Onward to Paraguay!

We have officially been in Paraguay for 2 months! I obviously failed at my last attempt at writing on a more regular basis, so here we try again (and maybe I’ll one day fill in the information about Kingston, our time in DC, and home leave in CA)! I’ll try to break down our first two months in a handful of posts (but we’ve seen how well that worked in the past, so no promises!).

The trip from LAX to Asuncion spanned 48 hours, including a one-night stopover in Miami and a layover in Sao Paolo, Brazil. We started our journey on April 4th, traveling with 6 checked bags (3 suitcases, 3 duffles), 3 carry-ons, a stroller, and a carseat. There were parts of the trip that were stressful but on the plus side, Olivia did well on the flights, we had free in-flight entertainment from LAX-MIA which was a surprise, and we were seated in the bulkhead/Main Cabin Extra seats from MIA-GRU (the photo below is Olivia in a regular seat from LAX-MIA. Very little leg room, and absolutely zero give once the seat in front was reclined).

We also paid for access to the American Airline lounges, which was great for having a calm environment to be in amidst all the chaos of traveling. They have a kids room which allowed Olivia to talk and wander and play without disturbing all the business travelers. Olivia played with a new friend from the UK who had just gotten done with a Carribean cruise. 

Our layover in Sao Paolo was also relatively painless. We spent that time in the lounge where we were nearly the only people there. Adam and I both got showers in so we didn't feel too grungy for the next half of our trip and Olivia was happy to walk around with zebra and stretch her legs.

We arrived in Asuncion on April 5th, 2016 at around 2pm (Asuncion is currently on East coast time). From my perception, the airport seemed extremely small, even compared to the airport in Kingston. The walk down to the gate and baggage area happened so quickly, I didn't even get a chance to take any photos saying "Bienvenido a Paraguay." Next time we fly in!

We were met at the gate by two staff members from the Embassy who helped expedite us past customs and immigration. It was quite hot during our first couple weeks here and I remember Mabel (one of the Embassy staffers who met us) telling me that it was sweater weather as sweat dripped off my forehead. It has gotten much cooler since then (in the 60s, so winter parka weather!). I’m sure after a very hot summer, I may be saying the same thing, but for now, I’ll enjoy the Paraguayan fall and winter weather!

After we left the airport, it was a half hour drive to our new house!

Runaway Bay and 4th of July Weekend

Adam and I decided to go on a little mini vacation for 4th of July Weekend. After a lot of research and some phone calls to find out about last minute availability, we went to the Jewel Runaway Bay, which is an all-inclusive resort that isn't crazy expensive like Beaches, and allows babies. We had a good time and Olivia napped on the beach and got lots of smiles from the staff. It was a great resort because even though they were fully booked, it never felt crowded and it always seemed like the beach and restaurants were empty!

Here are some photos! Olivia enjoyed the beach and water, until a wave splashed her in the face. Poor girl!

Our room wasn't ready, so we ate at the outdoor buffet restaurant

Not a bad view from our table!

Olivia thought this whole bed was for her! 

Normally we wouldn't get a room with a view, but this is what they had available. In the end, it was worth it because we spent Olivia's naptimes in the room, so it was nice to enjoy the view on the balcony while she slept.

Looking out from our balcony- the Caribbean sea (dark spots are the coral), and a small swimming pool

Olivia in her 4th of July outfit, enjoying the shade on the beach

Naptime! See what I mean about it being nice that we had a view to watch while she slept?

Awake, happy, and ready to go to the 4th of July BBQ!

We first took a stroll about- visited the infinity pool as the sun started to set

Nice, quiet spot on the beach

The resort had a special "4th of July" bbq, with bbq chicken, ribs, and pork.

Olivia enjoying the people watching- her head wasn't staying still! :)

Breakfast the next morning at the a la carte restaurant- see what I mean by it feeling like we were the only people at the resort? 

Olivia hamming it up with the waitstaff

My banana and cocoa pancakes with bacon and hashbrown (sadly it was a patty and not fresh shredded potatoes, but I can't really complain! all was included with the rate of the hotel, including room service!)

Taking a walk- the most strollering we have been able to do in Jamaica!

