Only in Bogota!

Craziness I tell you! I was a few seconds too late with this photo but - see how the top of the tree is gone, yeah they pulled it down ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY! Seriously, the workmen just stopped traffic about 10 yards from the tree, yanked on some ropes and about 25 feet of tree came crashing down!

It's hard to see in the photo but it goes from my yellow note down past the man in the road. And you can see how close the motorcycle and car in front of us are. Guess safety standards are a little different here!

BTW - this happened on Bogota's ONLY major highway. On the weekends it's packed. Think the 5 in San Diego or 95 in Virginia during rush hour.

Scandal Claims Colombian Army Head

Gen Castellanos became army chief in 2004. The head of Colombia's army has quit amid a scandal in which superiors allegedly abused young recruits. Gen Reinaldo Castellanos resigned after a magazine printed photos of 21 soldiers apparently being tortured at a base in the eastern town of Piedras. Gen Castellanos had said earlier he was ashamed of the allegations and that those responsible would be punished. President Alvaro Uribe has named Gen Mario Montoya, commander of a Caribbean division, as his replacement. Correspondents say although Gen Castellanos, 55, immediately criticised his officers, his position had become untenable.

The above is an excerpt from this article. It is a HUGE scandal here which impacts the US because the US provides millions of dollars in aid to Colombian in the fight against drugs, aka the FARC. The State Dept. is supposed to monitor the actions of various units and "approve" them. I'm not an expert on this stuff so please read the articles. But in essence the State Dept is monitoring for human rights violations because of course the US does not want to support any units involved in such actions. Anyway... lot's of poor people have been killed and then set-up to look like insurgents. NOT good. One effect was the recent resignation of Castellano and the appointment of Montoya. Although word on the street is Montoya isn't exactly squeeky clean. So why the app't? Is he good for Colombia? Not sure and I'm also not positive of exactly what the guy has done. So I'm researching it. VERY sad story though. And here I was feeling so good about Colombian and their fight against the FARC. I hope this doesn't slow the progress here because by all accounts the last 10 years have seriously turned this country around.

The good, the bad and the ugly

Okay so it's not quite that dramatic. But seriously, this bill paying in the bank crap is irritating me! I had some stomache virus for days. As in I ate nothing, NOTHING, for 2 1/2 days and today am taking it easy with broth so today was the last day to pay bills. I go to the first bank and there are 4 people in front of me. But wait, what's happing, another line is forming and they are all going first. More people come in and get in the special line and go before me too. Oh I see, if you are a bank member, disabled, pregnant or old you get the special line. So 35 minutes later I complete my 30 sec transaction. I go to the next bank, there are about 7 people in the "special" line here and easily 30 people in the other one!!! NO THANK YOU. I check my bill, it's late tomorrow but the fee is $7000 pesos or about $3, see ya! I really can't do this every month... really.

As for the bombs, in the end there were 6. Injuries were non-life threatening and totaled about 2 dozen. The FARC did not claim responsibility but my hubby says they don't always. The idea, I suppose, is to keep us guessing and therefore wary. Whatever. I must have lived here too long already because I wasn't really fazed. Matter of fact one of my neighbors couldn't take it because the week before there was tear gas set off at a demonstration so she went back home with her kids. My other neighbor and I laughed and said, "but it was only a little tear gas". Yes, we have been desensitized. Really it feels safer here most of the time because we live in the hoighty toighty area where there aren't many undesirables. I know, a rude word but it's the truth. So all is well and hopefully will continue to be well. Unless I go postal and shoot someone in the bank!

Oh, the good, I forgot the good!!! Well there are lot's of goods here, especially Maria my full-time and nanny. Seriously, she makes my life so easy. What will I do when I no longer have her? But that's not my good for the day. Today a painter came by. We asked him to paint the study, living room, dining room and part of the entry one color with a 7 inch border on top a different color, the fireplace yet another color, the kids room in two different colors (that is going to be SO cool and I'm VERY excited about it) and the master. That's about half my house in wall space. Guess how much? No really, guess... $1.400.00,00 pesos. Sounds like alot doesn't it. Made me think too. But as the math slowly cleared in my brain I said - "you are SO hired! When can you start?" You see that is only $700, materials included! I will definitely post pics when it's done. He said 10 days but in Colombian time it's probably 2 weeks. YEAH!!!

Bombs away

Today was really fun at the Pewter Factory and then lunch until...

