First day of school

Much to our surprise, our son quietly said goodbye to Daddy this morning and bravely stepped into his Spanish-only kindergarten (or pre-primary, as they call it here) classroom. How did he get so big!? Apparently his favorite part of today was going to the English-only classroom (in his bilingual school, they spend about 3 hours in each classroom). When I saw him tonight, he said he had a fun day. Fingers crossed that this positive outlook will continue.

little imp wanted her pic taken too

In weather-related news, Hurricane Irene passed by Santo Domingo but did cause flooding and destruction in some parts of the country. We barely had any rain at all, but the wind was impressive. We have been watching the projections, thinking of the rest of the Caribbean, and worrying about the East Coast.

I started on the visa line yesterday and today interviewed 42 people. It felt like 150! The norm for our post is probably 85-100 so we are not as busy as some. My colleagues are great and I'm really enjoying getting to know everyone and grateful for their patience with me.

Tomorrow marks two weeks at post!

Starting school

Today was the open house at my big boy's new school. My new boss was nice enough to give me the day off. We had planned to take the whole family, but L woke up at 6am vomiting. Poor little sweetie. She perked up by 9am, but we thought the school would appreciate her staying at home. We haven't found a school for her yet, not that we've been able to look. M's school does have a 3yo program, but we wanted to look around before committing. Since M is starting real school (kindergarden, or pre-primario here), we had to make a choice before we arrived.

The school we chose is bilingual- they will spend part of the day in the Spanish classroom and part in the English classroom. His English teacher grew up in Washington Heights, where I lived during grad school. It's funny how intertwined my life is with the DR. I loved the teachers- they were all warm and smiley and kind. M started off clinging to me and refusing to talk, but within an hour he was playing quietly. I hope the other kids will be kind to him. I don't know yet if he'll be the only foreigner in his class.

After visiting the classroom, I spent like 3 hours trying to get him registered. I thought we just had to turn in a few more forms. I'm not sure if it is just the DR way of doing things, or if registering a kid in real school takes more time/effort than I realized. Perhaps a little bit of both.

Most of the expat kids here go to a different school, but since that school has no Spanish instruction and caters to the Dominican elite, we chose to go a different route. There are many to choose from and it's scary to make this decision from so far away. Today, it felt like the right choice. I hope it turns out that way. 

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.

Travel recap

We still don't have our own internet connection, but my husband has rigged something with VPN and someone else's connection and I'm not asking questions. I wanted to recap our trip before I get into life here. The following post was written in San Juan when Blogger was down.

August 10, 2011
Hello from San Juan! Well, we're halfway there. I'm not exactly sure how we managed to cram all our final stuff into our bags, but somehow we did. There was SO much last minute stuff- I completely underestimated it. After packout, I checked out for about 2 days and then snapped to on the last day. I don't recommend this strategy!

In total, we had 8 suitcases/duffels, 2 car seats (so 10 checked bags), 8 carry-ons, plus 2 purse type things that were frantically crammed into too-full backpacks when it was time to board.

The colorful LL Bean duffles make me so happy! They were fabulous on the trip.

 Too much stuff! We tried to separate the things we'd need for our Pto Rico stay into our carry-ons, so I wouldn't have to wear something embarrassing if our luggage was lost, and so we wouldn't have to open every bag in the hotel, but I'm afraid our strategy failed. There were just too many things that wouldn't fit or weren't allowed- toiletries, sunscreen, shoes, stuffed animals, etc.

We had one last snack on the balcony while waiting for Super Shuttle. We took a moment to say goodbye to Oakwood, and especially the pool, where M learned to swim not long ago!

Finally, it was time to get this B show on the road.

The kids got a kick out of the blue van.

 The first flight was fine. The highlight was M falling asleep randomly around 1pm with his ginky on his head. I thought he was just playing around until I peeked under the blanket. Poor little guy was just worn out.

