I just finished reading on CNN.com that Hugo Chavez is moving troops to the Colombian border in response of accusations that he is harboring leftist guerrilla terrorists. I don't know how much this story is being covered in the US but I wanted to reassure everyone that we are far from the Venezuelan border and are in no danger in the very remote chance that anything would happen in the few remaining weeks we are here.
The further I dig into the country's history the more I learn about the complex social problems that exist here. I was wrong to say in a previous post that there are three major leftist groups and one major right wing group. In fact, there are many on each side and actually the right wing paramilitary groups are far more brutal than the more well known and discussed guerrilla groups. These paramilitary groups account for an estimated 70% of the political assassinations in Colombia.
The paramilitary groups began as self trained militias, mimicking the organization and discipline of the official military, and were intended as regional security forces around Colombia. They were actually supported in the 60's by JFK and the US to wage a proxy war against left wing communists in Colombia.
Chavez, being a leftist leader, has accused the Colombian government in collaboration with a paramilitary group of plotting his assassination. I downloaded a report from Human Rights Watch yesterday that details the atrocities perpetrated by these paramilitary groups in the past several decades. I won't repeat the stories here but let's just say what they have done is well on par with the actions carried out by the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, not in numbers but certainly in brutality.
Trust me, I'm not writing this to defend Chavez, he's horrible in his own right. I think his actions today are very near to being an outright declaration of war. It's really interesting that I feel such a connection to Colombia now since my son was born here and I feel deeply offended by these actions.
An interesting side note: Chiquita Brands International, yes Chiquita Bananas, has admitted to paying a paramilitary group, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, known as AUC, for protection of it's workers, thereby officially supporting a terrorist organization. I'm sure their hands were forced to an extent but it's pretty crazy that a multi-national corporation has actually admitted to this.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
July 31st v2
¿Qué un día increíble! (what an incredible day!) Xander was such a good boy today! He's a good boy every day but no major meltdowns today! We went to the sugar cane museum, an hour trip both ways, and an hour and a half at the plantation. He was great the whole time! He slept on the drive there and back. When we got back we hoped to transition him to the crib to continue his nap but he woke up. He was in a wonderful, calm mood though and played contently on the bed for an hour, happy as could be.
Then the big decision came, take him to dinner or not. He gets really fussy when we take him to the dining room. He doesn't like the car seat they provide for him to sit in and he's too small for the high chairs so we end up just passing him back and forth trying to shovel food into our mouths as fast as we can. We decided to have dinner in the room, which the hotel staff is happy to do. First though was bath time which he loves so much and then his bedtime feeding. Kristin is working her magic right now and she has him asleep and is about to place him (carefully) into the crib...
Success! Wow, if every dia could be like this one!
Here's a video and some pics from before we left.
We shared the minivan ride with a couple from France and Michael and Bridget from Norway. During the ride there their new son Brandon reached out and held Kristin's hand for a couple of minutes.
Mommy on the ride to the sugar cane museum.
The mountains on the way there.
This was our lunch.
Just kidding!
We didn't really get anything out of the tour because it was in Spanish. It was just fun to get out of the city and see the sights. There were a lot of really interesting plants and flowers. It was really nice to get away from the pollution for a while.
Check out that cactus in the background!
This was interesting, around all of the main buildings they built a small moat, it was only about eight inches wide, to keep out the insects.
Little known fact: When you don't eat your sugar cane, it makes baby Jesus cry.
It began to rain on the way back to the hotel.
After a long day it was finally time for a bath. Notice all the water on the floor!
Then the big decision came, take him to dinner or not. He gets really fussy when we take him to the dining room. He doesn't like the car seat they provide for him to sit in and he's too small for the high chairs so we end up just passing him back and forth trying to shovel food into our mouths as fast as we can. We decided to have dinner in the room, which the hotel staff is happy to do. First though was bath time which he loves so much and then his bedtime feeding. Kristin is working her magic right now and she has him asleep and is about to place him (carefully) into the crib...
Success! Wow, if every dia could be like this one!
Here's a video and some pics from before we left.
We shared the minivan ride with a couple from France and Michael and Bridget from Norway. During the ride there their new son Brandon reached out and held Kristin's hand for a couple of minutes.