Mike called and asked where we were and if any RSO was in attendence (Regional Security Officers). Of course that led to a why. Today there was a transportation strike and some demonstrations (a continuance from yesterday). So the FARC, still pretty po'd about the rescue of the prisoners this summer, thought this would be a good time to display a show of force. Not sure if this is all they've got or if it's just the beginning Keep your fingers crossed that this is all they can muster now that Uribe has pushed them way back and captured and/or killed many of their leaders. Back to my story... Mike tells me 2 bombs have gone of in the Northern section (where we live) and one of the bombs knocked out the first 3 floors of windows in one of the attaches apartment. Okay... that's scary. A few minutes later 2 more... The RSO suggested we stay at the restaurant until it was determined the safest course of action 1. return to the embassy or 2. have the drivers and bodyguards escort us home. In the end we were escorted home. All the kids were let out of school early too and everyone was advised to stay in their apartments. I got this e-mail when I finally returned home. Needless to say more than one of these was within 5 blocks of my house!

RSO has received reports of five minor explosions in different areas of the city:
1) Calle 80 with Cr. 5
2) Behind the McDonald’s at Salitre Mall
3) Calle 142 and Cr. 7
4) Calle 98 and 9A
5) Car. 10 con Calle 88

All personnel are reminded to remain vigilant and avoid large crowds, particularly given today’s on-going strike/demonstrations. Avoid and report any suspicious items, persons, or activities. Please ensure that this information is passed to your family members.

RSO recibió información sobre cinco diferentes explosiones en varias partes de la ciudad:

1) Calle 80 con Cr. 5
2) Detrás del McDonald’s del Salitre Mall;
3) Calle 142 con Cr. 7
4) Calle 98 con 9ª
5) Car. 10 con Calle 88

Se le avisa a todo personal que se mantengan alerto de su alrededores y se mantengan alejados de grupos grandes, particularmente debido a la huelga de hoy. No toquen ni se acerquen a artículos, personas, ni actividades sospechosos. Favor de asegurar que sus familiares estén enterados de estos eventos.


V/R, Lucia RSO Secretary

Things that make you hmmm...

It's never good when you get the automated messages from the Embassy. Typically it's about a riot, someone missing, bombs in a grocery store etc. Today was no different. The message said tear gas had been deployed near the University. Which one? Well, I'm not sure because YOU CAN'T REPLAY THE MESSAGE! One shot is all you get. Thankfully I wasn't planning on going anywhere far from the house today but still...

Sugar

Interesting factoid: The cereals in the US have more sugar than other countries. I mean the same cereal, like MulitGrain Cheerios and (yuck) Fruit Loops, will have 25% more sugar. CRAZY! And people thought I was a food nazi for not letting my kids have it but turns out I am double right, or at least 25% more right than I thought!

Party at the

Spanish Embassy. Seriously ya'll, if your hubby is a Marine he NEEDS to get this job. Soooo much fun. Free booze and food and lot's of friends. The attache's from all over know each other and everyone is soooo nice. A fellow Canadian wife ;o), Isreali wife, Mexican wife and few American wives and I were having so much fun I forgot Mike was "working". And FYI, if anyone ever tells you that stuffing a mini pie in your mouth and eating it all at once is better than taking bites and getting crumbs on your suit... DON'T BELIEVE THEM!

For Liz

Booger Fruit!

Here is one open and one closed. The skin is not very thick and you just take your fingers and pull it apart. Americans and Colombians alike refer to it as booger fruit because, frankly, it looks like boogers.

Up close. See the snot mixed with seeds. YUMMY!

But seriously, it is really sweet with crunchy seeds. If you can get past the appearance :o)

Believe it or not...

We asked to extend for 1 more year. But that's not the crazy part. I never cease to be amazed at the Marine Corps. Ok, so like I said Mike asked to extend for a year. The guy running the show didn't seem to crazy about the idea. He thinks the program needs a better rep and therefore wants Marines to return to the fleet after 2 years and use their experiences to help the Corps and also to enlighten more Marines about the program and it's utility. Sounds good but... why not let someone with experience stay one more year? and, oh by the way, it costs approximately $80 k to get us here! Think about it... 1 year of language and attache training for BOTH of us, storing our stuff for 2 years, shipping our stuff including 1 vehicle, plane tickets, hotels etc, etc, etc. Big money for DIA. They are on our side, of course, as is the DAT (he's the head guy in the office here) so we'll see.