It was pouring in Miami as we arrived, so our flight ended up being delayed 3 hours. We didn't take off until 9pm and arrived around midnight. I must say that as I struggled to keep the kids tranquil and fed during the layover, I thought about my mom colleagues traveling to far-away places like India or the Philippines...I don't know how you do it!

This little imp kept whining every 10 min that she was hungry, but wouldn't eat what I gave her.

The kids fell asleep mid-flight, and L didn't wake at all- we transferred her from plane to stroller to van to bed (we traveled with a kid-sized aerobed- great idea and it will be her bed until her own toddler bed arrives in HHE).

We're staying in a lovely hotel, the San Juan Marriott. The two pools are perfect for kids as they are both quite shallow and even L can walk easily in certain areas. The beach is large and beautiful with soft sand. It was a good choice.

I was up early to travel to the DHS office here. I was able to observe some interviews, which were fascinating. Tomorrow we head to Santo Domingo- we are all very eager to get there!

August 14, 2011
Ok, back to present time. I will blog about our arrival and first few days, along with photos of the apartment, in the next day or two. Thanks to everyone for the kind emails and good wishes. We are so happy to be 'home.'

We made it!

We arrived in Santo Domingo last night and it's been a whirlwind! At 8pm, I'm ready for bed! We are apparently stealing internet from somewhere so I'm going to keep this short. I'll tell you the whole travel story and share photos once we get reliable internet at home.
Our sponsors picked us up last night and had baked ziti in the oven when we arrived home. How awesome are they! They have been taking good care of us and I'm grateful.
Our apartment is gorgeous and definitely the largest place we've ever lived in. Pictures soon, I promise.
I met about 1,000 people today in 5 hours at work and probably had a deer-in-headlights look the whole time. It's a lot of information to take in when you are tired and decaffeinated. I can only imagine what it's like for my friends who travel across the world.

All in all, it's really good to be back. I'm looking forward to feeling more settled and getting to know this beautiful island once again. More soon.

Tomorrow we're off!

Taking a break from the chaos that is my bedroom. Really, the night before leaving on a big trip (or a permanent move) just sucks. Luckily, my brilliant husband insisted we take the later flight to San Juan, routing us through Miami, rather than the 6am non-stop. Thank goodness for that.

The kids have been doing pretty well. Friday was the last day at daycare, and we all cried, including the teachers. When we left, M stood outside his classroom, peering in the window, with tears streaming down his face. It was so precious, and I'm so proud of him for being able to face those sad feelings (he's not the grandson of shrinks for nothing!). The kids have been clingy lately, but mostly pretty darn adorable. We're hoping the good behavior continues, but are prepared that it may not. M wanted extra hugs tonight, and was able to tell me that he was both sad and excited.

So, tomorrow we start our journey! I can't really believe this day has come. But enough deep thoughts; I have to get back to work.

We'll check in from Puerto Rico if we can! Thanks to everyone for the kind wishes and support!

Survived my first packout!

Huge sigh of relief over here in B land! We did it. I made it through my first packout (if you recall...a small storm prevented us from packing out from NY in January. My husband packed us out of NY in April but I could not miss class).

So, I was up at 5:30am today, but it really wasn't necessary. I had just finished sorting the last areas of messiness when there was a knock on the door. Perfect timing! I am really quite surprised we were that ready. And my mama wasn't even here to help me! A little different from my past moves.

We had two packers; one of whom was 76 years old. He asked us to call him Pop- I'm pretty sure I've read about him elsewhere. I felt a bit guilty watching him wrestle with those full crates. They were rather slow, and some boxes were dropped as they were leaving, but I liked them- they were polite and fairly careful (my husband did have to rescue our new flat screen TV from an almost fall) and they didn't pack anything that said "DO NOT PACK." We basically had three areas for them to pack: UAB (unaccompanied air baggage) behind the couch, HHE (household effects- ground/boat shipment) in the kids room, HHE on the dining room table. They heeded our request to leave the kitchen and master bedroom alone. So, hopefully, no full trash cans or cooked hams have been packed (FS legends...). I'm fairly certain I didn't make a ham this morning.

