In June we went to Kennewick, Washington to Have a Genetti Family reunion. We have one every two years. It was wonderful to spent time with Mom and brothers and sisters. Our kids had a great time with their cousins. We also enjoyed celebrating Great-Grandma Opals 88th birthday with the Bragg Family.
We chose Italy as our first ever European vacation. Grandma Sandy met us in Rome as we began the adventure. We spent several days in Rome, Florence, and Venice. The highlight of the trip, however, we visiting Val de Non, the valley in Trento where Dominic and Maria Genetti grew up. As fate would have it, Paul and Ann Granato were making a visit to Castelfondo at the exact same time. It was a real treat for us to see them. They have visited the area many times over the last several years and showed us all the sights. We also met some of our Italian relatives. Frida and Piero Zambotti own a restaurant and bar in Castelfondo. We enjoyed getting to know them and their family. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
This year Ramadan was the last two weeks of September and the first two weeks of October. The people fast from sun up to sun down. They break their daily fast with a large meal called "iftar." Most hotels will hold beautiful and large iftar meals. Some are buffet style, while others offer a menu. There is also entertainment throughout the evening. These are some pictures of the Iftar we attended at the Ritz-Carelton Hotel.
These are some pictures of our Villa in Qipco Compound where we live. The pictures of our Villa are as it was before our shipment arrived. Since then we have returned some of the furniture and made room for the stuff we brought. We also did a little painting. As you will see, we have great amenities here. You could easily live on the compound without ever having to leave, but you would go stir crazy.
In October we found our way to the Sining Sandunes. It only took us two different attempts to find them. The dunes are very interesting because in the right conditions they "sing." We don't really know how it works, but it appears that the sand has to be in motion. Will discovered that if you sit on your bottom and slide down the dunes you will hear a ring. Everyone around you will hear it also. The further up the dune you start sliding, the louder the ring becomes. You can feel the vibration below you. We all had a great time making the sandunes sing.
During the Eid holiday (a national holiday at the end of Ramadan) we went with a couple other families on a self guided tour (using GPS) to see several old forts in Qatar. Some of them date back to the 17th century. Most have been maintained and repaired. We also saw some old fishing villages that are now in ruins. The people left once the area had been fished out and pearls were hard to find.
During our trip to see all the forts, we saw camels in the wild. We also saw a bunch of camels being herded. The man, Mohamad, was very friendly. He let us pet the camels and take pictures. He even milked a camel for us to see and then offered us a taste of the milk. To be polite, we all tasted a bit on our finger, but we didn't tip the bowl to our mouth as he wanted us to. I wouldn't want to drink it on a daily basis.
The week after Christmas, our family went to Los Roques. It is a beautiful national park made up of several islands and keys and some of the most beautiful turqoise blue water you have ever seen. There is great snorkeling and scuba diving there. We were able to snorkel and see some great fish. My favorite were the big starfish in all different colors and designs.
We decided to stay in Venezuela for Christmas. It was interesting to see how they celebrate it. For example, they set off fireworks for hours. Not just little ones, but great big ones that you would see at a stadium in the US. They started at about 10:00 and didn't start to dye down until 2:00 am. We heard them again at 4:00am. Another custom here is the nativity. It is a big thing here, but the baby Jesus does not sit in the nativity until 12:00 am Christmas Day.
Dominic and Kenzie's parents went on a deep sea fishing trip in La Guaira the week before Christmas. Everyone enjoyed the trip (except for Kenzie's mom who was sick the whole time). They caught two Blue Marlin and a Mahi Mahi.
These are some pictures from the Christmas parties the girls had at school and also from our ward Christmas party. We had a small nativity and two Christmas songs at the ward party. Santa came to visit. Wait until you see Santa. We had turkey for dinner. After the spiritual part was over, the real party began with extremely loud Rumba music and a pinata in the shape of a glass ornament. Kylie said it was a "combination party" because we had Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas decorations, and birthday party music and a pinata.
In September we visited Morrocoy on the Northwestern Coast of Venezuela. Morrocoy is a national park consisting of 12 small Islands. We stayed in Posada Villa Mangrovia for 3 days. A posada is similar to a Bed'n Breakfast. Each day we took a boat from the posada to a different island. The Islands we visited were Mero, Sombrero, and Playuela.
