately amuses and annoys me to have to wait nearly 8 weeks for the things I can't live without. Today, I made chili for dinner. But I had to make it in batches, because I don't have my big soup pot. Or any soup pot at all, for that matter. Clearly I can live without my air shipment, but it will be such a treat when it arrives.
Alright, I'd say that's enough excitement for one day.
A: The housekeeper does not hate me. She kept the floors and the table clean all day, and she chose to eat lunch with us as well. I think she had a headache this morning, and maybe she got a shot (or got punched in the arm?) yesterday. I'm also pretty sure that her son's girlfriend had a baby on Saturday (feliz!) in Colombia, and has no intention of bringing the baby back to Caracas (oh - triste, lo siento). That bought her enough grace to lose her cool yesterday. We're all good.
B: Our carnet came through. That is our diplomatic ID cards. These are provided by the Venezuelan government, and are important for more reasons than I know. For starters, I am always supposed to carry identification with me. It is certainly best that I always carry identification showing that I am on a diplomatic visa. But I'm not real excited about carrying around my diplomatic passport, or a grungy old photocopy of one. Hence the carnet. Also, as diplomats (or maybe just as foreigners?) we can get back all of the taxes we spend here - but we need our diplomatic ID number to do that. This is about 17% of most bills we have, making everything quite a bit more affordable than it already was. So, that's cool.
C: Our bank account is open. We have a few accounts in the U.S., and that's where the government slips Dave's paychecks. He is paid in dollars. But in this high-crime country, it is ill-advised to use an international credit card or debit card. So, we open an account in Caracas and only keep our minimum weekly or monthly budget there. We now have access to our own money.
D: Our Finser account is open. We can wire transfer money from our U.S. account to our Caracas account, but not directly. Let me warn you right away - finance in Venezuela is bizarre, and I'm only going to touch on it a bit right now. Bizarre. So, as Chavez hates America he is also opposed to dollars. So, you can not legally change dollars into bolivares in Venezuela. We transfer dollars to Finser. Finser takes those dollars and gives us bolivares. I don't know why. They put the bolivares in our account in Caracas, and we have money. Now, this takes some time and, apparently, a number of failed attempts on everyone's part. So we don't have money yet. But we will.
E: Dave does not have TB. Well, we only have results from his blood test and his skin prick. We don't have the results from his spit test. So, we're only 99.999% sure that he does not have TB. Good enough. Also, his cough has almost entirely left us. Hooray!
G: Most of the lights work. When we moved into out home, a few of the light bulbs were missing. Within a few days, at least half of our light bulbs had stopped working. One had even exploded! So, the light bulb guy came this afternoon and replaced nearly all of them. He ran out of stock before he could finish, and will return tomorrow. He replaced three of the four bulbs in the kitchen, which made cooking in there such a pleasure this evening!
H: I was offered a job interview. This is kind of fun because I didn't apply for a job. I did interview for a job back in the fall, and failed rather impressively. The group of security guys who interviewed me did not seem impressed with how I drew most of my answers and examples from caring for my children over the past 7 years. But apparently I made enough of an impression to be called in for another, much less impressive job. I figure there's no harm in checking it out, so I have an interview on Friday.
I: Our UAB has arrived in Venezuela. This is our air shipment. Your air shipment is intended to bring into the house the things you'll most need to be able to survive until your sea shipment comes. We have been here nearly 4 weeks, and it looks as if our UAB will wait another 3 weeks or so to be cleared from customs. It alternately amuses and annoys me to have to wait nearly 8 weeks for the things I can't live without. Today, I made chili for dinner. But I had to make it in batches, because I don't have my big soup pot. Or any soup pot at all, for that matter. Clearly I can live without my air shipment, but it will be such a treat when it arrives.
Alright, I'd say that's enough excitement for one day.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
My Poor Spanish
I think I just made our housekeeper mad.
We keep the windows open throughout our house, and this lets in lots of dust and particulate matter. Its kinda gross to think that we're always breathing in the stuff that gathers on our floors. But I digress. The floors are dirty within a day and she cleans them every day. She always waits until the afternoon to clean them.
Well, with three kids eating breakfast and the littlest of those eating lunch every day, the floor under the table gets pretty gross. So I asked her to sweep under the table after we eat.
Por favor, despues comemos quiero que barrer el piso.
I'm pretty sure I said what I meant to say. And I'm pretty sure she misunderstood. This could happen if we were both speaking the same native language. The difference, of course, is that I could clarify if we spoke the same language.
I'm pretty sure she's upset with me. She talked a lot of words at me after I said it. Among those words, I'm pretty sure she said that she doesn't have time for anymore work. To her credit, she may have told me this morning that she had a headache. And also to her credit, she may think that I want her cleaning all of the floors of the whole house after every meal. She certainly doesn't have time for that.
Solo quiero que barrer el piso debajo de la mesa despues de comer.
I think I need to start studying Spanish again.
We keep the windows open throughout our house, and this lets in lots of dust and particulate matter. Its kinda gross to think that we're always breathing in the stuff that gathers on our floors. But I digress. The floors are dirty within a day and she cleans them every day. She always waits until the afternoon to clean them.
Well, with three kids eating breakfast and the littlest of those eating lunch every day, the floor under the table gets pretty gross. So I asked her to sweep under the table after we eat.
Por favor, despues comemos quiero que barrer el piso.
I'm pretty sure I said what I meant to say. And I'm pretty sure she misunderstood. This could happen if we were both speaking the same native language. The difference, of course, is that I could clarify if we spoke the same language.
I'm pretty sure she's upset with me. She talked a lot of words at me after I said it. Among those words, I'm pretty sure she said that she doesn't have time for anymore work. To her credit, she may have told me this morning that she had a headache. And also to her credit, she may think that I want her cleaning all of the floors of the whole house after every meal. She certainly doesn't have time for that.
Solo quiero que barrer el piso debajo de la mesa despues de comer.
I think I need to start studying Spanish again.
A Good Night's Sleep
I'm not sure I've had a full night's sleep since we arrived in Caracas. This is of no real consequence, because I'm getting plenty of sleep and certainly plenty of rest. We take cars to get nearly anywhere and I haven't joined a gym yet, so I'm hardly exhausted. Still, 8 straight hours has been lacking for the past month or so.
At first, I simply couldn't get used to the bed. The embassy furnishes our apartment, and also provides us with a "Welcome Kit" until our things arrive. The bed is, well, not as comfy as my own bed. And the sheets they provided, well, no one else in our family complained, but I thought they were scratchy. Happily, my mom put some sheets in the mail and now I'm sleeping much better.
But last night was the picture of interrupted sleep.
4:00am - a buzzing in my ears
A mosquito has taken up residence in our home. Or more likely, a mosquito has squatters rights in our home, probably having been here before we moved in. For quite some time, poor Lilly would wake up covered in bug bights. So we found a mosquito plug-in for her bedroom. No more bug bites for Lilly. But I awoke at 4:00am to a buzzing in my ears. It took a few moments to realize that if I don't swat it, I'll awake later to bug bites all over my face. Dave heard the buzzing, too, which is good because otherwise my mad thrashing at the pillow surrounding my face would have woken him. The buzzing got quiet. I got him, I thought. Wide awake from the fight, I eventually fell back asleep.
4:45am - a buzzing in my ears
No way! Wild thrashing. This time, I woke up Dave. The buzzing stopped, and didn't return. Hopefully, the mosquito has been vanquished.
5:15am - loud squawking outside my window
We have wild parrots in our neighborhood. If they ever get close enough, I'll snap a photo for you. They squawk loudly every morning, but they seem to wake up just a bit after us so its no problem. And parrots are interesting, so we don't mind. But whatever was squawking at 5:15 was not nearly so interesting. They was clearly a group of them, calling and responding to each other, following each other around so that their sounds would get louder and quieter. They sounded like a dog's chew toy... a very, very loud chew toy. And they went on for another 15 minutes or so. During this time, I heard Annika crying. They woke both Lilly and Sophia, but luckily they each went back to sleep.
6:20am - Dave's alarm goes off.
He goes back to sleep.
6:30am - My alarm goes off.
Dave gets up, so I go to wake up the girls.
8:00am - Everyone has left for the day.
Annika is still sleeping and I'm hoping that I made this tea strong enough to get me through the morning.
At first, I simply couldn't get used to the bed. The embassy furnishes our apartment, and also provides us with a "Welcome Kit" until our things arrive. The bed is, well, not as comfy as my own bed. And the sheets they provided, well, no one else in our family complained, but I thought they were scratchy. Happily, my mom put some sheets in the mail and now I'm sleeping much better.
