Pokens

At some point, a long time ago, our kids missed that they're called "shots," and they named them "pokens."  As in,  

"We're going to the doctor?  Are we going to get any pokens?" 

This happened so long ago that Dave and I don't really call them shots either.  The language is fully engrained in our family vocabulary, much like ayi, and, oh, I'm sure there are more of them.

Today, there was no school because of teacher-conferences.  As a side note, I love days with no school.  And I love teacher-conferences.  I have amazing kids.  But back on topic.  Since we had a weekday wide open, the whole family spent the morning in the State Department's clinic.  I got three pokens - yellow fever, rabies and the P from DTap.  Apparently, I only ever got the DTa part.  Each of the girls got yellow fever and rabies - they're current on both their Ps and their MMRs.  That's the extra one Dave needed - MMR.  We walked out with three oral doses of something else, maybe Typhoid - Sophia and Annika are too young to take the oral dose, so that's another shot for each of them.  Although, rather amusingly, Sophia will become old enough about 3 weeks before we are scheduled to leave.  We are considering adding a regimented oral vaccine to those specific 3 weeks, just to avoid another poken. 

In this family, we really don't like pokens.

We have two more appointments already scheduled, because rabies is a series of 3.  I think there are a few extras coming on those days, and I may need to schedule one more appointment because, Mom, did I have MMR when I was a kid? 

The girls were amazing.  They knew we were going to FSI, and they even knew we were going to the clinic.  I told them we had some work to do to get ready for our move to Venezuela, and so they quietly read books in the waiting room while Dave and I updated health forms and immunization charts.  Dave and I went in first;  little Annika watched as I discussed with the nurse, and worried for me a bit.  And then we told Lilly, who began crying immediately.  Sophia soon got wind of what was going on, and very bravely sat in the hallway repeating to herself, I love shots!  I love shots!  She revealed to me later that she did cry a little bit when she got the shot, but that's all.  Annika sat on my lap and took it like a champ - with her eyes on the stickers and the sucker, literally her eyes on the prize the whole time.

And then, given the choice between lunch at McDonalds and playing at the playground, they chose the latter.  On top of the glowing teacher conferences, I couldn't be more proud of my kids today.

But I'm not looking forward to those next few visits to the clinic.

Fast Times in Caracas

Last night, we watched a movie which took place in Caracas.  In Secuestro Express, a crew of thugs express kidnap a very nice lady.  It was a good movie, but didn't paint a particularly positive picture of safety in Caracas.

Earlier this morning, we received the Caracas crime report from the embassy via email.  Lets just say it didn't offer much comfort.

Hugo Chavez was reelected about a week ago, and so we see little to no change in the near future.  In fact, the weekend of the elections were marked by hyper security and prohibitions on alcohol.  They were also marked by standard murder levels - 59 people killed over those two days.  This all too clearly illustrates that even when Chavez chooses to reign in violence, his actions do precious little.

Currently, we plan to arrive in Venezuela at the very end of the year - that is, in the very last days of December.  However, diplomatic relations are in such a state that we can not rest assured of that day for at least another few weeks.  I'm split on my opinion of this - I love Arlington, and I love how safe we feel here.  But January is a perfect time for transition, and I am eager to begin this next life.  So, I am fine with leaving this decision to God and the American government.

Steady Progress

People keep reminding me that we're only a few short months away from our move date.  I can't really relate to that date.  Life seems to move along at the same speed it has taken for the past year.  In fact, it feels as if it has slown down.  We've enjoyed visitors this month, amazing weather, some fabulous teachers, and some really great rec league soccer games.  We spend less time in the car and more time outside, and its hard to live anywhere but the present these days.

But we are making steady progress toward the goal of leaving in December.  I'm studying Spanish 5-8 hours per week, which I'm realizing is not enough time to make any real headway in learning Spanish.  However, I'm also discovering that Spanish is fairly easy to learn.  Dave's doing quite well in his studies, and on track to be a strong speaker by the end of the year.

We received our diplomatic passports a few weeks ago.  Today our family were all medically cleared for worldwide availability.  And tomorrow Dave picks up the regular passports for Sophia and I (hard to believe there was time for them to expire!)  The fun thing about passports is that our family of five will travel with 10 passports in hand - the official diplomatic passports, for official travel; and the regular blue passports, for personal travel.  Each needs to be present, in case the last stamp if in a different passport!

Dave's put together an itinerary for pack-out and travel over the last few weeks of the year, and we hope that his itinerary will be followed.  It seems that the Venezuelan government is in a bit of a tizzy over diplomatic visas.  That is, they don't choose to give them out on time.  Our government may be involved in a tit-for-tat style action over this, which makes international politics feel a bit like fifth grade recess.  No matter - the implication for us is simply that we may or may not leave for Caracas in December.  We move forward planning for a December move, and hope that all correct contingencies fall into place.

The more interesting contingency occurs next week - Venezuelans hold their presidential election on October 7th, and this should be one worth watching!

Like Cogs Slowly Grinding Back Into Motion

Its been a quiet year in Arlington, our hometown. 

We've spent the past year settling into our current lives, and we've settled in quite comfortably.  We've spent precious little time or energy thinking or worrying about the next step.  We've simply focused on the current.  I decided sometime last year that all things related to the Move should wait until September.  We are scheduled to begin life in Caracas in December, and so September seems a logical point to begin planning.

We have reached the last week of August, which is also the last week of summer.  We're spending it at the pool.  We're staying up later than we ought to, because we're breaking back into the habit of waking to an alarm.  We're deliciously relaxed.  My To Do List for next week is silently growing while I enjoy these last few days with all of my girls surrounding me.

