... and so my little one became a Doctor!

February 16th, 2010, certainly a wonderful day for me or for any parent for that matter. Our little one, now no longer a little one, was being called up on stage to receive her Doctor's degree. Wow, what a good feeling that was! I've been thinking how to describe it for the ones who were not there, but have failed to come up with words that could perfectly describe the emotions and thoughts that went round and round in my mind while she was going up the few steps, walking towards the Chancellor, away from the Chancellor and down the other few steps... just so difficult, so thrilling so wow... and as I have not come up with any words, I thought that posting the "extremely sharp and perfect picture" I took right at the moment she was being greeted by the chancellor would express my feelings. Enjoy it!

The festive and celebratory week is unfortunately over. Joel is on his way back to Panama, Anna in London going to Dublin, Alice and David getting on with their lives and as for me, taking off to Bombay tomorrow for a wedding, where I will meet 3 very dear friends from Hong Kong. After the wedding we will enjoy a trip to some parts of India. Looking forward for that too!

It's tomorrow, am I ironing her white shirt? ?

Alice's big day is tomorrow. We are all in Bristol, UK, staying with Alice and David. Just wonderful. It has been quite sometime since the 5 of us last met, something like 3 years or so... I'm loving it. This time we have an addition, Misty, their dog.

We came to the UK to be at Alice's PhD's graduation that is happening tomorrow and this time, I was smart enough to ask her in advance:
- do you have anything to be ironed for tomorrow?
- yes, sure, a white shirt to be worn under the robe. Would you like to do it for me?

I had to laugh... Alice did not remember the incident that happened back in July 2005, when she graduated from her Biochemistry undergrad course. In a way, I am happy she did not have that engraved in her mind, as it was, most probably, one of my most embarrassing "motherhood" oments. The story goes like this.

It was July 2005 in the UK. The sky was beautifully pure blue, the temperature was a delicious summery thing, breezes were erratic and comfortable, friends from other areas of the UK and Belgium had come over to Bristol to be with us, mom and dad were here, we had gone picnicking by the bridge, laughs, stories, relief from one more step accomplished and so on. We were all staying at Alice's place, as her house mates were away enjoying their summer holidays. The atmosphere was great and all seemed to be running smooth when ... Alice came down running from the upstairs part of the house, saying in a loud voice;
- mom, mom, can you please iron my shirt? I totally forgot I had to wear a white shirt under my robe.... please please...

I, who was beginning my make up, came out of the room as I heard her words and saw this beautiful girl rushing down the stairs holding a white shirt on one hand and an iron the other. All I could think was:
- oh my Lord, help me here... I have no idea how to do this ironing or any other ironing for that matter... but in my mind there was no room for a "no" type of reply.

So, trying to be a wonderful mother, I said a quick:
- sure, give it to me, but... how long do I have?

However... Alice saw this desperate look in my face and without a snap, she said:
- mom, just follow the dots like David taught me.
and I thought:
- what dots is she going on about? What could she mean by "dots"? What is she talking about?

Anyway, 40 minutes later, I was able to return her an ironed white shirt and off she went, rushing out through the door of her house, walking towards the centennial building (is anything in this Country younger than 100 years of age?) where the ceremony was to take place in a couple of hours.

So, loads of water has ran under my bridge since that story and here we are, back in Bristol for her second graduation. This time I am better prepared and ready to iron her white shirt!

INVICTUS, have you seen it?

This week, Joel, Anna and I went to the movies to watch "Invictus". We decided to go to a VIP movie theatre, just to add a bit more comfort to this magnificent outing that going to the movies can be. In these VIP movie houses, the chairs, at your choice, can go almost 100% flat, leaving the back up just right enough for one to watch the movie in an impeccable position. The icing on top comes with a very discreet light one can use to call a waiter and order stuff ... all that for just US$ 8. How about that?

Anyway, Invictus, the movie. Have you already seen it? If not, I so completely recommend you doing your best to see it. Morgan Freeman's performance as Nelson Mandela is beyond words. Of course that it helped him the fact that he was surfacing one of the many beautiful chapters of Nelson Mandela's life. What a man Mandela is, what a will, what a purpose in life... what a Person & Soul!!

Tears, not sad ones but rather pure history's beauty, came to my face on a couple of moments of the film. The fact we lived in Johannesburg and have been to some of the sights of the movie added a touch too.