For Kylie's 7th birthday, she had her classmates from ECA over to our apartment to have a Barbie Pegusus party. The girls colored and played in a castle. They played games to earn jewelry and a crown. They also made beauty mirrors.
In early July, we took a trip to the Miller cabin in Southern Utah. The kids had a great time playing in the woods, sleeping outside in a tent, and playing with their cousins.
Yes, there is easter egg coloring in Venezuela (we had to import the coloring kit, though). And, more importantly, the easter bunning knew where to find the kids.
In late April 2006, we took a trip to Expan Zoo, about an hour away from our apartment. The kids loved the animals. The zoo is very interactive compared to most US zoos. On the way into the zoo you pick up bags of carrots and feed the animals throughout the zoo. They also have horseback riding. The photos speak for themselves.
In mid April we had the chance to visit the "Isla de Margarita". We stayed at Hesperia Playa el Agua, an all inclusive beach resort. We were there three days and this was our typical schedule. We started the day with breakfast around 8:00 am, followed by a few hours at the beach relaxing in beach canopies or playing in the waves. Kylie and Megan enjoyed looking for sea shells and building sand castles. Will loved being chased by waves. Mckenzie and Debbie enjoyed drinking "Naranjada Frappe" and relaxing in the shade of their canopies while commenting on the variety of body types in thong bikinis (Did you know they make thongs for men?). Dominic enjoyed riding the waves on his new boogie board. After the beach we were off to our bungalow for a quick shower before lunch. In the afternoon we enjoyed swimming and playing at one of several pools. After dinner, we took turns staying with the kids while the others went to the nightly theatre (keep in mind that the actors pretty much ran the whole resort, so you can imagine they were pretty tired by show time!).
Just to keep things real, we should note that true to Venezuela form, one of the shower faucets in our Bungalow pulled off in Dom's hand while the water was on hot, filling the Bungalow with steam. One of the air conditioners leaked water. And we never could get them to fix the clogged toilet.
Megan recently had her 4th birthday. We had fun celebrating as a family and by having some of her friends from school over for a Jo Jo Circus Party.
On Megan's birthday, we started the day by singing happy birthday and opening presents. Megan is enjoying the gifts she recieved. Later in the day we enjoyed cake and ice cream.
A few days after her birthday, Megan invited her classmates over for a Jo Jo Circus Party, North American style. North American style means simple and the family actually participates in the party. Venezuela birthday parties last for hours and are very extravagent (professional catering services, country club, moon walks, petty zoo's, clowns, magicians, super heroes, etc...). No kidding, these are parties for 4 year olds!
Anyway, we ordered some Jo Jo Circus stuff on the internet and had the party in our apartment. We and the kids had a wonderful time. As you will seen in the pictures, we had coloring, pin to nose on Jo Jo, and a craft. We did adopt two things from the Venezuelan style parties: a piñata and no opening presents. Enjoy the pictures.
Marti Gras is celebrated in Venezuela, but is called "Carvinal". During Carnival week, kids dress up in costumes, much like Halloween in the United States. Carnival is a National holiday with two day off school and work.
One of the ways ECA celebrated Carnival was by having the 1st graders do a "Carnival" skit in a school assembly. You will find some pictures of Klyie and other 1st graders in the assembly.
Our family celebrated Carvinal by spending a day at "El Junquito", a Mountain town with activities for kids like horse rides, go carts, and Moon Walks. For dinner we went about 20 miles further up the mountain to a well known German settlement.
To celebrate Mckenzie's birthday, we took an afternoon trip to mount Avila. Mount Avila is the tallest mountain in Venezuela and forms the Northern boundary of Caracas. It separates the City from the beach, the international airport, and the sea port. The mountain range if very lush with vegitation, because several decades ago it was declared a national reserve.
Before it was declared a national reserve, however, a cylinder shaped hotel, called the Humbult, was built at the peak of the mountain by a former dictator in the 1950's. It never opened for business. There is also a rural comumity a top the mountain called "Galipan". From Galipan, you can see the Caribean to the north if you are lucky enough to time your visit with a part in the clouds.
To get to the top of the mountain, we took a 15 minute "teleferico" or tram ride from Caracas. We then walked up an old brick road to take a look at the old Humbult Hotel. Near the Humbult there was a band stand where groups took turns performing American and Venezuelan songs.
