In Country

So I know I was going to post the next day, obviously that didn't happen. I'm way too tired at night! We walk everywhere in the freezing cold, because we have no car. I'm told if we are "lucky" we'll get our car in two months, but that I should expect it to be through all of the red tape in about four months. Awesome!?! We'll talk more about transportation in another post, including what happened to Lance yesterday. I don't know how many times I said a prayer of thanks that he was okay!

Back to our arrival. I've heard and read that the people here go on strike frequently. Lucky for us, we experienced it before we left the Argentine airport. We deplaned, and made it through customs (which makes it sound really easy haha!), we went to pick up our bags and Cali was sitting in her travel crate by the baggage claim carousel. We ran over and looked inside her crate and jumped for joy that she was still alive!

We were told that not all dogs survive, so it was a huge relief that she made it!

Once we gathered our 28 bags, we went to the animal control area to begin our three hour process of getting Cali into the country.

Surprise! They were on strike. This time it worked in our favor! Because they were all on strike, there was nobody there to go over our paperwork, so we were able to bypass it and walk straight out of the airport with our dog. What a blessing! I was looking forward to the three-hour ordeal after our 11-hour plane ride like I look forward to getting a pap smear.

That's all I am going to post today, so as not to bog everyone down in all the details at once!Tomorrow ... probably ... I will post about either grocery shopping or our house, it will be a surprise!

Argentina

We are here in Argentina!! It is our second day, and I'm definitely feeling better! Our first day was what I would describe as a typical first day in a new country - OVERWHELMING!

It took us a couple of days to get here. We left Salt Lake City on July 25 at 5:00 a.m, (after being Up All Night). We flew to New York City with a total of 28 bags, and a dog. You could say it was a bit of an ordeal checking in all of the bags. But once we finally got on the plane, I sighed a little sigh of relief - knowing we were on our way, but also knowing we had to do it again in just a few hours.

Arriving in New York, we got off the plane and collected all of our checked bags and took a shuttle to Manhattan, only seeing two car accidents on the way into the city!

As soon as we checked in to our hotel in Times Square, we dropped our bags and jumped onto the subway to Patsy's Pizzaria - one of our favorite places to eat in NYC. Now before you judge us - just know we like sweets, and some of our favorite foods in NYC, happen to be dessert. Knowing we only had one day in NYC, we wanted to make sure we hit them all. So after dinner we went to a little place nearby that sells French macaroons. French macaroons are Taelor's favorite food in the world, so it was a must. Unfortunately, it had closed twenty minutes prior, so we knew we had to go back the next day.

Plan B, instead of French macaroons, we went and got concretes (frozen custard) at Shake Shack. Our favorite is The Great White Way - vanilla custard, marshmallow cream, and rice krispie balls - so yummy!

After our treat we hit the sack - ready for sleep!

So the next morning we woke up and went straight for Murray's bagels, immediately after which we went to Doughnut Plant - this is the part where you don't judge - and got some of our favorite donuts - we all especially loved the Tres Leches!

Again, don't judge - after donuts, we went straight to the French macaroon store. Unfortunately we were too full to eat them, so we boxed them up for future enjoyment.

After donuts, we did a little shopping in NYC - the kids each got one thing for the cold weather just a day away.

After shopping, we checked out of our hotel, and left our 28 bags with the concierge before heading to Rockefeller Plaza in an effort to find a little patch of grass where Cali - our dog - could relieve herself after holding it for about 18 hours.

We were were ecstactic when she peed in a little patch of ivy, and a little less ecstatic when she pooped on the sidewalk, twice.

On the way back to the hotel we grabbed lunch at Shake Shack and got another batch of concretes, as well as burgers and fries. (Yes, by now we had already eaten the French macaroons.) I do realize we each probably ate a pound of sugar in a 24 hour period.

After feeling fat and happy, we got another shuttle back to the airport. When we first got there and they saw we had a dog, they wanted our paperwork. We knew she had to have a vet check-up within 10 days of leaving the country - which we had, but didn't know she had to have a rabies certificate 30 days prior to leaving - her certificate was only 6 days old.

They called in the manager - after some tense moments, the manager read in the fine print you didn't have to have the 30 day certificate if you come from a country that is CIE rabies certified? He figured the US probably was, so he said we could bring the dog. PHEW!

Oh wait, one more thing, the dog can't fly if it is 85 degrees or hotter outside! They had already told a few people that day that their dogs couldn't fly. Back to the nailbiting! Fortunately for us, a thunderstorm was moving in, we could see the lightning. The attendant checked the temperature and it had dropped to 82 degrees!

So we got all of our bags checked in and headed out to the dog relief area, complete with a fire hydrant. Once Cali relieved herself, we headed back in to hand her over to the airline.

After sitting in anticipation- due to the thunderstorms, we finally boarded the plane at 11:00 p.m.

The flight wasn't terrible. We were all so exhausted we were able to sleep until our necks kinked or our legs ached, etc. Sleep, shift, sleep, shift, sleep, shift. I slept about an hour at a time, because I would wake up and nudge Sally and say, "Get up and walk."

Sally would say, "No."

I would say, "Please Sally, I can't sleep until you do. Because of your surgery you are at a much higher risk for blood clots, so I won't be able to sleep until I see you walk."

Sally would sigh and say, "Fine."

Once morning arrived and we knew we were getting close, Xani started saying, "I don't want to land, that means it's going to start."

Lance said, "I'm excited ... wait ... put me in a present and send me back to San Diego."

Together they described what we were all feeling, very anxious, but also excited to see where we would be living for the next three years. All of the anticipation would no longer be anticipation, we were about to land in Argentina.


Tomorrow's post .... Argentina!