Swimtime! All lathered up with sunblock and ready to go!

But first, play with mama's dress

Cheese!!

Into the Carribean with daddy!

She loooooved the sea breeze!

She giggled every time the water came up around her (until it splashed her face)

All tuckered out- she took a nice long nap in the shade of some palm trees while Adam snorkeled

See what I mean? It's like nobody else was here!

Lunch- empty again!

Afternoon- only one other person at the small lounge pool by our room

Last day- morning beachtime after breakfast!

While Olivia napped, I relaxed on the balcony with a cup of coffee

A wedding was getting set up on our last day

We sat by the sand after we checked out- the resort said we were welcome to stay as long as we wanted after we checked out of the room- we stuck around for lunch before hitting the road.

Olivia was so sweaty and tuckered out- perfect for the air conditioned car ride home!

For any potential visitors- we can come here if you want to enjoy a "resort" experience but not feel crowded! Our neighbor recommended this place and I'm glad we checked it out! No fireworks but hey, they treated us to a bbq!

Preparing to depart for our first Foreign Service post

If adjusting to life with a baby wasn't enough, we were also preparing for the move to Kingston. Probably the biggest thing was the paperwork to get our new family member permission to go! A lot of this is boring details for my own memorykeeping and future reference for our next move in a few years, so feel free to skip this!

Getting a Newborn onto Travel Orders
In order for Olivia to get on Adam's travel orders to Kingston, we needed to have her passport/visa and she needed to be medically cleared. Since our departure was set for Jan. 29, it gave us just over a month and you can't even get the forms for medical clearance filled any earlier than 4 weeks. Good thing she wasn't born later- we would've been leaving in February!

Here is the timeline in brief for getting Olivia onto the travel orders-
12/20- Olivia is born!
1/3- Submitted passport applications (both for regular and diplomatic), but not processed since her birth certificate wasn't ready
1/8- Birth record in the system for VA
1/11- Drove to Richmond, VA to pick up copies of Olivia's birth certificate
1/13- Adam dropped off a copy of her birth certificate and requested same day printing of her passport. Adam then dropped off our passports to get the Jamaican visa.
1/17- Olivia had her 4 week appointment to get paperwork filled out for Medical Clearance (4 weeks is the earliest you can get the form filled out by the pediatrician)
1/24- Olivia got medical clearance at the end of the workday on Friday so Adam had to wait till Monday to talk to HR
1/27- Adam spent all morning trying to get in touch with someone about getting her added to the orders, which finally happened in the afternoon. Adam checks out of FSI!
1/28- We get our seats on the airplane for Kingston...just in time! ;) And luckily once we were at the airport, the American Airlines staff put us together because originally we were seated apart.

Here's a little more detail... in order to get a passport, we needed to get a birth certificate, and it takes 10 business days to get into the system in VA (with the holidays, that meant Jan. 8 for us). The Vital Records Office wouldn't confirm whether she was in the system, but luckily, the staff in the records office at the Virginia Hospital Center were wiling to look that up. Expedited mail takes up to another week and is way more expensive, so we ended up driving to Richmond that Saturday to pick up copies.

We tried to expedite the process by submitting the passport application ahead of time without the birth certificate. We tried going to the passport desk in the State Department but they only take checks (!!) when we tried to pay for her regular passport. We ended up going to the passport office around the corner, which worked out better because they print the passports right there. Once her birth certificate was in, Adam had to make a few trips to the passport office in DC and talk with a manager to get the passports printed up on the same day.

Overall, Adam had to be very proactive in order to make things happen a little faster, which meant lots of phone calls and finding out the status of things. In the end, it worked out but it made Adam super antsy.

Packing, Round 2

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are permitted a certain amount of shipped items to our post- HHE (household effects) and UAB (unaccompanied air baggage). We already shipped some things from Boulder to DC that we haven't seen in months that is already on its way to Kingston.

We were permitted another HHE and UAB (unaccompanied air baggage) shipment from DC to Kingston. So of course, despite getting rid of a lot of things prior to going to DC, living in a furnished apartment, and having moved from one apartment in DC to another, we still had a ton of stuff! Adam spent HOURS scanning and shredding our files.

