Settling in... (Katie)

We've had an exciting few weeks since our last blog update.

Jeremy is back! Attack!

After a quick trip to NYC, Jeremy returned with a suitcase full of nuts and dog treats. One thing we've been enjoying here is figuring out how to fulfill all of our cravings by making things ourselves. I've  continued to try new vegan recipes and Jeremy has been making delicious nut butters. In place of Thai delivery and hearty Indian buffets we've cooked up our own Thai stews and coconut curries. Guacamole and hummus are regular delights.

Jeremy makes peanut butter

We have also been creative in buying food. We are members of what seems to be the only organic food organization placing our orders over the weekend and picking it up every Wednesday. Every Sunday we have been walking 15 minutes to China Town (yes there is a one-block China town here!) where we go to a restaurant to buy freshly made tofu. We are finding that we only need to go to the grocery store once a week and are greatly enjoying our culinary adventures!

On September 30, Jeremy celebrated his first Dominican birthday. The puppies and I made Jeremy breakfast and gave him cards. The puppies gave him "IOUs" for poops on the paper and licks on the face. Jeremy took half the day off of work to wait for our UN shipment to arrive. It didn't come until 6pm, but arrive it did! Happy birthday Jeremy! We had a lovely dinner at our favorite Italian pizzeria with UNHCR colleagues. After our rooftop dinner with prosecco and cake to go around, we finished the night off dancing.

Birthday skypes and beers

Bday night on the town!

Fia got all dressed up (courtesy of the vet) to go home!

 The birthday weekend took a turn in a more challenging direction when, on Sunday, we had to take one of our puppies to the emergency room (for animals of course... we aren't THAT ridiculous). Fia, hand-picked by yours truly because she was the runt of the bunch had always been small, but her sister had almost doubled her in size and without going into the details, we knew something was wrong. Long story short, Fia spent 3 nights at the vet last week with parasites, worms, an amoeba, and an infection. I was at the vet 6 times in 5 days!! We brought Luna in for another de-worming session and discovered that she is anemic. In a nutshell we are missing full nights of sleep, administering multiple medications every morning and evening, and we are relieved that both puppies are on the mend. Welcome to puppy parenthood!

Are we doing anything else besides parenting and cooking you ask? Well yes we have somehow managed, sans sleep, to continue to work and study. Jeremy continues to do an assortment of protection activities. His office is growing and the activities are changing, so he is doing a bit of everything. The office is in a hotel room, which is not ideal- so he appreciates any opportunity to get out into the slums. Literally. He will soon be traveling to Haiti to repatriate two -year-old Sophie who was brought here by her father for safekeeping, after her mother died in the earthquake; Sophie was in her arms.

Luna likes yoga

I have continued with my Spanish classes and am cutting back to half days to spend more time doing work for my upcoming course  "Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery." It is a certificate program through the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma. After two weeks in Orvieto, Italy, the rest of the course is online.

Fia enjoys her perch as we start unpacking

All in all it has been an exciting 5 weeks here together. We feel a bit like new parents trying to figure out how to take care of our adorable puppies while also getting out to explore (they aren't so good on the leash quite yet). We've met some great people and are starting to feel at home. A beach vacation is hopefully on the horizon as is a phone call with you! Please take note that we have a Rhode Island phone number so you can call us with domestic U.S. rates! Our number is (401)-369-9538. We would love to hear from you!

Luna thoroughly enjoying unpacking

 

play, play, play annnnd we're out