By the Hair of our Chinny, Chin Chin!

Ayla and Naiya hitting the town in Usaquen

First of all, welcome to my new blog. This way I can insert pics and have a running tales of our triumphs and woes (sorry, I'm in my Shakespeare unit and feeling the Elizabethan buzz).

A couple weeks ago, the Greenbergs were nannyless, penniless, carless and full of some fantastic parasites, but it seems as though we have emerged from our darkness and things are looking up. As you know, we were onto our 4th nanny in the last 8 months. Her name is Rubiela. She is a grandmotherly type with a great cackle and infinite patience and love for our children. So, needless to say, I was very much hoping to keep her around for a long time to come. We've had a few hiccups, but it seems we may succeed.

Her first day, she (according to our other, slightly jealous nanny) put her hand in the garberator and was about to turn the switch on when Diana (see above description) caught her in the act of taking off her hand and shrieked a scream akin to those found in classic horror films. Zoom in camera to the hand about to get mangled and phew! We almost had to support her for the rest of our lives!

Two days later, I was having dinner with the kids (Daniel was away on his trip with the grade 6's to coffee country) and Rubiela began to show me how she had cleaned the windows so beautifully. I told her they were lovely and lamented how difficult it was to clean the hard to reach windows. She proudly informed me that she had donned a harness and had gotten to all of them. As I tried to pick my jaw up off the table and bring my eyes back to a normal size, I gently questioned how she knew how to do such a thing. I did this while imagining this robust woman hanging from our building, in her nanny  uniform, all the while keeping an eye on our daughter who played quietly inside. My brain somehow couldn't wrap itself around this image. As Rubiela continued to confirm my understanding, I had almost accepted her commitment to keeping the house clean when I suddenly heard the word "muchacho" (guy) through her country drawl. Somehow, I hadn't heard her mention a guy and the whole thing had been lost in translation. She had watched as a guy cleaned the windows. Phew!

Now that things seem to be going well again on the nanny front, we have been sorting out the rest of our lives. Ayla has just started the interview process for K4, which she should be starting next year. After an initial interview with us, the parents, they put Ayla to the test. I'm not quite sure how that works because we weren't allowed to see the proceedings. We dropped her off and in she walked through the doors of assessment, while we anxiously waited along with the other parents, silently scrutinizing the competition. We were given a questionnaire to complete while she underwent a rigourous test :) As all questionnaires do, it started with mundane questions, but question #4 made us perk up. "Has your child been through any traumatic experiences recently?" (check all that apply). As we scrolled down the list, we saw divorce, death, adoption and then came the work that made me realize we aren't in Kansas anymore...KIDNAPPING. What??!?!? Is this actually something that still happens so often that parents have a box they can tick for it! Given our close relationship with the admissions head, I asked her whether this box was truly necessary. To my relief and grief, it WAS necessary, but only about 10 years ago. She thankfully said it should be taken off the list. Phew!

The last question was there almost as a tease. "Describe your child's personality and general traits." What does one say to this other than "musical, intelligent, curious, athletic, social, motherly, logical, reasonable, etc." I told Daniel, he should just write perfect and be done with it. After handing in the questionnaire, the time seemed eternal. As we killed time chatting, I started to think my nerves were getting the best of me. My chair was swaying and my equilibrium was off. Suddenly, a mother jumped up and yelled "terremoto!!!" It took a second for my Spanish to kick in when I realized she was yelling "Earthquake!!" Using all my survival instincts, I stood up in the surfer's pose, ready to take on the waves and after a few seconds, realized that the wave had come and gone and I was standing like a goof ready for nothing! It was a slight swaying, but I now can say, I've felt an earthquake. Daniel, who was sitting right next to me, calmly stated that he felt a little dizzy, but wasn't aware of the earth moving:) Phew!

The car fiasco seems to have finally drawn to a close after much time and heartache. After receiving our money back from the used car dealership (a miracle in itself), we ended up finding a car that fit the bill. It had 7 seats, lots of room, diesel, etc. The only thing was that it is a brand no one has ever heard of called SsangYong. After some research, we realized that this Korean car has great reviews and comes equipped with a Mercedes motor and transmission. After signing and fingerprinting about 12 pieces of paper, the car was ours and off we drove into the chaos of Bogota traffic. It felt great to be mobile again, even if we were in stop and go all the way home!