But last night was the picture of interrupted sleep.
4:00am - a buzzing in my ears
A mosquito has taken up residence in our home. Or more likely, a mosquito has squatters rights in our home, probably having been here before we moved in. For quite some time, poor Lilly would wake up covered in bug bights. So we found a mosquito plug-in for her bedroom. No more bug bites for Lilly. But I awoke at 4:00am to a buzzing in my ears. It took a few moments to realize that if I don't swat it, I'll awake later to bug bites all over my face. Dave heard the buzzing, too, which is good because otherwise my mad thrashing at the pillow surrounding my face would have woken him. The buzzing got quiet. I got him, I thought. Wide awake from the fight, I eventually fell back asleep.
4:45am - a buzzing in my ears
No way! Wild thrashing. This time, I woke up Dave. The buzzing stopped, and didn't return. Hopefully, the mosquito has been vanquished.
5:15am - loud squawking outside my window
We have wild parrots in our neighborhood. If they ever get close enough, I'll snap a photo for you. They squawk loudly every morning, but they seem to wake up just a bit after us so its no problem. And parrots are interesting, so we don't mind. But whatever was squawking at 5:15 was not nearly so interesting. They was clearly a group of them, calling and responding to each other, following each other around so that their sounds would get louder and quieter. They sounded like a dog's chew toy... a very, very loud chew toy. And they went on for another 15 minutes or so. During this time, I heard Annika crying. They woke both Lilly and Sophia, but luckily they each went back to sleep.
6:20am - Dave's alarm goes off.
He goes back to sleep.
6:30am - My alarm goes off.
Dave gets up, so I go to wake up the girls.
8:00am - Everyone has left for the day.
Annika is still sleeping and I'm hoping that I made this tea strong enough to get me through the morning.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Wheels
My best writing is when the experience is fresh, so I'm a bit late in writing about this weekend. But we have been so on the go that there's hardly been a time to stop and write! Its been a bit of a 4-day weekend, with school closed on Friday for in-service and the embassy closed today for MLK's birthday. Annika and I have enjoyed a lot of company over the past few days.
Dave borrowed a car from a motorpool at the embassy for the weekend, something we're allowed to do whenever one is available. This is a fabulous deal, because Caracas is not an easy city without a car. We live about a mile away from a few different grocery stores, and that mile is entirely uphill in the direction where you're carrying your groceries. There are only a few restaurants in our neighborhood, and no urban areas to walk. Our pretty little hill is the beginning of the suburbs, safe and quiet... rather boring and not constructed for walking.
Saturday morning began with one of the girls from the embassy coming to babysit our kids while we explored the city. The Community Liason Office at the embassy put together a tour of the city, and we hopped into the big van with a few other folks and got a driving tour. We were shown the local hospital, the neighborhoods where other embassy folks live, the best markets, the best hiking and a few neighborhoods with good restaurants. The tour lasted around 7 hours, and I came home exhausted and with my head aching from so much information. The city seemed exciting and the size seemed manageable, but the streets and the crime still seemed formidable.
That afternoon, we stuck inside the neighborhood, enjoying our wheels to stock up on milk and juice and to grab a snack at a tasty bakery just outside of walking distance.
Sunday, we headed to church. The United Christian Church of Caracas is a very small, international, English speaking congregation. Its hard to compare it to any church we've been to before. There were a few families who looked like ours - young, American and with kids around our ages. They had Sunday School for the kids and a staffed nursery for Annika. The staff only spoke Spanish, which lends credibility to my assumption that Annika will be fluent by the time we leave. The Sunday School teachers all spoke English, as did the pastor. He was engaging and the choir sang with gusto, if not exactly on key - given the choice between the two, I'd probably prefer a choir that sings with gusto. The adjustment between our large church with amazing teaching and powerful preaching in Virginia and this small church with spirited singing was stark, and made me a bit homesick at the beginning. But by the end of the service, I could see us fitting in well. Many people have prayed that we will find good Christian friends to help us grow while we are here - please continue to keep this in your prayers.
We found our way to the church, to a restaurant after church, and home again without getting lost or carjacked and so we counted yesterday as a resounding success.
Today, Dave and I sent the big girls off to school and then headed off in the opposite direction. Now more comfortable in the car, we headed to a home improvement store (the size of an American Home Depot, but with shelves generally half empty) and to the hospital (to collect the results from Dave's medical tests - he does not have tuberculosis, and his cough has very nearly gone away). And then, with some level of excitement, we explored the twisty roads of Las Mercedes, a restaurant and night club section near our neighborhood. We were planning to park, to walk around a bit, to grab something to eat and to be generally charmed by this neighborhood. Instead, we got a bit lost, we got stuck in a lot of traffic, we learned that Las Mercedes is not a neighborhood for walking but one for driving to your specific destination and paying the dude on the street to watch your car while you go in. We explored a bit and demystified the area for ourselves, and then headed home for leftovers for lunch.
Such a journal - the details in this no doubt make it boring to you, but Dave and I feel as if we have found such freedom this weekend that they were important to share. The GPS has begun to work and we've begun to find our way around. Traffic doesn't seem nearly as bad as in China, and the city is not so big. I'm happy to have a few months to redraw the maps inside my head before our car arrives and I get to drive on my own. But this weekend, our city became much less intimidating, and might I say much more charming.
Dave borrowed a car from a motorpool at the embassy for the weekend, something we're allowed to do whenever one is available. This is a fabulous deal, because Caracas is not an easy city without a car. We live about a mile away from a few different grocery stores, and that mile is entirely uphill in the direction where you're carrying your groceries. There are only a few restaurants in our neighborhood, and no urban areas to walk. Our pretty little hill is the beginning of the suburbs, safe and quiet... rather boring and not constructed for walking.
Saturday morning began with one of the girls from the embassy coming to babysit our kids while we explored the city. The Community Liason Office at the embassy put together a tour of the city, and we hopped into the big van with a few other folks and got a driving tour. We were shown the local hospital, the neighborhoods where other embassy folks live, the best markets, the best hiking and a few neighborhoods with good restaurants. The tour lasted around 7 hours, and I came home exhausted and with my head aching from so much information. The city seemed exciting and the size seemed manageable, but the streets and the crime still seemed formidable.
That afternoon, we stuck inside the neighborhood, enjoying our wheels to stock up on milk and juice and to grab a snack at a tasty bakery just outside of walking distance.
Sunday, we headed to church. The United Christian Church of Caracas is a very small, international, English speaking congregation. Its hard to compare it to any church we've been to before. There were a few families who looked like ours - young, American and with kids around our ages. They had Sunday School for the kids and a staffed nursery for Annika. The staff only spoke Spanish, which lends credibility to my assumption that Annika will be fluent by the time we leave. The Sunday School teachers all spoke English, as did the pastor. He was engaging and the choir sang with gusto, if not exactly on key - given the choice between the two, I'd probably prefer a choir that sings with gusto. The adjustment between our large church with amazing teaching and powerful preaching in Virginia and this small church with spirited singing was stark, and made me a bit homesick at the beginning. But by the end of the service, I could see us fitting in well. Many people have prayed that we will find good Christian friends to help us grow while we are here - please continue to keep this in your prayers.
We found our way to the church, to a restaurant after church, and home again without getting lost or carjacked and so we counted yesterday as a resounding success.
Today, Dave and I sent the big girls off to school and then headed off in the opposite direction. Now more comfortable in the car, we headed to a home improvement store (the size of an American Home Depot, but with shelves generally half empty) and to the hospital (to collect the results from Dave's medical tests - he does not have tuberculosis, and his cough has very nearly gone away). And then, with some level of excitement, we explored the twisty roads of Las Mercedes, a restaurant and night club section near our neighborhood. We were planning to park, to walk around a bit, to grab something to eat and to be generally charmed by this neighborhood. Instead, we got a bit lost, we got stuck in a lot of traffic, we learned that Las Mercedes is not a neighborhood for walking but one for driving to your specific destination and paying the dude on the street to watch your car while you go in. We explored a bit and demystified the area for ourselves, and then headed home for leftovers for lunch.
Such a journal - the details in this no doubt make it boring to you, but Dave and I feel as if we have found such freedom this weekend that they were important to share. The GPS has begun to work and we've begun to find our way around. Traffic doesn't seem nearly as bad as in China, and the city is not so big. I'm happy to have a few months to redraw the maps inside my head before our car arrives and I get to drive on my own. But this weekend, our city became much less intimidating, and might I say much more charming.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Adult Napping
Said on a Sunday afternoon, as I was walking upstairs to put Annika down for her nap.