Now some of you may be asking why in the world would we extend?! The answer is really quite simple: a. we've NEVER lived anywhere for more than 2 years b. Max is NOT adapting well and if we leave after 2 that will be 3 schools in 3 years for the poor guy. He is like his Mama, change makes him unhappy c. we are all just beginning to learn Spanish. Max can actually speak in short sentences, not grammatically correct but still. Even his teacher is impressed! d. Mike is gonna retire after this so we decided to make the most of our experience and finally e. I can make HUGE, and I do mean HUGE, sums of cash here as an SLP that we can save to buy our dream house in DC or SD after this. But I don't plan on working 'til next year so let's hope the jobs I'm aware of are still available. Whatever, I need to acclimate and learn Spanish first!

So who do you think is crazy, us or the Corps?

Would you be concerned?

I live on the 8th floor of my building, pretty high up right? Then you understand my surprise when I heard some noise and found this scene outside my living room window!

Guess the criminals are hard-up for cash! Ok, really the windows were dirty but still not something I expected to see. And check out the set-up... not the nice window washing platform, with all the safeguards, you find back in our hometown of Canada ;o)

Interest?

In the grocery store the check-out person always asks "Cuantas cuotas?" which at first Mike took for "Cuantas copias?". The later meaning, "How many copies?". I thought that was odd but Mike figured it was because we are diplomats and get the tax back so we may want more than one copy. Sounded good to me. After a few weeks of listening I realized it definitely wasn't "copias" but I wasn't sure what it was. Then I figured it was "cuotas" and translated it to something like "How many quotes?" kinda like a written estimate only it's not an estimate. Don't laugh these things happen in foreign languages. "Cancelar" means you paid your bill not cancelled service and you give a test here not take a test so it's possible! Anyway, turns out it means, in general don't aske for direct translation, "how many installments". Basically when I go to the grocery I can pay part now and part 2 weeks from now, or next month, next year... Not really sure of the details but you can split your bill up. I'm thinking this is only for credit cards but can't say for sure. I wonder if there is interest?

Ajiaco

Colombians LOVE soup and eat it at every meal. Which is a-ok with me because I'm a huge fan myself. Not to mention many books state that eating a cup of soup before a meal helps to fill you up and you consume less calories during said meal. Mike is totally on-board the soup train as well because they are more like Chunky Soups, "the soup that eats like a meal". Tonight I made Ajiaco, a traditional Colombian Soup made with 3 kinds of potatoes. Sooo easy and sooo good!

Top it off with a little bit of diced scallions and some avocado - YUM! Here's the recipe I used, which is lacking in some details but fairly obvious. Let me know if you want to make this but need some more detailed instruction and I'll tell you what I did.

* Oh and yes, this soup is made with chicken and I ate it! I have been veg for 15 years, that's FIFTEEN YEARS, but had to let it go here. Seriously, I would never eat. Ok, I could manage in the house but out at restaurants and all the parties we go to NO WAY. Colombians like to eat meat with a little starch. Sorry this is a BIG "oh" sidenote but - we went to a party and I kid you not they handed me a platter and proceeded to place on said platter (and I do not use the word platter lightly) pork, chicken, sausage, steak, pototaes, fried yucca and a really yummy cilantro sauce. I mean really, WHO was gonna eat all that! Normal eating will resume in 2 years, sigh.

Okay, la receta:

Ajiaco Colombiano

Serves 6
Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
One chicken quartered (you may just use chicken breasts, but the dark meat adds so much more flavor)
1 lb. of criolla potatoes, quartered (tiny white boiling potatoes)
1 lb. of pastusa potatoes, diced in large chunks (substitute any medium or small dark colored potato if you can find it)
1 lb. of sabanera potatoes, diced into large chunks (substitue Idaho or local big ole white potatoes)
1 gallon or water, more or less
1 medium onion, diced fine
1 medium tuber of yuca, cut into two inch cubes
2 tsps. paprika
3 cups milk
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Procedure:
Fry chicken pieces on highish heat in oil in a large pot to brown andflavor. Remove chicken to a plate. (Some recipes call for shredded chicken. You would cook chicken this way and then cover with water and boil for a half an hour and then pull with two forks when cooled. It's easier to eat, but less rustic and more work.)
In same grease fry onions until translucent.
Dump in all the potatoes, water, yuca, and paprika.
Boil for an hour to allow all the ingredients to cook and the flavors to meld.
Serve.
Serving Recommendations
This is a grat soup with a quarter avocada spooned on top, a dob of sour cream, and a sprinkle of green scallions.