The only thing I can't find is the flip flops I was wearing. And after they left, D asked me what we're doing with our laundry baskets. Whoops! Guess my mom is getting some new baskets.

I forgot the best part!! 700 pounds (our allotted air shipment for a family of four) is a LOT of stuff! They took one look and said, that's not enough. I brought out more stuff THREE TIMES! Honestly, I'm pretty sure we could live off our UAB easily. We'll see when we get there, won't we?

A random thought - I was just looking at my UAB pics from December, and I think I had things much more organized this time around. I bought a lot more plastic storage boxes and used them plus the kids toy storage units to group and organize things. I didn't quite get to the magnificent level of the Kerns family, but there's always next time. Let me tell you- the movers did not mind AT ALL that some boxes were packed for them. I have to believe it was easier and quicker for them and better for me on the other side.

Another random tidbit- I didn't realize that the day of packout would be so relaxing! Who knew!? Once they arrived, my job was basically done.

And now, some photographic proof. Can't believe it's finally happening!

These big guys are the UAB boxes. We had 4.5 of them.

I liked how if they didn't have a box, they just wrapped it up in paper. Hope the wrapping survives the journey. 

Goodbye stuff! Have a safe journey! See you in the DR!

Packout is here!

Today's the day! I can safely say blogging is the last thing I should be doing, but I always loved packout posts so I have to contribute my own.

Yesterday D and I spent the day packing our suitcases and clearing out the master bedroom. That will be the no-fly zone, aka the area the packers will not enter (we hope). After hearing all those stories about having passports and other critical things packed, I'm not taking any chances.

I had already created the UAB (air shipment), for the most part. I'm curious to see what 700 lbs looks like (that's the amount our family of four is allowed to send by air).

Here's the master closet with our packed bags and random items we plan to use over the next few days (we fly out on Tuesday). That blue duffel is filled with sheets for all of us, a portable bed for little L, and the pillows D and I can't live without. Yes, the welcome kit will have sheets, but I think making their beds with familiar sheets is a good way to help the kids feel at home immediately. 

Here are 2 shots of the UAB. I took them last night so they are dark. Let's hope we're including the right stuff! This will arrive in SD first- hopefully within a few weeks.

And here's the HHE (household effects, or ground shipment). I'm not expecting to see this for a few months, but I don't really know the standard for the DR. We didn't buy a lot of consumable items, but as you can see, there are some.

Time to get this show on the road! Will be back to post tonight, if I survive!

1 week!

Well, I am now officially able and authorized to do my job. I graduated from ConGen today, and it was bittersweet. I'm excited to get this show on the road, arrive in Santo Domingo, and start our new life. But I can't help but be sad about the one we're leaving. I know, that's the way of the FS. This has been such an exciting and positive move for our family. After so many years in difficult jobs, I feel like I came alive again professionally. We've made wonderful friends, spent time with old ones, and of course, soaked up time with beloved Grammy and Grandpa.

I'm sad to leave Oakwood Falls Church - it's been a fun, worry-free, comfortable (central a/c!), convenient (10 min commute!) home for us. It's nice to think we will be back here someday. I'm really sad to leave FSI daycare- what a wonderful place it has been for my children. I am so grateful they had room for us and so grateful for the wonderful caregivers and administration. And in general, I'm sad to leave FSI itself. I've often thought about blogging about how lovely the FSI campus is. There are windows in every classroom and beautiful open passageways that connect the buildings. Not all workplaces are attractive and I'm glad for the time I spent here. I will look forward to coming back. It's funny; many people complain about Oakwood and being at FSI and even Northern VA, and I just find it all really hard to understand. I feel so lucky to have lived and worked in these places.

I can't believe how far we've come since that cold New Year's Day when we drove down from New York.

I can't wait to see what's in store for us.

We have one day to prepare for packout. Movers come on Thursday. Wish us luck.