Is this me?

I have seen this video floating around the internet but have never really checked it out. What could a mom's song be anyway? A lullaby ala 'Rock-a-bye-baby' or something or other. I sure have heard them all or so I thought.

Now, how it reached me is a totally different story. Busy, busy bee hubby (not me - the mom (operative word ahem) - in this case) not only received this on email but surprisingly found the time to play it. It must have reminded him of something or...someone that he thought he should forward it to V, the son, instead of.....me! I imagine a lot of chuckles went on behind my back...I smell conspiracy. Finally, for unfathomable reasons, V himself forwards me the video.

I don't think of myself this regi-mental but since hubby and son seem to think so, then maybe I am. I love this video and I guess it doesn't hurt to chuckle together, afterall, the family that chuckles together....

V's La Mora Limpia at Ruben Dario

Except for the small detail of starting earlier than he should have, V's performance turned out fine and that, despite being so nervous that he thought his fingers would freeze (poor child). He had guitar accompaniment and in his excitement (to probably get it over with ha-ha), he started before the technician can adjust the guitar's microphone and signal them to begin.

Once he started (again), it was smooth sailing from there. After the performance, he was very happy to learn that some of his schoolmates, their parents, other families and his teachers from the Swedish School came to watch. Except for the brother (who goes to a different school) of V's good friend T, he was the only one from the school invited to perform. I can't rave enough about this school, one of the best he's been to when it comes to fostering goodwill, camaraderie and support for one another.

Although T missed this performance (already in DK), he called before V left the house for some pep talk.

Support we can't do without

Proud mama

V's big night

Tonight's the night, wish us luck! At 7 tonight V performs at the Teatro Nacional Ruben Dario. He's very nervous and at the same time excited about it. Me, I'm just excited and (however it turns out) is the proudest mother on earth for the next couple of hours or so!

For the meantime, enjoy this clip from youtube of Nicaragua's Grupo Quetzalnahuatl's interpretation of 'La Mora Limpia', the piece V is going to play solo. The venue of this clip, it seems is also Nicaragua's National Theater. Enjoy.

Georgian National Ballet in Managua

A string of coincidences lead us to bring V to The Teatro Nacional Ruben Dario here in Managua to see the Georgian State National Ballet perform.

Photos courtesy of Russian Music and Videos

The only other time we've been there was via the Norwegian Embassy's invitation to a concert (Piano in A minor) by a guest Norwegian Pianist (apologies as my memory fails me again big time) and the Nicaraguan National Orchestra to commemorate Edvard Grieg's 100th year death anniversary.

We love the performing arts but not enough (I guess) to really pay attention to what's going on in the theater circuit. If we're lucky enough to be informed of some performances we might be interested in, we go. We try to expose V to the various forms of art and its appreciation, but only lately as I have been very careful not to force him too much to it (lest he's not yet ready) as he also might develop abhorrence towards the activity.

The (real) first time was last year in New York where we brought him there precisely for the purpose of exposing him to Museums and Broadway. Although having been slowly exposed by a string of International and Scandinavian schools, it must be more fun visiting museums with your peers than doing the same for longer periods of time with your parents. At the end, we asked him to stand for at least 20 seconds in each piece that catches his attention and tell us what he thinks about it or what he sees. I imagined him counting silently 1..2..3..4.....20 ha-ha. But then after the trip, we found out that the Picasso pieces in general interested him and his favorite museum was The Museum of Natural History and Guggenheim his least. That's a start.

Sometimes our own ignorance (okay, mine) makes us miss some must-sees. V was invited by his music teacher to be a guest performer (recorder) at the Teatro National Ruben Dario this June where he will have a solo number - 'La Mora Limpia'. We accepted the invitation and of course wanted V to be familiar with the Teatro (the stage) where he's going to perform to dispel some of his nervousness. Our opportunity came when we received this email from M:

Dear All

On a good friend's insistence, I was dragged along last night to see the performance of the Georgia National Ballet at the Ruben Dario. And what an amazing experience that turned out to be. I hadn't been exposed to Georgian culture before and didn't really know what to expect. It was a heady mix of folk dance, acrobats and ballet with everything from peasants to princesses and cossacks to ninjas. The music, though simple, was mesmerizing; a 4 piece band consisting of clarinet, 2 accordions and drum evoked flavours of ancient Persia, Byzantium and modern Russia. Similarly the pageantry of costumes traversed Eastern Europe to the Middle East over the last millennium. The visual and audible feast absolutely entranced the audience; the dancers and musicians got a long standing ovation.

The good news is that they are repeating the performance next Tuesday night. Seriously consider going and do take along children - who will equally love it. Be prepared to see sparks flying, whizzing daggers and women in long dresses who float across the stage as if being transported on an invisible pulley.

M

M described it really well, more than I ever could. So folks, the Georgian National Ballet (Although picked up from Youtube, It's exactly the same performance that we saw, only this one has some sort of intro where you can see them practicing), if given the chance, don't miss them perform. A unique experience that our whole family enjoyed, specially V.

An anecdote: When V learned that we are going to a ballet -because that's what it is, after all - I saw him grimace a bit. We reminded him how he enjoyed Billy Elliot....that worked.

V's never ending celebration

I don't remember celebrating my 13th birthday in a particularly special way. I don't think I even considered it a milestone. V's 13th was a really big thing for him, we actually felt it coming to pass like a series of terrestrial rumblings that are sure to culminate in an eruption. Weird, I thought but maybe that's just how kids are now a days, they just mature earlier than we did during my time.

