Fancy Pants

There was a church dance Friday night for the high-school aged kids. It was the 'fancy, formal' kind of shin-dig. The theme was black and white and they asked everyone to come dressed to the nines. Suit coat and bow tie was the requirements for the boys. I don't have girls - so I'm not sure what they told them, other than to wear black and white. 

We were worried for 2 reasons; #1: My boys do not have suit coats. We're from Arizona. They're lucky to have a long-sleeved white shirt. It's hot there. Usually, by the end of church, my boys have rolled up their sleeves. So no. We have not invested in suit coats for growing teenage boys. #2: We also do no have bow ties. Not something they usually wear. Surprised? 

We were also not sure how, in an area where there are many, many, extremely low income families, they could even ask for everyone to wear this type of get up. Apparently, they do this every year and everyone pools together everything and allows the kids to have this fancy-pants night of fun. And that is exactly what happened!

Alex decided not to go. He was too tired to go dancing from 8:30pm-1:00am. *Crazy times, right? The dances in the states end no later than like 10:30pm. We're in Chile. The entire country is full of night owls!

So Andrew and Logan went together. Luckily, Logan's dad is in the military - and apparently, bow ties are standard issue dress uniform. He just happened to have 2 on hand. Such handsome boys!

I loved hearing all about it when they got home. Sam, another kid in my seminary class, was (and I quote) "a party animal!" I also heard that all the ladies kept gathering around these three boys and dancing with them. (They didn't play any slow music - just upbeat dance songs). According to one of the chaperones, this didn't sit well with some of the local boys. They kept trying to get the DJ to play something that our boys couldn't dance to. Well - there isn't much that these stud-muffins can't get jiggy with, so there was no stopping them :) 

They had an amazing time! 

Greg and I had our own little fancy-pants night on Saturday. Greg's boss is in town, so the team went out for a delicious Italian dinner. Dessert was presented on a plate with amazing chocolate art. This is chocolate sauce ---- sauce... NOT hard chocolate pieces - sauce! I watched them make it on a cart at the table. I love to experience the different talents of people around the world. 

Kermess!

Kermess (meaning "outdoor fair") is a day of International fun and food - lots and lots of food - hosted by our school. It is their big fundraiser for the year. 

Nido is a very diverse school with students from all over the globe. Every country with student representation, has the opportunity to host a booth at the event. Not all countries choose to participate, but most that have a decent sized group at the school do. All proceeds go to the school.

This year there are students from 52 different countries attending school at Nido. There were 29 booths at Kermess:

• Korea
• Taiwan
• Turkey
• Japan
• Brazil
• Bolivia
• Argentina
• Canada
• Honduras
• Spain
• Mexico
• Australia & New Zealand
• Africa (Uganda, Mali, Sierra Leona, Mozanbique, Liberia)
• Israel
• Venezuela
• Colombia
• Peru
• UK
• China
• USA
• South Africa
• Malaysia
• India
• Palestine
• France & Belgium
• Chile
• Germany
• Puerto Rico
• & The Girl Scouts with their delicious hand-squeezed lemonade

You can imagine the smells. I gained 3 kilos by just the smell alone! We ate and ate and ate. We watched the different countries perform on the main stage. My favorite was when the group of Korean kids did "Gangam Style" it was hysterical! My boys particularly enjoyed the belly dancers (surprise, surprise).

I think my favorite foods came from Japan, the Yakitori chicken pictured below; Turkey, they had these delicious lamb pitas; and this Aloe Vera water drink from Korea. YUM! 

It was blazing hot! But it didn't stop the crowds of people from enjoying this amazing day!

I wore my Diamondbacks shirt to represent USA (I worked our booth)

Andrew spent the afternoon under the covered outdoor gymnasium playing cricket with his friends. He's hooked! He plans to bring cricket to Corona high school when we get back to the states.

(He's the one with the shaved head and black/grey striped shirt)

Alex loved the chile from the US booth. He hung with his friends volunteering at one of the booths (also in the shade). He wore his "Trust me, I'm a Dr." Dr. Pepper t-shirt to represent the USA! 

What a fun day! 

Thanksgiving 2012

Thankful for many things during this season of gratitude. Thankful for friends and family and friends that feel like family. Grateful for new experiences and the growth that has come because of them. Grateful for blessings of peace, protection, and patience.

I'm grateful for things that remind me of home. Like special family favorite Thanksgiving treats. Lots of the regular ingredients are not available here. So our family's favorites, like Cheesy Potatoes (aka Funeral Potatoes) and Frog Eye Salad had to be improvised.

Hashbrowns are not available here, and potatoes are about $12USD a bag - and all that grating.... So I bought thin cut french fries and chopped them into little cubes, similar to hash browns.

