Boricua en la Lima

We've been taking advantage of the beach at the Regatas ever since we got in!  What's not to love? Some days have been nicer than others but I think we're on track to be super tanned by the end of the summer.  In fact, I'm not quite sure how we're supposed to be in the sun for the next 12 weekends or so! We also had a really nice Christmas at "home" (our temporary home) with the whole family.  Here's a couple of pictures of the kids and Dad around the Christmas tree at family's house. Now we're looking forward to 2013 with lots of changes, maybe even more than 2012!  New house, new job, new nanny for the kids, new school for Sebas, a very busy summer in the middle of trying to do all that.  I think I'm setting myself up for a slight nervous breakdown but everything just collided time-wise! I wish I could find the 2012 horoscope I read at the beginning of the year which turned out to be soooo right -- it predicted the m

I can't write anything about the Newton school tragedy because it still hurts to even think about it. I've been trying to avoid the news and Facebook because every time I hear about one of the children or one of the teachers who died helping save children my heart breaks all over again.  I was literally sick to my stomach all day Friday and I cried at all hours of the day in the most inconvenient places.  I drank half a bottle of wine to numb the pain and cried myself to sleep.  And I'm just a spectator in this whole big mess, I can't even imagine the pain the parents are going through right now. So instead I'll just write about the last race we did which included Sebas and had a very festive Holiday feel to it so those were my two favorite things about it.  I did 8 Km (5 miles) in 45:54 which is a personal best for me but it was also hard because I was trying to keep up with my husband the whole time.  Then towards the end when we wanted me to go faster because w

...like I really want to move to my new house but probably won't be able to until the end of January! Argh, so frustrating.  Trying to be really patient but there are just some "creature comforts" I feel like I am entitled to NOW! Like what you say (thinking I sound like a Gen Y'er or Millenial or whatever they're called).  Like clothes for work would be nice.  Yep, I've accepted a job offer with L'Oreal and I need to start soon but guess what, all my working clothes are in boxes, together with my summer clothes.  Well it's getting warm and it's getting to the point where I'm going to need professional looking clothes but all those things are still in boxes because I never thought it would take this long to move into our new place.  The cat is also starting to act out -- he's peeing and pooping in places he's not supposed to.  And I know that part of it is because he's living with a dog which he's not used to doing and he's

This weekend I had signed up for another 10K , this time I signed up to do my first race with my husband.  We "trained" one time which basically meant running five miles the Sunday before.  During training we started off really fast (like (8.5 minutes per mile, fast for ME!) and I quickly realized I wasn't going to be able to keep up that pace.  So once we hit the half way point I told my husband to go back on his own so that I could run/walk.  I had no energy that day but I chalked it up to "it happens" -- some days you just don't have as much energy as others.  What I didn't realize is that night I was going to get the stomach bug from hell which would put me in bed for the next 48 hours. So to run a 10K "competitively" 3 days later was kind of a daunting thing. So as much as yesterday I wanted to run WITH my husband (not in the same race as him!) I told him at the beginning "you do your own thing I'll do mine".  While there'

I've been delaying posting this week. First I got sick with a stomach bug which left me in bed zonked out like a zombie and then there was a death of someone we know in Lima who sadly took his own life at a very young age and left behind mourning parents and grandparents. I can't imagine something more painful for a parent to go through and I still cannot wrap my head around it. It's been a very tough pill to swallow and both things have made me less than grateful for the last few days. But after hearing mass today at the funeral I heard the message of gratitude over and over again. And it just so happened to fall on Thanksgiving which is not even celebrated here in Peru. I haven't been to mass in so long but I definitely heard the message loud and clear. So today I give thanks because though it is very hard to be grateful at times I know it's the only way. I give thanks for life, health, and these beautiful munchkins.

