Welcome to the neighborhood!

       Every day we get more comfortable with our new neighborhood. This weekend we stayed overnight in a tourist town a couple of hours away, and it was pretty funny how much our apartment felt like home when we got back, even though we've only lived here for two weeks! But before I show you around the neighborhood a bit more . . . can we talk about fear? (If you'd rather not, please skip to the photos below!!) 
       There was a lot of stress and anxiety that built up in the weeks before we left for Colombia. There was definitely relief when we finally got here and unpacked our things, but the anxiety didn't really go away. I've been very aware this past week of the way, when we've brought the kids overseas, I sort of hold my breath, praying to get back on the plane at the end with everyone safe. In other words, I've been crossing my fingers to survive these experiences instead of really living them. At least at first. Or maybe always in the background a little bit. 
       Though I LOVED India, when we arrived (sleep deprived) in the middle of the night and drove through Hyderabad with trash fires burning and stray dogs and store fronts shuttered, I wasn't sure we'd made the best decision as parents. And in Guatemala two years ago, I came to be really, really happy there just walking down the street and buying bread, but part of me was holding my breath that we'd get back to the States without a major earthquake or volcanic eruption. Every day we walked around Antigua with three volcanoes looming over us, and nearly every day we watched little bursts of ash and lava spew from Fuego volcano. 
       You probably saw the news that there was a big eruption from Fuego this Sunday. Ninety-nine people have been confirmed dead, with about 200 still missing. An estimated 1.7 million people have been impacted by the eruption, including 3,000 people evacuated from their homes. Antigua was covered in ash, and major roads had to be shut down, so no one was able to leave. And we heard yesterday that there's a lava flow being reported from Pacaya volcano, which Dan, Sky, and Grace climbed while we were there. They toasted marshmallows over a vent!
       It's strange the way I'd feel more resigned to a tragic event at home than overseas. Like, if a tornado hit our neighborhood at home, it would be terrifying and awful, but it would be part of the deal. All of us who live in the Midwest know there's a chance we'll experience a tornado. But when we're overseas it feels as if the fate of the country we're visiting is not our fate. The mind does funny things. 
     Something is either going to happen while we're here in Colombia or it's not. Just like at home. Holding my breath isn't going to prevent an earthquake or anything else. I've got mama bear instincts that maybe aren't always what's best for us. Of course we're careful and use common sense. But I don't think a life lived in fear is a life fully lived. Years ago I wrote a poem called "Not for Profit" about the dangers of Dan's work that ended with the lines:

We'll all be gone soon enough--
let's be alive till then.

I don't want us to just survive our time in Colombia. I want to live here, for this short time. Which means I have to release my grip and be open to the unknown. I have to be willing to be changed by this experience in ways I can't anticipate. If Fuego had erupted while we were there, we would have been doing our best to cope with the situation, just like everyone else. My heart is with the people of Guatemala, especially our neighbors there, the kids' Spanish teachers, friends and acquaintances around Antigua. Dan has been working since Sunday (from here) with the Unbound staff there who are doing their best under very difficult circumstances to confirm the status of Unbound families living in the area around Fuego and assess the immediate needs.


Aaaaaaaaand, to completely switch gears . . . 

I've been taking pictures around our neighborhood to share with you. Because it's basically 80 degrees every day of the year, most cafes and restaurants are indoor/outdoor, without permanent outside walls. And because there are so many trees and plants here, it often feels like you're in nature while you're sitting at a table somewhere.

Not actually in our neighborhood, but you can see the indoor/outdoor thing.

In our neighborhood. The end of a pedestrian street that fills with people in the evenings.

Neighborhood cafe

Neighborhood cafe/bookstore

Neighborhood cafe with . . .

the BEST chocolate croissants! (And you only feel sick for a little while after you eat a whole one.)

Neighborhood Old Skull Barber Club. Today's special: FREE BEER with your haircut.

"Tipico" (typical) meal (without the meat): beans, rice, egg, plantain, arepa (thick corn tortilla), avocado.

Many things here are very similar to home. We can drink the tap water in Medellin, which is hugely helpful, both for just drinking and also for cooking and eating out. (Salad? Fresh fruit juice? Why, yes, thank you!) But obviously many things are different, too.

Some I know and some . . . ???

Milk comes in bags. Unrefrigerated.

No bullfighting arenas back at home. Thankfully.

One different and great thing about Medellin is how active people are. It reminds us of Denver in that way. Maybe there's something about 5000-foot elevation? On Sundays, the city closes off some roads (including major ones) for people to bike, run, walk, rollerblade. And they do! They get up early on Sunday morning by the thousands and use those roads. Individuals, couples, families, groups of friends. I haven't gotten very good pictures of it, but this will give you an idea. People set up tents with drinks, snacks, equipment to repair bike tires, etc. It looks like there must be a race going on, but it's just a Sunday morning!

Some of the hundreds of people we saw using the northbound lanes of a major road through town.

That's it for now. More to come. : )