Not only that, but we also spent a LOT of time deciding what kind of luggage to purchase (our last day in DC was spent running around returning the bags we decided against). I should've taken a photo of all the different bags Adam had bought to try out! In the end, we had our two large Delsey suitcases, two large duffels that I think Adam bought at Target or Marshalls, an old secondhand suitcase, and two small carry-on Samsonite suitcases. Ugh, I hate luggage!

For our HHE from DC, we shipped off Olivia's crib, mattress, Olivia's clothes that were 3 months and above,  our recliner, some kitchen supplies that we deemed not super urgent (sadly I think my cookie sheets and cupcake tins were in that batch), and books.

For our UAB, we had up to 600 lbs of stuff that we could ship. We only shipped 400 lbs (I know, how in the world did we have 400 lbs of stuff?!?!? Granted, it includes all the packaging material as well). Our UAB includes our pots/pans, KitchenAid, blender, rice cooker, my scrapbooks, Olivia's baby swing (I can't wait for that to arrive!), and our spices. It takes about three weeks to arrive so I hope it comes in the next week or so!

The things that we brought on the airplane with us- clothes & shoes, diapers, wipes, Olivia's pack n play, stroller/carseat/carseat base, Olivia's playmat, and miscellaneous things that we thought we might need in our first few days (1 knife, cutting board, nicer sheets/towels).

Since arriving in Jamaica, I think we would have packed some things a bit differently. We found out that we can order things from Amazon and Walmart.com and other places pretty easily (I ordered diaper wipes and it arrived within 5 days from Amazon), so I wouldn't have packed the wipes and laundry detergent- instead I would've just ordered them before we arrived at post. We probably also would have mailed some things off in packages ahead of time to ourselves so we didn't have so many bags to lug about. Instead, I would've brought baking and cooking supplies with me on the plane. Oh well, it'll all come soon!

Photos of our last few days

Last dinner with Nathan at Carlyle! It was delicious (YUM on mashed cauliflower and a tasty jambalaya).

Olivia sleeping right through the movers packing our stuff- we thought they would only send 2 people to pack up our small apartment, but there were 4 movers bustling about. 

Our very last night- we were able to go out to dinner with Ethan, Jason, Stacia and Grigs (and yay! They took most of our leftover food so I didn't have to feel bad about throwing things away) and then we did the last final packup while watching Dexter (and Olivia played on her playmat). 

Taiwan! Andy & Gaby! The nieces!! Maile! Fun!!

** photo heavy...though when is it not?? and not necessarily in chronological order...

After Myanmar, we headed to Taiwan where we got to see the stomping grounds of Andy, Gaby, Catalina and Julienne! They moved to Taipei last year and we honestly didn't think we were going to be able to make it out to see them anytime soon. So glad that we were able to go!

The gorgeous family!

We had a great time hanging with the clan- we did so much fun stuff with them! We visited Yeliu, Wulai, Jiufen, Bitou Cape, saw the Dragon Boat Festival races, ate at Din Tai Fung, watched Kung Fu Panda 2, visited Catalina's school (she finished kindergarten this year! woo!), and so much more. It was fun spending that amount of time with them, since I don't feel like we've really had the chance to over the years (just a few short visits here and there)...though they may say otherwise, having us as guests, lol.

On our first full day in Taipei, Catalina showed us her skills on her princess bike!

Catalina and Julienne trying to get Uncle Adam to eat seaweed, one of their favorite snacks!

Our adorable niece Catalina at her Kindergarten End of the Year Party!

Is this not the cutest picture ever? Mother and daughter sharing an umbrella!

Kung Fu Catalina!

Waiting outside of Din Tai Fung...Julienne making her monster face!

Rolling out the dumpling skins!

Awww, Uncle Adam is so sweet! Catalina couldn't see the guys at work so Adam gave her a boost!

Which one, which one?

A 3-year-old using an umbrella that's her same size...so cute!

Adam testing out the Portuguese style egg tarts sold at Taiwan KFCs. Andy and I agreed, these egg tarts were amazingly good and totally delicious!!