Yesterday I did my first race as a resident of Peru!  Hadn't trained for squat because between my mom's visit and the kids' ongoing sickness I haven't had much time for exercise.  Definitely don't want my mom to leave (which she does tomorrow) but hopefully once I'm back to a "normal" routine I can fit exercise into my day a little bit better. I was scheduled to run with two of Jose's cousins, although one of the cousins we couldn't find at the start of the race so it was just Marco and me.  Marco doesn't run often but he does other types of exercises pretty much every day so he's fit (not to mention much younger than me!).  So he went in with a goal of doing 10K in 45 minutes and all I wanted to do was less than 1 hour.  Although once I started and I realized how humid it was and how out of breath I was (and out of shape!) all I wanted to do was finish.  I tried to keep up with Marco but around the 7th Km when we opened a gap betwee

With all the craziness of activity that's been going on these last few weeks (now both kids seem to be sick not to mention crap that goes wrong with Jose's grandma's house all the time), there hasn't been much time to take my mom to do tourist thing (other than what I like to call the gastronomic tour of Lima).  So today we did the express version of the "Turibus" of Lima to take her to see some of the most important sights.  Thankfully we also got lucky and got the sun to come out, although not at the catacombs which we visited!  Good thing the kids weren't there because they would've been pretty frightened.  In fact, there were kids in the tour that weren't so happy with that particular portion of the tour.  We had taken the kids to see the catacombs in Rome while we were living in Switzerland and they were already pretty scared.  While these catacombs are smaller overall (they've only dug one level deep vs. the 3 that are there below the

This weekend we continued with the birthday celebrations for Gabi (and boy am I glad it's done!).  Friday we took TEN girls to the movie theater to see a local movie (partly Peruvian and partly Argentinian) about a mouse who needs to find a princesses' tooth in order to save his kingdom.  I got a mini van to take all the kids from school to the mall and then we brought them home to sing Happy Birthday to Gabi and have some cupcake before all the kids got picked up.  I was totally pooped by the end of the day but Gabi was so happy to share with her new friends from school. Saturday we had Sports Day at Gabi's school and then a family BBQ here at Jose's grandma's house to celebrate four family birthdays including Gabi's.  We had a great time with all the family and ate like champs, but boy was I glad to wake up Sunday morning and realize there were no more kids' birthday activities on the agenda! Sunday morning Gabi had her first marinera class and w

My girl is all grown up.  I got one of those personalized emails from Baby Center yesterday which said the following: Congrats! You're entering one of the most rewarding phases of parenthood. Now your child requires  less hands-on supervision and care , but he still looks up to you for guidance and support. His curiosity, excitement, and eagerness to learn make him a charming companion in the year ahead. His academic interests begin to take shape, too. Growing exposure to science,  writing ,  math , and other subjects will give you a sense of where his natural interests lie. This sounds like peaches and cream right?  Except for the fact that she has a 4.5 year old brother with whom she wakes up fighting every day and goes to sleep fighting every night.  So individually my daughter is all that this email describes, but in a sister-brother team we still have a long way to go towards the "lovable sevens". That's no reason to hold back on celebrating though, so we

I am back from Puerto Rico with what can only be described as a huge relocation identity crisis.  This seems to happen to me a couple of months after I move anywhere, and from talking to other "expert relocates" I'm not the only one it happens to.  But this one seems to have been triggered earlier in the relocation process, likely as a result of the 20th year high school reunion and the fact that this relocation is unlike any other one I have experienced.  On the one hand there are many familiar things about this relo -- I've come here for 2-3 weeks pretty much every year for the last 10 years or so, we are close to family, it's a Spanish speaking country, etc. etc. So I should be better than I have been in other relos where I don't know the people, the language, etc.  But with this one I've pretty much said goodbye to my life as I know it -- I have no job, no house, no car, even 2 months after having moved.  I know this may seem like a blessing in disguis