Remember the part about the bills?

Well I went to pay the bill for the kids school bus today. Now mind you the kids started taking the bus the middle of the month and we got the coupon book on the 15th. Inside the book are monthly coupons, like car payments, but each one clearly states the cost and what the late fee is after the 4th of the month, the 15 th and the 20th. Anyway, I crossed out the full amount and pro-rated it for the days my kids used the service. NOPE. The teller says that I must pay the full amount and late fees, pointing to the paper. I tell her, again because I did state this same fact when I handed her the coupon, that my kids only started a few days ago. She calls the company comes back and tells me I have to pay the full amount plus all late fees. Um NO. And since when did the bank become the bill police. I wanted to say, "look lady, this is NOT your problem and I am only paying this amount period." But since my Spanish sucks I simply said, "no I will call the Embassy and they will take care of it". And this, btw, was AFTER I waited in line for half an hour. So on Thurs I'm going to the Embassy to get a Colombian bank account and pay my bills on-line.

Listen carefully!

Hubby: Tienen pintura en su vida. (You have paint on your face.)
Me: Face is cara.
Hubby: No that's expensive.
Me: No expensive is carro (with a trilled "r").
Hubby: Then what's car?
Maria (empleada, laughing): face is cara, expensive is carro, and car is caro.

We are all repeating and she is correcting our "r's". You must be careful in spanish because a small difference can be HUGE.

For example:

Mama with stress on the first syllable is a boob but mama with the stress on the second is your mom. Papa with stress on the first a potato and papa with stress on the second is your dad. Very tricky! We even went over some with three syllables and each time you moved the tilde, accent mark, it was a different word! My English ears have a hard time hearing the difference I just use context but the listener can sure give me quizzical looks if I don't say it right!

Odd

We have to pay our bills, in cash, at the bank. A specific bank and not always the same one. The phone is paid at the bank at the embassy. My hubby got busy and missed the due date by a few days. He went to the bank to pay and they wouldn't take the money. They told him he had to wait 'til he got next months bill and pay then. But if you miss more than 2 payments well... then you lose service. The day after the bank turned away our money, I know CRAZY, we got an automated call saying our bill was late and the amount owed. Great thanks... NOW can I pay it? Um, NO, next month... just don't be late!

One more thing

Back to the addresses. I know I'm little obsessed right now. The photo of the kids school a week ago with the address crossed out. I found out from my cab driver on Friday that the part of town the school is in only changed it's address 8 months ago. Might explain why some cab drivers were confused and some asked me "neuva or antigua", which I now know to mean old or new address. Which shone a light on the "is it antigua" question I got from the cab company the first time I called to get a cab. I was lost... thank God for empleadas!

WTF?

Today was BEAUTIFUL! The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky, and it was in the high 60's. Mike had to work a little in the a.m. but we were ready and waiting at 12:30. I found a park that looked really cool in a book, and not too far from the house, for us to visit so we headed out. And can you believe this crazy city has NO STREET SIGNS! Oh sorry, reverse a bit, Mike now has an embassy car he can drive so we were on our own. I'm beginning to think cabs are easier. All the streets "signs" are on the buildings, really addresses, and often don't give all the streets. Confusing, I know. So let's just say I live on Calle 92 with a cross street of Carrera 11 my address would be Calle 92 No 11-16. The -16 part is how far my building is from the corner of 92 and 11. But some buildings will only have the No 11-16 part so you don't know what the Calle is. Are you with me? If not then you know how I felt driving around. Hmm that corner was 92 and 11th so 9th should be 2 blocks down, oh wait no that's 10B... what? Sooooo frustrating!!! Whose grand idea was that? We did finallly find the park. Should have taken about 15 min from our house but instead it took an hour! The kids had fallen asleep and I was really hungry from no lunch. Then my new friend I. calls and asks if we are coming over. Again I am confused. We had talked about doing dinner but it was only 2 pm. Guess we got our wires crossed somewhere. So we went to her house, which is waaaay nicer than mine and mine is pretty darn nice. Food and friendship was great, kids played with her teenage son on the drums etc and all was well. Tomorrow we are gonna try the park again. This time we know where it is... I think...