I then added all the other ingredients - so far so good.

Out of the oven they looked perfect and tasted just like the real thing from home! Granted it cost about $25USD a pan to make (I made 2) but worth it for that special holiday treat!

Greg even helped out - he didn't want me to show his picture, because men sit around and watch football, not help with food prep! As much as he's like to be all "Man Power!" he's a sucker for a girl who asks for help. I love that about him!

We enjoyed the evening with lots of friends.

This last picture is all of us (left to right):

Melissa, Julie, Keri, Me, Kristi, Laura S, Laura H, Liz

I love my gringa girls!

A Day full of Surprises!

*And pleasant surprises for once!*

Yesterday, I kicked off my day with the usual, wake up, pry the kids out of bed, make them breakfast, teach seminary, drive kids to school... The normal routine. 

I had been invited by a friend of mine to go to a Christmas Bazaar. After getting back from dropping kids and thinking about having to shower, I could barely keep my eyes open. I was just so dang tired. I briefly hesitated, questioning if I really wanted to go... Luckily, I knew my ride would be there in an hour, so I got moving. I am so grateful that I did! 

I had an amazing morning. It was fun to see all the different creations from people all over the globe. I believe this was an international group that sponsored the event and the variety of people and their creations was fun to see. There was Christmas music and chatter in all different accents. I loved every single thing about it. Plus I found some adorable things that I couldn't live without. Bonus!

Afterwards, I headed up to the school for the Swim SAAC rally and was impressed with the continued improvement of student involvement. We're working desperately to teach these kids what a "Rally" should look like. They are slowly getting the hang of things. 

Between the rally and after-school pick-up, I ran by the grocery to grab a few more Thanksgiving Day ingredients. Guess what surprise waited for me there?

REAL chocolate chips! They NEVER sell them here. They have chocolate chips, but they are in a small little bag - like what you'd buy gummy worms in - only smaller! AND they're not the same chocolate. In fact, not so good chocolate. So this was a HUGE treat! At $6.25USD per bag - I grabbed 6... Yep. I just spent $40 on chocolate chips and only came away with enough to make cookies 6 times, but it was totally worth it! I also found something that resembles BROWN SUGAR! Woo Hoo! I see cookies in our future :)

I was thinking that the day couldn't get any better when I unexpectedly got call from my sister and was able to Facetime with my favorite little baby boy! 

My newest little nephew Colton was with his Aunt Shellie and I got to goo and coo at him. I saw my sweet little niece Katie-bug's braided hair and watched her dance around the room. I visited with my mom who just the day before had knee replacement surgery and not only hear how she is doing, but actually SEE how she was doing. 

Tomorrow I get to Skype my family in Utah during their Thanksgiving gathering and goo and coo at my sweet, little, just barely turned 1 year old niece and my amazing teenage nephews (I promise not to goo and coo at them). My other adorable little niece is in college (maybe it's time to stop calling her little) and I can find out all about how things are going for her. I'll get to not only talk to - but actually SEE the whole gang! Even grandpa! 

It is such a blessing to have this technology in my life. I would be completely lost without my ability to connect with my family this way. 

I LOVE SURPRISES!

Feeling Normal Again

I feel normal. Like my normal usual - at home in the states - self.

On Wednesday, I canceled my Spanish class (just couldn't emotionally take it- sometimes it's just too much). I met some friends at a burger joint to celebrate Keri's birthday. The waitress spoke to me in ENGLISH! I ordered chicken nuggets.

I had 1 hour to kill before going to pick up my kids so I stopped off at the big Lider. It's basically Walmart. I think it's owned by Walmart and it carries a lot of the same types of things. Who knew how amazingly awesome Walmart brand stuff is. Things I would never buy at home; Great Value canned chips for example, are like a little treat from heaven here. JUST LIKE PRINGLES - no, no they are not, but it's pretty dang close. They have home goods, groceries, electronics, cleaning products, clothes - a little bit of everything. Just like a Walmart home.

So I wandered the aisles. I bought a cute pair of flip-flops that are blue with white polka dots, a melon colored top, and a beautiful summer scarf (which Greg thinks is an oxymoron). I found small little round pastas that resemble acene de pepe from home. I use this pasta for our family's favorite Thanksgiving treat: Frog Eye Salad. I was thrilled! I also found a gigantic plastic bowl in the cleaning section and scooped it right up. I need a huge bowl for things all the time, like Frog Eye.

I purchased a stack of those plastic outdoor plates to use in place of paper. Paper plates are killer expensive here. You have to buy them in the party section in packages of like 6 or 8 for a mil ($2USD).  This is a better option. I just don't like taking my glass plates on the patio, and we eat outside almost every night. Yeah spring!