Later we took a 10 minute Landcruiser ride over very rough terain about a mile down the mountain into Galipan where we ate dinner at the Galipanier, a fondue restuarant. We both enjoyed very tender beef fondue as the main course, followed by fresh fruit milk chocolae fondue for desert. With bloated stomach's we returned to the teleferico station in the Landcruiser and enjoyed the spectacular view of the city and mountains as we descended back down into Caracas.
Moving to Caracas has been interesting to say the least. For starters, a bridge on the highway connecting the international airport to Caracas and the rest of the country is out. Experts have known for several decades that the bridge was falling, but nobody did anything about it. This highway also connects Venezuela's largest sea port to the rest of the country.
Once we arrived at the international airport around midnight, we had to stay in a nearby hotel. The next morning, we took a 30 minute flight on a 14 seat chartered turbo prop to get over the mountain into the city. It was a little bumpy, but the view of the mountains was spectacular!
We came down a few weeks before moving and picked out an apartment. It was supposed to be almost ready, minimizing our stay in a hotel. Turns out that it was almost ready; however, we are discovering getting from almost ready to ready takes a long time in Venezuela. The only major thing that is lacking is the installation of safety barriers on the stairs and on the terrace to eliminate the risk of a child falling. After being here three weeks, the work still hasn't started.
For now we are staying in a hotel. Initially, we had two adjoining rooms. That set up provided adequate sleeping arrangements, but lacked space for the kids to play and the ability to store food or do laundry. After about the first week, we talked the hotel management into moving us into an apartment suite that has a small kitchen, a large dinner table, and a washer and dryer. It also has a place where the kids can spread their toys out to play. Much better!
As extended stay residents of the hotel, we have been granted access to the executive lounge. Breakfast and dinner h'ordevours are served on weekdays at the lounge. The girls ussually go up in the afternoon for after school snacks. It is quite fun to go into the lounge with all the kids and see the reaction on the faces of all the "real" executives!
We attend the LDS church in an area of town called Caurimare. Our meeting house is next to the LDS Caracas Temple. Our ward is Spanish speaking. There are, however, six other families in the ward from the United States. The families from the US get together once a month to socialize.
We recently visited an historical Venezuelan village called "El Hatillo" near Caracas. The village is centered around a plaza. The streets directly around the plaza consist of what appear to be 18th and 19th century buildings restored and converted to museums, artisen shops, and restuarants. We could not stay long on account of the streets being very narrow with lots of stairs (not good for small kids and a stroller). We spent most of our time in a shop called "El Hannsi". El Hannsi is like the Walmart of artisen shops. They had wood carvings of plants, animals, and people. Thay also had pottery, rugs, and hammocks among many other things.
While at El Hatillo, we also tried a traditional Venezuela beverage called "Chicha". Chicha is made of milk, rice, and some sort of sweetner. Wasn't bad at all, but we probably won't start drinking it on a daily basis.
Before we left, we grabbed some "churros" from a local shop. Churros are made of dough, extruded into star shaped cylinders about 8 inches long, deep fried, and sprinked with sugar. They are delicious dipped in chocolate sauce! Probably not to good for the colesterol lever, however.
Kylie and Megan attend an international school with an American curriculum called Escuela Camp Alegre (ECA). Megan is in the 3 year old Nursury program and Kylie is in 1st grade.
The make up of the student body is very international. Most of the students' 1st language is Spanish. It appears that many South American families put their kids in this school so that they can get into North American colleges. Classes are taught in English. The girls, however, have a Spanish class twice a week.
Compared to the schools we were used to in the United States, ECA is very open to parental involvement. Parents are free to hang out at the school while the kids are in class, use the library, or have lunch in the cafeteria. One day I (Dom) took Megan to swimming classes; I went up to the cafeteria, bought lunch, and brought it down to the pool to eat while I watched Megan. Parents are also free to use the school gym and swim in the pool.
Physically the school is very open. The class rooms have lots of windows and the kids spend a lot of time outside. Infact the cafeteria is basically a large open pavillion.
The school also has an olympic size pool, tennis courts, and soccer field. Kylie and Megan are taking swimming lesson. Kylie is also taking tennis classes.
Kylie and Megan both seem to have adjusted well to the school. This is Megan's first school experience....she loves it and thinks she such a big girl. Kylie has made a lot of new friends.