Joel had the honour of actually meeting Mandela. Needless to say that his hands were not washed for a good couple of weeks after shaking Mandela's hands, ha ha ha. Joel went back home that day SO proud and in owe with the day he had had and as for me, it's for sure one of the top moments of my life to have lived in a Country under his presidential leadership.

On a side note, we are still waiting to see if insurance will pay to repair our car from the "river stuck incident", as the final quotation to repair it reached only US$ 8,300.00... can you believe it?

From lunch in the Caribbean to sandwich on a river!!

Life is definitely full of surprise corners awaiting for us , isn't it? What can we do but enjoy them all, even when it changes your lunch at the Caribbean to a sandwich by an unknown river??

Last night, Joel, Anna and I decided today would be a good day for us to go to San Blas, an Indian reserve spread throughout 365 islands in the eastern Caribbean side of Panama. We got excited with the fun report given by friends we know of different weekends they had enjoyed there, so we fell in love with the idea that a Saturday lunch by a turquoise sea would not be a bad idea.

As a funny note: Panama is a very small Country, so many times when people give you directions to drive to different cities of the Country, they often tell you to get to road towards "Colombia" or "Costa Rica", our neighboring Countries. Looking at a map with this approach, is new for me.

We knew that going to San Blas by car meant a good dose of adventure. Almost half of the road is on a dirt road under construction, with steep hills going up and down. We also knew that at a certain point, there would be a river to be crossed, therefore going there in the dry season and in a 4 x 4 car was a must. None of that sounded like a problem, because we are in the dry season and we have a 4 x 4.

So, 8:17 AM, we were off. The car was loaded with a couple of snacks, some Coke, water, music and gas. The sun was out, the sky was beautifully blue, the road was empty, we had just received a SMS from Alice and David saying they had landed safely in the French Alps for their snow holiday and Joel had just received a call from one of his clients confirming a business he was about to close... so life REALLY seemed to be beautiful, it surely sounded great!!! As for me, I was really excited to be visiting an indian reserve, as I have never seen a real indian, not to mention an indian in his/her own environment. Anna has been to a reserve in the Amazon, but for Joel and I, it would be our debut.

The first half of the trip was over and the bad road had started. Our 4 x 4 was happy to be finally out of the urban asphalt and into some dirt hills. It was performing beautifully and Joel was loving putting the car to its limit. Anna and I occasionally gave birth to a couple of porky pines but nothing too serious. They have been donated to our local zoo!!

Anyway, after a good number of ups and downs, the river finally came up. As we approached it, two other cars were crossing it. We thought it was lucky to get there just in time to catch such a scene, because we then saw the route they had taken and... off we went thinking we were following 100% their path....but... as you have probably guessed... we weren't on the right path ... and... guess what... guess what??? Of course... we got stuck, right in the middle of the river the car died. Oh my Lord, help us here. The mobiles were totally and completely out of service. Now one easily realises the major importance of a harbour pilot.

For some obscure reason that none of the three of us can remember why, I decided to leave the car and go somewhere. Of course, when I opened the car's door... oops, the water level was right there, so closed it at a blink of an eye. The same was happening on Joel's side, so he opened his window, gets half of his little body outside the car and starts shouting for help, trying to attract the attention of some road builders working on both sides of the river.

His shoutings were successful, thus starting a shouting dialogue with one of the workers, where Joel was using his best Spanish to explain the guy that we were not stopped in the middle of the river because we felt like it would be a good spot for lunch, but rather because we were stuck in a dead car!! The man was a sweetie and assured Joel that his friend was able to come to the rescue, but for that Joel would need to pay him something. The shouting carried on as they negotiated the payment for it. Anna and I were literally holding in a huge laughter, because although tragic, the scene was hilarious.

In literally a couple of minutes, this big Caterpillar "earth mover" type of tractor showed up with a driver, an assistant and a thick chain. In less than 3 minutes we were in dry ground again, amen amen.
Next thing was to have the entire car opened trying to get the water out and towel dry the floor as well as leave the hood open to dry the engine, that needless to say, was soaked.

Two and a half hours and many new "friends" from all over the world (every car going to or coming from San Blas would stop to offer help) later, we were able to leave back home. The workers were really cute as they hooted their tractors and raised their arms as in victory, when Joel finally managed to start the car!! I tell you... I have to love this Panamanians!