Lilly: Why don't they have adult-napping?
Me: They do. I think I'm going to take an adult nap right now.
Lilly: No, like kidnapping. Why don't they have adult-napping?
Me: Oh. They do. They still call it kidnapping, though. Now keep it down, please. I'm going upstairs for some adultnapping.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
It Didn't Work Today
For an international move to a critical threat city, our family has faired quite well so far. We've been warmly welcomed, we've been helped tremendously, we have a lovely home and a fabulous school. Big picture, we have nothing to complain about. And life has been so busy that I've finished each day feeling good about all I was able to accomplish, not worrying about what was left undone.
Today, I felt the failure which naturally comes with a new place. And knowing that this is normal makes it that much more frustrating, because it feels so... typical.
Annika and I joined a playgroup this morning, which was lovely. New people, new group, On-Personality all morning, but great folks and good toys and a good morning. I may have successfully communicated with Mariluz, our housekeeper, over some previous miscommunications over lunch. That felt pretty good, although the need to do it was rather biting. And then I read a book for a while as Annika went down for her nap, knowing that I needed to meet the bus soon for early release.
No accomplishments during the day so far.
Sophia was invited to a friend's house for the afternoon - hooray! Lilly, jealous, came home to begin what became over 2 hours of homework. She was a good sport about it, but became fidgetty and frustrated and so I became short and by the time I began dinner, I was not in good spirits.
And then there's dinner. We have had no cash since Thursday last. So last Thursday is the last time I went to the grocery store, where I spent the last of our cash. Whatever I found a week ago is what we've been living off of. And in a country with frequent grocery shortages, and in a country where I have neither built up my pantry nor figured out what is affordably available, grocery shopping once a week is simply not enough. Its putting it mildly to say that dinner tonite wasn't very good. It was more of a comedy of errors, with attempts failing one after the other, while the light bulbs burned out one by one (at last count, we've lost 15 bulbs since we moved in 3 weeks ago). The girls were getting antsy, it was time to pick up Sophia, and Dave calls to say he's coming home late.
These nights are frustrating at home, when you've got a standard routine and comfortable coping mechanics. They feel more like the end of the world when those systems aren't established yet.
Luckily, I have a full day planned for tomorrow - a day which includes two separate grocery trips. I should be able to finish the day feeling as if I accomplished something.
And luckily, Venezuela makes some fine chocolate. We may not have had any wine in the house for drowning my sorrows, but that bar of chocolate served as a fine stand in. As well as a big order of books from Amazon.com. Today, it feels like a blessing that I forgot to pack any books.
Today, I felt the failure which naturally comes with a new place. And knowing that this is normal makes it that much more frustrating, because it feels so... typical.
Annika and I joined a playgroup this morning, which was lovely. New people, new group, On-Personality all morning, but great folks and good toys and a good morning. I may have successfully communicated with Mariluz, our housekeeper, over some previous miscommunications over lunch. That felt pretty good, although the need to do it was rather biting. And then I read a book for a while as Annika went down for her nap, knowing that I needed to meet the bus soon for early release.
No accomplishments during the day so far.
Sophia was invited to a friend's house for the afternoon - hooray! Lilly, jealous, came home to begin what became over 2 hours of homework. She was a good sport about it, but became fidgetty and frustrated and so I became short and by the time I began dinner, I was not in good spirits.
And then there's dinner. We have had no cash since Thursday last. So last Thursday is the last time I went to the grocery store, where I spent the last of our cash. Whatever I found a week ago is what we've been living off of. And in a country with frequent grocery shortages, and in a country where I have neither built up my pantry nor figured out what is affordably available, grocery shopping once a week is simply not enough. Its putting it mildly to say that dinner tonite wasn't very good. It was more of a comedy of errors, with attempts failing one after the other, while the light bulbs burned out one by one (at last count, we've lost 15 bulbs since we moved in 3 weeks ago). The girls were getting antsy, it was time to pick up Sophia, and Dave calls to say he's coming home late.
These nights are frustrating at home, when you've got a standard routine and comfortable coping mechanics. They feel more like the end of the world when those systems aren't established yet.
Luckily, I have a full day planned for tomorrow - a day which includes two separate grocery trips. I should be able to finish the day feeling as if I accomplished something.
And luckily, Venezuela makes some fine chocolate. We may not have had any wine in the house for drowning my sorrows, but that bar of chocolate served as a fine stand in. As well as a big order of books from Amazon.com. Today, it feels like a blessing that I forgot to pack any books.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Traffic and Bubble Hopping
I rode the bus with Lilly and Sophia this morning. The school bus picks them at the entrance to our building, and drops them well within the gates of the school building. We don't have our car yet, and so I just rode along on the bus both Friday and this morning, making sure they got to school with confidence.
The bus got a bit rowdy this morning, no doubt partly because of the length of the trip. On Friday, from stepping on the bus at our door to stepping off the bus in the school took less than 20 minutes. This morning, the same ride took an hour. The children arrived at the school 15 minutes late.
Traffic.
I keep hearing that traffic is crazy in Caracas, and that normally quick rides can easily quadruple in length due to traffic. I'll admit - this didn't make much sense to me until this morning. We rode through the neighborhood at a normal pace, down the hill quickly and normally, and then we came to a stop at the bottom of the hill. You could say that this is where our neighborhood meets the city - and today, the city had traffic.
I wish I had brought my camera. The intersection we faced had three roads entering and exiting it before it even reached the stoplight, which brought three more corners. We were trying to turn left before the stoplight. It seems that everyone else wanted to go the same direction, and pushed themselves into position. No one could cross the intersection, it was so full of cars pushed helter-skelter against each other. And certainly no one could have gotten out once they were in. We sat in roughly the same place - said intersection - for over half an hour.
This first exposure to Caracas traffic enlightened me to many aspects of Caracas.
1st - just how difficult it can be to get around.
We did not face such traffic on Friday, and arrived nearly 45 minutes earlier.
2nd - the infrastructure challenge.
Caracas is lovely, with a few narrow streets winding up and around green hills. Folks park on either side of the winding streets, and once you're in you've got no choice but to keep going forward.
I understand this extends to major roads as well - they may be 3 and 4 lanes in straight lines, but there are apparently very few of them, and so travelers are left with no alternate route.
3rd - the popularity of carjacking, and how dangerous driving can be.
I've heard that a busy intersection can be one of the most dangerous places in Caracas, and a place where any driver needs to be fully alert. At some point this morning, our bus reached the point where we could not turn around and retreat from our road. If we had seen someone coming with a gun, we would have been sitting ducks. We have been advised to have our windows tinted and never to roll them down. And to be fully on our guard at all red lights and busy intersections.
It further makes me realize that we live in a bit of a bubble, on our hill above the city. Drew explained to me this weekend that we spend our Caracas existence bubble hopping. Within our homes, with our doors locked and our alarms set, we are safe or green in a safe little bubble. Within the embassy and the school, we are also green in a safe little bubble. When we go to our favorite stores and restaurants, when we walk around our neighborhood during the day, when we go to the mall nearby we are in yellow - not the bubble, so be on your guard, but probably fairly safe. Don't wear headphones; don't wear fancy jewelry or carry an expensive purse; pay attention to the people around you; but you're fairly safe.
Everything else is red - NOT SAFE. Everything else includes most of the city of Caracas. Everything else includes anywhere after dark (with the exception of our green little bubbles). Everything else includes traffic snarls and red lights.
As I was writing this, I googled "crime caracas" to get you some statistics, and high on the google results was the Venezuela 2012 Crime and Safety Report published by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Even with all of the data I've received, its still a pretty daunting read.
Highlights:
The bus got a bit rowdy this morning, no doubt partly because of the length of the trip. On Friday, from stepping on the bus at our door to stepping off the bus in the school took less than 20 minutes. This morning, the same ride took an hour. The children arrived at the school 15 minutes late.
Traffic.
I keep hearing that traffic is crazy in Caracas, and that normally quick rides can easily quadruple in length due to traffic. I'll admit - this didn't make much sense to me until this morning. We rode through the neighborhood at a normal pace, down the hill quickly and normally, and then we came to a stop at the bottom of the hill. You could say that this is where our neighborhood meets the city - and today, the city had traffic.