Mommy on the ride to the sugar cane museum.
The mountains on the way there.
This was our lunch.
Just kidding!
We didn't really get anything out of the tour because it was in Spanish. It was just fun to get out of the city and see the sights. There were a lot of really interesting plants and flowers. It was really nice to get away from the pollution for a while.
Check out that cactus in the background!
This was interesting, around all of the main buildings they built a small moat, it was only about eight inches wide, to keep out the insects.
Little known fact: When you don't eat your sugar cane, it makes baby Jesus cry.
It began to rain on the way back to the hotel.
After a long day it was finally time for a bath. Notice all the water on the floor!
The game of "Goal" Colombian style
Does anyone remember the game of "Goal"? It is essentially a game of tag where an object is designated as the safe area which when one is touching it protects one from being "it" or being called out, based on what regional variation of the game one is playing. It is important to shout "Goal!" when touching the object to let everyone know that you are in the safety zone.
When driving us to Chiquitines the other day Magnolia was talking about the different places we were passing. Stopped at a red light we were next to a university. There were hand painted banners on the barbed wire fences enclosing the campus. She was explaining that one of the signs was a notification of a planned demonstration by the students. La policia are not allowed on the college campuses for the student's safety. Since the students are essentially on "Goal" they feel free to make "potato bombs", hollowed out potatoes with gun powder, that they throw at the buses. They make a lot of noise but aren't all that dangerous, well, as dangerous as a potato sized chunk of gun powder would be.
The students are going to protest this time because the telephone service is being sold by the government and is becoming privatized since it is not profitable. No doubt the rates are going to skyrocket when held by a private company and the people are upset. Students, because of this built in protection mechanism, are the only ones who have the real freedom to express their outrage against the government.
So this is exactly like "Goal" except with potato bombs...
When driving us to Chiquitines the other day Magnolia was talking about the different places we were passing. Stopped at a red light we were next to a university. There were hand painted banners on the barbed wire fences enclosing the campus. She was explaining that one of the signs was a notification of a planned demonstration by the students. La policia are not allowed on the college campuses for the student's safety. Since the students are essentially on "Goal" they feel free to make "potato bombs", hollowed out potatoes with gun powder, that they throw at the buses. They make a lot of noise but aren't all that dangerous, well, as dangerous as a potato sized chunk of gun powder would be.
The students are going to protest this time because the telephone service is being sold by the government and is becoming privatized since it is not profitable. No doubt the rates are going to skyrocket when held by a private company and the people are upset. Students, because of this built in protection mechanism, are the only ones who have the real freedom to express their outrage against the government.
So this is exactly like "Goal" except with potato bombs...
July 31st
It's been a rough day and a half. We're struggling to get Xander on a schedule but are at the mercy of all the variables around us. We kept him from having his complete morning nap yesterday because the people from the vaccination center were supposed to come to the hotel between 10:30 and 11:30. They were coming to the hotel because one of the other couples, Lee and Manuela, had traveled to Chiquitines just for their new baby's shots. After the one hour drive to get there they were informed that the orphanage was out of the vaccinations. So, at 12:30 the nurses still hadn't shown up yet so we went to get lunch. After lunch we had an epic battle to get him to take his afternoon nap. Finally we got him down after a very long and vigorous crying spell. At 3:00 Lee called our room to tell us that the people from the vaccination center arrived. 3:00! We didn't want to wake the baby so I guess we will try again Monday.
When we went to get our vaccinations in the US, they gave a little brochure about Columbia, which is where I read about the obscene hand gestures. The brochure said that foreigners are expected to be punctual for appointments but Colombians can be 20 minutes late.