This weekend the government mandated Monday and Tuesday to be holidays because of a conference happening in Lima, so we went to Paracas, a resort/beach town about 300 Km south of Lima.  Sometimes it's still a little cold for my Caribbean tastes, but it was still a great experience to get to know Peru more and more.  While we went with just plans to get some sun in contrast to all the cloudiness in Lima, we ended up going on some really cool sightseeing trips.  The first one was to Islas Ballestas , which is a really cool marine life reserve a boat's ride from Paracas. As the Wikipedia entry states on the boat ride to Islas Ballestas you pass a huge drawing in the sand called "El Candelabro", whose origins remain unknown. Then in Islas Ballestas you see penguins, sea lions and tons and tons of local birds flying in formation.  We froze our butts off on the boat to and from as you can see from Sebas' "ET" face.  :) The next day we went to Res

Since I might start working soon (hopefully!) and not able to go to the kids' school's activities too frequently I am trying to go to anything I can now before that happens.  So when the class mom asked for volunteers for Gabi's school trip yesterday I gladly accepted.  Seems like the kids have grown up/matured a little bit vs. the last time I took kids that school age to a field trip which was probably back in June in Geneva.  The boys seemed better behaved and all kids in general seemed to follow instructions better.  But maybe that's a Geneva vs. Peru phenomenon? In any case, this field trip I think was more of a treat for me than it was for the kids and I enjoyed every single moment of it!  I haven't been to a proper animal farm in so long.  They had so many cows and all kinds of chickens from varieties I hadn't even heard about.  We saw the chickens and the geese and ducks taking care of their eggs, we saw cuy which is the local "guinea pig" th

Sebas' and Gabi's cousin LuisFe (pictured below) turned 3 this weekend and we were invited to spend the weekend in La Cantuta for his birthday party.  La Cantuta belongs to a social club ( Club Regatas de Lima ) which we are trying to get into which is based in Lima -- although spending is tight these days since I don't have a job yet so we are still OK not paying the entrance fees! However, once we get in it'll be a great place for the kids to do swimming classes, soccer, dance, tennis, etc.  And I can use the gym when the kids are in classes.  Plus they have a great little beach for when it's summer and lots of other things (kids' playgrounds, restaurants, beauty salons, etc.).  So if you live in Lima it's a great place to have access to (the Lima base that is).  I wish we had been able to become members in time for my Mom's visit in October so that I could take her during the day but it looks like it'll have to be next time. Anyway, La Can

Today we took our first day trip to La Granja Azul .  We'd been wanting to go to this place for a while but during our Christmas vacations we just never spend enough time here to be able to make it out.  So today the kids were so excited to get out we were there half an hour before we opened, which was a great thing because that way we could play around and then have lunch before the crowds descended upon the place.  The kids loved it so maybe we can celebrate Gabi's seventh birthday here. The best part about the trip was that it was totally sunny and warm, 180 degrees from the weather in Lima.   In a previous post I mocked the Lima winter but we are no longer laughing in its face.  Between my allergies and a terrible cold which kicked Sebas' butt all last week we have now come to respect the Lima winter.  I think the biggest issue is the lack of heating inside houses most of the time I'm totally freezing in Jose's grandma's house!  Hopefully once we move

We are staying at Jose's grandma's house.  House hunting has been tough - prices have gotten crazy expensive in real estate it's almost like Miami before the bubble burst! So of course for the price we are looking for we can't find something great and everything we fall in love with is outside of our price range. :)  We think we will wait for one that's building right now which will be ready in December but then after it's ready we will have to do some remodeling to get a master bedroom out of this area so long story short it'll be a while before we move.  I don't mind living at Jose's grandma's place (too much) but when our furniture (all 200 boxes) arrive I don't know where the heck we're supposed to fit it.  And living out of boxes for a few months is definitely not my cup of tea.   The kiddos officially started school last week but today was Gabi's first full day.  Thankfully that's one issue we resolved quickly although

