The Guerras have embarked on a one-year excursion to Babylon (Cambridge, MA to be exact) to attend graduate school. Besides getting the most out of our academic opportunities here, we also want to make sure we enjoy all of the parts of Babylon that we cannot (or rarely) experience at home: hikes in the woods, apple picking, petting farms, fall festivals, weekend excursions, good Mexican food, good Indian food, outdoor music, indoor music, shows, sledding, etc.
We left STX on June 8th and we were so late to the airport and had so many bags (eight checked!) that we almost did not make it to our plane. After seat-belting everyone in, I began to tick through all of the things that I forgot to do at our house before leaving. One of those things was to find the kiwi that Sabine had been carrying around all morning (thanks Mamita!)and begging us to cut up for her to no avail since we were all running around in circles trying to get ready to go. I made a mental note to ask one of my very nice family members to look for the kiwi before our tenants moved in and found a rotting kiwi covered in bugs under a couch or bed or something.
The flight went as well as could be expected and the kids were great. We arrived in Boston at 11:50 PM and were able to get our bags, hop on a shuttle to our hotel, and get up to our room all without much hassle at all. The next day Cesar rented a minivan, we did a quick Target run, and then headed to Cambridge to get the keys to our new place. We were all pleasantly surprised when we saw our little house. There were only a couple of pictures online so I was a bit worried, but it is lovely. It is definitely small, but it is clean and nice and has little bits of storage here and there which will make it work (think boat). It is also in a perfect area-- tree-lined and residential, but close to everything in Harvard Square. After checking out the place we rushed off to MIT's Furniture Exchange and then Ikea. The goal was to get furniture early enough so that Ikea would be able to deliver the beds the same day and avoid us having to stay in a hotel again. We made it-- by a hair. The whole story is too long and involved, but let's just say we did a lot of running, screaming, and huffing throughout Ikea.
We obviously need some decorations...
We then had to head back to our place to wait for the beds to get delivered. We still had no food, drinks, cups, sheets, or anything else besides clothes and some toys for the kids, so we basically just sat around on the floor and waited for them to deliver our stuff. They finally did around 9:30 PM, so then we all hopped in the car and did a late night Target run to get our essentials.
Usually after a day, night, day, and another night of non-stop running around one would be able to relax and gradually move in and get their bearings. Not me! I had to head off to two school visits and interviews on public transportation. At 7:30 AM I arrived at one charter school in Cambridge and really enjoyed it. By 11:30 I was roaming the streets of East Cambridge trying desperately to find the T station. Finally I did and then got off at the right stop to catch a bus to Roxbury where I had an interview at another school. The bus ride took about thirty minutes and when I got off I was a bit taken aback. Let's just say I didn't want to do this commute in the dark every day. The interview did not go well and I did not mind. The principal told me that the street leading up to school was the only "neutral" street in Roxbury and as long as the students had their school badges on they would be left alone (I looked down at my empty, badge-less chest and began to worry about my walk back to the station).
On Saturday we decided to rent a car again since we still had no food in the house (those pesky kids of ours actually demand to eat at least three meals a day plus snacks) and do a grocery shop, another Target run, clothes shopping for Cesar, and Cheesecake Factory for me. Mission accomplished.
Cesar then began his first week of classes and I began my 8-5 summertime employment: camp director, teacher, potty trainer, short-order cook, circus performer, sprinter, professional story reader, etc., etc. The kids and I have been finding parks, story times, ice-cream stands, and enjoying our time hanging out together. It is exhausting! Cesar has been enjoying his school work, but it has been keeping him busy. He has had to stay up late every night working on readings and he had to work most of Sunday on a project. Hopefully it won't be this time-consuming during the year or our kids will be miserable!
We did take Saturday off and enjoyed a great hike around Walden Pond, visited Barefoot Books in Concord, and ate (again) at the Cheesecake Factory.
We also solved the mystery of the missing kiwi. Sabine had packed it in her bag! Thank goodness customs didn't find it or we would have missed our flight!
Sunday we went to the Unitarian church in Cambridge and the homily was on "parting". The minister discussed some words from a Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, that have always inspired him:
I have arrived, I am home
In the here and in the now
Wherever we are we are home; we should be present. I think it was a fitting way to end the week and welcome us to Cambridge.