After Alexander woke he was still tired and cranky so we went for a walk. He was a little squirmy strapped to my back but eventually fell asleep. It was pretty warm yesterday so he and I both ended up soaked. We went back to the hotel to try to ease him into the crib to continue sleeping, no such luck. He had another freakout, this one lasted for over an hour. I think he was just so tired he didn't know what to do with himself. Finally, we had to eat dinner (Which doesn't begin until 7, his bedtime at the orphanage) but he was still very fussy. After going back to the room we took turns trying to calm him. We would pass him off and then the other one would go outside to get a little peace before the next shift. Kristin ran into Lee on her break, he and Manuela have a five year old so they are experienced parents, and he gave some advice on how to calm X. Kristin ended up going into the bathroom with the lights off and sang to him and bounced him up and down until he finally fell asleep. He was finally down at 8:45, over an hour and a half later than his bedtime at the orphanage, and slept until 7:00 the next morning. He began to wake around 5:00 am so I rushed to the lobby to get water for his bottle from the water cooler but he ended up not really waking up so we let him (and us) sleep.
He woke up with a big smile on his face and played for a half hour but was still a little cranky a times. Kristin and I ate breakfast taking turns holding him but he gets frustrated really easily and we end up having to walk him around to keep him entertained. He seems to have all this energy that he doesn't know how to release. He wants so badly to crawl around on the floor but we won't let him just yet. Kristin tried putting him on the tile floor on the porch of the hotel and he immediately opened is mouth and tried to lick the floor. She swooped him up before he was able to, or that's what she told me anyway. :)
He is currently taking his morning nap. Kristen went to get more coffee and ran into one of the other mothers. She gave us a pacifier to help calm him down. I guess we are going to be a pacifier family? We never really talked about whether we were going to do that or not. It's difficult enough being away from home and being so new to all of this, any little thing helps. So we're going to try it today.
We have this book called Baby 411 that says that all of this stuff is perfectly natural but we're not used to it yet. As is the case with any new parent I'm sure, we want to fix what's wrong, but there probably isn't really anything wrong to fix.
I think today will be better though. We are supposed to go to a sugar cane plantation today with Enrique and the other parents. We'll have to see how Xander is doing but I would really like to. I'm looking forward to it. Driving also seems to calm him, so it may be good for him.
When we went to get our vaccinations in the US, they gave a little brochure about Columbia, which is where I read about the obscene hand gestures. The brochure said that foreigners are expected to be punctual for appointments but Colombians can be 20 minutes late.
After Alexander woke he was still tired and cranky so we went for a walk. He was a little squirmy strapped to my back but eventually fell asleep. It was pretty warm yesterday so he and I both ended up soaked. We went back to the hotel to try to ease him into the crib to continue sleeping, no such luck. He had another freakout, this one lasted for over an hour. I think he was just so tired he didn't know what to do with himself. Finally, we had to eat dinner (Which doesn't begin until 7, his bedtime at the orphanage) but he was still very fussy. After going back to the room we took turns trying to calm him. We would pass him off and then the other one would go outside to get a little peace before the next shift. Kristin ran into Lee on her break, he and Manuela have a five year old so they are experienced parents, and he gave some advice on how to calm X. Kristin ended up going into the bathroom with the lights off and sang to him and bounced him up and down until he finally fell asleep. He was finally down at 8:45, over an hour and a half later than his bedtime at the orphanage, and slept until 7:00 the next morning. He began to wake around 5:00 am so I rushed to the lobby to get water for his bottle from the water cooler but he ended up not really waking up so we let him (and us) sleep.
He woke up with a big smile on his face and played for a half hour but was still a little cranky a times. Kristin and I ate breakfast taking turns holding him but he gets frustrated really easily and we end up having to walk him around to keep him entertained. He seems to have all this energy that he doesn't know how to release. He wants so badly to crawl around on the floor but we won't let him just yet. Kristin tried putting him on the tile floor on the porch of the hotel and he immediately opened is mouth and tried to lick the floor. She swooped him up before he was able to, or that's what she told me anyway. :)
He is currently taking his morning nap. Kristen went to get more coffee and ran into one of the other mothers. She gave us a pacifier to help calm him down. I guess we are going to be a pacifier family? We never really talked about whether we were going to do that or not. It's difficult enough being away from home and being so new to all of this, any little thing helps. So we're going to try it today.
We have this book called Baby 411 that says that all of this stuff is perfectly natural but we're not used to it yet. As is the case with any new parent I'm sure, we want to fix what's wrong, but there probably isn't really anything wrong to fix.
I think today will be better though. We are supposed to go to a sugar cane plantation today with Enrique and the other parents. We'll have to see how Xander is doing but I would really like to. I'm looking forward to it. Driving also seems to calm him, so it may be good for him.
