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The Guatemala 900 Campaign

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Adoptions from Guatemala closed on January 1, 2008. At that time, some 900 cases started by U.S. citizens hoping to adopt children from Guatemala were still pending. As of this writing, about 400 cases remain unresolved. That means that 400 children have spent, at a minimum, the past two and a half years in orphanages, waiting to join their new families.

Guatemala 900 is a grass-roots campaign initiated by the original 900 adoptive families to call attention to this situation. Thanks to their efforts, a letter co-authored by Senators Frank Lautenberg (NJ), Barbara Boxer (CA), and Russ Feingold (WI) garnered 73 Congressional signatures and will be sent to top-level government officials in Guatemala who play instrumental roles in the adoption process. According to Guatemala 900’s website, the letter “respectfully requests the Guatemalan government take steps to institute a transparent and predictable process for all pending adoption cases.”

I’ve posted here a photo of my children, taken in late 2007. To see how much they’ve changed since then is to realize what two and a half years means in the life of a child. To the waiting parents of those 400 children, I offer my solidarity. To learn more, visit the Guatemala 900 website:

http://guatemala900.org/wp/

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The Recital

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

The previous year of anguish around Olivia’s practicing violin was a distant memory when she performed with seven other students in a small recital on Tuesday afternoon. Forgotten were the threats, the tears, the stomping down the hallway with screams of “I hate violin!” Instead, she and I savored the performances of the other students, and basked in a feeling of tremendous accomplishment when she completed her songs, “Fire in the Mountain”  and “The Partridge.”

This being California, the performers dressed casually. Olivia paired her favorite multi-colored skirt made in Guatemala with neon green Converse; other students chose Vans sneakers, leggings, and board shorts. Of the eight students, five were boys. If I had to guess, I would say that most of them, in their spare time, skateboard or surf. The girls, I know, play soccer.

Chills ran down my spine when I saw how music animated each one of them, slumped in a metal folding chair only minutes before. The older, more advanced students, especially, came alive. Such intensity in their eyes, the way they handled the bow, their fingers. But even beginners like Olivia were transformed. The music teacher, Mr. Kit Eakle, must have been extremely proud of his small but dedicated cadre. This year, Mr. E will retire from the public schools, where he has had a long career teaching music in addition to his own performing and composing. At the end of the concert, he gave each student a CD featuring outstanding performances on the violin. He will continue to teach privately.

On the Monday afternoon before the recital, Olivia and I had agreed, “No more violin.” Now, we’re not so sure.

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Violin

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Learning to play violin was Olivia’s idea. Neither Tim nor I is musical. We can’t even read music. But whenever we drive, we tune the radio to classical. It soothes the tensions that seem to arise as soon as the kids are buckled into their car seats.

Almost from her first hearing of a symphony, Olivia picked out the violin and began asking for lessons to play it. I was thrilled that she liked the instrument so much, but didn’t want to push her into something she wouldn’t continue. I relented after she asked for a year; only then did I believe she was serious. We made a pilgrimage to Ifshin’s, a music store in Oakland that specializes in strings, and rented a quarter-size violin. I enrolled her in an after-school program, one half-hour lesson per week. (more…)

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Last stop, Venice

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

I used to know a painter whose motto was “If it exists, why can’t it be beautiful?” This could be the slogan for the city of Venice. Where else is there so much art and history condensed in such a small space? And so much good food? Here are a few pictures. 

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If it’s Tuesday, this must be Slovenia

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

Slovenia. Who knew? Maybe everyone else is aware of this tiny country, half the size of Switzerland and squeezed in between Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia, and Italy, but I wasn’t. Prosperous and energetic, Slovenia is a member of the EU. It’s a paradise for anyone who loves adventure sports, with hiking, mountain biking, and rowing, and also a great place for children. Everywhere we went, we said “Olivia and Mateo would love this.” Tim insisted that someday Slovenia will be the first European country our children will visit.


One of our favorite places for kids was the Postojnska Jama (Postojnska Caves), said to the second largest cave system in the world, after Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. I’ve never been to Mammoth, but can’t imagine anything more spectacular than the Postojnska Jama. You ride a small train through narrow tunnels that twist and turn like a ride at Disneyland, passing stalactites and stalagmites that look like otherworldly figures, organ pipes, or spaghetti, then get out and walk for an hour through open chambers and over gorges. The other place our children would love is the town of Lipica, home of the stud farm where the white Lipizzaner horses were first bred. The mother horses had just foaled, so lots of little colts were prancing around. We walked through the stables, and I managed to eat an ice cream, too. Definitely a child-friendly place.

We drove through the Soca Valley, where Ernest Hemingway set part of his novel, A Farewell to Arms. As soon as we return home, I plan to reread the book. The valley is a haven for kayakers, rafters, rock-climbers, and mountaineers. The color of the water in the Soca River is a green blue I’ve never seen before. Gorgeous.

The best place of all was Lake Bled. For centuries, this spa town at the foot of the Julian Alps has been a destination for Europeans seeking the cure in its thermal waters. The late Yugoslav president Tito had a summer home on the lake, so you know it’s picturesque. A footpath surrounding it is used by walkers, bikers, and mothers pushing jogging strollers. The lake is also the site of international rowing activity. Several teams of rowers from Bled have medaled in the Olympics, including a gold in 2000. With a circumference of five miles, Lake Bled is one-tenth the size of Lake Tahoe. It’s charming, manageable, and perfect.

