Arrival recap and apartment photos!

I wish I could have posted this sooner...but the days have been racing by. Here's a recap of our arrival and some photos of our new home. Forgive the long post- this is mostly for the benefit of our mothers – hi moms!!

We arrived Santo Domingo on Thursday night, after a 2 hour delay. We were so anxious to get here! Our wonderful sponsor, J, was waiting for us in the VIP lounge, and answered all of our chaotic questions while the staff retrieved our bags and processed our arrival. We were very appreciative of the nice treatment.

We arrived at our new home around 10pm – L fell asleep on the way and did not wake until the morning. The other half of our sponsor team, DP, was waiting with baked ziti in the oven and a salad in the fridge. They had purchased some groceries for us so we'd have something to eat in the morning. They helped us unpack our welcome kit and get a bit settled, and then left us alone. Truly awesome sponsors. Thank you, J and D!

Speaking of welcome kits, I was really glad I brought our own bed linens. It was great for all of us, but especially important for the kids, to go to sleep on familiar sheets. I wish I had brought our towels, too, but they are in UAB. I brought some Tupperware and knives in our luggage, as well as the kids’ plates, snack bowls, utensils, placemats, and cups. I think it’s helped them feel more at home from the start.

Speaking of home, we are so grateful we were able to move right into our permanent housing. Apparently that’s not exactly the norm, and may be a reason we received an apartment rather than a home (it was ready first).

My sponsors picked me up early for the ride over to the Embassy. I can walk (only about 10 min), but I appreciated the ride, as I was sort of in a daze and couldn't get my bearings. J gave me a tour of the Consular section (we call it the Consulate here, since it’s in a separate building) and I must say it was pretty overwhelming. The NIV (non-immigrant visa) section is extremely busy and there are like 30 people working in a very small space. The mission is building a new Embassy, which will house everyone in one place, but it won’t happen during my tour.

I spent most of my morning at the Embassy, where I had check-in meetings with various people until noon. Our sponsors then picked us up and brought us over to their home to play with their 3yo son and have lunch. It was a lovely afternoon.

The kids have been having some difficulty, but not too much. There is more whining and more picky eating than there used to be (even when we’re giving them things they’ve eaten before). L was off her nap schedule but seems to be back now. Thank goodness- we’re not ready to give that up. Little M has taken to getting in bed and snuggling his ginky when he feels “kind of weird.” Frankly, I think that’s a good strategy. I brought some wall decals in our luggage and I think it was the best thing I packed. We fixed up the kids room on Friday and it feels “kind of nice”, says M.

And now, a few words from M, who is sitting next to me: “I like that we live on the seventh floor and in VA, we didn’t. I love the balcony and outside of our apartment, like in the hallway, I love that you can see to the bottom from the top. I love being in the Dominican Republic.”

Today is our 6^th day in country and we’ve made it to the grocery store, which has basically anything we could possibly want, and a huge Walmart type store, which had home goods, food, toys, etc.  We spent a morning playing at the home of the lovely author of For Lack of Tacos, who helped me through the waiting process and answered all my crazy DR questions over the past year (and thanks to her, we have our wonderful nanny- see below). It was really terrific to meet her and her beautiful family. 

I’ve watched interviews for hours and it may be time for me to get started on my own. My fellow NIV officers are really nice and have been so patient with my questions. My husband’s adjustment might take a little more time than mine. I think it will be good when the kids start school, he can start Spanish class and join a gym, and we can all get into a regular routine. It’s hard to entertain yourself and small kids without many friends, toys, or a vehicle.

I may have mentioned that we hired a housekeeper/nanny before we arrived. Y was working for an expat family and came highly recommended, so I interviewed her via Skype and decided to go ahead and offer her the job. She started yesterday, and she is fabulous- energetic, warm, kind, smiley, and a great cook. She reminds me a lot of our former nanny, who we adored. She will clean in the morning and watch the kids in the afternoon after school. She will also make us dinner every night! I am so thrilled about that. Coming home after my first day of work to a home cooked meal was extraordinary.

We’re eagerly awaiting the arrival of our car. Our apartment is gorgeous, but our neighborhood is not really walkable.  I don’t know that it’s dangerous, but there are places where the sidewalks are broken or there is trash in the way. Plus there are not that many places to go. Since cars don’t really yield to pedestrians, we don’t feel comfortable walking around with the kids. So, we’ll mostly be getting into the car and going places. It won’t be that different from our life in NY or VA, but in my mind, I had created a more walkable neighborhood, so it’s slightly disappointing. For now, we can only travel by taxi, and it’s scary not having the kids in carseats. So we can’t wait for our car to arrive.

And now, the apartment:

This is from the front door- it's a very long aptmt.

Opposite view- the front door is up ahead. This is sitting area #1.

Sitting area #2. Thank goodness we got a brown couch!

We've been trying out all the places at the table. Can't quite decide where we want to sit. 

Love our kitchen. It is really bright, though. Have to get curtains asap.

Most awesome room in the aptmt

Servants quarters. Totally weirded out by this.

Can you guess whose room this is?

Kids bathroom

Guest room- can't wait to see family and friends here!

Guest room bath

Guest room

 I still have to take pics of the master bedroom, the messiest room in the place. But there you have it, our new home in the DR! We are very happy with it and look forward to cramming it full of all our stuff!

And with that, I'm going to sign off, as a big storm is rumbling and it's making me a bit nervous.