Being a mom FSO in Santo Domingo

It has come to my attention that my blog has become a little boring. And I'm really ok with that. After all, it would be hard to top the drama of last year: getting the call, moving to VA, starting A-100, getting assigned to the DR, and moving here. Whew, I'm tired just thinking about it. It's nice to be settling into a routine and becoming used to things (of course, I must add that I still know nothing about moving about this big city, but I do know my daily routine and I have my driver, my dear husband, who can generally get us where we need to go).

But I was thinking about what I wanted to know before joining and which blogs I followed and it was all about being a mom in the FS. So I thought I would share some thoughts related to that topic. However, the truth is that I can really only talk about being a mom in this job, at this post. The FS unofficial motto "it depends" really applies to this topic.

Here in Santo Domingo, there are a ton of families, and the consular managers understand family needs. Everyone here has been incredibly accommodating. I was allowed to take off the first Friday after I arrived to take my son to his new school's open house. Because of our compressed schedule, I am able to pick the kids up every Friday, which is wonderful, because I otherwise would never see their schools or teachers. I do find that aspect difficult, but it's easier than when the kids were small (my husband and I have alternated kid drop off/pickup over the years based on our schedules).

Two of the things that have made this life easier on me as a mom are: 1) a 10 minute commute, and 2) household help. We love our apartment, but do wish we had a yard where the kids could run around. However, those yards come with a commute that we did not want to face, so overall we're happy with this housing assignment. I am usually home before 5pm (compared with 630ish in New Rochelle, and facing dinner and bedtime alone!). My housekeeper has dinner ready and we still have time to play after dinner.

My children definitely struggled when we arrived, but less than I expected. They rejected the housekeeper/nanny at first. I think she was kind of a symbol of all the change- she speaks Spanish, cooks food that is slightly different from what they were used to, and threatened to take them away from their parents. We decided to take it slow and not push them to stay alone with her, and it has worked...she is slowly winning them over. And luckily, my husband has been here as a steady presence for all of us and I want to express my gratitude to him.

The consular workload is heavy, but doesn't require much overtime. When I first arrived, I was surprised at all the extracurricular activities- requests to teach English at the Dominican-American institute, or speak on 9/11, or attend a musical performance on the Ambassador's behalf. I was hesitant to volunteer, as my family needed me around. But now that we are settled, I look forward to these activities to allow me to experience something other than the visa line. I have also learned that these activities are necessary to round us out and give us more material for our EERs (performance evaluations). I will be moving to IV soon (Immigrant visas) where the workload is a little heavier, but still is manageable. I think ACS (American Citizen Services) does require longer hours, and I'm grateful that it will be my last rotation. It would be hard to arrive and face that kind of schedule, though I'm sure I will do it at some future post. 

The community here is vibrant and active. There is always something going on, thanks to the CLO, and new people to meet. While Santo Domingo lacks outdoor playgrounds, we just joined a club with 3 pools, a playground, and tennis courts for RD500/month which equals about US$13!! Let me not get carried away- you know by now how much I love this post. But I wanted to share my thoughts about being a mom here. This change has been very good for our family, though it's hard to extrapolate to future posts. I can only hope we are as lucky going forward.

If any FS hopeful or bidder out there has any questions, I'm always happy to answer them.

Florida Keys

Here are some photos from our wonderful vacation in the Florida Keys. We were here in 2009, and loved visiting Theater of the Sea. We have a famous picture of 3yo M in his grandpa's arms, holding a beautiful parrot, so this was our first stop. This time, he wanted to do it all by himself!

We talked for 2 weeks prior to the visit about L holding the parrot too. She wasn't sure until the last minute, and then she agreed. She was so proud of herself!

Mama and Daddy were so brave too! We spent two months when we arrived in the DR constantly watching the movie Rio  and have become obsessed with pretty birds.

M also shook hands with a sea lion!

We were so happy to spend some time with "silly" Uncle Jake. He is so much fun.

It has become a tradition to take a picture in front of Lily the big lobster.

Our first beach outing was to Anne's Beach. It's a tiny strip of beach where we had a picnic table overlooking the ocean.

Grammy found a bunch of hermit crabs and the kids spent the whole time playing with them.

The Florida Keys aren't really known for their beaches, but rather for what's under the water...but we enjoyed the gorgeous coastline despite the lack of sand.

And what M loved most of all was swimming daily in the heated pool with his uncle, grandpa, or dad (and occasionally his mama). This little guy is a total fish.

Toward the middle of the week, it started getting chillier but still stayed sunny. We spent a day at Founder's Park enjoying the sand mountain, playground, and a boat trip with Grammy.

Such a sweet little beach. 

The best part about the trip, though, was just being with Grammy and Grandpa. We love you!

Hanukkah thank you

A little late, but wanted to share some photos of our Hanukkah present opening and say thank you to our family for the wonderful gifts! Unfortunately we didn't get shots of everything, so forgive us if your gift doesn't appear here! We still owe many of you phone calls...but here's a public thank you! The children loved your thoughtful presents.

L dove right into her ballerina costume and wore it for 3 days. Thank you Mimi and Poppy!

M is loving his shark ship-one of the coolest gifts ever! It can transform into so many other vehicles! Thank you Aunt Amy and Aunt Alisa!

Mimi and Poppy- the cameras were a huge hit!

Maga and Papa Wayne- here is L snuggling her Hello Kitty pjs. LOVE is an understatement!

And M was overjoyed about his! They are terrific!

Nana- thank you for the wonderful gifts...they loved everything and M started making his lego set right away!

Here's L discovering her My little pony mermaid set- WOW!

Thank you Grammy and Grandpa!

A shot for Maga in the pjs. They are simply the best.

We had a wonderful Hanukkah- half in the DR and half in FL with my mom, pop, and brother. Hanukkah is a funny holiday- each night, the gift has to be really good since there is only one. Thanks to our family, we did not have to worry about that! Love you all!

Swimmer

For the family, a short clip of my swimmer in Florida.

Happy New Year!

Dominican rainbow, captured from our balcony

We just returned from a week in the Florida Keys with my parents, little brother, his girlfriend and his dog. It was a wonderful trip. I have lots of blogging to do about Hanukkah and the Keys, but I didn't want to let January pass by without a NY's post.

What a year 2011 was! We said goodbye to our previous life, joined State, and moved twice- first to Northern Va and then to this beautiful tropical island that is starting to feel like home. A year later, I can say that I don't know where this life will lead us in ten years, but I know that for us, for right now, it was the right choice. I am so grateful we are here!

This photo reflects my feelings about the coming year. We don't know where this path leads, but it's a beautiful journey. (This summer, we will find out our next post, a whole year in advance! We will continue to settle in and learn more Spanish. We will make more friends, hopefully both Dominican and American. We will continue to explore this island. We hope you will come explore with us!)

Wishing all my readers a wonderful 2012. May it be filled with happiness, good health, adventure (if that's your kind of thing), and discovery.