Happy Blog Day!

Thanks to Dawn for recommending my blog!

In the spirit of World Blog Day, I'm following these suggestions:

"In one long moment in August 31st, bloggers from all over the world will post a recommendation of 5 new Blogs, preferably, Blogs different from their own culture, point of view and attitude. On this day, blog surfers will find themselves leaping and discovering new, unknown Blogs, celebrating the discovery of new people and new bloggers."

BlogDay posting instructions:

1. Find 5 new Blogs that you find interesting
2. Notify the 5 bloggers that you are recommending on them on BlogDay 2006
3. Write a short description of the Blogs and place a a link to the recommended Blogs
4. Post the BlogDay Post (on August 31st) and
5. Add the BlogDay tag using this link: http://technorati.com/tag/BlogDay2006 and a link to BlogDay web site at http://www.blogday.org

These are the 5 blogs that I found were new and different:

1-Waiting for Sophie - USA

Shana has a beautiful web journal where she has documented the journey of the adoption of her baby girl from China. She includes beautiful pictures and videos of what will be great memories for her daughter. Currently Shana is also documenting the process of adopting her second girl, Isabella from Guatemala.

2-Arwen/Elizabeth - USA

This young lady proves that 'miracles can conceivably happen' as she is finally expecting her first baby after four years of marriage.

3-So Close - South Africa

Tertia Albertyn's blog was featured in a 'Reader's Digest' article. Now many readers follow her adventures of her and her twin babies after her battle with infertility. She even wrote a book about her experience!

4-Blog de Carlos Guzman - Costa Rica

This Costa Rican young man posts in Spanish, English and/or Japanese. His posts reflect his opinions on different issues and he has no problem expressing them bluntly.

5-^ Analu ^ - Costa Rica

This young woman studies architecture and writes in Spanish. Her blog has interesting links and her writing is nice and sincere.

Technorati Tag

Viva Plaza Sesamo!

Fabi listo para ir a su primer espectáculo en vivo: con su camiseta de 'Beto y Enrique'.




Por fin llegó el día del Show de Plaza Sésamo en Vivo: "Elmo's Coloring Book"!

Una de las tantas ventajas de vivir en Heredia (además de su clima perfecto) es estar tan cerca del Palacio de los Deportes, por lo que no tuvimos que llegar demasiado temprano antes de que empezara la función.

Fabián hizo amistad con otros niñitos antes del espectáculo y el abuelo le compró un pequeño 'Elmo'. No tenemos más fotos :( ... pero les contaré que luego del impacto inicial de ver unos bichos grandes en la tarima, Fabi cambió su llanto por unas risas que no terminaron hasta mucho después del final. Qué bailada que se pegó Fabián!! Valió la pena estar tan cerquita de la tarima. Yo terminé cansada de tener a Fabián bailando en mi regazo...pero verlo bailando tan efusivamente fue lo que más me gustó.

El 'show' definitivamente es para niños, aunque estoy segura que los grandes también disfrutamos ver a los conocidos personajes 'en vivo y a todo color'! Yo me emocioné mucho al ver a mis 'amigos de la infancia' -Beto y Enrique- bailando en la tarima...casi tanto como cuando ví a otro viejo amigo de la infancia y excompañero de escuela antes de que empezara el espectáculo (¡Hola, Víctor!). Es como si este viaje a Costa Rica me llevara de regreso a mi pasado. Así lo sentí también cuando hace unos días me encontré con mi maestra de primer grado, 'la niña Rosario'.

Cuando uno ha estado en el extranjero durante un tiempo, tiende a idealizar su propio país. Cuando regresa (aunque sea de visita por unos meses) se da cuenta de muchas cosas que lo vuelven a la realidad. Por ejemplo, creo que es lamentable que los organizadores prácticamente tuvieron que amenazar al público para que no usaran cámaras digitales durante el espectáculo. Aunque las cámaras tradicionales con rollo sí estaban permitidas, ví por lo menos 5 personas usando cámaras digitales....y una familia aclaró que 'tenían permiso' para usarla...porque era 'para tomarle fotos a su hijita'. Qué mentalidad esa de 'yo sí puedo pero los demás no'! Muy injusto! Me pregunto cuánta educación nos falta para llegar a respetar las medidas que se dictan en estos casos ... o mejor aún...cuánta educación nos falta para que estas medidas no sean necesarias! No será posible que todos los asistentes puedan disfrutar de la función y llevar su fotos personalizadas sin correr el riesgo de que a alguien se le ocurra grabar un video de la función con objetivos cuestionables?