Elaine with the girls at the Usaquen market. 

Now we can plan for a weekend trip when my mother arrives and a weekend for just the two of us, which my mother has granted us. We are excited to officially hit the road with our new Korean/German beast! We've been fortunate to have had a lot of visitors lately. Daniel's mom, Elaine, was here helping out while he was gone on the Classroom Without Walls trip in Coffee country and my mother is arriving on the 19th. I head to Buenos Aires for 10 days mid march to present at a conference that is for the international schools in South and Central America and the week after I get back, we head to Panama and Equador for a week.

It's going to be a busy time, so forgive me if I don't write for the next few weeks.I will be assembling material for my next blog! (pictures of Ayla to come!)
Sending our love and hugs to everyone!
Emily, Daniel, Ayla and Naiya

Daniel in the Wax Palm Cloud Forest (Valle de Cocora)

Nannies, Trucks and Bugs that Suck

Hi everyone,

One of my new year's resolutions was to do a better job of keeping people updated, so here goes...

This picture should help you understand the theme of the month

NANNIES

As you can tell by the subject, life in Colombia has been challenging us a bit since our return. When we moved to South America, I can't lie that one of the appeals was having full time help. The minimum wage here is about $350/month and I pay our help about twice that, but no matter what I do, it's been difficult finding the right person to fit with our family. It's no easy task to interview someone and in 20 minutes decide whether you want to live with them. Imagine doing that for your partner in life! 

With nannies the interview is full of " Si senora's" and you find yourself carefully scrutinizing the body language of the person in front of you, how they coo at your children, their patience when your attention is diverted by some ungodly mess, etc. It's all a dance that ends in a cohabitational relationship or never seeing the person again. So much rides on getting this decision right, yet there is very little to help you make the right decision besides pure gut and references (who generally say nothing but niceties). 

Ayla's morning face and the general
theme of the month

When we arrived in Bogota, we had already hired a nanny via skype through the US embassy. She was lovely, but sadly she was super shy and didn't like traveling; two ingredients that just don't gel with our family. We parted amicably and even shed some tears. Onto nanny #2 who we hired and who had just finished her first day when she suddenly had to up and move back to Cartagena. Nanny #3 (Flor Maria) was hired in early November when we were desperate and nannyless. She was proactive, loving, but stern with the kids, and came with fantastic references. At this point, our girls were starting to get used to the comings and goings of women in the house. Ayla had gotten used to calling them "That lady" and I told her "Flor" was acceptable if she couldn't handle the double-barreled name. 

Flor Maria was a gem at the start. Everything was done before I could think it needed to be done. The kids seemed happy and life was good. Alas, this lasted about a month and then the attitude started to creep in. Colombians prefer to work for Westerners because we treat them better in all respects. However, there is a class divide that creates what I like to call a "si senora" culture. They may curse you behind your back, but you'll never know it to your face. Flor Maria, having worked for many American families, had gotten over this complex it seemed and a few times she exclaimed her displeasure with things that were far beyond our control. Ex. We live too high on the hill, she doesn't like the stores around our neighbourhood, the parks have too many dogs. Well EXCUSE me! In addition, Ayla mentioned that |Flor maria had scared her on one occasion. Ayla was obviously sensitive to her moodiness as well. We decided to have her take the holiday to relax, knowing that Naiya would be in daycare once we returned and her workday would be less stressful. We would reassess at the end of January.

Bogota fire that we saw from our balcony

When we came back, Naiya's daycare debut went well with exception to the fact that she was missing her morning naps and going to sleep by 5 pm. Flor maria was happier and cohabitation was running smoothly again. However, when I decided to pull her out of daycare and get a 2nd nanny to come and work with naiya 3 days a week, the bi polar side of Flor emerged again. This time, I gave her an ultimatum - she stay and work with us with a smile on her face or she move on. She decided to move on to our great relief (much easier than firing someone). Today is her last day and last night the tears began. It's hard to be an integral part of a family, and especially the life of 2 young girls and then just get plucked out of it. We have been able to end this well though and she will come back and spend time with the girls here and there. However, I still feel that the decision was right. I have enough drama in our house... no need to add more.

