Bogota Happenings

We haven't blogged much from Bogota.  That is because things have been a little busier than they were in Monteria.  Although, even with the business, we have really LOVED Bogota.  I'm thankful for our time in Monteria because we had time just as a family to bond and grow together, and I'm also thankful for it because it has made us appreciate Bogota so much!  I don't think we would appreciate all that we have had here if it weren't for the struggles of Monteria.

What we have loved so far:
1)  The first couple of days we were here, we had another American family.  We were so excited to see them again because they were here in Bogota when we first came here before heading to Monteria.  They are Green Bay fans, but we will forgive them for that.  It was so nice to speak to people in American English and just enjoy their company.  They left on Saturday, and we dearly miss them.  We can't wait to see them at the CHI reunion in July!  Anyone else reading this heading to that?

2)  We love the city and the scenery.  David (who is our in-country rep's son) took us around Bogota one day.  He took us up to the top of Monserrate and showed us the church up there.  You can see all of Bogota from there on a sunny day.  It was cloudy that day, but we still had quite the view.  The church there is amazing but full of sad history.  It was originally built by slaves who had to lug the building materials all the way up the mountain.  Many died building that church, and I couldn't help but feel sadness as I walked through it.  They had a figure of Jesus in the front of the church, but instead of the normal Jesus on a cross, it was of Jesus slumped over to show the suffering of Jesus and the slaves who were a part of building the church.  David then took us downtown and showed us the gold museum, an artist's market, the President's residence, and more.  He even took us to a restaurant that served traditional Colombian food.  Yum...love love LOVE empanadas!

3)  The company - Although the only other American family has left, there are several French families.  A couple of them speak a bit of English, so we can converse with them sometimes.  We all are bonding though as our babies take turns screaming!  I don't even worry when my children scream at dinner now because I know another one will be screaming a couple of minutes later.  It's funny to me though because I have noticed that even the Colombian babies adopted by the French are beginning to take on a "French" look!  Haha.

4)  The shopping - We took the advice of a CHI mom who posted on our blog, and we went to a Kermeese market at Hotel La Fontana (which is SO COOL by the way).  We went with the intention to buy sweaters, but we didn't find any.  However, we bought the most amazing handknit shoes for the girls.  I am so mad that we didn't buy more now because we absolutely love them.  We finally found shoes that Rosa can't escape from!  Unfortunately, the market is only open on Sundays, so we will have to be content with the shoes we have.  We also went to a huge open air market in downtown Bogota on Sunday afternoon.  They had everything there - scarves, carvings, necklaces, etc.  So much fun!  We are excited to go over to Maku, another artist market, tomorrow.  Maybe I will finally find the sweaters I have been desperately searching for!

5)  Katie and Rosa - Katie has come alive here.  She is playing more, getting more sensory stimulation, and is talking more.  She is having a great time going up and down the steps, even if she sways the whole time!Rosa really had a great day.  She had two firsts - she held her bottle on her own for the first time AND she managed to lift herself up to a standing position without my help!  So fun!

6)  The Bed and Breakfast - Although we miss our pool and the amazing staff at Hotel Sinu, we absolutely love Casa Lanthana.  There is warm water for showers (after the water heater was fixed!), other families to hang out with, more space for the girls to play, AND every meal is provided as part of the cost.  Did I mention we pay about half the cost here as we did at Hotel Sinu?  Woohoo!

I am absolutely impressed with how we have been taken care of here in Bogota.  Although we are excited to finally go home, we will definitely miss it here when we leave. 

P.S.  We barely have energy to type blogs at the end of the day, so we haven't gotten our pictures uploaded yet.  They ARE coming - soon!  Maybe if our girls would stop waking up at 10 minutes to 6 every morning, we wouldn't be so tired! Ha!