Boonie Blog: Miami Edition

It is very loud here, I said yesterday afternoon when there was a house full of relatives at my mom's for Father's Day.
My step-sister, arrived just two weeks ago from Havana, laughed.

It's quite here she says. And then she told me about the roosters crowing, the pigs grunting, the neighbor women yelling, the neighbor man who would sing his way down the apartment stairs at 6 a.m. each day.


The noise there was deafening, she said.
Here she can sleep in peace.
And live in peace.

We are in Miami, hanging out. Dripping in sweat and in paperwork. My family hasn't stopped filling out forms since they got here. Little price to pay for freedom.

Maria is sleeping in between the two snoring viejos and I'm collecting stories from the newbies. These poor people re-used disposable diapers. They're surely going to survive in America.

Not too sure how much time I will have at my family's completely ergonomically horrific computers, so I've set up my Miami Diary on Twitter @LosPollitos and I'm trying to do my best to update Tiki Tiki's el diario each morning as I sip my cafe. Vamos a ver.

Happy Miami Monday.
Pastelitos here I come!

Quinceanera Bootcamp

I had no Quinces. Didn't want one and there was no dinero.
I went through a mocosa phase when I didn't want to speak Spanish and I longed for plain peaceful vanilla.

And so, I liked this video.

Self-portrait...because why not?

today. in the car. again.

My friend, Julie, sent me a nice, warm e-mail inviting me and others to get out from behind the camera and post a new self-portrait every Monday.

I love Julie, so here it is...She is right too. I don't have that many just regular shots of myself. Do most women? I am not sure Jules knows that I have not only gotten out from behind the still camera, but I'm into video posts now over at Tiki Tiki. It is a little bit odd, but hey, it is easier on my tendinitis.

I opted for a self-portrait in the car today because I am living in my car since Maria got out of school. I have shuttled her to activities and camp (drama camp, of course) and this week she's at another. I enrolled her so I could squeeze a few hours of work in a day...and then a few more at night.

Somebody posted over there at Tiki Tiki asking how I do it. Well, truth is I don't do it all -- my office is a wreck, I haven't swished a couple of toilets in far too long to be acceptable, and I need more sleep. I'm chasing my tail half the time, but enjoying it, so that's not so bad a price to pay for a little unruliness in the routine.

We leave for Miami soon and I plan on shutting down a little bit of the cyber world so that I can catch up on family, the new Cubanos who arrived last week, and rest un poco...and I am hoping I won't have to drive.

And you? How is your summer?

You got pictures to share?

On the first day of freedom, my family said to me...

..."es como un sueno!''

It's like a dream!

But it is not.

My step-sister, her husband and teen-age son walked through the gates at Miami International Airport yesterday afternoon. My father was reunited with his daughter on free soil.

Their new life has begun.

It's big and it feels so good. So good to celebrate the possibilities open to them and listen to their joy.

They've been here less than 24-hours, but my mom says they've been busy. My brother-in-law took a picture in front of the TV, they ate peach ice cream and carrot cake, wore soft new pajamas, went to apply for their Social Security numbers and deal with work papers. They called their daughter and her family in Cuba. They told her she's going to love it when she gets here next year. They miss her already, too.

This afternoon, they are headed to a store to buy clothing, for they arrived only with what they were wearing and carrying a pile of old family photos.

I am 900 miles away, and will be for a few more weeks. But, I am so itching to get to Miami to celebrate there with them. And to hear all the stories.

They've promised me lots of good stories.

I believe it.

My poor Cuban mother

My mom had no idea I had been video-taping the messages she leaves on my answering machine. The reason: To create a video essay for Tiki Tiki titled: "I have a Latin Mother.''

"She tells me she worries if she hasn’t heard from me. I tell her not to freak, the local hospital surely will find her if they need to. She doesn’t like that and tells me to “por Dios, no digas eso!”

Come on over there and see it...and be sure to read the comments. They are hilarious.

