We are now in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with my brother's wife Omayra, their daughter Elvita and their son baby Thomas. Baby Thomas is only 3 weeks old, thus he is a floppy baby and he is VERY cute.
Our drive across the country was a fantastic four day tour because we went to many states and saw many cities, and best of all we united with many of my dearest friends. I am thankful we could stay with Philip Meyer and his family in Chatanooga where I also saw my college friend Gordon, and also Caitlin Quinn and her family in Johnson City.
The most exciting sight along the trip for Jimmy was a herd of buffalo in Kansas.
The St Louis arch was pretty cool.
Visiting Knoxville was melancolic since I went to college there for 2 years and I had not been there for over 4 years.
I successfully drove my parents crazy in the car.
Jimmy learned a lot of idioms from a great book we have.
And and and... one more week.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
The Colorado Rocky Mountains
Here we are, enjoying our last night in Colorado. Tomorrow my parents, Jimmy and I leave for a 4 day road trip to North Carolina, stopping in Tennessee, to see my brother Patrick, his wife Omayra, and their children Elvita & baby Thomas. Let's see who drives who nuts first in the car. =).
The past few days have been spectacular because we went camping in the mountains. We spent the first couple of nights camping by a huge, beautiful resevoir with my dad, my brother Richard, and his children Payson & Maggie. While we camped there, we went on a few superb hikes that took us above timber line to enjoy the most extraordinary views of the mountains. Then we went with my dad to Rocky Mountain National Park, where we also did some precious hikes to some high mountain
lakes and drove over the "highest paved continuous road" in the United States. On the way home, we stopped to do the Alpine Slide in Winter Park.
I think the experiences in the mountains were very special for my dad & I, and especially for Jimmy, because my dad and I had a wonderful time showing Jimmy the true beauty and uniqueness of Colorado. I wonder how many times Jimmy said "wow."
Thanks for following us on our journey across the country. Next stop, Chapel Hill.
The past few days have been spectacular because we went camping in the mountains. We spent the first couple of nights camping by a huge, beautiful resevoir with my dad, my brother Richard, and his children Payson & Maggie. While we camped there, we went on a few superb hikes that took us above timber line to enjoy the most extraordinary views of the mountains. Then we went with my dad to Rocky Mountain National Park, where we also did some precious hikes to some high mountain
lakes and drove over the "highest paved continuous road" in the United States. On the way home, we stopped to do the Alpine Slide in Winter Park.I think the experiences in the mountains were very special for my dad & I, and especially for Jimmy, because my dad and I had a wonderful time showing Jimmy the true beauty and uniqueness of Colorado. I wonder how many times Jimmy said "wow."
Thanks for following us on our journey across the country. Next stop, Chapel Hill.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
The most fun yet
An overview list will not do justice, but it hopefully will give an idea of all of the experiences that we have learned from lately.
-Denver's Museum of Nature and Science
-IMAX on Greece
-Bikeride up Waterton Canyon with my dad
-Camping with Intercambio (40 people)
-Indian Peaks Wilderness (huge mountains, beautiful lakes, gorgeous flowers)
-Red Rocks Amputheater
-Water Skiing with Angela Magnotta's family (and tubbing) {THE MOST FUN!]
-Columbine High School
-106 degree weather
-Burgers
-Salmon dinner
-Denver's 16th Street Pedestrian Mall
And so much more. Jimmy and I are doing so much and having so much fun! It is so wonderful to live out my dream of showing him my home and introducing him to my "people." And there is so much more left to do....
-Denver's Museum of Nature and Science
-IMAX on Greece
-Bikeride up Waterton Canyon with my dad
-Camping with Intercambio (40 people)
-Indian Peaks Wilderness (huge mountains, beautiful lakes, gorgeous flowers)
-Red Rocks Amputheater
-Water Skiing with Angela Magnotta's family (and tubbing) {THE MOST FUN!]
-Columbine High School
-106 degree weather
-Burgers
-Salmon dinner
-Denver's 16th Street Pedestrian Mall
And so much more. Jimmy and I are doing so much and having so much fun! It is so wonderful to live out my dream of showing him my home and introducing him to my "people." And there is so much more left to do....
Highlights
Jimmy and I have spent the past few days in Ft Collins and Boulder. Too much fun to describe.
-Frisbee golf! Jimmy is loves it and he is so good already.