Daniel and Luna, the new baby of the house. 

Tomorrow, nanny #3.5 starts. Her name is Rubiela and she is a grandmother. Her energy is very different and I'm hoping that the 3rd time is a charm. In the meantime, Diana has been coming 3 times per week. She loves to talk and that she does, all day long. Naiya is starting to come out with spanish words as well now. She is much loved and very well cared for by Diana. I just have to ignore her occasional attempts at subtlety when telling me how to mother. We generally cross paths with her for the last 15 minutes of her day, which is plenty for me. Naiya and ayla love her and I'm hoping they'll love Rubiela too. One of these days, our gut has to be right, right???

TRUCKS

On another note, we've been trying to buy a car since the day that we arrived in Bogota and it's been the ultimate adventure in navigating a foreign system.With the help of our upstairs neighbour, German, we have sent several cars to his mechanic to be checked for any issues. They have all come back with strange things, such as a new roof, accidents that had been covered up, etc. Finally, we decided to go to a reputable dealer and we found a ford explorer that seemed perfect. 7 seats, 4 wheel drive for the country, full loaded, etc. We transferred the money, and had just gotten in the front seat to turn it on and drive off when the engine light glared at me with its evil eye. I told them that I didn't want to drive it away while the light was on and despite the sales man's pleas that the computer just had to be reset, I insisted that our mechanic see it once they had set it straight. 

The next day I was informed that not only the timing chain had to be changed, but several other repairs had to be made. As we went back and forth, I decided to pull the embassy card and try to get our money back. I gave them a week to find a comparable car and then pulled the plug. We are due to receive our money on monday, but I'll believe it when I see it. 

We remain carless and penniless for the moment!

BUGS THAT SUCK

The colds and flues that exist here take on a different form from those at home. Daniel and I have already had a serious stomach bug that plagued us most of october and various colds. It doesn't help that the germs are all soo different and we have an importer and exporter in the form of Ayla who brings back the very latest and greatest in Bacteria and viruses from her daycare on a daily basis.

Beautiful Ayla post sickness!

The girls have had a series of colds and Ayla peed out of her bum for the first time the other day, surprising us all. She looked up at me with wide eyes and a glimmer of fear, which I quickly turned into fascination when I said, "Wow! you just peed out of your bum! We get to do that sometimes! Good for you!"

What up yo?

Then last week, a stomach flu swept through the students and teachers. I knew it was just a matter of time. Flor maria spent all of Thursday night throwing up and by friday night I knew I was in trouble. I waited for Daniel to come home and then just stumbled my way through the next 24 hours. Thankfully, it was a fairly speedy recovery. However, by Sunday, I was bed ridden again. I felt like I had taken a paddle across my back. That night, I awoke to hear Ayla coughing and then sputtering. I ran into find her caked with vomit. She looked up at me with her doughy eyes and said, "mommy, what is my stomach doing?" Having only thrown up in her infancy, she didn't understand what was going on. I tried to explain the biological process in Cinderella terms, cleaned her up, tucked her in and awaited the night I knew we had ahead of us. Within a hour, a repeat performance had us running into her room again, Daniel right into the mess. With all the confidence I could muster, I assured her that this was a normal process. By episode #3, we had smartened up and I was in her bed with a bucket in hand. We made it through the night relatively unscathed, with exception to my back which had become a mess.

One thing you can always count on is your children to put a smile on your face. Thanks girls!!

Unable to go to school, I stayed home in bed with ayla and we watched movies and slept. In order to get sick days here, you have to have a doctor's note, so for $12, I had a doctor come to the house to attest to the fact that I was indeed laid up. She gave me a mysterious shot that put me into such a sleep coma, half the day is a blur. 

And so, we have survived another of Colombia's finest germ brew and we await the next one with anticipation.

Ayla and Eva pausing for a hug

IN OTHER NEWS...