Reunification: The family arrives from Cuba next week

I am not very sure how my father will survive the next few days with calm.

His oldest daughter will step onto a plane in Havana next week and when she lands in Miami, less than an hour later, she will step onto ground firm with freedom and possibility -- for the first time in her life. Her father will be there to embrace her and guide her. It will be only their fourth meeting in 48 years, so there is a lot of catching up to do. A lot of embracing to do.

My step-sister, her husband and son actually purchased their plane tickets to Miami yesterday. They were granted permission by the United States government to immigrate and their paperwork sped up a few years under the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program. Three other relatives are expected to arrive in early 2010, si Dios quiere. We've been working on this for quite a while.

My mom reported that my step-sister and her family were out of their minds with joy yesterday when they spoke. Their apartment was full of friends who came by to wish them well. The phone lines here in the states were on fire as my extended family shared the good news too. Al fin!

When I spoke to my brother last night, we talked about the mind-blowing idea that our relatives will, for the first time in their lives, be completely free. Where they travel, what they say, where they live all are open to them. Personal choice. Imagine that? As an American, it's a bit of a difficult thing to imagine and understand the squelching of spirit that happens in Cuba. And, I am guessing my relatives have no real understanding yet about how huge their world is about to become.

It will be my pleasure to watch them get it.

And to watch my father embrace his oldest daughter.

Al fin.

Are you following the Tiki Tiki?

OK, a little Public Service Announcement about the new Tiki Tiki .
Have you come over to check it out?
We hope so.

The Tiki Tiki is just short of a couple weeks old, and Violeta, Marta, Carla and I are having a good time writing, doing video posts and adding new features and content. More on the way, too.

We hope you'll consider becoming part of the regular readership and community. We also want you to contribute photos and video. The Tiki Tiki requires our noise, our spirit, our special brand of fun. To contribute click aqui .

A few recent Tiki Tiki links:
The current contest, an awesome Latino books giveaway, which ends tomorrow (May 31).
My latest Tiki Tiki column. And, first video post aqui . I am semi-shameless.
The inspiring del alma section by Violeta, your daily does of "ahhhh.''
Hilarious  and always touching, Marta stories.
And where is Carla? Well, she just had her second baby girl, so we're giving esa Mami a break. You can go wish her well on her personal blog for now.

Feedback, suggestions, besitos...all good. Let us know.

Coje tu sobrero y pontelo...Summer is here.

click to enlarge. it's worth it.

So ya, se acabo the school year. What a delight. Maria got to sleep in until 8:30 a.m., and I myself didn't roll out of bed until nearly 8 a.m. It is Saturday, but I hope the trend continues. We both have been dragging. And, while I am all warm and fuzzy about the wonderful free time we're going to have together, ask me how I am feeling at about Day 5 of "I have no one to play with!''

Of course, my main source of patatu is keeping up with Maria's Spanish. Her class has been a Spanish-immersion one, and she spends six hours a day with a Catalana who kicks my ass every time she hears me say anything to Maria in English. I love that woman. Next year, Maria's class will be bilingual, so Mami really needs to step up the Spanish action.

A thank you card from Maria's classmate

Over at Parenting.com this week, I wrote about the volunteering I did in Maria's classroom this year. I listened to the 5- and 6-year-olds as they read Spanish to me. The card at the top is from Maria and the one just above here is from a classmate of hers. It is very faint, as it is drawn in pencil, but can you see the image she drew of the two of us reading? Truly priceless. More over at Parenting.com.

I also am all whacked out about trying to keep up with the Spanish over the break. I've enrolled Maria -- de cabeza va! -- in a week-long Spanish camp and we will spend two weeks in Miami, where she will have to certainly habla because our Cuban relatives , who speak ni una papa de ingles, should be here by then. (And oh goodness, do I have stories to share about that immigration saga, but can't because they're not here yet and I don't want to mess anything up for them.)

So, in the next few days, I will be forming the Summer of 2009 Spanish Battle Plan.

Wisheame mucho luck-o.