Además de no tener fotos de Fabi disfrutando de su primer encuentro en vivo con los personajes de Plaza Sesamo y de que la función empezara una hora después de lo que indicaban las entradas, todo lo demás salio 'pura vida'! :)

Happy 'Seventeenth Month', Fabi!

Dear Fabi:

You're one year and five months old today! Congratulations!...You have four upper teeth and your third lower tooth is halfway showing!

You have a small collection of cars you like to play with. You've mastered walking and running around, but the cutest thing you do is the way you dance whenever you hear ANY kind of music!

I'm surprised to see you trying to do things by yourself already....like eating (with a spoon), trying to wear your socks, shirts or shoes. You also pretend to comb your hair...and you actually talk (babble) on the phone. (All that training from your Uncle Sopan has finally paid up.)

When you have interacted with other children you have learned to kiss on the cheek, and to hug. But I like when you surprise strangers with a flying kiss or when you wave good-bye in reply of someone's greeting. You're quite the charmer when it comes to meeting people.

You call me 'mamma' and you clearly say 'agua' (water, in Spanish). I like to tell you words and see how you try to repeat them: 'jugo' (juice), 'limón' (lemon), 'Fabi'.

Your Daddy misses you a lot right now because it's been 2 months since we're not in India. I'm sure you will grow up a lot more in the next 2 months before we meet again. In the meantime, it melts my heart when I hear you say 'pappa' after you see your Daddy's picture (on the computer or in my wallet).

You just woke up from your nap and that means that I have to log off for now. HAPPY 17th MONTH!

LOVE,
Your Mamma : )

In Memory of my Grandfather, Israel Bogarin Arguedas (1912-2006)

My paternal grandfather, Israel Bogarín Arguedas, whom we lovingly call 'Abuelo Chalo', was born on June 2nd, 1912. He passed away August 21st, 2006 at the age of 94 and he will be dearly missed.

I have many, many pictures (and memories) of my Grandpa. I have chosen several of my favorite ones to post here as part of my tribute to him.

(Click picture to enlarge.)

Picture description:

1- To say that my Grandfather was a hard worker is an understatement. In his younger years, he worked setting up railway tracks and asphalting roads in rural areas. Later he worked as a mechanic in the style of the truly professional engineer that he was. He solved all kinds of problems and did so with great expertise. His clients were his friends. This is the typical picture of him: working in his own shop, wearing jeans with stains of oil. He taught me that work is a blessing. I'm proud of the fact that he taught me how to change the parts of a drum brake and he also taught me the proper use of a broomstick. (Apparently, there's a right way to sweep!)

2- When I lived in Illinois, USA with my family, my Grandfather came to see us for a visit. He loved to shovel snow (I told you he loved to work!). In this picture he's making me smile. I remember I didn't want to face the camera because I was upset for some reason. It's one of my favorite pictures!

3- My Grandfather worked ALL the time, everyday of the year (except Sundays and some holidays like Christmas and Good Friday). He had a hard time accepting retirement from a profession he loved so much. This picture shows him on a visit to my house, when he no longer worked as a mechanic. He always wore blue jeans (cool!, huh!?). I think this picture was probably taken on a Sunday, because eventhough he didn't go to his shop to work, he still liked to go there and organize his tools.

4- This picture was probably also taken on a Sunday. It shows me and my younger brothers visiting my Grandfather's house (we lived about a kilometer away).

5- This is an old picture. It's a picture of my paternal grandparents. They were married in 1937, but my Grandfather was a widower since 1963. I never met my Grandmother Luz, who passed away when my Dad was just starting college.

6- This is the most recent picture I have of my Grandfather. My Dad is holding Fabi next to him and he's smiling back. It's really meaningful to me because Fabi and my Grandfather got to meet.

7- This picture was taken in the early '90s during a family trip to the beach (the Pacific Coast). Check out the car my Grandfather used to own...an old Willis. That car was adopted by a friend of the family who collects old models.

8- Every time my Grandfather went to the beach he did a lot of work (!) giving maintenance to the beach house we used to visit. However, every once in a while he indulged in sharing a swim with his grandchildren. This picture shows me and my brothers with my Grandfather at "Herradura Beach". Crystal clear water in those days....!

The next five pictures are in a separate collage because they are my absolute favorite pictures.

(Click picture to enlarge.)

9- My Grandfather surrounded by his grandchildren. This picture was taken sometime in the mid to late '70s.

10- The oldest picture we have of my Grandfather. (1943?)

11- My favorite picture of my Grandfather because he looks really happy. This picture was probably taken in the mid '90s.