I wish I had brought my camera. The intersection we faced had three roads entering and exiting it before it even reached the stoplight, which brought three more corners. We were trying to turn left before the stoplight. It seems that everyone else wanted to go the same direction, and pushed themselves into position. No one could cross the intersection, it was so full of cars pushed helter-skelter against each other. And certainly no one could have gotten out once they were in. We sat in roughly the same place - said intersection - for over half an hour.
This first exposure to Caracas traffic enlightened me to many aspects of Caracas.
1st - just how difficult it can be to get around.
We did not face such traffic on Friday, and arrived nearly 45 minutes earlier.
2nd - the infrastructure challenge.
Caracas is lovely, with a few narrow streets winding up and around green hills. Folks park on either side of the winding streets, and once you're in you've got no choice but to keep going forward.
I understand this extends to major roads as well - they may be 3 and 4 lanes in straight lines, but there are apparently very few of them, and so travelers are left with no alternate route.
3rd - the popularity of carjacking, and how dangerous driving can be.
I've heard that a busy intersection can be one of the most dangerous places in Caracas, and a place where any driver needs to be fully alert. At some point this morning, our bus reached the point where we could not turn around and retreat from our road. If we had seen someone coming with a gun, we would have been sitting ducks. We have been advised to have our windows tinted and never to roll them down. And to be fully on our guard at all red lights and busy intersections.
It further makes me realize that we live in a bit of a bubble, on our hill above the city. Drew explained to me this weekend that we spend our Caracas existence bubble hopping. Within our homes, with our doors locked and our alarms set, we are safe or green in a safe little bubble. Within the embassy and the school, we are also green in a safe little bubble. When we go to our favorite stores and restaurants, when we walk around our neighborhood during the day, when we go to the mall nearby we are in yellow - not the bubble, so be on your guard, but probably fairly safe. Don't wear headphones; don't wear fancy jewelry or carry an expensive purse; pay attention to the people around you; but you're fairly safe.
Everything else is red - NOT SAFE. Everything else includes most of the city of Caracas. Everything else includes anywhere after dark (with the exception of our green little bubbles). Everything else includes traffic snarls and red lights.
As I was writing this, I googled "crime caracas" to get you some statistics, and high on the google results was the Venezuela 2012 Crime and Safety Report published by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Even with all of the data I've received, its still a pretty daunting read.
Highlights:
- since 2010, Caracas has been the city with the highest murder rate in the world - above any city in Afghanistan, Iraq or any war zone, and with a national murder rate higher than that of Mexico but with only one-quarter the population;
- home invasions are common, involve many heavily armed individuals, target wealthy neighborhoods and have taken place in buildings where U.S. Embassy personnel reside;
- traffic jams are common in Caracas, and easily exploited by criminals who will rob multiple cars and then get away quickly by motorcycle. Cases of armed robbery have increased, have taken place on the streets near the embassy, and can result in death if the victim does not comply. But good news: they generally target 4-wheel drive vehicles, and we drive a family car;
- kidnappings are a growing industry in Venezuela, with criminals forcing victims to withdraw all of the money from their bank accounts, or keeping them for up to 48 hours while their family pulls together a ransom of as much as $50,000.
- and just to keep things fun, the threat of political violence remains an ever-present possibility, where even peaceful protects and rallies can quickly deteriorate into violence without warning;
- and then there are the environmental hazards. Caracas is in an earthquake zone, and the region is overdue for a serious earthquake.
Friday, January 11, 2013
And Its Only 2:00!
It has been a day filled with excitement, and its only 2:00.
Our household awoke at 6:15 this morning, everyone eager for their first day of school and anxious about missing the bus. It came at 7:45. We had plenty of time.
Thanks for all of your prayers - Lilly and Sophia both seem well positioned to succeed this year. Lilly's teacher was an American, very energetic and friendly, and Lilly had already met one of her classmates. She was very nervous and quiet when I left her to her classroom, but I have no doubt she'll feel good when she comes home.
Sophia's teacher is a local Venezuelan, but she speaks such good English I assumed she was from the states. She taught kindergarten in the U.S. for a number of years. The blessing of her day was finding another American in her class. And not only another American, but one also from the embassy, and who lives just down the street from us. And not only an embassy American and neighbor, but also one who just began school on Monday. The two are in the same boat many times over, which should increase her comfort zone tremendously. She didn't want me to leave, but I snuck out while they were singing the National Anthem (the Venezuelan national anthem, that is - and its a long song!). I think she'll come home feeling good as well.
Annika and I called a taxi to meet up with a friend for the morning, and then sat to wait. Dave called while we were waiting, and explained that he was on his way to the hospital for a chest X-ray. He began coughing up blood this morning, and so got to explore the Venezuelan hospital scene. As with most things here, the hospital seemed much nicer than in China. After the X-ray and a few blood draws, he hopped back into the car to return to work. We assume this is nothing more than bronchitis, and hope that exploring the hospital is as exciting as this will get, as I am not eager to experience a Medevac at this stage.
We gave the wrong keys to the housekeeper, so Annika and I stopped there on the way to la casa de mi amiga. I communicated effectively with the taxi driver, asking him to wait 5 minutes. I felt very proud of myself. Then I hopped back into the car, gave him the address, and waited much longer than I should have before telling him that we must have passed her building. We took a back roads tour of the top of her mountain, which cost me all of the rest of my bolivares. And when I say that, I'm not kidding. We do not have a bank account here. We do not have access to our bank account from here. Dave used up all of his bolivares and some of his office sponsor's paying for his chest X-ray. I used mine on a tour of the mountain. We face the weekend dead broke.
This problem is really more amusing than troublesome. We will eventually have a bank account here, and then we will be able to transfer money from our account in the U.S. Until then, people work with us to make sure we have what we need. People transfer money for us, and people loan us cash when necessary. Everyone has gone through the same needs and offers help readily. We are going to a pizza party tomorrow and Mariluz made leftovers from lunch today. We will be fine... assuming we don't need to go to the hospital again.
Back to my friend Jeannine's house, where we paid the driver our last few bolivares and got out of the car. Her guard was expecting us and showed us to the elevator. Her elevator opens directly into her apartment, and so will not operate without a key. Annika and I stood in the elevator for quite some time without moving. Feeling kinda silly there, I got out to call the guard. That is when Jeanine called the elevator to her home. While I was outside the elevator and little Annika was inside. Now, she's usually pretty fearless. But when she saw this unknown elevator door closing on her mom, she got nervous. So I reached in to stop the doors... and they didn't stop. So I pulled the stroller out to stop the doors... and they didn't stop. This made her very nervous. It is a testament to the Maclaren company that our stroller did not collapse and break from the strain of those doors, because they did not stop pushing.
I eventually got Annika out of the elevator, and we chose to take the stairs. It was not even 10:00 in the morning when we arrived.
The rest of the day has been fairly dull.
Our household awoke at 6:15 this morning, everyone eager for their first day of school and anxious about missing the bus. It came at 7:45. We had plenty of time.
Thanks for all of your prayers - Lilly and Sophia both seem well positioned to succeed this year. Lilly's teacher was an American, very energetic and friendly, and Lilly had already met one of her classmates. She was very nervous and quiet when I left her to her classroom, but I have no doubt she'll feel good when she comes home.
Sophia's teacher is a local Venezuelan, but she speaks such good English I assumed she was from the states. She taught kindergarten in the U.S. for a number of years. The blessing of her day was finding another American in her class. And not only another American, but one also from the embassy, and who lives just down the street from us. And not only an embassy American and neighbor, but also one who just began school on Monday. The two are in the same boat many times over, which should increase her comfort zone tremendously. She didn't want me to leave, but I snuck out while they were singing the National Anthem (the Venezuelan national anthem, that is - and its a long song!). I think she'll come home feeling good as well.
Annika and I called a taxi to meet up with a friend for the morning, and then sat to wait. Dave called while we were waiting, and explained that he was on his way to the hospital for a chest X-ray. He began coughing up blood this morning, and so got to explore the Venezuelan hospital scene. As with most things here, the hospital seemed much nicer than in China. After the X-ray and a few blood draws, he hopped back into the car to return to work. We assume this is nothing more than bronchitis, and hope that exploring the hospital is as exciting as this will get, as I am not eager to experience a Medevac at this stage.
