First Week

We’ve been in La Paz for almost a week now, and in some ways it already feels like home. In other ways it feels like we’re simply fumbling along, though!  It’s been a great week. We got a lot of rest by being at the hotel, and it really helped with the transition to have a place where everything was taken care of, we didn’t have to worry about cleaning, and was incredibly nice. We left there on Friday morning, when I proceeded to rush out the door and forget one of your bags. (Yes, I felt really bad about that. What is it with me and not getting all the bags? This one was behind a door when I did the final check, and I couldn’t bring it out before leaving because it was huge and blocked the entire hallway.) However, all was resolved and we arrived at the Samaritan’s Purse house, which is right next door to the main office. In a number of ways that is an ideal place: Jason’s office is downstairs (as well as some other cubes in a huge room), it’s spacious, it has HUGE closets, there’s a great little yard, etc. In other ways, though, it’s not the best: really slippery (thus dangerous) floors, fairly choppy, Jason’s office is downstairs… (There are good things and bad things about that.) Ultimately, though, we can’t stay here. The former director lived here, but then they decided to start using it more as office and guest space, and apparently the lease might be up next summer anyway. Regardless, we can’t stay here.

SO BEGINS THE HOUSE SEARCH! So far it’s not very promising. We’d really like something where Jason could walk to work and it not take 30 minutes, or at least he could take a trufe, which is a small van/bus/taxi type of transportation. We looked at two apartments on Tuesday evening. The first was actually really amazing: spacious rooms, great for entertaining (and since Jason is the director, part of me is thinking that we need a place where we can invite people), beautiful floors, and way out of our current price range. There were two other drawbacks. First, it was being rented furnished, which means that we would be responsible of the kids (or me) destroyed anything. Second, one of the bedrooms was set up with a huge built-in bookshelf and desk, which is great if you want an office but bad if you need a kid’s room. So that was off the list for a number of reasons. The second place was farther away but next to an amazing kid’s park. However, when we entered the apartment, I think we both knew it was just wrong. It was in horrible shape. Not that we need anything luxurious, but this had massive cracks and needed to be painted all over and there was mold all over the bathrooms, one of the tubs was actually blocked by the door and a wall so there was NO ventilation or light, pretty gross kitchen, and one of the rooms had a smoker in it, and I doubt that smell would ever completely come out. Needless to say, we passed on that one as well.

What’s a little disappointing is that the newspaper had basically nothing for us to look at. We were thinking that we would find at least some possibilities to look at from the weekend paper, but there was one apartment that was $300 a month (there’s no way that’s in any shape for us to want to live in at that low of a price), and the other one has a great location but is only two bedroom, and we’d really like at least three. Apparently there was one house at a great price that was a little farther away than desired but still worth seeing, but as soon as we found out about it it was gone. We might have something to look at tomorrow, but I’m not sure. Part of us would still really like a house for a number of reasons, but there are a lot of other issues that come with that, like a gardener, security, etc. So the housing search is still on in a major way, although we’ve only really had minor results. It’s great to have a place to stay while we’re looking, though, and while we’d like something sooner as opposed to later, we can wait a little while. Hopefully not too long, though.

We spent most of the weekend unpacking and trying to get organized a little bit. It seems weird to unpack when we’ll just have to pack up again, but it actually helps to organize everyone’s stuff and get out of the way things that we’re not using at the moment. Last week was also nice because people from SP took care of lunch for us, so today was the first time we actually had to fend for ourselves for lunch. What’s amazing here is that there are SO many places, including nice ones, that have play areas for kids. Some of them are huge playgrounds, some of them are just small areas, but a lot of stuff is really kid-friendly, to the point that 1. Sometimes there is even a person who works for the restaurant that watches the kids in the play area, and 2. When we went to get ice cream last night, Micah started looking around for the play area. It was really great not to have to worry about lunches at all, but it was also really nice last night to be in our “own” – albeit temporary – place and have a meal around a table the other night. The people here have been so helpful and friendly, and it has made the transition a lot easier.

Alex will also start attending school Tuesday. It’s a little weird to think about, but while I’m sure it will be hard for her in many ways, I’m also pretty confident that she’s going to love it. She met her teacher and was a little shy at first (this is pretty normal right now – things have been a little overwhelming), but then she brightened up and was playing in the room. She now has a Highlands t-shirt to wear for her uniform for now until we get her some other polo shirts, and tomorrow she’ll start going to school every day. So different. Alexis is also feeling MUCH better. She’s over her laryngitis and only has a cough sometimes, but that’s more of an adjustment to the climate than anything else.

On the other end of the spectrum, Micah has been unbelievably exuberant. He just smiles at everyone and is smiling and dancing and laughing and wants people to pick him up and overall is interacting with almost anyone who will pay attention to him. He has already made some favorite friends amongst the SP staff. While Alexis is taking a little longer to warm-up (it’s more overwhelming for her, and being sick didn’t help), Micah is full-speed ahead. It’s pretty awesome to see how captivating he is.

Life has been busy and will continue to be busy, but this is what we expected. We went to the English-speaking church yesterday and there was a potluck after the service, so it was nice to be able to meet some people there. While I’m pretty sure that we’ll go to a Spanish-speaking church most of the time, it’s nice to be connected with the missionary community down here. I don’t think it’s nearly as large as the one in Managua, but sometimes it will be nice to have some community that speaks English.
Today was also Jason’s first full day of work. The family went this morning because he led devotions, and while I don’t understand a lot of it, the parts that I did get were really great. He made people laugh and engaged them in a number of different ways, and I was really proud of him. Today it’s been all meetings for him, so he is right in the middle of it and getting to work, which is sometimes I admire him for doing.

That’s it for now. I’m going to drive Alexis to school tomorrow (someone from SP will be in the car with me) since I need to go there to sign a bus contract for her, we might have an apartment to look at tomorrow, at some point soon I’ll have a cell phone (I don’t want to drive without one), and we’re ready to really get started!