Into the Wild

Wow. It has almost been a year since my last post. I said that it is like exercise and I was right.

So, Claire and I are talking about all the animals and bugs and reptiles we have here at our house - inside and out - mostly in - and here is the list:

snakes (non poisonous)
scorpions
armadillos
tree frogs
spiders/tarantulas
chinchas
saltamontes (GIGANTIC GRASSHOPPERS)
rats
mice
ferrets
toads
zorros (sort of like a possum)
cat
dog
chickens
birds

And once I opened my front gate to leave and there was a baby cow standing there staring at me. Now THAT was a surprise.

So far, none have them, other than spiders, have ended up in the bed. Yet.

Lost in Translation

For those of you who have tender eyes, you might not want to keep reading (profanity). . .

For the last year I have been calling my cab driver (I have the same one every day - we are on a contract) and saying to him in Spanish:

"Puede recoger me? Porfavor, toque su pito cuando viene!"

FINALLY someone corrected me and explained to me what I have been saying to him over the last year:

"Could you come and fuck me again? Please, when you get here, touch your dick."

Really. Why in the hell didn't anyone correct me sooner? How totally embarrassing. And all this time I was thinking how good my Spanish was getting. Hmmm.

Catching Up

Several months have gone by and it feels like a year. I won't bother going into details but here are some highlights:

Ben took a job in Iraq with the International Medical Corps in Baghdad. It is a year contract and he gets a week off every two months so see us which is more than before! He is running a center for returning refugees and I am so proud of him. We miss him but love him so much for doing this. I am even happier about it since in the fortune 500 alone there have been 330,000 layoffs since November!

Henry got his molars, speaks a lot in Spanish & English and also had a trip to the hospital for an IV due to dehydration. That last bit sucked. The health care here is good but you have to bring your own blankets, sheets & pillows and share a room with 3 other screaming babies with IV's. (Although we got lucky enough to have our own bed in the "diarrhea" room.) Oh - and Henry is now is school every day for 6 hours. It is awesome.

Claire has a new best friend (aside from her cousin Cal Bear/Matthew) named Maria Jose. She (Claire) grew an inch and doesn't stop talking. I told her I was going to go jump in the shower and she freaked, "MAMMA! Please, don't jump - that is dangerous. You have to go slowly."

I think blogging is like exercising - you have to do it regularly or you won't do it at all. And no, I never exercise.



Claire and cousin Ethan in San Mateo


Auntie Katie & Henry in San Mateo


Last sunset of the year.


Patio dried coffee at a local micro-beneficio La Cabana


Henry at our family Christmas party