In honor of an amazing Closing Ceremony last night I finally found the video that they played everywhere which I loved so much.  I still can't watch it without my hairs standing on end! In the meantime, we are house hunting, school hunting, car hunting, etc.  A welcome reprieve was to run 20-21 KM last Saturday morning with Jose's cousin and his wife who are training for the Chicago marathon in October.  While 20-21 KM is definitely more (a lot more!!!!) than I would normally run my body was craving exercise after the trip here and all this incredibly fattening (and yummy) Peruvian food.  So hopefully I can go out with them again this Saturday morning, we are supposed to run 2 hours and 45 minutes.  Definitely an exercise in mind over matter as I've never run that much time before! Gabi was able to get into the school we wanted and Sebas is starting his day care the day after tomorrow.  Both seem really happy with the move so far.  I just dream of the day when I'

Now it's time for me to write an Olympics post from behind a TV set instead of from a nosebleed seat from some Olympic venue in London.  It's my penultimate night in Switzerland and we've been reported for a noise complaint.  This embodies my experience in Switzerland.  Controlled madness.  I can be excited for Puerto Rico's performance in the Olympic games but not enough to bother the neighbors (oh and by the way a lady next door kept me up half the night bawling at 2:30 am two nights ago, super weird).  What propelled this noise complaint? (Normally I would be shocked but when it comes to my voice and decibels of course I am not).  I just happened to be for the first time in many many months jumping up and down in front of my TV rooting for Puerto Rico's own Javier Culson in the 400m men's hurdle.  He was one of a handful of Puerto Rican athletes in the 2012 Olympics and happened to be a favorite in this event at the Olympics all along and came in 3rd for a B

Well I'm lucky enough to be able to say I've now been to TWO Olympics! I went in 1996 to Atlanta because I was interning with Amoco in Alpharetta, Georgia and I can't believe it's been so long since then because I promised I would try to go to every Olympics after having such an awesome experience the first time.  But of course I didn't know back then when I made that promise what a difficult feat it is it to be able to go to the Olympics!  In any case, after just a *few* years we made it to London 2012.  We got tickets to the Opening Ceremony (Jose and me), soccer (Jose and Sebas), gymnastics (Gabi, Jose and me) and then the whole family was able to go to field hockey, water polo and beach volleyball.  And what an amazing experience it was!  Not just being in the Games and being in London during such an amazing time.  What always surprises me the most is how nice and cheerful everyone is during an Olympics.  From the people you meet on the street cheering for their

We are just coming back from an overnight trip to London to see Madonna in Hyde Park. Our penultimate stop on the European tour before we head over to Lima on August 8th. Our flight from Geneva yesterday morning was delayed for 4 hours so we almost didn't take the trip after all. But we ended up going back to the airport after a cat nap and headed out to London with just enough time to eat at Chipotle (husband's London cravings), get lost around Regent Street (where they have now put up all the countries' flags for the Olympics) and head over to Hyde Park with aching feet from walking too much in cheap sandals (it's been an eventful week for my feet with Zumba-related complications as well which didn't let me wear tennis shoes!). The atmosphere at Hyde Park for a concert is an incredible thing to see. Such a diverse array of people - some of them young, some of them old (ahem, us), a lot of them gay, a lot of them dressed in crazy Madonna 80's outfits, and

It started Thursday of last week.  My older girls' class was going on a picnic on Thursday and since we had just told the teachers we were leaving for Peru the teacher invited me to join.  I was super excited and doing my photographer job but then right before lunch I started feeling pretty crappy.  I thought it was the heat -- that was probably the hottest day of the year so far and spending it outside in a park was of course not helping.  Jose offered to come and get me but I felt that I had to stay with the kids' class.  By the end of that day I was exhausted but thought it was just the class trip - who wouldn't be after spending a whole day with 20 kids in the park?! By Friday I could barely move.  I actually went with the kids after school to the beach but was just lying there in the beach towel.  When we got home I officially declared "that's it, I can't get up from this couch".  Jose thought I should go to the ER on Friday night but I didn't wan

Last week we finally made the decision that we are moving to Peru in August.  What could've been a sad thing for the kids was thankfully turned on its head by the fact that Peru is the place we're going to! Now they're super excited -- primarily about family of course but now they've also started thinking about decorating their new rooms (although we won't get a new apartment until probably December so we'll have to live with Jose's grandma until then) and being able to take soccer lessons, tennis lessons, dance lessons, swimming lessons, you name it lessons.  Finding schools has been a challenge though so we're still working on that which is really the most important thing at this point.  I was also an emotional wreck at the end of last week when we had to say goodbye to the kids' teachers, friends and parents after two wonderful school years at Ecolint . We will never forget their teachers and friends, such a wonderful group of people from all over