We took a trip out to Bitou Cape to catch the sunset

Sunset between the clouds

Hanging out in Bitou waiting for the sunset

Adam and my attempt at doing the squishy face...fail! 

In honor of the Dragon Boat Festival, even Starbucks was carrying zhongzi (or joong in Cantonese)

Andy and the GPS...she's always telling us to make u-turns. What is up with that?

Julienne singing...perhaps to the Tangled soundtrack, or the Rio soundtrack, or the hilarious Spanglish "Gummy Bear Song"

 

Adam and I on the outside of Jiufen's Old Street. Lots of noodle shops, snack shops, and touristy shops.

I picked up some of these in Jiufen and the girls seemed to like them! Of course, Adam didn't touch them!

Aww, how sweet!

Awwww!

Catalina is such a ham! 

On our way home from Jiufen, Adam started to get carsick. Julienne always gets carsick so she has a plastic vomit bag just in case...she was so sweet sharing with her Uncle Adam.

Abandoned building along the coast

A waterfall that we passed on the way home

We were in Taiwan during Dragon Boat Festival, so we were able to go out and see the races over the weekend close by Andy & Gaby's house

We were there the first day, so some of the teams were kind of lousy and the other teams were super intense. I am sure by the last day of races, the really good teams are left.

TOO CUTE!

Adam is yawning, Andy is playing on his iPad, and Gaby is checking out her photos. Clearly the races were not so intense that it captured our attention! =D

I got Adam to pose for a photo!

They also had food vendors and games, so Catalina and Julienne rode the carousel. Catalina is pointing because her horse was broken!

And yes, they also rode airplanes!

Another day trip to Wulai waterfall. And of course, Gaby and the girls are like celebrities. These women asked to get a photo with them!

Super pretty waterfall and really clear blue water below

Aww, finally a good picture of Adam and I!

And yet another day trip out of Taipei to Yehliu Geopark. So many cool places near Taipei! Here there are hoodoo formations dotting the landscape- super cool!

The famous "Queen's Head." We didn't stand in the incredibly long line to get a picture with it though...it was way too hot!

Cute little tchotchkes 

 Dried fish and shrimp

Monkeying around at the mall!

While we were in Taiwan, our good friend Maile was able to fly from Beijing to see us! That was super cool and very fun as well. We hung out at the Shilin Night Market, rode up to the top of Taipei 101, ate at the "Modern Toilet" restaurant (so-so, but we had to try it!), rode the Maokong gondolas, perused the flowers at the Neihu Flower Market, spent a morning at the National Palace Museum, ate at Din Tai Fun (yes, we went twice!), and of course, rounding out Maile's wishlist of things to do, drank lots of coffee and boba tea!!

Maile was super impressed with the metro system's coin scanners

Taipei 101!

View from Taipei 101. It looked like a clear day but from above it was fairly hazy

Adam and I and the Damper Baby

Maile and I in front of Taipei 101

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall

Another one of my "It's so hotttttt" faces

Standing guard at Chian Kai Shek Memorial Hall

Eating dumplings at Din Tai Fung...YUMMY!

Some steamed buns!

Maokong Gondola!

Ok, super cute, as always!

Julienne is "flying" over the trees

One of my favorite pictures- Julienne and her Uncle Adam

Gaby and Julienne making monster faces! 

Ah yes, Modern Toilet Restaurant. Food served in little toilets. Sitting on toilet seats, table is a bathtub with glass on top. We had to try it out!

Adam picking out all the seafood from his hot pot.

Adam is making a sad face because the picture of the dessert showed a swirly "poopy" frozen yogurt dollop...but what we got was a scoop of chocolate ice cream in the squatty potty. 

Maile and I headed out to the flower mart. It was a huge market filled with all sorts of flowers, including orchids, cacti, roses, daisies, tulips, etc.

Maile carrying home a gorgeous bouquet for Gaby and Andy. It was raining, we were umbrella-less, so a plastic baggy had to do!

On our last day in Taipei, we were able to meet up with my cousin Elmer for lunch. I didn't get a chance to visit any of my other family members in Taiwan, so I was glad that we were able to see Elmer right before we flew out. 

So that was our trip to Asia! Totally fun, thousands of photos, and endless priceless memories.