12 - I love this family portrait from 1961. It shows my paternal grandparents with their 5 children. Left to right: Danilo, the youngest; Gerardo, the third eldest; Gonzalo, the second eldest; María, the eldest; and José, my Dad. They all married except my Aunt María.

Here's my paternal family tree:

My Grandfather had a total of 14 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.

• Uncle Gonzalo is the father of: Erick; Catalina (who has a little boy named Daniel); Nazareth; Gabriela; Carmen and Isabel.
• Uncle Gerardo is the father of:Sergio (who has a little boy named Matías); Marielos and Diego.
• My Dad José is the father of:Mariluz (yours truly, Fabi's mom); Alonso and Fernando.
• Uncle Danilo is the father of:Rodolfo (who has two little boys, José Rodolfo and José Pablo) and Daniel (who has a little girl named Adriana.)
  

13- There's a beautiful story behind my last favorite picture. When my uncle Danilo (who normally lives in Panama) came to know that Fabi and I were visiting Costa Rica, he suggested that we all get together and take a picture of all the great-grandchildren of the family. It took me two months to call up my cousins and set up the meeting. Since Monday Aug. 21st was a holiday, we agreed we would meet at 10:00am for a picture session. The previous evening my grandfather had a health crisis and he had spent the night at the hospital.

As it turned out, my grandfather started to agonize while most of his family had gathered and he had passed away by the time the picture session was over. My Grandfather went to Heaven while he was in the hospital, accompanied by his daughter María and son Gerardo. It was such a blessing for most of the family members to be gathered nearby during such time: we were together to support each other over the news; while some people rushed to the hospital, others remained together in prayer.

The next morning we went to my Grandfather's funeral and now we believe his soul rests in peace. I personally like to believe he's not only in the presence of God in Heaven, but also that he was reunited with his wife after 43 years of being a widower. The only three family members who could not physically be at my Grandfather's funeral were my Uncle Gonzalo (who is recovering from open heart surgery and had to remain home), my Uncle Danilo who was on his way from Panama and my cousin Diego, who is in England at the moment. I'm sure they were there mentally and spiritually.

This last picture shows most of the cousins in order of age: Rodolfo, Mariluz, Daniel, Alonso (my brother, not in the picture), Sergio, Erick, Fernando (my brother, not in the picture), Catalina, Gabriela, Nazareth, Marielos, Carmen, Diego (not in the picture, presently in England) and Isabel.

I like to imagine that my Grandfather smiled when his soul was on his way to Heaven and he stopped by to see that most of his descendants were happy to be together during this special picture session.

My 'Abuelo Chalo' was a great example and he had a special influence in each one of us. I will always remember his humour, his dancing style and his strong personality. He was much more than just the 'head of the family' and a 'father'. He was also a responsible 'father figure' to many members of the extended family: his spirit of sharing was truly remarkable. I will make sure Fabi comes to know his Greatgrandfather...through my stories and mainly through my example.

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UPDATE
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Here you can see the album that resulted from the family picture session on Aug. 21st.

Happy Birthday, Sopan Uncle!

Golu Pilu celebrates his Uncle Sopan's Birthday across the miles!

Happy (Independent) Mother's Day!

August 15th in Costa Rica means it's 'Mother's Day' and it's also the Catholic feast of the 'Assumption of the Virgin Mary', Mother of God.

It's a sacred holiday as people honour their Mothers in different and special ways.

My first 'Mother's Day' as a mother was technically in Aug. 2004. Last year, I spent my 'Mother's Day' in Goa and I celebrated it through long distance phone calls, but this year I am very happy to be here in Costa Rica with my Mom and my Grandmom.

August 15th in India means it's 'Independence Day'.

"Every Indian is made aware of the chequered past of the country. The arduous struggle for freedom and the immortal sacrifices of our freedom fighters is remembered by free India. On this day, the largest democracy of the world celebrates the gift of freedom given to her by the brave patriots. This day commemorates India's legal freedom from the British imperialist rule. The celebrations begin in the morning when the National Flag is unfurled at the Red Fort.

The Tri - color waving in the wind symbolises the assertion of the country's freedom; her triumphant call of sovereignty. The National flag is hoisted in the schools through out the country. It is put up on the rooftops of most houses and can even be found on the vehicles of many people. It is a national holiday so the people attend the schools and their offices only for the flag hoisting ceremony.In New Delhi, the capital of India, the Prime Minister addresses the Nation after the flag has been unfurled.

In his speech, the Prime Minister speaks of the country's achievenents, major issues facing the nation and future plans for further progress.Among the common people, kite-flying has become a tradition on this day. One see people irrespective of their age on the grounds and terraces flying kites. Numerous kites of all colours and shapes dot the Indian skies on this day. What could be more symbolic of freedom than these happy, free flying kites?"

