Friday, August 15, 2008

Things I Should Be Doing

2 months ago I posted my final post from Peru and what I figured would be our last post until the Summer was over - see, I knew we had tickets to fly to Caracas, Venezuela, on August 13th, and that until then our lives would be in a constant state of flux leaving little time for blogging - but, I didn't count on those plans being derailed to the degree that they have been. In fact, we are not yet in Caracas, we are in Washington, DC, waiting for the Venezuelan government to approve our visas. So far we have waited just 3 days, but we've been told there is no reason why the visas are delayed and that some very unlucky folks have waited months, that's right MONTHS!!, for theirs to come through. The waiting isn't terrible, it's just that mentally I was prepared to enjoy or US vacation only so long - that time has now passed and I fear that when we finally do leave the sense of loss will be harder to cope with. Right now, instead of waiting I should be:

Unpacking suitcases into Department of State provided furniture instead of living out of them.

Teaching Caleb the joys of sleeping in a big boy bed instead of having his feet in my stomach and head all night because he refuses the hotel crib.

Wandering around our new 3 bedroom 4.5 bathroom apartment with a terrace, great views of the city and full-size kitchen instead of trying to fit comfortably in a 2 bedroom hotel "suite" with miniature appliances.

Reviewing applicants for a live-in maid.

Getting to know the city of Caracas instead of the city of Falls Church, VA.

Standing in the grocery store wondering how we will ever cope for 2 years with food shortages instead of standing in the grocery store and drooling over all the food I know I'll miss.

Lamenting the fact that it takes an inexplicably long time to get internet access set up everywhere in the world.

Learning how to make my own baby food since I can't just run down to the corner store when we run out.

Saving money instead of spending it as I think, "I might need this some time in the next two years and what if no one is willing to ship it to an APO address, or it's too big and will be rejected due to size restrictions, or etc., etc., etc.,." I am getting very good at justifying ridiculous purchases.

Reviving my dormant Spanish instead of reveling in the joys of being able to say just exactly what I mean.

Anxiously waiting for the cable guy to show up so I don't have to miss one more second of Olympic coverage than is absolutely necessary.

Enrolling Caleb in preschool.

Meeting with our ecclesiastical leaders to find out what assignments they will have for us in our church congregation and wailing about the fact that my Spanish isn't good enough to perform at the expected level.

Recovering from a protracted flight from Washington, DC, to Caracas with a 2.5 year-old and a 6 month-old instead of dreading said impending flight.

Above all else, I should be blogging and commenting on other blogs instead of putting off our "this is where we've been this summer" post complete with oodles of pictures that I have been planning in my head for 2 months.

Today we are waiting, like yesterday and the day before that, for the phone to ring at 3:00 pm to tell us if our visas are ready so we can then re-book our flights (assuming there are seats), cancel our hotel and car rental reservations, pack our 8 pieces of checked luggage, say one last round of goodbyes to our dear DC friends and bustle off to our next foreign destination. If they haven't come through, we'll be here until at least Tuesday and beyond that, who knows? On the bright side, we are tourists in our favorite city and are spending time with friends we thought we wouldn't see this time around and are getting our fill of American food, drivers who obey traffic laws, Target, bookstores, Olympics, NPR, and a host of other things that make America feel like home.

12 comments:

Kristy said...

I've been wondering about you! In fact, I was just about to sit down and write you an email to make sure you were alive! :) That is really annoying to have to wait on your visas. I feel for you. Living out of suitcases and prolonged goodbyes is not my idea of an ideal situation. Hang in there and keep us posted about when you'll be officially heading to the south!

Paige said...

I've been missing virtual you! Dying to know how your summer progressed. Is Kenny in Venezuela already? Or stuck in the hotel too?

Anne said...

Ah, America! sorry about your undefined wait! when we were waiting for our visas, they were supposed to be ready 2 days before our scheduled flight. we called 5000+ times and kept getting the "no they are not ready yet we will call you" line. so the day of our flight, me and the girls went and did some last minute irresponsible shopping at the Arundel Mills mall while Aaron took the train into the city, went to the Israeli embassy himself, and demanded that they process our visas right then. as it turned out, the visas had been processed already, perhaps days ago even, and were gathering dust in a drawer somewhere. it reminds me of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and the demolition order for Arthur Dent's house. read it to pass the time. short of storming the Venezuelan Embassy, i am not sure how you could get your visas processed faster. good luck, especially with watching the Olympics if you can!

Ilene said...

Surely you can tell that live in maid how to make baby food. That would be one less thing to worry about, right?

Good luck living the hotel life!

robin marie said...

man what a mess! that really stinks. but i'm glad you are in a place surrounded by friends at least!

gab said...

Welcome back! Can't wait to hear the next adventure.

gab said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Adrianne said...

I should be very understanding about the pains of living in flux, and dying for you to arrive to Venezuela where you can start planning our vacation, but all I can say is hit Target one more time for me and can you eat a little Mexican/Indian/Chinese/Japanese/Deli, food for me too?? Oh, and watch the olympics, because I'm telling you the do NOT know how to broadcast olympics in other countries! But you should start blogging too because I miss you.

Jenibelle said...

What's the P.S.? Did 3:00 come and go without Visa's? At least it's beautiful there, (and muggy hot). Keeping my fingers crossed for you!!!

Jessica said...

You have a cool crazy life. Who else lives like you?! Good luck on those visas.

Mindy said...

linsey
hope those visas come through soon! ash and i are planning on coming around the same time as adrianne and mario. heck, i thought i read if i was vacationing i did not have to get a visa, but maybe i do? shop a few more times, load up on good food and mostly have a safe trip with the two cutest boys!

The Doughracle said...

Wow hope you guys get the visas soon - we know how it feels to be in limbo !! Enjoy the US while it lasts and hope you all get going sooner rather than later! Safe travels! :)

 

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