-Brewery and Pubs! Homemade beer and yummy food.
-Bud Light!
-Hiking! We did a great hike with Richard, Laura, Payson and Maggie up a mountain and we saw some spectacular views.
-Yoga class! First class is free. Ahh.
-The public pool! We took Payson and Maggie to a luxurious kids pool in a huge city park. Wow.
-Boulder bars! Salsa dancing and live reggae with a lot of my friends.
-The Pearl Street Mall!
-Volunteering! Back to work at Intercambio.
-Chai!!!
-Funny English sayings!
-Mountains!
-Homeless people DO exist in this country!
-100' weather!
It is all overwhelming and great!!!!
-Frisbee golf! Jimmy is loves it and he is so good already.
-Brewery and Pubs! Homemade beer and yummy food.
-Bud Light!
-Hiking! We did a great hike with Richard, Laura, Payson and Maggie up a mountain and we saw some spectacular views.
-Yoga class! First class is free. Ahh.
-The public pool! We took Payson and Maggie to a luxurious kids pool in a huge city park. Wow.
-Boulder bars! Salsa dancing and live reggae with a lot of my friends.
-The Pearl Street Mall!
-Volunteering! Back to work at Intercambio.
-Chai!!!
-Funny English sayings!
-Mountains!
-Homeless people DO exist in this country!
-100' weather!
It is all overwhelming and great!!!!
4th of July
So much is happening that I find it challenging to summarize our adventures.
We went to Boulder and I gave a tour of the University of Colorado's campus to Jimmy and Elizabeth. Jimmy was amazed at the beauty and size of my college.
Then we continued the tradition of $1 tacos and Jimmy met about 10 of my friends, which I am sure was overwhelming, but it was great.
On the 4th of July, we watched the World Cup game in the day, and then we all went to the Rockies (professional baseball) game at Coors field. Jimmy said the stadium was unbelievable and he was so impressed with the firework show afterwards. He also enjoyed the light-rail train that we all took to and from the game. Jimmy asked me why we don't have parades on the 4th of July holiday, and I did not have a good answer, other than the tradition is to have fireworks.
We went over to my dear friend Angela Magnotta's house and Jimmy had so much fun jumping on a trampoline for the first time, with Payson and Maggie.
Payson is a really good teacher to Jimmy. The other day Payson did the United 50 States puzzle with Jimmy and taught him where every state is and a little fact about each state.
Jimmy likes all the micro-brews.
Jimmy laughed as he cleaned the driveway with our electric blower. Ahhh, the machines that we have in the States.
We also ate "Carb Freedom" icecream. Ahhh, the diet fads that we have in the States.
Jimmy's English is awesome. It is truely incredible how quickly he is learning.
His new funny word is "shaft" and he shouted that word as he was looking at old pictures with my dad and he saw a picture of the Washington Memorial. Ha!
Some new sayings are: "Suck it up." "It is not the end of the world." "To get a kick out of it." "On and off." And so much more.
Jimmy did an excellent job explaining to my family why English is so hard. He used the example of pronunciation: "face" and "surface." "mouth" and "plymouth."
This trip has been so fun so far. Both Jimmy and I were very sad to take our friend Elizabeth to the airport tomorrow, because we had passed a perfect week with her, and we love her so much.
We went to Boulder and I gave a tour of the University of Colorado's campus to Jimmy and Elizabeth. Jimmy was amazed at the beauty and size of my college.
Then we continued the tradition of $1 tacos and Jimmy met about 10 of my friends, which I am sure was overwhelming, but it was great.
On the 4th of July, we watched the World Cup game in the day, and then we all went to the Rockies (professional baseball) game at Coors field. Jimmy said the stadium was unbelievable and he was so impressed with the firework show afterwards. He also enjoyed the light-rail train that we all took to and from the game. Jimmy asked me why we don't have parades on the 4th of July holiday, and I did not have a good answer, other than the tradition is to have fireworks.
We went over to my dear friend Angela Magnotta's house and Jimmy had so much fun jumping on a trampoline for the first time, with Payson and Maggie.
Payson is a really good teacher to Jimmy. The other day Payson did the United 50 States puzzle with Jimmy and taught him where every state is and a little fact about each state.
Jimmy likes all the micro-brews.
Jimmy laughed as he cleaned the driveway with our electric blower. Ahhh, the machines that we have in the States.