Indian by birth, Costa Rican by right

It's a big day today: Gaurang Fabian Prabhu Bogarín is officially a Costa Rican citizen (also)!

'Sesame Street Live' comes to Costa Rica!

UPDATE:
'Sesame Street' is celebrating its 37th Season this Aug. 14th! I'm not the only one excited about this...you can see the way it's been celebrated over at The Lovely Mrs. Davis.

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If you know me well enough....you'll know that I *ADORE* Sesame Street. I grew up with all the friends from that neighborhood. I learned the alphabet, how to count and my first English words thanks to that show. Sesame Street is among my most beloved childhood memories!

That is why you can imagine my enthusiasm of knowing that 'Sesame Street Live' is coming to Costa Rica at the end of this month with the show 'Elmo's Coloring Book'. I am eagerly looking forward to the show...and I might even take Fabi with me! ;)

Going to this show will definitely give me energy to keep waiting for the version of the T.V. Show in Hindi, just as it was announced since 2004 in the Costa Rican newspaper:
... and as it was also announced in 2005 in an Indian newspaper:

Fabi goes to Los Reyes

Yesterday Fabi, his maternal grandparents and I visited 'Los Reyes', another place I used to visit often in my younger years. People go there to play Polo, aeromodelling, golf and tennis. I used to go there with my family mainly for picnics and we would go to the swimming pool, to play basketball and soccer. This is the place where I learned how to drive. Earlier this place was just a planned residential complex and there were only a few houses. Now there are many more new houses and every house you see is more elegant than the next.

In 2003, when I had gone there with MasalaDad, he chose to hang out by the pool instead of going swimming. He was sitting next to a garden when he spotted something that looked like this. Eventually, MasalaDad was able to communicate his finding and a gardener took care of it.

I have uploaded the pictures of yesterday's adventure here, which was not only a safe trip, but also a very exciting one - especially for Fabi.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NIDHI!

Many happy wishes to a very successful and cheerful friend!

Here we are celebrating Nidhi's B-Day 3 years ago, in Erlangen! We had a lot of fun!

Dia de la Virgen de los Angeles

It's holiday again today in Costa Rica. This time it's a religious holiday dedicated to the Virgin of the Angels, the country's official patron.

Today is when many people will reach their pilgrimage to the Basilica in Cartago, which is one of the main provinces of the central valley.



Inside the Church, people can see the stone carved image of the Virgin Mary (here called Virgin of the Angels) resting on the same rock where it was found in 1635, by a peasant girl named Juana Pereira.


Many devotees have faith in the Virgin Mary. Even the Costa Rican football team is said to carry an image of her whenever they go abroad to play international games.

Prayer
"Hail Mary,Full of Grace,The Lord is with thee.Blessed art thou among women,and blessed is the fruitof thy womb, Jesus.Holy Mary,Mother of God,pray for us sinners now,and at the hour of death."

Blast from the past - Memories and Milestones

Please click on the image to see a bigger version:

34- The Day of my First Communion; Champaing-Urbana, Ill. USA.
35- Primary School Graduation (end of 6th grade) - Costa Rica, 1983. (Guess where I am in the pic!)
36- 'Lady in Red'.College Graduation Day - Bachelor of Computer Science, UCR.
37- Playing with my brothers in snow for the first time. (1980) Illinois, USA.
38- Smiling face.
39- With baby brother Fernando in arms.
40- With my brothers in Disney World - Florida.
41- Just finished my master's degree at the FAU in Erlangen, Germany.
42- First visit to the Taj Mahal.
43- Bride.

There you have it!....I'm quite the 'girl with a past', aren't I? ;)

I enjoyed putting these collages together, not only because it's nice to relive memories, but it also makes me wonder...what kind of memories will Fabi grow up with? I hope good ones as well!

Blast from the past - Later Years

Click on the following image for a bigger version:

24- Wearing high school uniform (7th grade).
25- A picture from the 80's - early college years.
26 - Exchange Student. Yearbook picture of my senior year in Wickenburg High School, Arizona, USA.
27- My executive look. Working as an Information System's consultant in Dominican Republic.
28- Passport sized picture taken at 'La Americana' store in Dominican Republic.
29- Studio photo; early family portrait - Black and white version of the final choice.
30- Studio photo; not the final choice for a framed portrait.
31- Studio photo; early family portrait - a runner up.
32- Studio photo; final choice for a framed portrait.
33- Passport sized picture used during my employee days in Navi Mumbai, India.
34- Passport sized picture used during my student days in Erlangen, Germany.