The long-waited move to the new Consulate building finally happened this week. It was a huge undertaking, as you might imagine. Wednesday was our last day of business, Thursday was a “get ready” day, and the move took place on Friday and Saturday. I worked all of those days – it was exhausting and fun at the same time. We re-open for business next Wednesday.
John celebrated his birthday this week! We had cake in his honor at work on Wednesday the 5th, then he and I went to a good Argentinian restaurant for dinner here in Juarez.
Of course Tuesday night we were glued to the election coverage, and were happy with the results. I was so pooped that I was already asleep and John had to wake me up to tell me Obama had won. The Consulate had an election night party that was attended by a lot of students and other Mexicans, but we opted to stay at home.
Friday night we went with Caroline and Harold to a new Los Bichis location near our house – very yummy and a good way to end a hard week of moving. Love their shrimp quesadillas.
John left Saturday morning for his annual trip to Las Vegas for a magician’s conference. I talked to him this morning and he’s having a blast. He managed to find the blackjack tables last night…of course!
I went to a dinner last night at Matt and Daisy’s house – they’re the couple who hosted the Halloween party last weekend. Daisy is a great cook. After the food, they broke out the karaoke machine, their trademark. I didn’t sing, but got a lot of laughs out of it from my perch on the sofa. I left around 10:30 and they were still going strong.
You’re probably aware of the violence related to drugs here in Juarez. On my way to work one day this week, the south-bound lane of an overpass I use was closed and lots of federales were there with their big guns. Later, I learned why.
The day before our move, I had lunch with the NIV local staff at the Consulate. They are mostly in their 20s, and just a super group – very smart and a lot of fun. The supervisors ordered pizza, and I ended up being the only American in the group. One of the girls started doing impersonations of other people at the Consulate (including John and me) – she was really incredible, and I don’t think I have laughed so hard in a long time. It was so much fun, and I was glad I didn’t go out for lunch with the officers – the local staff was lots more entertaining.
Flavia has been so much fun the last few weeks. John brought her some really big rubber bands and she loves to chase them and play with them. So cute!
P.S. The ancho chile pork stew that I made last week was fantastic!