We gave the wrong keys to the housekeeper, so Annika and I stopped there on the way to la casa de mi amiga. I communicated effectively with the taxi driver, asking him to wait 5 minutes. I felt very proud of myself. Then I hopped back into the car, gave him the address, and waited much longer than I should have before telling him that we must have passed her building. We took a back roads tour of the top of her mountain, which cost me all of the rest of my bolivares. And when I say that, I'm not kidding. We do not have a bank account here. We do not have access to our bank account from here. Dave used up all of his bolivares and some of his office sponsor's paying for his chest X-ray. I used mine on a tour of the mountain. We face the weekend dead broke.
This problem is really more amusing than troublesome. We will eventually have a bank account here, and then we will be able to transfer money from our account in the U.S. Until then, people work with us to make sure we have what we need. People transfer money for us, and people loan us cash when necessary. Everyone has gone through the same needs and offers help readily. We are going to a pizza party tomorrow and Mariluz made leftovers from lunch today. We will be fine... assuming we don't need to go to the hospital again.
Back to my friend Jeannine's house, where we paid the driver our last few bolivares and got out of the car. Her guard was expecting us and showed us to the elevator. Her elevator opens directly into her apartment, and so will not operate without a key. Annika and I stood in the elevator for quite some time without moving. Feeling kinda silly there, I got out to call the guard. That is when Jeanine called the elevator to her home. While I was outside the elevator and little Annika was inside. Now, she's usually pretty fearless. But when she saw this unknown elevator door closing on her mom, she got nervous. So I reached in to stop the doors... and they didn't stop. So I pulled the stroller out to stop the doors... and they didn't stop. This made her very nervous. It is a testament to the Maclaren company that our stroller did not collapse and break from the strain of those doors, because they did not stop pushing.
I eventually got Annika out of the elevator, and we chose to take the stairs. It was not even 10:00 in the morning when we arrived.
The rest of the day has been fairly dull.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Uneventful Inauguration Day
I feel as if I should post about the Un-Inauguration today, but it really felt like an un-event to me. It barely made the news online, and that includes the top stories for Caracas, Venezuela.
Everyone has accepted that Chavez is still the president. I think it doesn't seem worth making a fuss over, since he's going to be dead soon anyway. It seems that the opposition are biding their time. We saw some impressive (and very loud) jets flying over our hills, probably putting on a show for the international visitors and the many people rallying for Chavez. It seems that loads of people gathered wearing red shirts, and inaugurated Chavez via themselves - because Chavez is the people.
Pretty slick, eh?
Everyone has accepted that Chavez is still the president. I think it doesn't seem worth making a fuss over, since he's going to be dead soon anyway. It seems that the opposition are biding their time. We saw some impressive (and very loud) jets flying over our hills, probably putting on a show for the international visitors and the many people rallying for Chavez. It seems that loads of people gathered wearing red shirts, and inaugurated Chavez via themselves - because Chavez is the people.
Pretty slick, eh?
Grisel's Empanadas
There was a time where I hoped this blog would have wide distribution. I dreamed of having a journal section, but also a photography section and a recipe section - not unlike many other popular bloggers, and therefore completely unoriginal. I've since decided that I have no need for mass distribution, and learned just last name that it would make my husband horrible nervous. So I gave up on my dreams of being a food blogger.
That said, these empanadas were so fun to learn and so fun to make and certainly fun to eat. They seem well worth recording.
Some of the embassy ladies got together last week for a little How To evening. This was apparently the first - a new idea among this circle of gals, but one I'd love to see repeated. Grisel is Argentinian and volunteered to teach us her native empanadas. I made a few changes, but these are primarily hers. Simple and delicious, and a big hit with my kids - who call them hamburger pies. Oh well.
Step 1:
I don't have a photo of the first few steps, but I think you'll be okay.
Chop up 1 onion per each kilo of ground beef you'll be using. I used 1 kilo of ground beef and 1 white onion. Slowly saute the onion in oil until it is soft. I added some butter for a bit more richness - butter is always my secret ingredient.
Step 2:
Add your seasoning: cumin is the key ingredient, but Grisel also added red pepper flakes and Worecestershire, and of course salt and pepper. I subbed dried chipotle powder and soy sauce. Chipotle is my other secret ingredient.
Step 3:
Allow this to cool. Grisel used an ice water bath to cool it. I prepped it the night before. My way was less stressful, but Grisel's meat was much easier to use because it had not congealed.
Step 4:
Pull out your empanada skins. She did not make them from scratch, and so neither did I.
Step 5:
Scoop the meat mixture into the center of the skins - 2 thin tablespoons will be fine. The Argentinians top with chopped boiled egg and chopped green olives. In my second batch, I topped with shredded Mozzarella cheese. The less cheese the better - too much cheese leaked out or got oily. Just a little bit added a nice creaminess. But now we're getting toward hamburger pies and away from the Argentinians.
Fold it up. Press the edges to seal, and then fold them over to really truly seal. Grisel says the seal is integral. I found that it only mattered when I had loaded it with cheese.
Step 7:
Bake on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Delicioso!
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
The Political Department
Big news out of our household's Political Department today.
Dave's feeling nervous tonight, and feels I should make it very clear that this is not HIS blog. I am not writing as a representative of the U.S. government and I do not have access to any non-public information. Should the New York Times choose to reprint this, they would have to quote an unnamed blogger who lives in Caracas. They could not quote a U.S. Diplomat.
President Hugo Chavez just never stops keeping it interesting in Venezuela. The man was re-elected to his second term back in October, and the Constitution states he will be sworn in tomorrow - January 10th, 2013.
But, he's not coming.
Apparently, Chavez is so sick that he can't make his way to his own swearing in. He is being treated for cancer in Cuba, and the public have not seen or heard from him for a month now. Official word is that he is recuperating from cancer surgery and dealing with a respiratory virus, but is in good spirits and expected to recover soon.
Just not soon enough to be sworn in as President for a second term.
So, this is pretty exciting. Because when he's not sworn in tomorrow, Venezuela no longer has a president.
Pretty cool, huh?
Okay, so there's lots of ways this could go down:
#1 - Vice-President Maduro and his crew have stated that Chavez doesn't really need to be inaugurated, because he's already the president and everyone already loves him. They claim that his uninterrupted service should continue as such.
Problem with this argument is A - it is pretty clearly unconstitutional, and B - his presidency has been interrupted by his cancer, so this argument would lead to his having stopped being president when he went in for the surgery which has left him out of touch with his people and therefore not governing.
#2 - The leader of the National Assembly could take power. This is the Constitutional route, that Diosdado Cabello become the Acting President until such time as Chavez could be sworn in or new elections are triggered. Should Chavez die, elections must be held within 30 days. That's really fast.
This would be exciting because it pits two Chavistas against each other in the power grab. Should Cabello become acting president, Maduro's eventual road to elected president would not be so smooth. Especially because its not entirely clear that one would support the other.
#3 - The opposition support the Constitutional route of an Acting President. But they've also asked the Supreme Court to demand release of Chavez's health records and an accurate statement of his current health. The Supreme Court said no - they also ruled that option #1 was cool, so I think we see where they stand on interpretation of the Constitution.
Now, this is exciting because if Maduro and Chavez keep the reins as President anyway, many call it a coup. The military has openly supported this option, which I think makes it a bit of a military coup. Dave says a military coup is something else. It places many international governments in an awkward position, because they will have to choose between supporting a coup on the one-hand and making their oil fountain rather tenuous on the other hand.
Fun times!
Dave's feeling nervous tonight, and feels I should make it very clear that this is not HIS blog. I am not writing as a representative of the U.S. government and I do not have access to any non-public information. Should the New York Times choose to reprint this, they would have to quote an unnamed blogger who lives in Caracas. They could not quote a U.S. Diplomat.
President Hugo Chavez just never stops keeping it interesting in Venezuela. The man was re-elected to his second term back in October, and the Constitution states he will be sworn in tomorrow - January 10th, 2013.
But, he's not coming.
Apparently, Chavez is so sick that he can't make his way to his own swearing in. He is being treated for cancer in Cuba, and the public have not seen or heard from him for a month now. Official word is that he is recuperating from cancer surgery and dealing with a respiratory virus, but is in good spirits and expected to recover soon.
Just not soon enough to be sworn in as President for a second term.
So, this is pretty exciting. Because when he's not sworn in tomorrow, Venezuela no longer has a president.
Pretty cool, huh?
Okay, so there's lots of ways this could go down:
#1 - Vice-President Maduro and his crew have stated that Chavez doesn't really need to be inaugurated, because he's already the president and everyone already loves him. They claim that his uninterrupted service should continue as such.
Problem with this argument is A - it is pretty clearly unconstitutional, and B - his presidency has been interrupted by his cancer, so this argument would lead to his having stopped being president when he went in for the surgery which has left him out of touch with his people and therefore not governing.