This weekend, Elaine is arriving for 5 days to see the girls and help me out while Daniel is in coffee country with the grade 6's. My mother arrives on the 19th and will be with us for a month. March is full of trips because I will be presenting at a conference in Buenos Aires for 10 days and then we head to Panama and Quito for the last week in march. 

Before we know it, we will be home again!

Missing you all and sending you our love, not our germs. 

Emily, Daniel, Ayla and Naiya

Being Home

Dear friends and family,

We just returned back to Bogota after a trip home to Toronto and Florida and it's amazing how returning home (to Toronto) gives one perspective on being away. I've been able to reflect on our time in Colombia more because I'm back in familiar surroundings. 

When we got home, people inevitably asked us a question sounding something like "So, how is it?" - to which I struggled to find an answer that was satisfactory to myself or to my attentive audience. I wanted so badly for people to understand WHY we moved to Latin America, to a land that people felt was dangerous or unknown, away from family, friends and the life that we know. AFter being home for 3 weeks, I still wasn't any closer to being able to encapsulate into a few succinct sentences, so I decided to write about it instead. 

One of our reasons for going was to experience change. I think the greatest change I have seen is in the girls. Ayla has become a girl, rather than a toddler. She is speaking a fair amount of Spanish already and can understand most of what is said to her by her teachers at her preschool or our current nanny, Flor Maria. I can tell that she has become a seasoned traveller because she constantly asks me whether she can bring this or that toy with her back to colombia, on the plane or wherever our next destination may be. When we boarded the plane to return to Toronto she said to me that she likes traveling and for the next 6 hours of flight, she stoically and patiently awaited our arrival. Her sister, Naiya, is a little less patient about the traveling that we have done. As a fairly nascent walker, she has a sense of freedom that she does not like having revoked. However, watching her run around in various airports and cities, almost oblivious to her surroundings, has been an adventure in itself. From trying to make friends with bomb sniffing dogs, to gracefully accepting the gregarious Latin affection she so often receives, "Muneca, preciosa, princesa, etc," Naiya has grown into a spunky toddler who just seems to take in all in stride, except when she doesn't get her way. 

I'm convinced that both girls have become convinced that they are princesses though. 

Ayla and Ivan (who's in control of who here?)

Although we have sought out change, we have interestingly enough ended up living in a neighbourhood in Bogota that resembles Yorkville. It is one of the posher areas and a short 5 minute walk down the hill from our apartment lands us in the Zona G, the eating capital of Bogota. Although there we have access to some great restaurants, the great Asian food we are used to in Toronto is not available. One of the first things we did when we arrived in Toronto was order Thai food and it tasted amazing! Apart from the ethnic food we have somewhat limited access to and the great expense of buying certain things, such as children's clothes and toys, the area we live in feels like it could be anywhere in the world. 

Ayla and Naiya with their BFF's

So, inevitibly, what we end up missing the most are friends and family and certain foods of course. We have a great network of friends in Bogota, but nothing can replace our nearest and dearest. What was amazing to me though is that being gone 6 months had no impact on the closest of friendships. Ayla went right back into playing amazingly with her best friend Elia and I got to have the mommy dates I've missed so much. Thank you to all of our friends for making the time over a very busy holiday season to see us on multiple occasions

As for family, our girls were lucky enough to be surrounded by the most amazing aunties and grandparents who lavished incredible amounts of attention on them. I was worried they wouldn't ever want to leave. From their new wardrobes to Ayla's freshly pierced ears, we have returned to Bogota refreshed and thankful for all of the amazing people we have in our lives. 

Bubbie and the little monkey

Ayla ready for her flight to see bubbie and zaida

Girls loving the sand in Florida!

Our flight back from Fort Lauderdale was easy and we managed to bring 9 pieces back including our 2 kid bike trailer (for which they didn't charge us), 6 packed suitcases full of our favourite foods and new clothes and 2 car seats. Our return has been very smooth. We took the kids out for their first ride in the trailer, which they loved. The Colombians didn't quite know what to do with the Gringo train that was led by Daniel on his bike, the trailer of squealing kids and a tall clumsy woman on rollarblades. We definitely made a scene.

Princess Ayla and Luna

Naiya in her element: WATER!!

