Recaps from Last week (March 26th).

I compressed the next round of pictures so hope they load quicker than yesterday.  Our internet speed must be slower than our other apartment as I didn't have any issues in the past loading pictures.

Monday March 26th
This day ended up being a stressful and fun day all in one!  We had been waiting for our translator, Lilliana, to get in touch with us over the weekend so we could start apartment hunting.  We were surprised that we never heard from her and then discovered Monday morning that our cell phone was out of minutes.  The landline in our apartment was not able to call cell phones (weird, huh?) and all of the contact info we had was for cell phones.  We tried emailing Lilliana but the emails bounced back.  We finally emailed the director of the orphanage and also our agency in MN.  We never heard back from our agency (no surprise there) but the director ended up calling us late that night.  In the meantime, we headed off to Santa Fe mall to buy our own cell phone so we could get back in contact.  I bought a cell phone for $30 and was told we had minutes and texts on it.  We kept waiting for the phone to work and it never did so ~7 hours later we ended up back in the store and were told we needed to purchase minutes because the minutes that came with it were "Comcel minutes".  We still don't know what the minutes that came with it are for but after spending another $30, we were good to go.

The fun part of the day is that Gustavo finally got to experience Divercity!  I can't remember if I posted about this place but will post a bit more anyway.  Divercity is a kids' land inside the mall.  It is difficult to describe because I've never seen or heard of anything like it.  It is completely for the kids and there are waiting areas for the parents while the kids experience the different areas.  The kids are given a something when they enter (can't remember what) and they take this and go to the bank to turn it in for a credit card and some money.  It took us awhile to figure out what was going on since no one spoke any English.  The kids can pick to do different occupations and at these "experiences", they will earn more money.  Then there are other experiences that are for fun, such as driving a race car, eating pasta in a restaurant, going on a raft ride, etc. that they will have to spend their money to do.  There are also special certificates where they can redeem for more money at the bank.  Gustavo attended the University of the Future and earned one of these certificates.  He drove a race car first but had a difficult time not crashing (4.5 years old is way too young) but he still had fun.  Then he went to the University and then decided to eat some pasta in a restaurant.  He worked in a Coke bottling plant and a yogurt factory (was rewarded with treats after this), then went on a raft ride, was a nature guide and a fire man.  He also did something in a robotics factory.  The kids run all over and each experience takes 10-15 minutes.  We didn't even do 1/2 the things there and were there ~2.5 hours.  We'll definitely go back a few more times as it wasn't too expensive and we have a better handle on the stuff.  It was cool because he earned many certificates with his name on, has a credit card and a driver license that they created with his picture and name.  He also had a wad of cash that they said to keep but looking back, I think he could have spent it in the store on the way out.  I'll have to research before we go next time. There was a fun play area for little kids so we spent a lot of time with David in there.  As you could see from yesterday's post, he enjoyed the ball pit and his first riding toy.  During the week, Divercity is not busy at all but the lines on the weekends and now during Semana Santa are horrible.  We'll probably go next week or wait for Sanaya to come.

We had dinner at Crepes and Waffles again and Gustavo had his bubble gum ice-cream treat.  Then, we got the phone working and finally got in touch with Lilliana.  She had an apartment in mind already so we made plans to look at it Tuesday morning.

Tuesday, we came to see the apartment and after looking at a few more realized that we wouldn't get a better location than this so rented it for a month.  Afterwards, we went back to Casa de Maria y El Nino to tour the orphanage.  There are currently 55 children there and a lot of babies.  We saw David's room and his prior rooms and also met one of his caretakers, Juliet.  They have a room for 0-3 month olds, 3-6 months and 6-12 months.  They said there were 10 children in David's room. I think the younger rooms had at least 10 children, too which means there are not a lot of older kids.  We met some of the older children who were getting dressed for school.  They were so sweet and made my heart break.  I hope there is a forever family in their near future.  Gustavo always likes visiting the orphanage because he usually plays outside for a bit before we leave.



Tuesday ended up being a busy day for us as we visited Parque de los Pies Descalzos (Barefoot Park).  There was one waterfall that the kids could walk in and then there was a sand area to play in that Gustavo loved.  The main area with lots of shooting water and sand areas was under construction.  We'll have to go again when it's open as Gustavo would have a blast.  Afterwards, we walked through Plaza de Cisneros which is an Urban Forest that has 300 columns.  Then, we tried our hand at shopping and Sohrab scored a soccer jersey and a soccer jersey/short set for Tavo (Postobon).

