resolved.

in 2011 i wanted to accomplish many things. goals, not "resolutions". and most of them i accomplished.

it's the first year that i really made goals that were important to me and not cliche, like "lose weight" or "watch less tv." it was more of "find something fulfilling and run with it." "live and love."

and for 2012, i've got so many things swimming through my head, so many things that have been set in front of me to choose from, so my hope is to choose wisely, to appreciate each and every opportunity to grow and learn and, most of all to live.

to experience life. the good and the bad.

happy and safe new years, friends. see you next year.

photo shoot.

i had a student last semester who dabbles in photography. he's really passionate about it, and wanted some kid pictures... and well, i have two kids. perfect, right? so we headed out to a park one lovely saturday morning and he buttered the kids up and got some amazing shots. i was waiting to put the pictures on here until i got his web links to link it up (in case you're in the DR - cibao/north coast area (he travels)) but i always forgot to get it from him. so here are four of my favorite pictures from the shoot. 

 samil is forever moving around. he would not stop running all morning. in fact, he didn't want his picture taken unless he was running or eating. 

 amely is playful. there weren't any jungle gyms at the park, so she made her own.

there's a moon rock in the middle of this park (if you're in santiago, it's the "parque de los arabes" in la trinitaria, behind the ayuntamiento - the park with the big pyramid with the globe hanging down from it) and samil found a hole to slide rocks through. fun!

supermarket-selection overload.

have you been in the supermarket lately? have you seen the rows and rows and rows of the same thing for sale? 

seriously, who needs that big of a selection of milk or juice? or salt. or drinking water. really?
the supermarket isn't hard for me. after all, there are very nice, big, modern supermercados in the dominican republic. really nice ones. with a lot of selection. i mean, there are aisles of wine which is impressive in itself since most of the country just drinks brugal. 

there are some things, though, that just boggle my mind and sometimes throw me into sensory overload. 

i don't think our food is any more natural than north american food - but it looks a little, well, different. my brother bought an onion the other day. a big white ball of onion-y goodness (i l.o.v.e. onions). it was huge and perfect. like, unnaturally perfect. (i would have taken a picture, but remember how i didn't bring my tools for the cell phone camera?) it looked like a giant softball. pure and white and not a dimple on its skin.
i, admittedly, borrowed these pictures from the internet. however, they make my point. do you see the oranges over there? perfect and round and orange? i haven't seen an orange orange in the dominican republic, ever. i don't know why, i don't know how these things work - but when you're accustomed to this kind of "home-garden-y" type of fruits and vegetables, it is a little disturbing to see such aesthetic perfection.

on every visit to the states, the first trip to the grocery store is weird. this trip, though, i got thrown by the drug store. my mom sent me to get some cold medicine. luckily, she was kind of specific - she wanted mucinex. did you know how many different selections of mucinex there are? i stood, perplexed, for a few minutes looking for the one. they were all the same thing as far as i could tell. there were different milligrams, different types of pills, a syrup. had i been alone in the store i might have hyperventilated. good thing i had someone with me just as clueless to the medicine chest as i am (the joys of being 14 and having mom take care of that stuff!) 

i picked the box of meds that matched the price my mom told me - a syrup that was not on sale - and headed to the register. we walked past the aisles of everything in the world - 17 different kinds of cotton balls, 12 different brands of cotton swabs, perfume, makeup, 16 varieties of nail clippers. 

i paid quickly and got out. i haven't been back in the drugstore since, but i'm going to need to venture out before we head back to santiago - after all, there are some things i need to get.

best christmas present. ever.

 i mean, who else gets elfish slippers from kazakhstan for christmas?

walkin' in the winter...warmth?

look at her hands. this kid is not used to mittens.

 i love fairmount park. there's a creek that runs through this beautiful park with hiking trails and a bridal path. it's such a nice place to walk and there are ducks to feed. and since it's been so warm so far this vacation, we packed up and went back "the crick" on christmas eve for a little walking, a few bags of popcorn for the quack-quacks and visiting with aunt lily.

 samil was so concerned that the geese would not share their popcorn with each other. and when he tried to throw the popcorn to the birds in the water, it just flew away to the "not-sharing" ones on the land.

 after we feed the animals, we took a walk down the bridal path looking for... well, i don't know. i told the kids we were looking for horses, but i don't suppose one goes looking for horses. luckily we did spot one, but when it got close enough for the kids to admire, it spooked and took off.

 we ventured off the path and hiked up a little path next to a small stream. samil wanted to carry all of the sticks that he found on the way and so, of course,did amely.

no snow, but at least we can get out and about this year and see some things. on the list for this week? the zoo, the science museum and the indoor playground (we went last week and the kids loved that, too).

dreaming of a white christmas.

i come to philadelphia every christmas. it was nice when i was self-employed because i could just pick up and go, but now with a real job it's a little more difficult. so, we arrived last thursday and have been livin' it up since.

we've been to all of my favorite stores, to a flea market, more stores...

we have done more than just shop. really. the kids went on a carrousel the other day. and  we went to the playground last weekend. we have tickets to the zoo and the children's museum and a ton of other stuff.

but one thing is wrong. it's warm! like, wear just a sweatshirt and be comfortable warm.
i'm sitting here just dreaming of a white christmas.

christmas in the barrio.

we used to live across the city in an apartment complex really close to a pretty upper-class neighborhood. it was one of those places where people didn't talk to each other and although we knew the people in our building, i only knew two or three people who lived in the others.

so, when we moved i was excited to live in a place where people actually know each other and talk to each other. my kids have been invited to tons of birthday parties of kids we only see in passing because that's the kind of place it is - invite the neighborhood over for cake.

when christmas rolled around last year, i was surprised that, when walking in from work, there was a group of kids building something in the street. they wanted a donation. i kept walking. i had no idea what they were doing. day after day, this thing started to take shape. it was a christmas tree. a recycled-repurposed tree in the middle of the road. i mentioned it to amalio and he says, "well yeah that's how they do. get some donations and every day add a little til they've got a tree. there's tons all over the city."

oh.

since then i've seen tons of trees. amazing things made from old plastic cups, plates, 20 oz soda bottles, plastic bags, anything and everything. it wasn't until this year, though, that i saw some of the prize winners. because, wait for it, there's a competition! neighborhoods can compete with their christmas scenes to win money for their communities. amazing.

a christmas tradition in the country is to roast a pig on christmas eve, la noche buena, to share with friends and families. i think the roasting of the pig is more than half of the fun, as it's often done over night and someone has to make sure it doesn't burn. gather up some friends and spend the night with the pig? who doesn't love an all-night that doesn't include studying?

this scene won first place this year and it's representative of the lechon or roast pig shared on christmas.

the beginning of the barrio
 christmas tree

this one is my favorite just because the trees are recycled plastic plates painted and lighted from inside. there are a ton of re-purposed things in this scene.  i love that these arbolitos are so pretty, and so cheap.

made from small plastic bags, wire and
"twinkle lights."

our neighborhood doesn't compete, so our trees are humble and small - but most nights during the season there are groups of people out helping to put them up, and taking donations for ginger tea to share with everyone who stops by.