But yesterday, we did take one of our first steps of preparation.  Our family took a field trip down to the Main State Department building to apply for passports.  In our Virginia complacency, Sophia and I had both let our regular passports expire, so there was that to do.  But our travel to Venezuela will be as diplomats, which requires a diplomatic passport.  I believe this is partly to serve as solid identification of our diplomatic status in the country.  I believe it is also because our travel and customs rules are different when we travel as diplomats.  For instance, none of our luggage is to be inspected.  Our diplomatic visas mean that we carry our luggage straight through customs and are not subject to those laws.  We also get a shorter wait in the passport line, although I imagine that's more to do with different laws and questions than with keeping us from waiting.

So, our black passports are in process and our family will travel with 10 passports in hand when we move.  Other processes have begun, slowly as well.  Dave has been studying Spanish full-time at work since the beginning of July.  He is a good student, but feels that he is an average Spanish learner in his class.  Although he expects to pass in the 6 month allotted time-frame, he almost hopes to fail his test at the end of December.  You see, Venezuela has been rather snooty about handing out visas to their American diplomats.  No one has left on time for the past few months - most folks receive their visas after a few months delay.  Dave and I both like the classroom lifestyle that he enjoys right now, and he'd love to spend those extra few months studying Spanish.  More likely, he will pass his test on time but we will not move in December without visas.  We will likely be in Virginia a few months into the new year.

This causes some stress for our family.  We allotted a budget which allowed us to live comfortable in Virginia until December.  Those extra few months will be difficult.  We will need to cancel our lease with one month's notice, but we may move within a few weeks of receiving our visas and lose our security deposit.  Also, I'm unsure how to explain this to the girls.  Come December, we may not finish school with the knowledge of when we will move.  Possibly the girls will leave their classrooms in December without a visa, and it will arrive a few weeks later - in time for us to arrive in December.  A crazy month that would make - but it is what we are hoping for.

So, we plan for a December move.  And we begin that planning soon.  I plan half-heartedly, knowing that those plans will likely all be canceled for a later move - one I will not have the time to plan.  But I cannot complain too much.  I like life in Virginia.  And I like planning.

Said at the Smithsonian

Dave had the day off on Monday, because a truly fabulous storm knocked out power all over town over the weekend.  Luckily, our power stayed on and we enjoyed a 3-day weekend.  Happily, the Smithsonian also had power, and so our family explored the Freer Gallery of Art and some of the gardens surrounding it.  A few interesting tidbits from our kids:

Smithsonian lady:  Where are you from?
Lilly:  America.
Smithsonian lady (seeming rather thrown): Yes, but what part of America.
Lilly (without pause):  St. Louis

Dave and I were both surprised by her answer.

Later, in a Chinese garden modeled after the Temple of Heaven in Beijing:

Sophia:  That looks beautiful.  Can we go there?
Mommy:  We have been there, and it was beautiful.
Sophia:  Where is it?
Mommy:  Its in China.
Sophia:  Will we ever go to China again?
Mommy:  Probably.
Sophia:  Good.  I'd like to see what it looks like.
Mommy:  You mean this garden?
Sophia:  No, I mean China.  I'd like to see what it looks like.

We have passed some pretty significant milestones in this house.  Dave has finished his job with the Department of Human Rights, Democracy and Labor.  He has moved on to Spanish language training at the Foreign Service Institute.  We have lived at the same address for longer than 364 days - a first for our Sophia.  Annika has lived in the U.S. for over half of her life.  Lilly will very nearly miss that goal when we leave for Venezuela in December.

Enjoying Mundanity

Life has become much simpler over the past few weeks.  Dave finished his job in DRL, and is now spending his days at FSI - that's the Foreign Service Institute.  He's currently is class, learning how to process visas - that will be his job in Caracas.  At the end of the month, he will transfer into Spanish.  That will bring some stress back into his life, but will still keep his days to 8 hours.  Ah, it has been lovely.  And then last week, Sophia finished preschool.  And so ended the daily commute.  My life has become much more relaxed over the last few weeks, and at the onset of summer, things promise to become only more relaxing.  I haven't posted much lately, because life has become beautifully mundane.  That will certainly change as we begin ramping up for Caracas, with its lack of security and its political instability.  But for now, I'm enjoying the mundanity of life in Northern Virginia.

As part of that simple life, Sophia wrote me a story yesterday.  Saved here for posterity, and for your enjoyment:

Translated above in red, but also below:
    This is a Mommy and a kid.
    They are going to a party.
    The kid is shy, but the
    Mommy
    says "You are
    Pretty."  To Mommy  Love, Fia

Love the story, and the supportive mom.  Love that she spells party PRD.  And also love that she looked at a picture of a white woman and a black child and naturally imagined them as mother and child.

In the Right Place

Dave is in China right now.  He's staffing his Under Secretary - that's the head of the Bureau on Democracy, Human Rights and Labor within the Department of State.  I posted earlier that these two weeks in China are the pinnacle of his year working the China desk within this bureau.  That could not have become more true with the news this week.

Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng rather impressively escaped house arrest and appeared in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing only days before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived for this big summit.  The news coverage has been exciting, with new bits of the story breaking every few hours over the past few days.  And I'm getting nothing more than random texts from Dave, who is right in the thick of it.

Again, I've got to admit that I'm pretty jealous.

And a little bummed.  Because Dave's supposed to get on a plane tomorrow morning and fly home to be with us.  Glad he's spending his time on such worthy endeavors.  But a little jealous of his time, too.