Family gathering

The extended families of both Carlos and Susana are all within about a square mile of the house. This has been great, as we get to know all of the aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters and cousins. All of Susana´s family is close and often get together informally. A couple of the cousins have classes with our kids at school. It has been fun to have an extended family close, because one of the hard things about living overseas is the relative infrequency of visits with extended family. One day, the eldest brother (Louis) decided that the family should have a formal-ish dinner. We all gathered at his house after church on Sunday to have some grilled chicken and the normal fare of soup and potatoes. This is the front of his house, with all the kids and some of the adults all waiting for some grub.













Here is a shot a little further down, where most of the adults were sitting. It was a beautiful warm Sunday, and after the kids had wolfed down some food, they all ran off to play tag or hide-and-seek, and whatever else they could conjure up in their minds. This was after we had returned from Christmas vacation in the US. We were slightly afraid that the kids´Spanish would take a beating and it would take some time to get back to where they were before. To the contrary, it seemed like they just picked up where they were when we left. And at school, where we were just waiting for the crying to start all over again, it was just the opposite. Bentz was excited to get back to school and the girls were just as anxious to get back with their friends. It has been illuminating to see how quickly kids can adapt to new people, language and customs. No sooner than we step onto the school yard then Bentz is off yelling at his friends to play tag or trying to stomp water onto the girls. Good times.














Here is a photo of the brother-in-law who was doing the grilling that day. You will note that the grill consists of a bunch of stacked-up cinder blocks, with some type of grill sitting on some rocks up on top. You know, though, that the taste of the grilled chicken has no relation to the size or cost of the grill. It was delicious with a capital D. By the way, this guy is hilarious, and since the day we first met him, he reminds us of Amy´s brother David.