We had the missionaries over for dinner on Tuesday and one of them (who is from Texas) has this horrible burn on his leg. I think it's almost like a patch of minor frostbite. He got it after trekking around in the snow. He's seen a doctor and all is good, but literally the entire back of his calf is one massive scab. He asked if I had any Vaseline he could borrow that night as the doctor told him to keep it coated in Vaseline but he didn't have any. I did have any either. So while at Walmart, I searched and searched until I found a jar in the baby section. I gave him a call and met up with him to deliver it. I gave him the "mom lecture" about keeping it clean and coated, watch for signs of infection... the whole gamut.

Yesterday, I went to see Twilight with some girlfriends. A few of us went for sushi after.

JUST NORMAL THINGS> Regular, every day things. Things I haven't been able to do for so long. Things I took for granted before I came here.

At home, if I want to go to Walmart - I go to Walmart. I don't have to second guess my ability to communicate appropriately with the cashier. If I want to see a movie - I see a movie. I don't have to stop and think, "self, you can't see a movie because: a. it might not be in english, b. you can't tell the cashier what movie you want to see, and c. you don't know the word for 'popcorn' and what is a movie without popcorn? Don't forget the fact that you can't read what movie is playing or when the movie even starts."

I just went to Walmart Lider. I bought myself some little crap that I just WANTED - not needed. I was able to help a friend, have lunch, watch a movie. NORMAL EVERYDAY THINGS!

Granted, I couldn't have done the movie without the help of my spanish-speaking girls and really I only fake my way through checking out and ordering lunch, because I have no clue what they're saying - but whatever. I'm really good at interpreting hand gestures and putting clues together to figure out what they want. I'm a freaking detective. As I always say: Fake it 'till you make it! :)

TWILIGHT! With Melissa, Keri, & Laura- gotta love the Spanish poster!

Yes, I got a picture with me in it - but you all know what I look like (besides, I do not look very good in that one) so better to post a photo of my Twi-girls! 

Should We Stay or Should We Go?

I hesitate to even write this post. We have friends in Arizona who will be livid that we are even considering longer here - and friends here who are begging us to stay. It's a double-edged sword.

Our first few months here were ... how can I describe it? It wasn't total despair (even though there were moments) but it was just so darn hard. Every. Single. Thing. Was a huge challenge. I felt trapped and alone. Hopeless. Helpless. Overwhelmed. Out of touch. It was just SO HARD!

But we've gotten past that. Largely in part to the amazing people we've met here. There is an instant bonding that comes when you are in that place and there is someone who is willing to reach their hand out and help pull you out of it. You become family. And that is a big part of what is pulling me to stay here. My new family.

Andrew is feeling that same pull. After returning from his SAAC soccer tournament in Quito, Ecuador, his teammates are begging him to stay. "We need you Andrew!" I hear it in their thick accent as I type it. Andrew sounds like Androo. I love that accent. I will miss that accent. His friends will all remain here through graduation. They all are shocked to hear he is even considering leaving.

Alex is a little less torn as a couple of his friends leave at the end of this school year.

Greg... I don't know about Greg. I don't think Greg knows about Greg.

There are some amazing opportunities that are pulling us to stay. Yet the EASY back in Arizona is a huge pull.

I feel like things are just beginning to turn around for me and I want to have the chance to live here without struggling, so I can just enjoy it.

So many things. Just when we think we've made a decision, something else pops up swaying us the other way... We're hopeless...

We do need to make a decision before we return to the states in January. So stay tuned...

Crazy Dog!

Our dog is the calmest, most chill dog in the world. He's perfect. He rode on the entire way to Chile in a small little bag without a peep. Pretty much the most ideal dog for us.

Until it's time for ME to drive someplace. Then our tranquil little guy turns into a super-spaz! Jumping up and down, up and down, at the front door. Apparently, he likes to ride with me in the car. He runs back and forth on the backseat, sticking his head out of each window.

I take him if I can because I know he loves it. Plus I feel bad that he's cooped up in this little house all day. Our yard at home is bigger and he can sniff around for a little exercise. Here, our yard is about 1/4 of the size and half of it is taken up by the pool. We don't like to take him on walks because of all the dogs running around here. I don't know if they are strays or not, if they have their shots, if they have fleas... gross. He has to stay inside or in our backyard.

Anyway back to my story.

I was able to take him with me to pick up Alex from school today. When we got home, Alex opened the door to let him out. He then reached in to grab his backpack out of the backseat. Apparently, the moment Scooter touched the ground, he decided he needed to pee on the bush; there was another dog there just before we left - and he had to mark his territory fast.

The problem: Alex's foot was right there.

So the dog peed on Alex's foot. SICK!