#2 - The leader of the National Assembly could take power. This is the Constitutional route, that Diosdado Cabello become the Acting President until such time as Chavez could be sworn in or new elections are triggered. Should Chavez die, elections must be held within 30 days. That's really fast.
This would be exciting because it pits two Chavistas against each other in the power grab. Should Cabello become acting president, Maduro's eventual road to elected president would not be so smooth. Especially because its not entirely clear that one would support the other.
#3 - The opposition support the Constitutional route of an Acting President. But they've also asked the Supreme Court to demand release of Chavez's health records and an accurate statement of his current health. The Supreme Court said no - they also ruled that option #1 was cool, so I think we see where they stand on interpretation of the Constitution.
Now, this is exciting because if Maduro and Chavez keep the reins as President anyway, many call it a coup. The military has openly supported this option, which I think makes it a bit of a military coup. Dave says a military coup is something else. It places many international governments in an awkward position, because they will have to choose between supporting a coup on the one-hand and making their oil fountain rather tenuous on the other hand.
Fun times!
The Education Department
Big news out of our household's Education Department today.
Our family had a Family Interview this morning with the Elementary Counselor at the girls' new school. Everyone thought the counselor was truly fabulous, very warm and sincere, very engaging, very thoughtful and very frank. She makes the decision about where to place both Lilly and Sophia, and I feel that choice is in good hands. The girls will begin school on Friday, and that morning can not come soon enough for them!
Dave and I left with an overall good impression of the school. The elementary program seems very strong, and we feel quite good about the 2nd grade. Lilly should be able to succeed. Teachers pair each new student with a "buddy" to show them the ropes and eat with them at lunch, and the goal of the first few weeks is social integration into the classroom - i.e. making friends. The curriculum is challenging but also diversified, so it can meet the needs of each individual learner in the class. This should be great for Lilly - coming in midway through the year, she may find herself behind on some concepts, but it also allows her to bloom and be challenged as a strong reader. The elementary program seems strong.
The early childhood program seems weak. And sadly, Kindergarten is placed within the early childhood program. Both our first impressions were that the kindergarten is run as an afterthought, without being taken seriously educationally. Sophia will be one of only a very few native English speakers in her class, which makes challenging her seem unlikely. It will also make fitting in more of a challenge. Her classroom looked like a preschool, and not one I would choose for her. The kindergarten teacher we met confirmed this impression by talking down to her and showing an activity she easily could have accomplished two years ago. We are worried for her.
Within its culture, the school has a bit of a reputation for cliquishness and some problems with bullying, so we will be wise to stay on our guard. Please keep both girls in your prayers for the next few days and weeks. Especially Sophia - finding her perfect place may be difficult, especially as she just left a nearly perfect place back at Tuckahoe.
Our family had a Family Interview this morning with the Elementary Counselor at the girls' new school. Everyone thought the counselor was truly fabulous, very warm and sincere, very engaging, very thoughtful and very frank. She makes the decision about where to place both Lilly and Sophia, and I feel that choice is in good hands. The girls will begin school on Friday, and that morning can not come soon enough for them!
Dave and I left with an overall good impression of the school. The elementary program seems very strong, and we feel quite good about the 2nd grade. Lilly should be able to succeed. Teachers pair each new student with a "buddy" to show them the ropes and eat with them at lunch, and the goal of the first few weeks is social integration into the classroom - i.e. making friends. The curriculum is challenging but also diversified, so it can meet the needs of each individual learner in the class. This should be great for Lilly - coming in midway through the year, she may find herself behind on some concepts, but it also allows her to bloom and be challenged as a strong reader. The elementary program seems strong.
The early childhood program seems weak. And sadly, Kindergarten is placed within the early childhood program. Both our first impressions were that the kindergarten is run as an afterthought, without being taken seriously educationally. Sophia will be one of only a very few native English speakers in her class, which makes challenging her seem unlikely. It will also make fitting in more of a challenge. Her classroom looked like a preschool, and not one I would choose for her. The kindergarten teacher we met confirmed this impression by talking down to her and showing an activity she easily could have accomplished two years ago. We are worried for her.
Within its culture, the school has a bit of a reputation for cliquishness and some problems with bullying, so we will be wise to stay on our guard. Please keep both girls in your prayers for the next few days and weeks. Especially Sophia - finding her perfect place may be difficult, especially as she just left a nearly perfect place back at Tuckahoe.
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Hooray for Housekeepers!
Yesterday did get better, although slowly. Lilly and I struggled through the morning, but then we spent the afternoon doing puzzles and playing games together. We liked each other much more by bedtime. Lilly seems to be struggling with listening to us lately - possibly asserting control over her circumstances? Who knows. Either way, its been an unpleasant struggle most mornings, but generally overcome by lunchtime so far.
However, today was much smoother. Partly because Lilly got nicer faster. And partly because Mary Luz began work today. We have returned to the world of People With Housekeepers, and it is nice here! I can walk barefoot on the floors, which feels so luxurious! We were able to take Lilly and Sophia on a school visit while leaving little Annika behind to nap - so nice! And Mary Luz prepared a delicious, healthy and well-balanced lunch while I did school with the girls. So good.
I mentioned the school. Lilly and Sophia both had screenings with counselors at their new school. No surprise that they did quite well. The admissions counselor believes they will start on Monday, which we are all looking forward to. Each of their screeners made a positive impression on the girls, as did the school in general. We'll have a family interview tomorrow, and also a tour of the school and chance to buy uniforms and lunch tickets. I'm very much looking forward to the tour, as the facility looks fabulous. I continue to be excited about this aspect of our lives here - such a blessing!
I am about to begin fixing dinner in a clean kitchen, with all clean dishes. Ah, how lovely. Making the empanadas that an Argentinian friend taught me last week. Yesterday, life was full of failure. Today, life is smooth.
However, today was much smoother. Partly because Lilly got nicer faster. And partly because Mary Luz began work today. We have returned to the world of People With Housekeepers, and it is nice here! I can walk barefoot on the floors, which feels so luxurious! We were able to take Lilly and Sophia on a school visit while leaving little Annika behind to nap - so nice! And Mary Luz prepared a delicious, healthy and well-balanced lunch while I did school with the girls. So good.
I mentioned the school. Lilly and Sophia both had screenings with counselors at their new school. No surprise that they did quite well. The admissions counselor believes they will start on Monday, which we are all looking forward to. Each of their screeners made a positive impression on the girls, as did the school in general. We'll have a family interview tomorrow, and also a tour of the school and chance to buy uniforms and lunch tickets. I'm very much looking forward to the tour, as the facility looks fabulous. I continue to be excited about this aspect of our lives here - such a blessing!
I am about to begin fixing dinner in a clean kitchen, with all clean dishes. Ah, how lovely. Making the empanadas that an Argentinian friend taught me last week. Yesterday, life was full of failure. Today, life is smooth.
Monday, January 07, 2013
The Disappearing Lanes of Shanghai
Wow, I just came across this while doing administrative work. I believe I wrote it on February 24, 2009.
one family would live in one unit with 12 people - they're being bought out for 350,000USD per person plus full ownership of new housing. wife gets pregnant and whoop! 13 people. they got two 2-bed 2-bath apartments with modern kitchens and laughed all the way to the bank.
lovely architecture, historic from the 1920s. when asked about any sadness or regret in tearing it down, he replied that this history is not so old for China and is easily duplicated. meanwhile, these people get a nice, new home and the developers make loads of money. everyone is laughing.
chinese medicine shop that has been in the same place for 100 years will be torn down soon. people go to the chinese clinic across the street and then come over with their prescription, often for a pack of herbs that they are to drink every day. we saw dried lizards and seahorses, birds nests and worms, plenty of mushrooms, and Tiger Balm - an apparent fix for nearly any ailment. as useful as a liberal arts degree. Actually, according to the website this is simply a topical analgesic which could certainly be described as fixing many problems.
Failure
I woke up this morning in a good mood. The sunlight is peeking in from behind the curtains, and a breeze is playing by their side. Lilly and Sophia are playing downstairs while Dave eats breakfast. Annika is still asleep. I can take my time getting ready this morning, because we have only faux homeschool planned for the day. I checked Facebook. I checked email.
In email, Amazon confirmed my purchase from last night - with $50 added on for shipping. After spending well over an hour last night trying to find the most reasonably priced groceries, all eligible for Free Super Saver Shipping, I somehow still failed with my purchase. I quickly canceled the order, and all traces of the order disappeared. Since I've restarted my research this morning, I haven't found a bag of flour that costs less than $8 plus shipping.