On our way back, Ayla and I walked into a pet store, which was a big mistake of course. We left with our newly adopted 2 month old kitten who we've named Luna (moon). Unlike our beloved Namsai, she will remain an indoor cat. We had to give Namsai away because it's impossible to have an outdoor cat in the apartment living here and as his new mom will testify, Namsai needs to be in the wild. The girls carry Luna to and fro and love chasing her around the apartment. Thankfully, she has an abundance of patience for their antics and she has been a great addition to the family. 

Naiya lugging Luna around

School officially starts tomorrow and the coming months will be quite busy. We have our classroom without walls trip in February, which I may or may not get to go on. This is followed by a week long conference I will be presenting at in Buenos Aires and a golf trip for Daniel somewhere in the middle of that. We are meeting our friends, Jenn and Sam, at the end of march somewhere between here and Toronto.

Naiya had her first day of preschool today. They were worried she might not be ready, but I think she more than proved them wrong when she marched in there and took over the class. Ayla was a very proud big sister being in charge of her little sister on the school bus!

Well, better get back to bed. Haven't had a 5:30 wake up in a while. 

Wishing everyone a very happy new year!

Emily

Need I say more?

Being Jewish in Bogota

Hello everyone,

Making sure we are ready for the rain

It's been way too long since my last update and I'm going to have to focus on the big highlights or I'll never catch up. Work has been great, but the days are long. We leave at 6:30 to commence our 8 minute trek straight uphill to the school, which sits on a piece of land towering over all of Bogota; more like reigning over Bogota. We teach the elite of the elite and the symbolism of our physical presence over the city is not lost on me. The views are spectacular from almost every classroom. Although the day ends at 2:00, we are always in meetings or working till at least 3:30. Then the after school events start. The school has set up an amazing amount of activities for us, completely paid for. We have Spanish lessons twice a week, spinning, yoga, salsa and personal weight trainers on call. By the time we leave around 4:45, we are completely exhausted. My students are all super sweet and their worst offence is being chatty. With exception to my film and journalism classes, which are quite popular and therefore hover around 20 students, my classes are made up of 12 students or less. Gone are the days of classes with 36 students and the marking that comes with that! School, overall, is really great and I'm loving the faculty and students alike. 

Dominique , Ayla's teacher at preschool

Ayla in uniform

Now, onto the subject...

Ayla at her Hannukah concert

One of the questions we asked the director of our school, with trepidation, when we were offered the job here was about the Jewish population. We were surprised to find out that there was a small, but active population and that they tended to send their kids to our school. Ayla is still a year away from going to CNG, so we enrolled her the Lubavitch preschool run by the Chabad house. On her first day, we put her in her cute blue uniform and went downstairs to wait for the bus. When it arrived, we gave them her car seat and watched as they put Ayla in it without buckling her to it or it to the car. We were assured that they would do it at a later stop. HA!!! As my mommy horns came out, they quickly realized that Ayla needed to be buckled before they were going to drive anywhere. Safety standards are at the other end of the spectrum here from our North American hyper paranoia. I'm happy to compromise, but putting my daughter in a seat that will only catapult her further g-d forbid is beyond my flexibility. 

Making sure our kids still know how to clean

Ayla did arrive safely and has been buckled ever since. She loves preschool and asks to go every day. She comes home on Fridays with her own baked challah and her Spanish and Hebrew both seem to be developing. Her immersion in Spanish has created a very interesting reaction. She uses the odd words in Spanish and often pretends to speak a foreign language in fluent gibberish. At school, they say that she won't speak English because she knows that English is not what the other kids are speaking. Instead, she signs and comes up with other ways of communicating in her own creative ways. 

Ayla with Eva (one of our Jewish friends we
 met the first week in Bogota) 

ayla at Gan Lubavitch picnic outside of Bogota

One of the amazing parts about being Jewish in Bogota is that it seems that the whole community is so happy to have us here. There are only a little over 5000 Jews in Colombia compared to Canada's 370,000. Since arriving, we have been invited to Shabbat dinners almost every Friday, which has been a great opportunity to meet Colombians and of course have some amazing home cooked Jewish meals. One such meal was called Lomo Al trapo, which is a Colombian delicacy. We were hosted by the Silberman's for this beautiful meal which was a massive piece of the best cut of beef caked in salt, wrapped in wet cheese cloth and placed directly in the fire. It was so delicious that Naiya stayed up until 9:30 to eat it. 