Wednesday, we had an appointment to get a form notarized with Sohrab's signature so that I can leave the country with both kids.  Then, we headed off to Parque Explora which is a combination of a Science Museum and an Aquarium.  It was a really neat place and there were so many interactive things for Tavo (and us) to do.  There were dinosaurs all over the place that moved and made sounds and then mixed in with the dinos, there were more interactive exhibits.  David loved some of the science exhibits and enjoyed the dinosaurs and fish.  We made it home again before the rain hit!  Most the time when it rains here, it's later in the day ~3-4 or overnight.

Thursday, we went to Plaza Botero and then visited Museo de Antioquia.  Afterwards, we hit the shopping district.  Most of the shopping in the building we went to, was just American brands (most likely knock-offs).  We did score a delicious lunch there for very cheap and Sohrab found another soccer jersey.

Friday, we headed back to Santa Fe mall to exchange money and took Tavo to Happy City.  Upstairs, they had a bouncy house, a play structure and another play area.  The attendant up there kept resetting the timers for Tavo so we paid for 2 of the attractions but he must have got 10 times worth of play time.  For dinner, we went to El Corral which everyone seems to talk about.  Yuck!  It was like going to an overpriced Burger King!  After going to Fire House for burgers, we were very disappointed.  Gustavo's kid's meal came with a small toy and some dessert and then Sohrab went somewhere else for our dessert.  First real dessert (besides all of the pastries) that we had.  He got us cheesecake and tiramisu.  Not as good as back home but hit the spot!  We actually didn't take any pictures this day!

Saturday (almost caught up), we went to Parque Arvi.  To get there we took the Metro, then took a cable car up the mountain (same one as before) and then took another cable car to the top.  The last cable car was a long ride but we had a beautiful day so the scenery was spectacular.  We had a picnic at the top and walked around a bit.  We were told there would be a great market Parque Bolivar on Saturday because it was the 1st Sat of the month.  We headed there and saw nothing.  We walked through the park and felt the most uncomfortable that we've felt here.  Seems there were a lot of drug addicts and lots of policia around (even making an arrest while we were there).  After we got through the park, we made it to a cool area with lots of shops, music and restaurants.  We made a lot of purchases here.  I can't wait to go back.  A few days later when I was talking to Lilliana, we all realized that last Saturday was not the 1st Sat of the month!  May have to try to make it to this market this Sat or 1st Sat in May!  We got home late so Sohrab and Gustavo walked to Fire House and brought some yummy burgers home!

Sunday was moving and packing day!  It was stressful trying to pack everything up!  Sohrab's suitcase on the way here had all of his and Tavo's stuff in it.  I had to fit David, Tavo and my stuff in 2 suitcases which was difficult to do.  I am going to be so sick of wearing the clothes I brought down that I think I'll leave most of the clothes here to make room for everything else!  We were grateful that Lilliana helped move us.  It took 2 trips and she also found a port-a-crib for us.  As stated in a previous post, we spent the day getting to know the area and map out walking paths everywhere.  We had pizza for dinner to celebrate Sohrab's last night here!  I had hoped to get something special for Sohrab's birthday but it was a stressful and busy day so we'll have to celebrate when we are together again!

 David's Room at Casa de Maria y El Nino

 Lilliana and the boys

 0-3 month room

 3-6 month room 

(The car seat is what David was sitting in in his referral picture)

 Juliet and David

 Outside the casita and Lilliana's car

 Playground

 At Parque de los Pies Descalzos

 David sound asleep while Tavo runs through the water and sand!

 Brrr, the water was freezing but Tavo loved it!

 Plaze Cisneros in the background.  

There are 300 of the white "spikes" in the background.

 Tavo modelling his new soccer outfit!

 At Parque Explora, feeding Tavo to T-Rex

 Kids' Play Area at Parque Explora 

(both kids could spend all day here)

 Saw lots of interesting and bright colored frogs

 Daddy, can you lift me up?

 Daddy spinning fast....

 This was David's favorite thing!  

He loved the lights and watching them change when he touched the ball.

 Shopping Day, hanging out in the park!

 Last swimming day.  Still too cold for me!

 Views of Medellin from our 1st apartment!

Maybe it is cold, Mom!

 Tavo loves his new spiderman hat 

 So does David!

 The boys at Parque Arvi

 Riding the cable car down the mountain

 Views from the cable car 

 Down we go.  

Finally, I am caught up.  I don't have a ton of pictures from this week but will add details and pictures later!
Time for the boys to nap and me to exercise (finally)!
-Jennifer