Last weekend of full blown kids' activities (thank goodness!). This weekend was Gabi's ballet recital and while it's been a little tough on her this year not understanding too much French, I'm still really proud of how she did on her recital.  Only problem was the unbearable heat in the theatre (why won't Swiss people turn on their A/C's???) and having to sit through a whole 90 minutes of dances (two days in a row!) when Gabi's was the very first dance.  But at least after the recital on Sunday Gabi was able to go to a friend's birthday party (even though she missed saying goodbye to her ballet friends because we had to run for the door during an opportune moment!).  She also had to say goodbye to her best friend Alessia who left for Russia today.  I'm starting to get bummed out about all the goodbyes coming but I guess I'm glad the move is happening during the summer so that once school breaks it doesn't feel like you're ripping the band

This is the month of never-ending school activities -- birthday parties to make up for the summer birthdays when the kids won't see each other, school plays, field trips and sports days (field days for those of you in the US).  And to top that off we're trying to take advantage of every single sunny day because it's been raining so much in Geneva we don't know if we can count on the weather staying nice!  I've therefore been working on perfecting my iMovie skills (I'm not doing so bad except it takes me forever to upload a movie to YouTube once I've created it and if I make a mistake like I did today it's "double the pleasure, double the fun".  Anyway, here are two videos, once for Gabi's sports day which was last week and one for Sebas' sports day which was today.

I find myself revisiting the past a lot these days. Maybe because of the book I just finished reading ( A Night Train to Lisbon ), or it may be that my daughter is now going through stages that I remember going through. It's been a rough weekend at home. I've been "bad cop, bad cop" for most of the weekend. We had a sleep over gone amuck on Friday and I'm still reeling from it. These girls are absolutely nice, these girls were pleasant and treated my kids well and even played with my son, which for sleepover scorecards earns most kids A++. But I don't know, they're just spoiled. On top of that they're parents are likely going through a divorce and I find myself hearing those dreaded punches against one parent or another ("My mom is the worst, she's got a boyfriend"). I don't know what's going on but there's something there that just says "I've had it easy my whole life and I don't even know it". Unti

This is a long one (17 min.) but I couldn't stop myself because Sebas was just doing such a good job during his school show! I hope one day he'll be glad that I recorded all 17 minutes.  Maybe when he's a famous soccer player or Formula1 racer.  :)  Although at some points you can see he's tired and at some points you can also see him sucking his thumb and wanting to pick his nose (I'll have to edit that out when he's famous). However,  I think sitting still for 17 min. for a group of 4-year olds is quite an accomplishment.  I am so proud of my little Spiderman! It took me like 24 hours to upload this video onto YouTube, I don't think I had ever uploaded such a big file (not to mention that our WiFi at home is not the speediest of WiFi's).

Alas, we come to the end of our European travels, unless we can somehow swing London in July for the Madonna concert in Hyde Park and/or the Olympics.  This last week we took a trip to Greece - visiting Mykonos, Santorini and Athens.  On the first day we slept at a hotel in the Athens port because we got in pretty late (there's only one Easy Jet trip a week to Athens from Geneva) and had to take an early boat to Mykonos.  For dinner we started tasting the local food.  Well I tasted the beer and Jose had his first of MANY, MANY gyros. Next day we took an early boat to Mykonos and checked in to this beauty of a hotel ( Argo Hotel Mykonos ). If it was up to me I could've not moved from there for the rest of the vacation! But Platis Gialos (Gialos Beach) was only a few steps away so we had to venture out and enjoy the food, surf and sand. At night we would go to the center of Mykonos to enjoy some delicious cuisine (more gyros for Jose of course), desserts and drinks