No, this is not a foreign country...

Now that I found my family a more comfortable cave, we decided to stock up on provisions. We set out in our wheeled cart. I found a bigger cave where we parked our wheeled cart. It had LOTS of large empty parking spaces. We found a smaller cart and went inside another cave. We smelled something familiar...what was it? Hot dog and a soda $1.50. Mustard, ketchup, onions and WHOAAAAA!!!! JALAPENOS??? Okay, they can have that instead of relish, but after that it was all the same. Same aisles, same food, same procedures. Yes, Costco was nice, nicer than the one in Fredericksburg, and the elitist Mexicans are even better to deal with than the Middle-easterners that frequent US Walmarts in VA. Prices good and we found everything we needed, even maple syrup for the boys' eggo waffles and 5 lb. blocks of cheddar cheese. The Mexican products were also there, especially the cheeses - manchego, oaxaca, bonus!

Back to the cave. The apartment we are in even has shopping carts to haul stuff up on the elevators. If we didn't know we were in the heart of Mexico, Garity and I would swear we were in the US. No culture shock here really, just learning the streets. After Caracas, we are very grateful that things just keep getting better. Fortunately, the adventure isn't ending though. There is alot of history here, and the people are very proud of it. It is going to be alot of fun. Friends and family - let us know when you want to visit. O yeah, the food is nothing short of incredible.

Carlos & Albert

When we were checking into the Sheraton next door to the embassy (our second hotel) the lobby had several statues the kids and I were immediately drawn to. They were so colorful and whimsical and one was a very large (6ft tall) frog doing a handstand on a sphere...we have a rather large collection of frog stuff so frogs always attract our attention.

The woman at the desk noticed the kids and I checking it out and she told us that we could buy statues from the artists in the gallery just out the front door of the hotel. The next day I was waiting for the kids' bus and luckily the bus stop was right in front of the gallery. The place was amazing. I wanted one of everything. How do I even describe the stuff? Colorful statues of all sizes, the statues of the whimsical animals is what I liked. They were funny, colorful, and imaginative. I'm not too into the other stuff like the suns or other things. But the animals were so fun.

When the boys got off the bus we went back into the gallery and really looked at everything. You couldn't help but smile at everything and it all just made you feel so happy to be near. I haven't ever had this kind of experience in an art or sculpture gallery before. So, you better believe I bought something...2 somethings actually. These stand about a foot for the frogs and a foot and a half for the crocodiles.





Everyday while waiting for the boys, Jamison and I would go into the gallery and look around. The boys would get off the bus and just about every day they would want to go into the gallery and look around too.

One of the statues outside:



One random day, the boys got off the bus and first thing they said while getting off the bus was "Can we go look at the animals?". So we did. As we were wandering through the gallery (the gallery changes once a week so there are always new things to look at) I notice the woman who worked there speaking to 2 men and looking over at us. She waved at me (we'd been in there enough times where she and I had spoken quite a bit, she sold me the 2 pieces I bought and she knew that we were huge fans of the place). She waved me over to the 2 men she was standing with and said "Mrs. Line, I would like to introduce you to Carlos Munoz and Albert Ickenroth, the artists".

Now I'm not one to be star struck but imagine me standing there unable to think of anything intelligent to say and all that comes out is "Oh my goodness! Really?" Yea, I know...stupid, stupid, stupid. I try to regain my composure and come up with something better to say than what just fell out of my mouth. I motion to Weston and Braedon to come over and introduce them to Carlos and Albert. They at least are cute when they say "Really?" then Braedon tells Albert "I have a question about this crocodile over here, how long did it take for you to make this?" so he and Braedon are having an intelligent conversation about molds and time spent waiting for paint to dry. Weston and Carlos are talking about their favorite animals to draw and paint and I'm standing there with Jamison thinking "just think of something to say, think of anything to say" but I stand there with a stupid grin on my face.

I remember my camera in the diaper bag and blurt out in star struck fashion "could I take your picture?" I'm a bumbling fool as I try and pose the kids around the crocodile Braedon was asking about. This is how dazed I was, I didn't even notice my camera wasn't in the right mode so the pictures aren't that great.





If you look on the black shelf against the wall you can see a mini version of the frog statue that originally caught our eye in the hotel lobby. It's the one doing a handstand on a sphere.