My kids keep fighting with each other and with me. The floors are so dirty that our feet are black. Someone pooped in the toilet that doesn't flush. Sophia threw her comb on the floor and broke it. Lilly has no clean underwear. The oranges I bought at the market on Saturday are already growing mold and sprouting flies.
Today, I kind of want to cry.
In email, Amazon confirmed my purchase from last night - with $50 added on for shipping. After spending well over an hour last night trying to find the most reasonably priced groceries, all eligible for Free Super Saver Shipping, I somehow still failed with my purchase. I quickly canceled the order, and all traces of the order disappeared. Since I've restarted my research this morning, I haven't found a bag of flour that costs less than $8 plus shipping.
My kids keep fighting with each other and with me. The floors are so dirty that our feet are black. Someone pooped in the toilet that doesn't flush. Sophia threw her comb on the floor and broke it. Lilly has no clean underwear. The oranges I bought at the market on Saturday are already growing mold and sprouting flies.
Today, I kind of want to cry.
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Groceries by Mail
We've been here for nearly 10 days now, and we've been grocery shopping probably 7 times within that space. We have not seen sugar on any of those trips. We did see flour once, but didn't recognize it by its Spanish name harina de trigo. Dave went back within 2 hours and they were sold out. We did find baking powder once, but have yet to see baking soda. We did bring yeast with us, so once the flour shows up we can start making bread. But until then, we're out of luck. Lamenting this to our new community, we hear time and again that everyone relies on Amazon.com for their groceries.
This is where you'll learn that Dave and I are cheap. You can't always tell by how often we go out to eat, but we really are cheap - and especially so after spending 18 months in Arlington learning how to whittle down our grocery bills. Now to search for vanilla online and see it listed for $12 just makes me crazy.
So, we did a little controlled experiment. We took the same order to Walmart.com, Amazon.com, NetGrocer and to my mom. Walmart.com wouldn't ship most of the items - they're only available in stores. NetGrocer had the best prices by far, but added $75 for shipping onto a $25 grocery bill. Amazon had the highest prices of any of them, but their free shipping far outweighed the rest. We went ahead and placed an item.
Now, if anyone thinks I am cheap, they have not met my mom. With her behind the grocery cart, I would not be surprised if her total comes in the lowest. But she doesn't offer free shipping, so its still up in the air.
It makes me bridle a bit to be shopping groceries online from another country. The shops here are bright and clean, with many Western items in them. The markets are well priced and loaded with good produce. Although we haven't visited yet, the butchers are said to be fabulous. But the way to make it through these long shortages is to stock up on the things you use - milk, flour, sugar, cooking oil, coffee, toilet paper are all things which go missing from the shelves with some regularity. We are not in a place where we can begin stocking those items currently on the shelves, and we have no reserves of those which are not on the shelves. And I really need some flour and some sugar.
This is where you'll learn that Dave and I are cheap. You can't always tell by how often we go out to eat, but we really are cheap - and especially so after spending 18 months in Arlington learning how to whittle down our grocery bills. Now to search for vanilla online and see it listed for $12 just makes me crazy.
So, we did a little controlled experiment. We took the same order to Walmart.com, Amazon.com, NetGrocer and to my mom. Walmart.com wouldn't ship most of the items - they're only available in stores. NetGrocer had the best prices by far, but added $75 for shipping onto a $25 grocery bill. Amazon had the highest prices of any of them, but their free shipping far outweighed the rest. We went ahead and placed an item.
Now, if anyone thinks I am cheap, they have not met my mom. With her behind the grocery cart, I would not be surprised if her total comes in the lowest. But she doesn't offer free shipping, so its still up in the air.
It makes me bridle a bit to be shopping groceries online from another country. The shops here are bright and clean, with many Western items in them. The markets are well priced and loaded with good produce. Although we haven't visited yet, the butchers are said to be fabulous. But the way to make it through these long shortages is to stock up on the things you use - milk, flour, sugar, cooking oil, coffee, toilet paper are all things which go missing from the shelves with some regularity. We are not in a place where we can begin stocking those items currently on the shelves, and we have no reserves of those which are not on the shelves. And I really need some flour and some sugar.
Where We Stand
It has been just over a week in our new apartment, our new country. Things moved slowly at the beginning of our time here, giving us a few days to settle into our home and meet some of our neighbors. The slow pace was lovely. Dave began work on Wednesday, and the girls and I began our faux homeschool routine. With this, our pace quickened a bit. By the end of the week, life had ramped up dramatically and I can not even report to you all of the excitement that has been going on. But here's where we now stand:
We've met a large number of people within the embassy community, and everyone has been warm and welcoming. I went to a gathering on Thursday, and the group seemed to be half women who have been here for a long time and developed close friendship, and half women who were new and had been brought along to meet the group. It seems this may be life in the Foreign Service. It made for a good party.
Dave's adjudicated a few visas, with folks looking on. He still feels that he's got a steep learning curve to overcome, but this is normal. He's feeling a bit more confident in his Spanish, and knows what to study so that his interview Spanish will be stronger. He likes all of his co-workers.
We've finally stepped out of our neighborhood. This is a car city, and we have no car until probably April or so. So the embassy organizes shuttle trips to various markets. Yesterday morning, we all joined one to the Chacao market in the city. It was the first time we'd been off of our hill, and the trip demystified the city a bit for us. I took my camera, but didn't get any impressive pictures. Its a market, just like the markets in Hungary and China - well, less crowded than China, but isn't everything? With the confidence gained from this ride, we broadened our walking circles as well. The family walked down to a grocery store and McDonalds at the bottom of our hill, giving the girls a very happy hour to play on the playplace and eat french fries while I did some quick shopping. Lucky for us, a coworker happened to be shopping at the same time and drove us home. Walking away from our house is easy - everything is a mile away. Walking home is much harder - everything is a mile away, and at the bottom of a steep hill. The lack of car seats makes me uncomfortable, and so I am looking forward to the eventual arrival of our car.
We hired a housekeeper, who will start on Tuesday. She speaks no English, and I speak pathetically little Spanish. But she has worked for embassy families for years, and seems entirely comfortable with communicating however is necessary. She is older and she is a talker, which are both interesting dynamics within our home. She will not end up seeing Lilly and Sophia very often, but should have plenty of time to chatter to Annika and me.
We have also been referred to a Spanish tutor who works out of the embassy. We need to contact her soon. I'd love my first few lessons to be on how to converse with our housekeeper.
Food continues to trouble us. Without a car, we can't run to the store whenever we realize we need something. And relying on others for a ride, I usually zip through the store as quickly as I can. I usually get to the last row and realize I never found something key - yesterday it was baking powder and individual bottles of water. But by that time, there was not a moment left to search each row in the hopes of finding it. Shortages are reality here - something I seemed to take as fable when I heard about them. We haven't seen any flour or sugar since we've been here - others say they've not been seen for weeks. We've only seen chicken once, and the same for ground beef. I find things that I like, and they're not there the next week. In itself, this is last part is not so difficult. But with my kitchen still lacking many of the basic ingredients for cooking, those quick and easy meals that sometimes appear are worth their weight in gold. I am told that everyone relies on Amazon for their food delivery. That's a project for today - and maybe I'll have a better stocked pantry within a few weeks.
We are all happy and healthy, except Dave still hasn't knocked his cough. We're still getting some crazy behavior problems, but many of those must be related to the lack of social interaction and boredom. When the girls start school, we'll have new stresses for a few days to weeks and then I expect them to settle down. Once they disappear, I rather expect my stresses to appear.
We've met a large number of people within the embassy community, and everyone has been warm and welcoming. I went to a gathering on Thursday, and the group seemed to be half women who have been here for a long time and developed close friendship, and half women who were new and had been brought along to meet the group. It seems this may be life in the Foreign Service. It made for a good party.
Dave's adjudicated a few visas, with folks looking on. He still feels that he's got a steep learning curve to overcome, but this is normal. He's feeling a bit more confident in his Spanish, and knows what to study so that his interview Spanish will be stronger. He likes all of his co-workers.