Horse back riding at Gan picnic

Naiya soaking it in at the picnic

Enjoying the feeling of the grass

Daniel and girls at  Gan picnic

Our latest Shabbat dinner was at Rabbi Moti's house. He and his father direct the Lubavitch and Ashkinaze synagogue. It was my first time being in an Orthodox home, but our varying degrees of practice didn't seem to matter at his table full of laughter. His jokes always had a moral and he and his family were very welcoming to us. 

Ayla looking at pics of family abroad with Nini

Ironically, it feels like we have come to Bogota to find our inner Jew, as Daniel puts it. Not sure why it has worked out that way, but I guess when you travel far from home, you become thirsty for what you know. Before long, Ayla will be teaching us all the more intricate prayers and practices. As of now, she often breaks into the ha motzi and talks about Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). 

Loving sistas

I'm also finding that being a Jewish teacher at our school is interesting. At our open house, I had an introduction that went something like "Mom, this is Mrs. Greenberg. She's Jewish!!!"  I've never quite had that happen before. For most of my Jewish students, I am the first Jewish teacher they've ever had. With Rosh Hashana around the corner, we are having an early celebration at our house with some Jewish friends we've made, so that my mother can be here to celebrate with us. This will be followed by dinner at our surrogate mother's house and then at a different Rabbi's house. 

Orthodox Wedding Veiling of Bride before ceremony

Unclear sentiments of Colombians towards Israel. For the most part they love Israel for all of the help the country has given them over the years, especially with battling their drug lords.

In the meantime, I have found myself immersed in a Holocaust unit in my grade 10 English class. We are reading Night and Maus and it has been a tough unit to move through. The kids are remarkably emotional about it all. I had a 16 year old boy crying in class the other day at the scene when the young Elie Wiesel thinks his father has been taken away at "selection." As a fairly recent mother, I am having a horrible time digesting it all and, in all honesty, can't wait for the unit to be over. In the meantime, we are going to have some camp survivors come to speak to my students. There are so few left and I was surprised to find any at all in Colombia, but there are some. 

Bela heller, Holocaust survivor Emily invited to speak to her class after studying "Night"

It has taken me a few weeks to finally finish writing this email. Between our 4:30 am wake ups (thanks to Naiya) and our full work days, I haven't had the energy for much. During this time, Naiya has begun to take her first couple steps. She is probably a week or 2 away from fully walking. She just turned 10 months the other day. Ayla is thriving and the Spanish is starting to come out in very entertaining ways. Apart from her made up language that is full of Spanish sounds, she counts to 20 in Spanish and often says, aqui, aca and aqua por favor. The other day I was reading her a story in Spanish and she said, "mommy, don't speak Spanish, just talk!" 

Cuddle time with nini

Loving her Nini

On that note, I'm done talking. 

Until next time:)

Missing you all,

Emily

Bringing the Greenbergs to Bogota

Hello friends and family,

At the airport on our way to our new home!

I'm going to do my best to keep track of our move to Bogota the old fashioned way, by writing an email. I'm sure I'll get to facebook with our pix sooner or later, but until then, here's a quick update on our journey to Colombia. It's hard to believe we have only been here for 3 full days. So much has happened in such a short time. I'll start from the beginning. 

Trying out Naiya's new crib

Sisterly love!

Girls checking out the runway in our apartment

We woke up at 4:00 am to get into 3 large limos with our 15 suitcases, 7 carry ons, stroller and 2 girls. We had weighed everything meticulously and it paid off at the airport. We got all of our suitcases in and were at the gate enjoying our last Starbucks for a while in no time. Although a little confused by their early wake up, the girls seems as amped as we were.