So I finally gain some control back. Albert was so nice and we ended up chatting for a while. Jamison was with me as Weston and Braedon were being shown around by Carlos. I told Albert that I was just in awe with their work, that I had never seen it before but I was just in love with all of the animal pieces. He said "Oh, I'm sure you have seen our stuff before this." I assured him we hadn't. He then said, have you ever been to Rainforest Cafe? I said "oh yes, way too many times, the food isn't that great but I love the atmosphere and all the animals" So he smiles and says "Those are OUR animals, Carlos and I designed them". So now I'm really star struck. Braedon and Weston come back and start talking to Albert. They ask if he and Carlos have a factory. Albert laughs and says that they do but it's called a studio, it's in Jalisco. So Braedon (bless his heart, he read my mind) says "can we come visit it and watch you paint?". Albert says "absolutely!" He takes out his card, writes his number on it and tells me to call him at that number before we come and either he or Carlos will take us through the studio. AHHHHHHHHHH! Ok, so I know they probably do this for several people but I was excited anyway.

Once we get into our home the boys and I are looking forward to displaying them. Jamison loves the crocodiles:

After All the Crap We Went Through There...We Have Been Vindicated!

Venezuela's Chavez says U.S. ambassador must leave
By Christopher Toothaker
ASSOCIATED PRESS

9:14 p.m. September 11, 2008

CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez ordered the U.S. ambassador to leave Venezuela within 72 hours on Thursday, accusing the diplomat of conspiring against his government and saying he would also withdraw his own envoy from Washington immediately.
Chavez made the move in solidarity with Bolivia after his Andean ally expelled the U.S. diplomat there, accusing him of aiding violent protests. He said a new American ambassador will not be welcome in Caracas “until there's a U.S. government that respects the people of Latin America,” suggesting that diplomatic relations will be scaled back until President Bush leaves the White House.

“They're trying to do here what they were doing in Bolivia,” Chavez said, accusing Washington of trying to oust him.
“That's enough ... from you, Yankees,” Chavez said, using an expletive. Waving his fists in the air, he added: “I hold the government of the United States responsible for being behind all the conspiracies against our nations!”

Holding up a watch to check the time, Chavez declared: “From this moment, the Yankee ambassador in Caracas has 72 hours to leave Venezuela!” He told his foreign minister to recall Venezuela's ambassador to Washington, Bernardo Alvarez, “before they kick him out of there.”

The U.S. Embassy said it was aware of Chavez's speech but had not received official notification. Embassy spokeswoman Robin Holzhauer said Ambassador Patrick Duddy is traveling in the United States this week.

The diplomatic spat brings relations between the two countries to a new low and raises questions about whether it could hurt trade. Venezuela is the fourth-largest oil supplier to the United States, and Chavez also threatened to cut off crude shipments “if there's any aggression against Venezuela.”

Chavez has threatened to stop selling oil to the United States on a number of occasions. But the U.S. is Venezuela's No. 1 oil client, and taking such an action would debilitate his government financially.

Duddy, who was posted in Venezuela just last year, irritated Chavez last month when he lamented that U.S. and Venezuelan officials have not been cooperating in fighting drug trafficking. Deteriorating relations were giving cocaine smugglers the upper hand, he said.

The socialist president responded by warning that Duddy could soon be “packing his bags.”

Simmering tensions between Venezuela and the U.S. began heating up even more this week after two Russian strategic bombers were deployed to the country at Chavez's invitation.

“The presence of those Russian planes in Venezuela is a warning,” Chavez said Thursday. “There's nothing better to keep yourself from being attacked than to dissuade.”

Hours before announcing the ambassador's expulsion, Chavez said his government had detained a group of alleged conspirators in a plot to overthrow him. He accused the group of active and former military officers of trying to assassinate him with backing from the United States.

Chavez has repeatedly accused Washington of backing plots to have him killed or ousted – and U.S. officials have repeatedly denied the allegations.

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Kris and I still have friends there in Caracas and he will be contacting them tomorrow to find out what the latest news is with the embassy employees. All I can say is that I am so grateful that we are not there. In spite of the nightmare with the home, Mexico City itself is amazing and already a lot of fun to live in. I can't say the same for Caracas. Also, Ambassador Duddy is an arrogant jerk and I hope Venezuelan customs seizes all of his household effects.