All in the Family

This past weekend was all about family. My youngest brother, Devin, and his girlfriend Noelle were in town from DC, so we had dinner with them Thursday. Then Friday was my cousin Nick’s engagement party. We wish Nick and Heather a life of great happiness together! If they have half as much fun together as Emilia had dancing at their party (seriously, she was hilarious!), they will lack for nothing.

Our dancing queen!

Sunday, my parents hosted their annual picnic for my mom’s side of the family (see this year’s family photo at top). My mom has nine siblings and a foster brother, so this is no small ordeal. I think I can safely say that fun was had by all, but once again Emilia was arguably the happiest one there….good company, swimming, ice cream, cake…what more can a girl ask for? What more can anyone ask for, really? She is constantly reminding me to simply enjoy every moment of life.

Devin and Noelle looking hip, as usual

Emilia having fun with my brother Jordan’s girlfriend, Tara

Agustín and I even got some time to dork around together while Emilia napped

Emilia "Home Alone"

It seems everyone wants to know how Emilia did while I was gone for 2 ½ weeks. The answer is… just fine. Actually, she was quite content. She spent her days with grandma—going to the beach, the zoo, or the “big pool” almost every day—and her evenings and weekends with papa.

When I returned, I found my little brunette had turned into a blondie! (Which is particularly funny because her passport, which we got when she was three months old, says she has black hair and blue eyes—neither of which is true now. And the passport is valid for five years!)

Language-wise, the most noticeable developments were that she learned to say her own name and to sing “Happy Birthday.” We often call her “Mili” for short, and she now refers to herself in this same way; sometimes it actually sounds more like “Mini,” which is perhaps even cuter. She says sentences like, “Mili bye bye car car big pool.” It’s amazing how well she can get her point across!

And she has learned that the “Happy Birthday” song is associated with cake, so she’s always singing it hoping to get cake or when she thinks cake is soon to come (like whenever we’re at grandma and grandpa’s house, where dinner is always followed by dessert). Sometimes she just cuts right to the chase and sings, “Happy cake to you….” Smart kid!

A big thanks to my mom and Agustín for giving me the opportunity to have such an amazing experience! The problem is, now I want to go back every year!

SIIC 2008

Earlier this week I returned from Portland, Oregon, where I spent two and a half weeks at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication (SIIC). I participated in the SIIC internship program with 34 interculturalists from around the world. As interns, we participated in workshops with regular participants, plus had an additional week of intercultural teamwork training and did much of the behind-the-scenes work. Basically, it was a work hard, play hard, learn and grow a lot environment. It is impossible to explain what an amazing experience this was in words, so I will simply post a few of my favorite photos. My most humble thanks to my fellow SIIC participants!

One afternoon off, a group of us interns made a trip to the Oregon coast, which was absolutely gorgeous!

Karaoke night each week contributed to the summer camp feel.

The faculty and interns with whom I worked during the second session--we had so much fun (oh, and learned a lot too)!

Hanging out in the intern lounge in Bragdon Hall at Reed College.

Stay tuned for an update on how Emilia and Agustín (and grandma, who watched Emilia during the days) did while I was gone.