Author: Zach

Ouch

Post author By Zach
Post date February 20, 2013
2 Comments on Ouch

For Diego, Bogota is a city of ouches.

He had to get a TB test (negative!), a Chicken Pox Vaccine, and a Flu Shot. We got to skip all that good stuff with girls until we got home to Cincy. But laws change and now you pack into a crazy office, complete with many other foreign families (God bless the UP Michigan woman adopting 5 children), all doing their best to convince their screaming children that shots are really just a pinch.

Diego was a champ – even watching the needle enter his arm – and only let out one single, tiny tear.

Today he forgot to drink water. We forgot to remind him (um, this happens to other parents right?). So this afternoon he had a headache (ouch). At dinner he overcompensated and drank too much water, causing his belly to hurt (other ouch).

So tonight he got extra kisses. Tomorrow we visit the embassy where, if we’re lucky, we’ll get his visa the same day. Which would be awesome. Because the best treatment for ouches is your own family.

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La Tatacoa

Because of all the rain we’ve received the last two weeks, the Tatacoa Desert was a fuzzy green. Grass and a minty, cloverish looking ground cover made for a happy feast for the cows. It was beautiful, reminding me a good bit of the drier parts of the Texas Hill Country. Supposedly the Tatacoa is not technically a desert (not big enough I guess), but it is the second driest place in Colombia and great for star gazing.

We took an hour drive north to the town of Villaviaje and then onto the desert. The drive itself was a fun adventure, with green haciendas and small (but towering) mesas rising at random times. Enrique, our guide (and landlord for the past two weeks) and I had a very enjoyable conversation ranging from Colombian economics to “explain to me Barak Obama”.

The Tatacoa’s ground (when not green) is iron ore red with fun, pyramids of dirt that were crowned with huge Cacti. Some 5 miles in we found a man made “Piscina” (think swimming hole) filed with volunteer students from Brazil, Germany, Tiawan, Colombia, and Equador (language used to communicate – Spanglish).

As the sun set we made our way back to the observatory to attend a presentation and look through three telescopes. Unfortunately the night was somewhat cloudy, but we were able to see quite a few constellations (and viewed Jupiter – complete with its bands – through one of the telescopes). Because we’re on the equator, we get to see constellations from both the northern and southern hemispheres. A double treat.

Even more amazing was the fact that Diego sat through the entire presentation calmly and respectably (he did let out a big “WOW” when the astronomer activated his laser pen – which caused everyone to bust out laughing). What a freaking awesome kid.

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Tags Travels

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Busy Days: Various Updates

We’ve had some wonderful full days lately and I wanted to post a short update.

Last Saturday we visited Tatacoa. Ren wants to blog about it, so that will be a future post, but I’ll add my 2 cents here and simply say it was incredible. The desert reminded me of bits of the hill country Texas, complete with random scraggly cows and freaky looking sheep. Here’s one takeaway picture.

Yesterday (Sunday) we caught a flight to Bogota. Diego danced with excitement the whole way to the airport, and kept yelling out “Wow” as we took off (he has this wonderful voice that seems constantly full of amazement).

Today we’ve completed his Colombian passport (tomorrow we pick it up), got his TB test, and visit the doctor. Things are happening very fast. Wednesday the TB test gets read and then we can visit the American Embassy to get his Visa. If all goes well, we may be able to head home on Friday!

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Diego Fernando Vander Veen

Post author By Zach
Post date February 14, 2013
4 Comments on Diego Fernando Vander Veen

Happy Sentencia!

Diego is officially and legally (and permanently) ours! Some hours ago Olga Elena and Sorany told me to grab the passports, head down to the courts, and give my signature. I’m not entirely sure what happened (I personally think Olga Elena worked some lawyerly magic – that or the judge was overwhelmed by the mounds of paperwork that came with this family), but we’re very happy. Thank you all for the prayers and comments from the last few days.

As for timelines, we’re still a bit unsure when we’ll be leaving Neiva. My guess is this weekend (possibly tomorrow). Olga Elena needs to complete a few more tasks, but the important parts are complete. Now the ball pretty much enters the American court – what with doctor’s visits, passports, and visas. But at least it feels like we’re moving forward.

Anyway, we of course had to post Diego trying to say his crazy new Dutch last name (the one of the girls still cracks us up).

Tags Diego, Funny

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Sad Update

It appears that our court keeps asking for more and more paperwork. Our lawyer doesn’t seem to think this is an abnormal process. Unfortunately a possible date for the Sentencia keeps getting pushed back…and back. Right now Olga Elena thinks we might hear something (whatever that means) “next week Wednesday.”

We’ll try our best not to have the boredom of Neiva dampen our resolve for another week. In the meantime, we’d ask for prayers to make the time fly by fast (and our poor daughters to feel the Skype love).