Day 1: Around town

After finally getting to sleep after midnight, we all had a decent night's sleep. I actually felt refreshed regardless of the fact that the pillows are flatter than pancakes. After a nice breakfast--for those wondering it was scrambled eggs and toast, Frosted Flakes for Luke, sweet orange juice and coffee for Matt--the three of us walked around Bogota. It really is nothing like I thought it would be. Outside of the language barrier, I don't actually feel like I am in South America rather than North America. There are a lot of unique shops and the eateries look similar to what you find in the States. I envisioned a lot of vey worn down buildings and homes, but there are some gorgeous "apartamentes" here. Around 10am, five adopting families--2 CHI families that I knew through blogging and 2 from Spain--went to a very nice market not too far from our bed and breakfast. I purchased a beautiful royal, blue crystal necklace that I may wear tomorrow when we go to get Maria and Andres. Then, we went to Archie's which is a nice pizza joint. It's known for it's kid-friendly service. Unfortuantely, this was where Luke had his first taste of homesickness. They come and get the kids to go make their own pizzas in another room. Since there were no other children in our group that were old enough to do this, Luke was the only one to go, so I went with him. When we got into the room, there were a bunch of Spanish-speaking kids washing their hands. Luke couldn't get the sink to work and then he realized he couldn't understand what anyone was saying to him so he wanted to leave. Eventually, we went back to our table and there were some tears. I think it was the first realization that we are definitely the minority here. The sadness only lasted for about 15 minutes before he perked up and began playing and making the kids laugh. Have I mentioned what a GREAT big brother he will be!!?? After lunch, we decided to have a little bit more of family time and the three of us went to a park and played baseball. Although many of the pictures look cloudy, it's actually been a beautiful day here, the clouds come and go as does the rain, but the temperatures was probably in the 70's. As close as we are to the equator, the sun feels quite warm and I did get some color on my arms. Most of the day, I wished I had shorts on, but funny enough, the Colombians had on wool, winter coats and sweaters! On our way back from the park, I about had my first meltdown. We were walking along and I saw a great photo opportunity with a juggler in the middle of the street. As I reached for my camera, I dropped it and of all times for this to happen, I broke it. Fortunately, Matt immediately consoled me and found a place to get a new digital camera. What an adventure to try to ask about certain capabilities, etc., when you can't speak the native language. The one thing we understood was that we could bring it back within 8 days if we didn't like it. Not exactly what we need to be spending our money on right now so it's a little stressful, but if this is the worse thing that happens, I'll take it! Right now, we are all just hanging around, playing games and waiting for our light dinner. I thought it would be best to post early tonight. After dinner, we will probably come up and get Luke showered and watch a movie. We all want to get a good night's rest as we will be leaving between 7:30-8:00am tomorrow. At 10am (Central Time), everyone please say prayers that all goes well. We can't wait to let you know about life as a family of five! Love to all~ T

The adopting families who went to the market.

The mountains of Bogota.

Luke playing baseball in front of a beautiful aprtment complex--the pic doesn't do it justice.

Oh yeah--even in Bogota. . . the ice cream man can find us!

Another beautiful structure that looked much like the KU Alumni Association.

Luke waking up this morning and checking out Bogota for the first time in the daylight.

Luke and Mom taking advantage of a photo op.

Even the trash man needs a break on Sunday!

Matt and I in front of El Refugio--our home away from home.

Luke trying out the wares at the market.

Pretty sure we'll try this place out after a hard day! ; )