Lazy, Hazy (Foggy) Days of Summer

"Hey," you say, "where did those Vladibloggers go?" What have we been up to the whole month of July?

Well, of course, that first week included the "highlight of the Vladivostok social season" -- the American Fourth of July party that evidently every year in recent times has been held on board a visiting naval ship. In general this July, until this past Saturday, has been especially foggy and rainy -- even the locals have been complaining. But we did have 2 bright, sunny spots bookending our July calendar. The first was the Tuesday afternoon of July 3rd, when our July Fourth party was held, and the second was this past Saturday, when the other big, foreign-flavored local summer event, Canada Day, was held. (Where, you ask? Why, at the Vlad Motor Inn, of course -- it is known to some as "the Canadian restaurant," and the road sign that reminds you to turn in from the main highway is in the shape of a big maple leaf...)

Canada Day was an entire day's worth of barbecuing, games, races, contests, some more food, a handful of local bands, some more games and MCing, some more food, and then a huge several-meter by several-meter cake. And apparently fireworks to cap it all off, but we didn't stay that long.

What else? We have seen the departure of the Consul General who was serving here when we arrived and the arrival of a new CG to replace him. It has been fun showing the new consul and his wife around a bit, now that we are very fast becoming the Old Guard around here among the Americans. Our sponsors and models in raising small children in Vlad, the family who arrived here originally when their second son was just 7 weeks old, are leaving in the first week of August. Our consular officer friend is leaving in late August or early September. That will leave 3 American employees and their familes, all of whom arrived in September or October last year, and we really will be among the longest serving at this post, which is kind of crazy to realize.

I have turned in my application to do halftime work as the "CLO" -- Community Liaison Office -- coordinator, one of the jobs at diplomatic posts that are reserved for "eligible family members." No other eligible family members here or planning to get here soon were vying for it, so it sounds like it is mine for the taking. Since I enjoy exploring and getting to know places, and that still describes the ongoing process of living here in Vlad, I figure it will basically mean getting paid to do that (plus a few other administrative tasks that hopefully won't be too annoying). Already in meeting or anticipating the new people here in our very small diplomatic circle and what our next year could be like, I think I'll enjoy having the capacity to organize some things and hopefully raise morale a bit.

OK, here is what many of you have been waiting for... The Anya Report.

The Munchkin is even more intent on walking than ever before, demanding two hands from the nearest parent to help her get around. One hand just will not do (apparently even if you can manage with one, the trouble is, you can't walk as fast or as easily that way, so there is some amount of whining in order to get that second hand...). She's much better able to put the stacking-type toys together -- the ring toss that she took apart on one of the videos, and the stacking cups that came care of (Great) Aunt Nancy and (G) Uncle Jerry. She's also getting pretty good at the shape-sorter (not shape-shifter) toy that she has, putting many of the shapes in the right holes (or at least guessing pretty well as to where they go. Maybe like other small monkeys she will soon complete a line of Shakespeare). She is very interested in steps and stairs right now (much to our chagrin, but I guess we're trying to be safe while going with the flow of the growing child); a lot of the time spent on her feet is also spent going up steps. And just in the last few days that has come to include not just stepping up one, pausing, then stepping up with that same foot and pausing again; but stepping up just like big people usually do -- one foot following immediately after the other, just striding right up those steps in a (relatively) fluid motion.

Foodwise, Anya's eating more chunky pieces of well-cooked food, including tiny broccoli "trees" and little chunks of potato and grated baked beets. Our longed-for Cheerios arrived in the mail, and we have been exploring those, picking them up, looking at them, watching Mom demonstrate how they can be tucked into the mouth and chewed enthusiastically -- but for the first few days not putting them into our own mouths... I could put them in there for her, but for whatever reason she was not figuring out that she could do that too. As of yesterday, however, we are very eager to try to get them in our own mouths ourselves -- not always coordinated enough to get them in, but very enthusiastic all the same.

It's pretty unbelievable that it's just one more month until she hits the one-year mark!

Now that summer is in full swing, we have all been enjoying plums and peaches -- the smaller person in cooked form -- and the big people have enjoyed a variety of fresh berries. Despite the weather, we've been down to the beach at Shamora (east coast of the southern Primorye peninsula) a couple of times, and enjoyed grilled meat and salads there. I have been out a few more times with my internet-mama friends, including a foray this past Friday into the local nightclub scene, for a little dancing and relaxation, at a place near the waterfront called "Yellow Submarine." And we just met a diplomatic family from the Japanese consulate with two small daughters, with whom I think we'll have a chance to spend time again. It is a lot of fun to have a handful of people to socialize with, and a nice change from the first several months here. I think we feel like we are socking away social contacts in anticipation for the long winter... Luckily I think our store will have good depth and we'll probably have a very different second year in Vlad.