Rural Colombia with the Cousins

While on vacation in Colombia we would normally head out to Villa de Leyva. This year we decided it was "a bit too much" given that we were graciously invited to the finca (out-of-town home) of Ivan's family. You might remember that Ivan is married to Caro who, in addition to being the sister of Andres and Adri, is also the cousin of Natalia.  As it turned out Ivan and Caro led the expedition, with Natalia and the girls in tow, while Laurence jumped into the car with Andrés, his wife Marianelly and their two lovely daughters Camila and Mariana. The idea was to spend 'down time' in Los Llanos, southeast of Bogotá just over the Andes mountains. Three and a bit hours away, just beyond Villavicencio we found the finca waiting for us, along with Tommy and Simba, the dogs. 

We spent three wonderful days there, far away from everything and practically living in the pool. Irini and Mariana had the following routine:  Wake up, go to the pool, have breakfast, go to the pool, have lunch, take a nap, wake up, go to the pool, have dinner, play, sleep. For three days they were happily engaged in each other and the rest of the gang. Ivan and Caro served up some wonderful grilled meet and potatos and pretty much everything one could think of as we all gobbled it up as fast as we could. There was some bantering about Caro being a bad aunt because she wanted to feed our daughters chips and cookies too much. There was a trip down the highway to visit the local ice cream shop. There was a good deal of chatting and laughter. All in all it was a fantastic weekend. Largely quiet with lots of 'down time' it was a great change from the city bustle. More importantly, it was a great way for Irini and Amalia to be exposed to Spanish, to their extended family and to farm life. Daily visits to the horses, the chickens and rooster, watching the birds (of which there was quite a colorful variety), checking out the toads and chatting with the parakeets (one of which said "quiere cacao?" all the time). 

What a great way to end our Colombia visit!  To make things even better, our return to Bogotá coincided with an offer to Javi for a new job in Barranquilla in a prestigious school there. He and Carolina are hoping this is only the first step to a new international career for them as well. We are crossing fingers for them and wishing them the best. :-)

Of This and That and Friends and Such

Summer is a time to reconnect with the old and discover the new. It is the time for travel and it is the time to create memories. This year is no different. Colombia, as always, brings us home to friends and family - lots of 'em - and opens the doors to keeping our excitement of home alive and our social schedule full. For Irini and Amalia it is a chance to know a little more about themselves, their families and the many friends we've met along the way. 


Little glimpses of change can be seen every day. Just today Irini marched around the house talking loudly in Spanish. She and Amalia followed their abuelita around the garden and planted potatoes in hopes that, in a year's time, they will find plants adorning the back garden. They have rekindled loving contact with Taita ("Taitaaaaaaa" says Amalia when she sees him), with Javi and Caro (who stayed here with us for a long while) and have reunited with their extended family, most notably with their cousin Mariana and Camila (whom they met for the first time). 


Add to that the visiting of our old friend Jody (who now works in Sao Paolo but who used to work in KL with us) and the visits with ex-CNG classmates, students and friends and you've got one more action-packed yet splendidly heart-warming summer experience. Life has been good to us here, as it has always been. As it (life) moves us on to warmer climes it makes sure that the connections as just as they should be, strong and appreciated. 

Puttin' Words Together

Amalia is a hoot. She wakes up the morning with a huge smile and, within minutes, is up and about roaming the bedrooms trying to find someone to either talk to or climb on (or both). She has moments when the entire world crumbles in an instant (usually before her afternoon siesta) and both mom and dad are at wit's end, though Irini is rarely phased by it at all. But generally she is inquisitive, spontaneous, adventurous and talkative... with words that are new day to day. Here's a short list of favorites (and translations) that we're picking up over the summer:

• "Daddeee, whe ya you?" - it steals our heart away every time we hear it
• "Apo mamee" - meaning "s'agapo (I love you) mommy" 
• "Nini come"
• "Patas" - it took a while for the adults to figure this one out until Irini announced it meant pasta
• "Dos, tres, dos" - One, two, three
• "My toloh" - "My stroller"
• "I want duces" - "I want dulces (sweets)" - this one was introduced by our various extended family members
• "Wait, wait, wait!"
• "I do daddy" - "I'll do it Daddy"... This is pretty much said all the time
• "Don stas?" - "Donde estas?"
• "I wan pilly pool" - "I want to go to the swimming pool"