Slovenia. Check it out.

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Zagreb Hrvatska

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

Croatia in Croatian is written Hrvatska. The capital city, Zagreb, is pronounced Za’-greb, with the emphasis on the first syllable. A walk through Zagreb reveals what feels like all of European history: from Roman walls, medieval gates and baroque churches to grand Austro-Hungarian buildings with Art Nouveau flourishes. On one corner might be the clean lines of an early modernist structure. On the next is a line of brutal housing complexes put up during the communist regime. Our hotel, the Regent Hotel Esplanade, located across from one of the city’s many beautiful parks and near the train station, was built to accommodate travelers on the fabled Orient Express. From the minute I walked into the Habsburg-style lobby, with its marble, stained glass, and ornate metal, I was transported to that glamourous era. 

The country of Croatia has been independent only since the early 1990s, after a millenium of subjugation under the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Fascists,  and the Communists. Standing in the middle of Trg Bana Jelacica (Ban Jelacic Square), surrounded by Viennese Secessionist architecture, artists making site-specific installations, and children playing around the spring that gave Zagreb its name (the place to scoop water), you get the feeling of a vibrant city emerging. I loved the open-air market, where locals buy fruits, vegetables, and fish; the impressive cathedral; and the many outdoor cafes. Tim and I spent hours wandering the streets in search of the perfect cravat—ties were invented in Croatia. We tried to visit an exhibition by Robert Smithson (of Spiral Jetty fame), titled Snoring in the USA, but unfortunately, it was closed. 

I definitely would have liked more time in Zagreb. With so much history, the capital is a fascinating city. But because of our schedule, we could spend only two days there. Up next: the neighboring country of Slovenia.

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Dubrovnik

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Dubrovnik, Croatia is considered one of the most beautiful fortified cities in the world. Yesterday, Tim and I walked around the top of the wall that surrounds it. The great views of the roof tops made me appreciate why so many painters from this part of Europe choose that perspective as their subject. I learned that Dubrovnik is where the concept of “quarantine” developed. Crew from arriving ships were isolated for 40 days to ensure that new diseases were not introduced to the local population.

To me, the most spectacular part of Dubrovnik is the stone streets, polished by the feet of pedestrians to an almost unnatural-seeming shine. My photos unfortunately cannot capture this quality. I can show you Tim and me at the restaurant where we ate fresh seafood caught a few hours earlier right outside the door in the magnificent Adriatic Sea, and a photo of me with the young artist we met whose paintings I admired and bought.  Below that, a photo of the rooftops new and old. Today we leave for the capital city of Croatia, Zagreb.

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My Village

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Never is the expression “It takes a village” as true as when parents plan a trip alone together and need to arrange childcare. For me, the prospect is so daunting that it’s always been easier to stay home. Who else besides Tim and me would perform the million tasks a day that parenthood requires: the meals and lunch-packing, school drop-off and pick-up, the lessons/playtime/homework, the bath and bedtime routine? What trip could be worth disrupting that order for chaos? For the past eight years, the answer has been “none.”

But a few months ago, Tim was invited to lecture to a group of physicians in Croatia and Italy. If I wanted, I could go along, too. Tim forwarded me the invitation from his office with this subject line: “Childcare?” (more…)

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The Graduate

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

We have a giant sunflower in our garden that grows so fast that when I check it in the morning after not seeing it for twenty-four hours, the stalk seems to have gained three inches. Right now, watching Mateo develop feels like that. Seemingly overnight, he knows the letters in the alphabet, can count to 100, and, when urged, can brush and floss his own teeth. One day he can’t buckle himself into his car seat; the next, he’s hopping into his booster and secured while I’m still fumbling in my purse for my keys.

Yesterday, Mateo achieved another milestone: He graduated from preschool. As he marched up to the microphone to introduce the ceremony with his one line—“We hope you enjoy it!”—I couldn’t believe he was the same little guy enrolled in remedial speech class for a year. Later, as he ran across the stage to receive his diploma, I saw no signs of the timid toddler who once clung to my side. 

The photo here is of us with his teacher in the “Cheetah class,” Ms. Sveta. We’re grateful to her and all of Mateo’s teachers and school administrators for their love and dedication. In just a few short months, Mateo will begin kindergarten. I know my son is ready.

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Showing up

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

I once heard someone say that 90% of life is showing up. I think about that line every time I go to my daughter’s class room to volunteer during Math Centers or Story Time, or to watch the Halloween Parade or the Fall Concert. “Showing up” is part of my job as a parent. My kids are still young enough that they look for me in the audience, and when they locate my face, they wave. But these last few weeks have been more overloaded than usual, and no matter how early in the morning I wake up, I always feel behind. Some things I’ve had to let slide.

Tuesday was Olivia’s Spring Sing, an annual school-wide event for grades K through 2. For the past two years, faithfully, I’ve gone. But this year, on Tuesday, I simply had too much to do. I knew that if I went to Spring Sing, the ten others tasks I needed to accomplish before nightfall would not get done. My best and only choice was to opt out. But all morning, I felt terrible. (more…)

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