International Christmas

My Christmas visit to Philadelphia ended more quickly than I'd hoped - so many things to do, people to see and good American food to eat!

Lili and I got some quality auntie-neice time. She is a little gem. Smiles that could make hot fudge out of stones. And how amazing: only 3 months and already she's excited about reading! By the time I left last Monday, she had even figured out the basics of page turning. Her nona Nancy and Mom Earth were so pleased. Our little Lil.

Last Saturday the family threw me a fantastic baby shower, and lots of nice folks and friends from Philly came. Everyone was so thoughtful and generous in their gifts that it nearly killed Heuris dragging my bag-the-size-of-a-small-cow back to Paraiso from the airport in Santo Domingo. Luckily everything made the trip intact.

The rest of my time in Philly was mostly spent doing paperwork for our petition for Heuris' green card. US Immigration (USCIS) is so backlogged because of fee changes back in July of this year that they haven't even glanced at our petition yet. It was sent in September. According to the official website, we probably won't hear anything from USCIS at all until the first week in January, at the earliest. Once our initial petition (the I-130) goes through, we're looking at a second petition for "quicker" visa processing (the I-129F). After that, we get put on the waiting list for our visa interview at the US consulate in Santo Domingo. Last I heard, there are more than 26,000 people in the Dominican Republic waiting on the list. And we'll get to start right at the bottom. It is by far the slowest, most overburded consulate in the world. All this means is that Heuris and I will not be moving "permanently" back to the States for at least another 2 years, or however long it takes for us to get our interview. When I get depressed about how long that seems, I think about how we're at least together and lucky enough to be able to stay together while we wait. Most people don't have the luxury to do that. Most people have to be in love long-distance while they wait.

As for the current details of everyday life back in Paraiso, I've sent Heuris out this afternoon to retrieve the essentials for our Christmas Eve dinner. Since turkey is ridiculously expensive (almost $3/pound!) we're looking at a nice substitute of baked chicken or ham with pineapple.
Dominican Christmas is really not as present-focused a time as is the American version, which means that of the few gifts brought back from the States, we've both already opened most. Among Heuris' favorites: an ipod nano with radio remote, a solar-powered radio with crank option for cloudy days (genius invention!), and a certain T-shirt that he's been wearing daily with pride (see photo at left).

26 weeks and counting

I am now nearing the end of my 26th week and feeling fine and hungry and large. Getting out of bed in the morning is increasingly becoming an exercise of pushing and pulling to get the whole business upright. In month eight I may need to invest in my own personal come-along. Heuris affectionately alternates his pet names for me among vaca (cow), ballena (whale), and - my personal favorite - burgado (giant snail or slug - pronounced Dominican style it comes out real pretty: vulgao).

At least the burgado isn't so huge that she can't travel... Until next Sunday I'm in Philadelphia for a pre-Christmas visit with family, and also for the cheese steaks (yum!!). Heuris remains at work in Paraiso.

This past week our good friend Kathryn left Paraiso after 2 years in the Peace Corps. She threw a rockin going away party, even though there was no electricity that night. Never fear! It is difficult to kill the spirit at a party full of Dominicans, even by candlelight. The evening was spent telling Dominican-style cuentos (jokes) and singing along to Maná songs played on a guitar by a local muchacho.

Above are some of the tigueres in attendence at said despedida (going-away party). Katy's the one with the glasses. We will all miss her like crazy.