We've finally stepped out of our neighborhood. This is a car city, and we have no car until probably April or so. So the embassy organizes shuttle trips to various markets. Yesterday morning, we all joined one to the Chacao market in the city. It was the first time we'd been off of our hill, and the trip demystified the city a bit for us. I took my camera, but didn't get any impressive pictures. Its a market, just like the markets in Hungary and China - well, less crowded than China, but isn't everything? With the confidence gained from this ride, we broadened our walking circles as well. The family walked down to a grocery store and McDonalds at the bottom of our hill, giving the girls a very happy hour to play on the playplace and eat french fries while I did some quick shopping. Lucky for us, a coworker happened to be shopping at the same time and drove us home. Walking away from our house is easy - everything is a mile away. Walking home is much harder - everything is a mile away, and at the bottom of a steep hill. The lack of car seats makes me uncomfortable, and so I am looking forward to the eventual arrival of our car.
We hired a housekeeper, who will start on Tuesday. She speaks no English, and I speak pathetically little Spanish. But she has worked for embassy families for years, and seems entirely comfortable with communicating however is necessary. She is older and she is a talker, which are both interesting dynamics within our home. She will not end up seeing Lilly and Sophia very often, but should have plenty of time to chatter to Annika and me.
We have also been referred to a Spanish tutor who works out of the embassy. We need to contact her soon. I'd love my first few lessons to be on how to converse with our housekeeper.
Food continues to trouble us. Without a car, we can't run to the store whenever we realize we need something. And relying on others for a ride, I usually zip through the store as quickly as I can. I usually get to the last row and realize I never found something key - yesterday it was baking powder and individual bottles of water. But by that time, there was not a moment left to search each row in the hopes of finding it. Shortages are reality here - something I seemed to take as fable when I heard about them. We haven't seen any flour or sugar since we've been here - others say they've not been seen for weeks. We've only seen chicken once, and the same for ground beef. I find things that I like, and they're not there the next week. In itself, this is last part is not so difficult. But with my kitchen still lacking many of the basic ingredients for cooking, those quick and easy meals that sometimes appear are worth their weight in gold. I am told that everyone relies on Amazon for their food delivery. That's a project for today - and maybe I'll have a better stocked pantry within a few weeks.
We are all happy and healthy, except Dave still hasn't knocked his cough. We're still getting some crazy behavior problems, but many of those must be related to the lack of social interaction and boredom. When the girls start school, we'll have new stresses for a few days to weeks and then I expect them to settle down. Once they disappear, I rather expect my stresses to appear.
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
Faux Homeschool
Better in the Morning
With the morning comes a fresh new attitude, the courage that comes from a good nights sleep, and comfort from reading the sermon on the mount,
Dave left today for his first day of work, and the girls and I will begin our faux homeschool. We will do this until they begin actual school, to stave off boredom and to introduce the comfort of structure. They are very excited, and even woke up early to do their chores this morning!
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Dave left today for his first day of work, and the girls and I will begin our faux homeschool. We will do this until they begin actual school, to stave off boredom and to introduce the comfort of structure. They are very excited, and even woke up early to do their chores this morning!
Can't Sleep
It's 1am. I've had the lights out since 11:30. I can't stop thinking about what I would do if someone breaks into our home. I'm alert to every noise in the house, and tonight there are far too many.
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Playground Talk
After naptime, the 5 of us left home to walk to the playground.
We texted to our neighbors to join us, and then we were 8.
When we reached the park, the gates were locked. Playground plans were foiled. As we discovered this, a crew stepped out of a car which had just parked. Speaking English, they expressed their dismay at the locks. Our companions knew them - they are from the embassy as well. Our companions invited us all back to the garden around their condo. And then we were 14 plus 1 dog.
After we arrived, we texted Jeannine and Rob. We connected with them a few times before arriving, but hadn't yet made facetime. They walked up, and then we were 17.
The group of us spent a lovely afternoon standing around watching the kids and the dogs chase each other around the yard. We talked vacations and housing and groceries and music class. And the conversation inevitably turned to security.
Here's what I thought: Being up on our hill, overlooking the city and locked in with so many keys, we are likely above the turmoil and danger which could arise with the coming death of Hugo Chavez.
Here's what I learned: We are up and out of the city, this is true. We live in a fairly safe neighborhood, this is true as well. We can walk during the day and we can feel comfortable at the park. I'd liken our safety situation here to our situation in St. Louis - be smart, watch out, and you'll probably be alright. But someone with a gun could ask for your wallet at any minute, so be on your guard. Sadly, this is not the end.
Our neighborhood is a popular one for break-ins, where a team of armed robbers overpower the vigilante or guard at the gate, who lets them into the stairs leading up to our door. This is the bad news. The good news is that the vigilante does not have any of the 4 keys needed to get from the hallway into our apartment. My takeaway from the conversation? I will not be opening any doors without a phone call alerting me to who is coming.
So, we take the good with the bad. I must be on my guard much more than I thought, and I am thankful for the many keys on my chain. But we also seem to have landed in a very warm community, where people watch out for each other and enjoy each other's company, where people share even what they have very little of. Surely this blessing will outweigh the challenges.
We texted to our neighbors to join us, and then we were 8.
When we reached the park, the gates were locked. Playground plans were foiled. As we discovered this, a crew stepped out of a car which had just parked. Speaking English, they expressed their dismay at the locks. Our companions knew them - they are from the embassy as well. Our companions invited us all back to the garden around their condo. And then we were 14 plus 1 dog.
After we arrived, we texted Jeannine and Rob. We connected with them a few times before arriving, but hadn't yet made facetime. They walked up, and then we were 17.
The group of us spent a lovely afternoon standing around watching the kids and the dogs chase each other around the yard. We talked vacations and housing and groceries and music class. And the conversation inevitably turned to security.
Here's what I thought: Being up on our hill, overlooking the city and locked in with so many keys, we are likely above the turmoil and danger which could arise with the coming death of Hugo Chavez.
Here's what I learned: We are up and out of the city, this is true. We live in a fairly safe neighborhood, this is true as well. We can walk during the day and we can feel comfortable at the park. I'd liken our safety situation here to our situation in St. Louis - be smart, watch out, and you'll probably be alright. But someone with a gun could ask for your wallet at any minute, so be on your guard. Sadly, this is not the end.
Our neighborhood is a popular one for break-ins, where a team of armed robbers overpower the vigilante or guard at the gate, who lets them into the stairs leading up to our door. This is the bad news. The good news is that the vigilante does not have any of the 4 keys needed to get from the hallway into our apartment. My takeaway from the conversation? I will not be opening any doors without a phone call alerting me to who is coming.
So, we take the good with the bad. I must be on my guard much more than I thought, and I am thankful for the many keys on my chain. But we also seem to have landed in a very warm community, where people watch out for each other and enjoy each other's company, where people share even what they have very little of. Surely this blessing will outweigh the challenges.
New Years Eve
It began remarkably quiet. Dave and I checked off the inventory from our welcome kit, and put together a lst of projects for the landlord. We made garlic toast for the guacamole and pita chips for the hummus. And by 10:00 we were relaxing in our front window.
Our condo doesn't have a balcony, but our front window plays a close second to one. The room juts out into a section with windows on all sides. These windows all open wide, currently without the benefit of screens. We pull the lounge chairs into the window and look out at the city. Our view is partially of the rooftops across the way, but also partially of the mountains, and the lights of the city spreading over and around the hills. It's lovely. Fireworks scattered throughout the view from that point until midnight, when our neighborhood really joined the party. Annika slept right through it, although we later found her ears covered by her blanket. Lilly and Sophia both awoke around 12:10 and joined us for the show. Sitting on the chairs, wrapped up in blankets and watching for the next little show, seeing the excitement in their faces, I couldn't have asked for more festive way to celebrate.
It's still loud now, at 1:00am, but the visuals seem to have stopped and Lilly and Fia have laid their heads back onto their pillows. I think I will do the same.
Happy New Year!
Our condo doesn't have a balcony, but our front window plays a close second to one. The room juts out into a section with windows on all sides. These windows all open wide, currently without the benefit of screens. We pull the lounge chairs into the window and look out at the city. Our view is partially of the rooftops across the way, but also partially of the mountains, and the lights of the city spreading over and around the hills. It's lovely. Fireworks scattered throughout the view from that point until midnight, when our neighborhood really joined the party. Annika slept right through it, although we later found her ears covered by her blanket. Lilly and Sophia both awoke around 12:10 and joined us for the show. Sitting on the chairs, wrapped up in blankets and watching for the next little show, seeing the excitement in their faces, I couldn't have asked for more festive way to celebrate.
It's still loud now, at 1:00am, but the visuals seem to have stopped and Lilly and Fia have laid their heads back onto their pillows. I think I will do the same.
Happy New Year!
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