Scary

So one of the grocery stores, well not really a grocery store more like a Super Walmart, was found to have explosive devices inside - a gift from the FARC. I believe the store found the explosive rather than experienced them. The stores here are really good about that. You cannot park in any of the garages without having security check your car for bombs with devices and dogs. Although I believe these particular devices were IN the store not a vehicle. They watch people coming and going as well but don't personally check each person. This particular store is not near my house and therefore I have only been there once. However, there was a second incident, this one TWO BLOCKS from my house, and the devices were detonated. The details on that are kind of fuzzy for me because a. my spanish still sucks (but no worries my class starts in a few minutes) and b. sometimes the news or my hubby only has partial info. Again this was a FARC attack. The good news is that from all accounts the FARC are hurting bad - hence the attacks. They are losing territory and people at a rapid rate. My hubby indicated that depending on the next Pres. here the FARC could REALLY be in trouble in 2-3 years. Let's all hope that comes to fruition. I'll search for some articles on these events after my class. For now the Embassy has initiated a series of courses, that are mandatory for personnel but available for family members, on safety and what to do in case of attacks near you or, God forbid, you are kidnapped. I'm hoping to attend next week.

Now you all have a WONDERFUL day. I am always here if you want more light hearted reading ;o)

Rain,rain go away

Well, atleast it's not a hurricane but it is going to stay a while. I think the rainy season started today, with a BANG! It has been a downpour all day long. Supposedly there are 2 rainy season, the first starts in Sept. and ends in November and the second, I believe, starts in April. Average rainfall per month increases from 1.5 to 4.9 inches. Just a small change. At least we have a neighbor whose building playground is UNDER the building, shielded from the rain. It's pretty cool too. It has a ball pit, a tunnel slide and some stuff to climb through. As long as they are home to let us in every other day or so we should be ok. Well, I suppose we could go to the McD. playground but then I can NEVER go in there without my kids wanting the crappy food so we can't make a habit of that.

FYI

Not sure if anyone is reading this but... the guy in the milgroup who was MIA has been found. Apparently he decided to take off for the long weekend and not tell anyone. Not sure why he wasn't answering his cell phone but all is well. That is with his health and safety but as far as his job... me thinks he's in a bit o trouble for that move!

Random

Repeat picture, new information... This is the kids school. Note the address on the building has a part crossed out in red. Apparently a few years ago, as in less than 5, Bogota realized that it had numbered the streets all wrong so they corrected it by crossing out the old names and putting up new ones. Crazy huh! Can you imagine that you lived here your whole life and suddenly cannot tell the cab driver where to go and he doesn't know where that new address you would have given him is anyway? Then a little time goes by and some use the new numbers and others the old. Very interesting. Guess they are getting along alright. My question is, why not take down the old numbers? I can see the utility for a year or so but now it's just getting ridiculous!

In other breaking news... I found a new grocery store today that was almost like the ones at home. I'm just not sure I can adequately express my joy over such a find. I actually bought $435,000 pesos worth of groceries at once! Hey, that's a new record for me by a landslide. I think my average is $50,000. Anyway while shopping I had to laugh at this box of cereal...

You and I know these as "Frosted Flakes" but here they don't even try to hide what's inside it simply "Sugar". LOVE IT! Not the cereal, the name. And I want you to know I risked getting thrown out of the store to take this photo! As I pulled out my camera a lady, who works in the store, came running over yelling at me to stop. I pressed "click" and then asked why. Really I saw her reaction as I pulled out my camera so I took the shot quickly. Apparently she is worried about marketing rights or something. Whatever.

Speaking of strange "rules". I was at the park with my kids. Now mind you there were only about 2 other kids present. Max was on the swings and he asked me to swing with him. Within 10 seconds, I kid you not, the park police were on me telling me "silly mommy swings are for kids". Sorry, I've got cereal on the brain now. Anyway, my neighbor said he got busted for the same thing. Again, hardly any kids present so it's not like he (or I) was taking a swing from some poor kid who wanted a ride. Weird. Now I just look around to make sure the swing police aren't nearby before I partake.

Okay, that's enough randomness for one day.