Friday, July 30, 2010
July 30th
Slowly but surely Alexander, mommy and daddy are getting to know each other. One thing that we are learning is that we don't need to entertain him every waking moment. He is often times perfectly content to play by himself with his toys. Kristin and I can lay back and play goalie to make sure he doesn't launch off the bed, which he wants to do so badly!
We are starting to develop a schedule. Unfortunately this schedule is probably going to be upset because baby is getting his shots today. We need to get more bottles, so if he gets upset we'll take him for a walk which seems a good strategy to calm him down.
We've getting more comfortable walking around. I'm not going to lie, I was very intimidated the first couple of times leaving the compound on our own. Our hotel has 24 hour security with locked iron gates. The security people at the malls also carry guns. Kristin was following some US government websites with tourist warnings and a guidebook we bought for Columbia also put us on edge. These both made us feel like as soon as we set foot off the hotel property someone was going to stab us in the eye. It's not like that at all. Magnolia was explaining the social structures in Colombia based on a ranking system from 0 (pobre) to 6 (rico) (poor to rich) BTW- 90's pop star Rico Sauve's name literally translates to "Rich Soft" but that's besides the point. The area that we are staying in ranks 5-6, it's absolutely safe. As with any big city there are certainly many areas we should avoid but where are is fine. We do get a certain amount of stares when walking around the neighborhood, in cities like NYC tourists can blend in pretty easily if they know what they are doing, it's not so simple for Kristin and I. As with NY people on the street pretty much ignore each other.
For some reason when we go to the mall, the people that work in the food court are very aggressive trying to get you to eat their food. It seems pretty clear that at the other shops commission comes into play, could that be the case at a fast food restaurant?
Magnolia has told us so many interesting things that I will try to describe on this blog as the days pass. We've learned a lot from her and when I've had time I've been reading about the history of Colombia on Wikipedia. In the same way that it happened in the US, the Spaniards came to conquer the area that is now Colombia bringing African slaves and mixing with the native Indians. If you look at the pictures from the orphanage you can see these three groups clearly represented.
I've mentioned that the traffic is so bad here. One technique they use to combat congestion is Pico y Placa. There are certain hours that people is not allowed to drive based on the number of their license plate. This forces people to either stay home at this time, car pool or take public transportation. Very inconvenient I'm sure, but seems like it could be a good idea for many different reasons. I'm not sure how effective it is here though, as I've mentioned the traffic and pollution are pretty bad here. Now that I think of it, since the city is essentially in a valley that probably holds the pollution in. This was the case when we went to Paris as well.
It's 10:30 am - Shot time approaches. Wish us luck...
We are starting to develop a schedule. Unfortunately this schedule is probably going to be upset because baby is getting his shots today. We need to get more bottles, so if he gets upset we'll take him for a walk which seems a good strategy to calm him down.
We've getting more comfortable walking around. I'm not going to lie, I was very intimidated the first couple of times leaving the compound on our own. Our hotel has 24 hour security with locked iron gates. The security people at the malls also carry guns. Kristin was following some US government websites with tourist warnings and a guidebook we bought for Columbia also put us on edge. These both made us feel like as soon as we set foot off the hotel property someone was going to stab us in the eye. It's not like that at all. Magnolia was explaining the social structures in Colombia based on a ranking system from 0 (pobre) to 6 (rico) (poor to rich) BTW- 90's pop star Rico Sauve's name literally translates to "Rich Soft" but that's besides the point. The area that we are staying in ranks 5-6, it's absolutely safe. As with any big city there are certainly many areas we should avoid but where are is fine. We do get a certain amount of stares when walking around the neighborhood, in cities like NYC tourists can blend in pretty easily if they know what they are doing, it's not so simple for Kristin and I. As with NY people on the street pretty much ignore each other.
For some reason when we go to the mall, the people that work in the food court are very aggressive trying to get you to eat their food. It seems pretty clear that at the other shops commission comes into play, could that be the case at a fast food restaurant?