Bathtime 

The 5.5 hour direct flight to Bogota was pretty seamless. The girls quickly made friends with most of the plane full of Colombians, who all seem to like children as much as Israelis do. When we arrived, we got through customs bypassing a line of over 100 people by using the preferential line (available only to parents with children or those with disabilities). Our bags were quickly amassed by 2 porters and we were greeted by a crew of CNG staff who came equipped with a massive school bus. Within 40 minutes, we were already in our beautiful new apartment and skyping with Daniel's sister, Tali. The girls quickly found their toys amidst our suitcases and made themselves at home. Everything had been set up for us in advance including a fridge and pantry full of food, internet connection, towels, sheets, etc.

Sunset from our apartment

Banana anyone?!?

                                  

That afternoon and evening, we just tried to relax and unpack. The altitude of about 8500 feet doesn't seem to be too bad unless we are trying to push the stroller up any of the big hills we have around here. Our apartment is perched on a big mountain overlooking Bogota and away from the pollution that the city is known for. When we asked Ayla which bedroom she wanted, she chose our room. She loves her room now though. We brought some key fixtures to make sure it felt like home.

Skyping with the crazy aunties (Yael and Tali)

The next day was full of running around, going to department stores and taking pictures for our Cedula. We didn't go anywhere without an entourage of 3-4 HR women, the chief of security, a driver and our new nanny, Alejandra. Try to picture us walking down the aisles with the girls in tow and our entourage looking for fragrance free detergent. It was quite the sight. 

By the time dinner rolled around, we were all exhausted and cranky. From our apartment, it is about an 8 minute walk to all of Bogota's best restaurants, so we headed downhill with the girls, to go to a pizza restaurant, which did not disappoint. The day had been full of a lot of decisions, including buying a new washer and dryer (one of the few items the school does not furnish). Ayla had befriended everyone on staff and was already counting in Spanish to 5. It's just about the cutest thing. The funny thing is that she thinks everyone speaks English, so she talks their ears off even if they just look at her with a blank smile. Naiya has been charming everyone as well. People keep saying she is "divina," which sounds so great when it's said in Spanish.

Balls....

and more balls!

Playing at the play centre around the corner from our apartment

Yesterday was the day we got our Cedulas, which was a process which involved taking every one of our fingers prints about 3 times. They take their fingerprints seriously here. We also took a look at one of the potential daycares for Ayla. The afternoon was full of people coming and going fixing curtains and the phone and the bed and locks. They are so quick at getting things done, it's phenomenal!

Oh no you don't!!

Nini makes a surprise trip to Bogota!

Ayla already made friends with a 3 year old in the building and we have been invited to her grandparent's finca (country house). Today proved to be another very interesting day. We hired a driver for the day to take me on errands. Our first stop was the US embassy garage sale, which was not that impressive, but I met a lot of embassy people. I had to talk my way into the embassy because the security is so high, they don't just let you in because you have an american passport, so I batted my eyelashes and found someone to escort me in. On our way there, were passed by the President of Colombia in one of 8 big SUV's along with several motorcycle escorts. After a day of shopping to get various things we still need, I headed back home to our apartment with two elevator's full of stuff. SO much for purging!

Ayla's first day of school. 

Alejandra. Nanny #1

Daniel had spent the day pushing the girls up and down the massive hills that surround our apartment. Pushing a stroller with that much weight is proving to be quite the workout. Our nanny, Alejandra, is starting to warm to the tendencies of our family, but I am still trying to get a read on her. Each day is better, but it has been quite interesting getting used to this relationship.

Ayla's 3rd birthday at Jump n' Joy.

Tomorrow, we head to the Lubavitch daycare to see if we like it for Ayla. I think she is more than ready to play with some children her own age. Naiya, in the meantime, is crawling everywhere and cruising on many things.

School orientation trip to the pueblo of Villa de Leyva

Picnic time in parque Chico

In general, we are really liking Bogota. I feel like there is so much to get to know. 

Tomorrow is another day and I better head to bed because the girls have been early risers here. 

Looking forward to seeing many of you on skype. 

Love,

Naiya on top of the world (on our balcony)

  

Daddy all dressed up for work. 

Ayla in Usaquen. 

Chasing pigeons in Usaquen

Naiya at our neighbour's finca in Sopo. 

Ayla loving the great outdoors. 

Moo??

US