So here are a few pics I've been meaning to put up for a while. The avocados, as you can see, are much bigger than the ones we get in Cincinnati. And the other pics are from Cesar's garden - he is growing sunflowers, sweet peppers, watermelon and basil.

















Avocado....















Sunflowers...














and Basil.

Movies, birthday parties, and.... work visas

It's been a while since my last post.... For the first time since I got here, Cesar and I went to the movies this week. We saw a Will Farrel comedy subtitled in Spanish... always funny. Not too many big differences between movie theaters here and in the US. The food options include popcorn, candy bars, pizza, nachos, and tequenos (similar to cheesesticks). And just like movie theaters in the US, everything is really overpriced.
In the past week, we have had three birthday parties in Grade 1. Apparently it's a pretty big deal to turn 6 (or any other age) here.... When there's a birthday to celebrate, the classroom is filled with balloons, party favors, cake, jello, and... screaming children. Well, one more birthday in the month of October to go :)
In other news at the school, this was the last week of the quarter, so we got a long weekend - no school tomorrow.
Aside from the birthday parties and movies, most of my effort has gone into getting all the necessary documents together to get my work visa. To have the school's law firm take care of it would cost me nearly four months of paychecks, so with the help of Cesar and his family, we have been working on doing it on our own to avoid the cost. This has involved getting papers proving where I am living, a notarized work offer, a medical certificate from the Ministry of Health, and, finally, I have to write an exposition of motives for wanting to work here. So far the only thing I still have to complete is the exposition and get the medical forms certfied. The process of getting the medical certificate has been the most stressful. I have already made 4 trips to one of the public hospitals, and I am hoping that tomorrow will be the 5th and final. I had to have 2 blood tests done and provide documentation that I have received certain vaccinations. These tests, required by the government in order for foreigners to stay in the country, are only provided in public hospitals. While I had the experience of working in a public hospital when I was in Nicaragua, being treated in one is a very different feeling. Tomorrow will be a second try at getting all of my medical forms certified - last time I tried, the person that was going to take care of it for me decided to leave the office early for the day.
After I have everything together, it looks like I will be making a quick trip to Caracas with Cesar on Tuesday. It's been a complicated process, but fortunately I only have to go through it once.
Well, more to come after Caracas...