The day before we met you…

Dearest Trecita,

Hija mia, te amo mucho! (My daughter, I love you very much) Yesterday, your mom, Izaac, Zoe and I had an incredible day exploring the beautiful city where you have been raised so far. It is absolutely gorgeous and we have fallen in love with it with great ease. We met some new friends, Lilia and Leo. Lilia is an American living in Colombia and working at a school. She is a worship leader and songwriter as well. (Zoe REALLY hit it off with her) Leo is her husband of only 2 weeks! He is Colombian and also an accomplished musician who studied jazz guitar in Bogota. He kept us laughing the whole day. (Izaac especially laughed at his jokes. Something you’ll learn soon enough is that boys never really grow up and their humor can be recycled for years but stays about 7th grade level)

Here’s some of the things we did to experience this wonderful city together:

- We rode the Transmi to El Centro where we saw lots of people, most of them on bikes and many, many pigeons and street vendors as well.
- We ate delicious and super greasy empanadas. Your brother Izaac especially loved them and as you’ll soon find out food is one of the things he is passionate about. We’re not sure if its because he is almost a teenager or if he’s destined to be a chef but he’s really into it. We also thought you’d want to know that Lilia and Leo gave what we couldn’t finish eating to a woman with 3 children begging on the street.
- Next we ate oblea for dessert. That was something I had never heard of until yesterday but I’ll bet you’ve eaten eaten it many time. Thin wafers smothered in caramel sauce, soy cheese, jelly, nuts, pineapples and probably something else I’m forgetting. It was delicious. We shared 2 among the 6 of us so it kinda of felt like dessert AND communion as we all ate off the same wafers.
- Next we went to the biggest plaza in Bogota called Plaza Simon Bolivar. This is also a place of pigeons and vendors. More importantly its the place where most protests happen and from what we hear your people know hot to protest! We like that. We’re a little upset about many things in the world too and protesting often feels like the right thing to do in the face of injustice.
- At this Plaza we ate biche; a sour, salty, peppery mango-in-a-bag “treat”. Papa didn’t like it AT ALL but Izaac and Zoe seemed to really enjoy it.
- We then walked past the president’s house. What we would call in the USA the “White House.” Leo calls the Colombian President’s house the “Brown House” which is also what we call our home in Cincinnati.
- Jaun Valdez Cafe was next. A bit commercialized but great coffee and a needed rest stop for a day filled with lots of walking. We loved it and enjoyed one of the things that your country is the best in the world at: Coffee.
- Next stop: Botero museum. We had a blast here looking at the most famous artist from your country. He has a fascination with people who are… how can I say this… on the chunky side… en espanol, “gordo.” We laughed at many of his paintings but his talent is unmistakable. And his message is important too: Who said that skinny is more beautiful than chunky. Perhaps we got it all wrong and bigger IS better when it comes to weight. Or at least equal. It’s a longer discussion for another day but beauty seems often determined by what society at large tells us. Society at large is usually wrong…
- We ended the day on top of Monserrate, a high mountain overlooking the whole city with a church at the top. When we walked into the church the priest was offering blessings so we went up and told him about you and asked him to bless you and your transition into our family. (by the way, dozens of other people are also praying for the same today. You have no idea how vast the community you’re being grafted into really is but it’ll be fun to introduce you over the years to all of them.) The priest’s prayer was powerful and full of joy. He prayed for you, our family, and our friends who have supported us and you along the way. (we are especially thankful for tu tia Brooke y tio Aaron… they introduced us to you and have been a part of your life almost from the begining.)

As we were coming down the mountain it poured rain out of the heavens. It was amazing! It hardly ever rains that hard in Cincinnati but Lillia and Leo tell us it happens here almost everyday during this season but only lasts for a couple hours. It made the ride home extra fun…

We can’t wait to meet you in a few short hours from now!

con amor,

Papa (para mama y Izaac y Zoe tambien)

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