Morality

Apparently Bogota is big on morality. I forgot my camera today but I'm not sure the shot would have come out anyway. I went to the restroom in a restaurant to find a note written on the mirror. It was actually a sticker that functioned as a public service announcement. It read "Te ves horrible cuando habla mal. Habla bien hace bien" Not sure about that last part, in Spanish anyway. What I do know is that it meant "You look horrible when you speak poorly. Speak well and you will be well". I saw a couple at the park the other day too. Little green placards in the grass reminding you to take care of the environment etc. Kinda nice actually. Although I do find the "greenness" of the country a bit confusing. Everywhere there are recycling bins and notes about the proper care of the environment. They even use glass bottles for sodas most places. Our apartment sends out notes reminding us to use biodegradable trash bags. Cars are even restricted for periods of time. There are number and color codes on the license plates that dictate which days you must use public transportation. But obviously no one has looked into emmisions testing like in the US. Holy smoke out! You can see the black stuff furling out of the exhaust and some streets I hate to walk down because it is so smoggy I feel like I'm gonna choke. Well, at least they are trying!

No word yet on the guy from the milgroup. I'll keep you posted - or the news will :o(

Everyone say a prayer

Remember how I told you the FARC wanted 3 Americans? Well, as of 3 pm yesterday one of the guys from the mil group is missing. They did a phone tree this morning and everyone else is accounted for - thank God. So if you all could say a prayer, cross your fingers... whatever you do, do it! When I know more I'll let you know...

Hospital Security seems to be pretty good

Well, I didn't go to the security brief because my boy and I caught a bad cold. But I did get to see the inside of one of Bogota's finest hospitals! Yeah, it's not been a good week. This will be short because I can hardly see as I type. My sweet boy accidentally hit me in the eye with a stick today. Ripped a pretty good hole in the lens. It hurts like hell, and that's putting it mildly. The hospital, from what little I could see, was fairly modern except all the nurses wear those little caps. You know like from the show emergency. I didn't even know they made those things anymore! Not to mention the white knee high socks with pressed white skirts or pinafores and a sweet pastel sweater. Really I thought I had gone back in time. Now unlike the U.S. no money= no service! Thankfully the embassy called tricare and took care of all that. After a few misunderstandings (who knew the english word "particular" in Spanish can also mean "personal"). She kept asking me if it was "particular" and I was CLUELESS! Thank goodness for bodyguards who can also act as translators. Anyway, they have an armed guard at all the entrances and exits, no pink slip meaning you paid means you don't leave! My doc was great. Spoke enough English that I knew what he was saying. He is actually board certified by the American Board of Opthomalogists. So all is well, or will be when the searing pain in my eye goes away! Good knews is I won't lose any vision.

Better watch out!

If your American that is... good thing we are Canadian Diplomats! If you don't keep up with Colombian politics read the excerpt below re: the rescue of 3 Americans from the FARC. Now the FARC is pretty PO'd and a couple bombs have been found in shopping malls. Thankfully not one where we live but still. So now the FARC have the kidnapping of 3 Americans VERY high on their agenda. There is a meeting later this week to discuss the security issues. I'll keep you posted.

July 3, 2008
Hostage Rescue Major Blow to the FARC: U.S. Support for Colombia Increasingly Effective
by Ray Walser
WebMemo #1981
The safe rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans—Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes, and Keith Stansell—together with 11 Colombian soldiers and police on July 2 is a stunning success for Colombia's armed forces and President Álvaro Uribe. It symbolizes the huge gains made under Uribe in partnership with the U.S.-funded Plan Colombia program and is a major black eye for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and their rogue insurgency. The liberation of these 15 hostages could not have been timelier, as the Bush Administration is seeking approval for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the U.S. and Colombia. Furthermore, presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain's decision to visit Colombia only a day earlier now highlights the Senator's recognition of the need for a strong relationship between Washington and Bogotá.

Sssshh, it's a secret

Since we moved here I have noted some "interesting" things. Some merely factoids, some scary and some just different. So I decided to write a blog about those things. But I am not linking to myself or even telling everyone about it, meaning my family or more importantly my mom and anyone who may spill the beans to her. Why? Well because even though I'm um, let's just say 25, I am still her baby and she WILL worry. Nobody wants that so, to my 3 or so readers out there, perhaps you will jump on over to my new blog and learn some "interesting" facts!

I'll start with the photo on the title. It was taken at a playground. I found it "interesting" to see rebarb and military men in uniform WITH rifles as part of the scenery in such a fabulous childrens park (see photos below).