We also ate "Carb Freedom" icecream. Ahhh, the diet fads that we have in the States.
Jimmy's English is awesome. It is truely incredible how quickly he is learning.
His new funny word is "shaft" and he shouted that word as he was looking at old pictures with my dad and he saw a picture of the Washington Memorial. Ha!
Some new sayings are: "Suck it up." "It is not the end of the world." "To get a kick out of it." "On and off." And so much more.
Jimmy did an excellent job explaining to my family why English is so hard. He used the example of pronunciation: "face" and "surface." "mouth" and "plymouth."
This trip has been so fun so far. Both Jimmy and I were very sad to take our friend Elizabeth to the airport tomorrow, because we had passed a perfect week with her, and we love her so much.
We are in Colorado
We arrived 5 1/2 hours late last night on the train. The ride was spectacular because we passed through the most "beautiful scenic route" in the country. The Amtrack train was very nice and the experience was awesome.
So, Jimmy has now met all of my family. My parents were waiting for us at 1am last night at the train station and they hugged Jimmy more than they hugged me, =). This morning Jimmy met my brother Richard and his wife Laura, and their children Payson and Maggie. Then we went to go see my Grandma, who is doing so well and has totally recovered from her pnemonia at the age of 97, a true miracle.
Jimmy saw a family of geese in the river while we were in the Glen Canyon on the train, and he said, "Oh how cute, look at that family of turkeys." HA!
Jimmy layed down on my family's waterbed in the basement and could not stop smiling and laughing for about 5 minutes as he rolled around on the waves saying WOW. HA!
Jimmy threw the frisbee with Payson and Maggie in the backyard this morning. So cute!
We are good. Tomorrow we are all going to the Rockies baseball game for the 4th of July to see the firework shows.
We will be in Colorado until July 24th, and then we will drive to North Carlolina.
So, Jimmy has now met all of my family. My parents were waiting for us at 1am last night at the train station and they hugged Jimmy more than they hugged me, =). This morning Jimmy met my brother Richard and his wife Laura, and their children Payson and Maggie. Then we went to go see my Grandma, who is doing so well and has totally recovered from her pnemonia at the age of 97, a true miracle.
Jimmy saw a family of geese in the river while we were in the Glen Canyon on the train, and he said, "Oh how cute, look at that family of turkeys." HA!
Jimmy layed down on my family's waterbed in the basement and could not stop smiling and laughing for about 5 minutes as he rolled around on the waves saying WOW. HA!
Jimmy threw the frisbee with Payson and Maggie in the backyard this morning. So cute!
We are good. Tomorrow we are all going to the Rockies baseball game for the 4th of July to see the firework shows.
We will be in Colorado until July 24th, and then we will drive to North Carlolina.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
We're Here!
Greetings from San Francisco! Jimmy and I arrived to this wonderful city last night to visit my brother Mathews. Despite our plan leaving Costa Rica a few hours late, missing our connection in Houston, having an extremely long layover in Houston and loosing my check-on bag, we were very happy to finish our full day of traveling.
Our first hours in the Unites States have already been an eye-opening experience for Jimmy. It is so fun for me to watch his expressions as he sees my country for the first time, and furthermore to answer all of his questions. He was totally fascinated with the moving walkways. He is awed by all of the rainbow gay flags in San Francisco and the very steep streets. He played ultimate frisbee this morning and was overwhelmed by the game. He drank his vist chai with a perma-smile. He also drank his first micro-brew beer and loved the taste of the amber ale. He is already learning so many new words in English, like "to flush" the toilet. and And ANd AND! The list does not stop.
A highlight of our long layover in Houston was an unexpected visit with our dear friends Amir and Caitlin. They came and picked us up at the airport and took us to an A&W for some fast food. Jimmy's first "real" experience in the USA was the expansive highway system of the country's 4th largest city. We love Caitlin and Amir.
The Gay Rights Parade
Yesterday we went to San Francisco's Gay Rights Parade. There were at least 1 million people attending the parade, and Jimmy said "WHOA" at least that many times.
Before that we went to my brother's church that is called Glide, which is a social justice liberal church. The message was acceptance of everyone's love.
After the parade we went on a driving tour of the city and we saw the Golden Gate bridge.
Let's just say that yesterday was a culture shocking day! It was great!!!
San Fransisco is awesome! We are happy.
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