Magnolia has told us so many interesting things that I will try to describe on this blog as the days pass. We've learned a lot from her and when I've had time I've been reading about the history of Colombia on Wikipedia. In the same way that it happened in the US, the Spaniards came to conquer the area that is now Colombia bringing African slaves and mixing with the native Indians. If you look at the pictures from the orphanage you can see these three groups clearly represented.
I've mentioned that the traffic is so bad here. One technique they use to combat congestion is Pico y Placa. There are certain hours that people is not allowed to drive based on the number of their license plate. This forces people to either stay home at this time, car pool or take public transportation. Very inconvenient I'm sure, but seems like it could be a good idea for many different reasons. I'm not sure how effective it is here though, as I've mentioned the traffic and pollution are pretty bad here. Now that I think of it, since the city is essentially in a valley that probably holds the pollution in. This was the case when we went to Paris as well.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Things we've learned thusfar
1. Sleep is a valuable commodity.
2. Baby formula smells the same going in as it does going out.
3. Xander loves water. Both baths and the pool.
4. If he can get it to his mouth he will put it in his mouth.
5. He loves to be outside and loves being strapped in the carriers. We calmed him twice today simply taking him for a walk.
6. The energy contained in babies is limitless. If we could tap into it we could be carbon neutral tomorrow.
Magnolia told Enrique that it was my birthday so he prepared a cake with candles and everyone in the dining room sang happy birthday to me! Apparently, Enrique got confused and did it for another guy first before we came to dinner. :) Very sweet gesture, I was very touched!
Uncle Kristin (Nephew Logan calls her that) took the picture of the bird because she knew Grandpa Dave would appreciate it.
The fruit on the fork is a cactus fruit. It's actually quite delicious, it tastes like a mild Kiwi fruit. Kristin mentioned it to Magnolia today and she said to be careful because it is a laxative. Most of our meals have either fresh fruit juice or actual fruit. A very nice accompaniment to any meal. I love fruit but could take or leave Mango and Papaya but yesterday we had a slice of Papaya and there was a slice of lime served with it. When you squeeze lime juice on Papaya it really transforms the flavor into something special.
Another ingredient that seems to make an appearance everyday is Cilantro, mostly in the wonderful soups served at lunch. It seems that most people either hate Cilantro or love it. If you hate it I feel sorry for you, you're missing out on one of the great joys in life. The three greatest ingredients known to man? Cilantro, Basil and Coconut milk.
In my previous post I mentioned that a lot of people come up to Alexander and say "Mi precioso!" Do you suppose in the Spanish dubbed version of the Lord of The Rings that's what Golum said?
2. Baby formula smells the same going in as it does going out.
3. Xander loves water. Both baths and the pool.
4. If he can get it to his mouth he will put it in his mouth.
5. He loves to be outside and loves being strapped in the carriers. We calmed him twice today simply taking him for a walk.
6. The energy contained in babies is limitless. If we could tap into it we could be carbon neutral tomorrow.
Magnolia told Enrique that it was my birthday so he prepared a cake with candles and everyone in the dining room sang happy birthday to me! Apparently, Enrique got confused and did it for another guy first before we came to dinner. :) Very sweet gesture, I was very touched!
Uncle Kristin (Nephew Logan calls her that) took the picture of the bird because she knew Grandpa Dave would appreciate it.
The fruit on the fork is a cactus fruit. It's actually quite delicious, it tastes like a mild Kiwi fruit. Kristin mentioned it to Magnolia today and she said to be careful because it is a laxative. Most of our meals have either fresh fruit juice or actual fruit. A very nice accompaniment to any meal. I love fruit but could take or leave Mango and Papaya but yesterday we had a slice of Papaya and there was a slice of lime served with it. When you squeeze lime juice on Papaya it really transforms the flavor into something special.
Another ingredient that seems to make an appearance everyday is Cilantro, mostly in the wonderful soups served at lunch. It seems that most people either hate Cilantro or love it. If you hate it I feel sorry for you, you're missing out on one of the great joys in life. The three greatest ingredients known to man? Cilantro, Basil and Coconut milk.
In my previous post I mentioned that a lot of people come up to Alexander and say "Mi precioso!" Do you suppose in the Spanish dubbed version of the Lord of The Rings that's what Golum said?
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