V is now in that place where on the one hand, he likes to talk and act like an adult - like when he insisted on taking me out to dinner on my birthday (T was out of the country for work) in a fine dining restaurant and not only paid but acted like an escort. I can already see the gentleman behind the awkward haircut and unsure gait - while loving to indulge in the silliest physical games on the other.

I shouldn't even have worried, he is more talk than action at the moment as evidenced by how he celebrated his birthday party with his friends.

Like any other children, they only wanted to eat:

Have loads of fun (read: be silly):

Play:

Make noise (WARNING: Ear splitting, watch (and listen) at your own risk - not recommended for those truly musically inclined):
V

S

Hang out:

Pass out (thank god!):

Only to re-fuel:

For more activities.
I guess the biggest change is the company he prefers to keep. Doesn't matter what they do as long as they do it together.

And where did mommy and daddy figure in all these? Well, we too had fun if not more being spectator ions, for a change.

PS - After all that fun, V was grounded on the Monday following his birthday weekend. It turned out that he was not able to do his homework from the previous week for being so excited for his party. There was a lesson to be learned there and a week's grounding should do it. It's ok to have fun as long as we do not forget our responsibilities. We have to do what we have to do and birthdays are no exceptions.

V's coming of (a certain) age

Today's going to be a very busy day. V will be celebrating his 13th birthday tomorrow andis very excited about it too because to him (and to him alone - he will always be my baby - I'll get over it but more later than sooner) he is officially a teenager. I must admit that I have already seen drastic changes in his preferences since he was 11 to in fact, herald this era.

He is still the sweet kid that he is and is not afraid to show affection in public albeit less than before. He likes making his own decisions specially regarding his clothes and....ooohhh, our perennial fight, since last year...his hair.

On the plus side, his birthday celebrations has become easier to plan, not necessarily cheaper, on the contrary, just less guests (only good friends, sans parents - unless they're good friends of ours too - and sans nannies) therefore less logistical nightmare. No more piñatas (yehey), therefore less small candies but bigger ticket item give-aways. I remember when we had to prepare for 50 people where less than half of them were their nannies or drivers.

But then the gift also gets bigger. This year (quite late compared to most) we're taking him for a weeks trip to Disney World in Orlando and a Seven day Cruise up to St Martin. We can't of course, NOT let him NOT open a gift on his day (just seems cruel somehow, so we still got him his very first real hand-held radio with an 18 mile range which he has been hankering for since Christmas. Hard to win huh. Last year we got him a Wii console (that came with a game) with the agreement that he buys the games out of his own savings. Still we gave him Wii accessories last Christmas -Game Cube controllers. T and I have already agreed that he'll get his own laptop next year because he's been using mine a lot for his homework and researches. Yes, it only gets more expensive each year.

This year will be a long birthday celebration. He's planned for a pool party for Saturday 1pm - 6pm where some close friends (about 8) will be sleeping over. They have agreed to rent some DVDs that's supposed to scare the cr*p out of them and then play Paintball on Sunday after breakfast, then Pizza lunch before they finally part.

That suits us just fine. as you can see, it doesn't require our involvement much (no more emceeing...and no more clowns!!!). Just the food prep and the obligatory candle blowing on the cake. For the menu, he actually wants prepare it yourself meals. So we agreed on: Hotdogs, burgers and Kentucky-type but home made fried chicken. Except for the chicken (and the Lasagne), they will have to make their sandwiches themselves...I'll just have to put all the garnishes on the table, which suits me just FINE.

Swedish School Nicaragua - 20th Anniversary Cultural Show2

Run-hop-run version of Grease:

Eh-la-la (for lack of a better name) - must be Caribbean:

This one definitely is...Caribbean, that is:

...and for the effort...acknowledgment (with the Swedish Ambassador):

There you go folks, the wonderful Nordic-Nicaraguan community in Nicaragua hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!
Hmmm I've heard that before...Spartans tonight we shall dine in 'Heck' - child friendly version- whoo, whoo, whoo!
They are Vikings, after all!

Swedish School Nicaragua - 20th Anniversary Cultural Show

Have fun watching them...we did!

El Gueguense:

Tango:

As if it wasn't fun enough, some of the teachers just had to join the fray with their version of Swan Lake:

Asereje - so this is what it was all about:

The other videos will be for another post. This should be enough laugh for now.

The Swedish School Nicaragua

The Swedish School in Nicaragua celebrates its 20th year Anniversary today. In line with the celebration, the children of the school has prepared a show for the parents and guests. I always enjoy the shows they put up at the Swedish school as it's always done in the spirit of camaraderie and with fun in mind. No pressure, just fun.

I can dedicate a whole blog to the Swedish School here in Nicaragua for all the good things it has done for V and us. On posts, V always goes to the (or an) International School, but since there's no 'real' International School here in Managua - quite a few claims so but at best, they offer International Baccalaureate - we enrolled him with the American Nicaraguan School (ANS) which at best offers an AP program. Big mistake! Now, this one deserves 2 blogs on its own for all the misery we have experienced there! Every expat knows how schools for their kids play an important role in their lives. This I promise to write about separately as I desperately wished I have read first-hand experiences with ANS before we came. That would have saved us a lot of trouble, money and misery.

Anyway, on to happier things. T was adamant that we should try the Swedish school as it caters to children of Nordic heritage. I thought, ugh, another language to learn for V...*cough* bordering on *cough* child *cough* abuse *cough*- I underestimated my own son. After some incidents in ANS, I conceded. We moved him and that was the best decision so far we've made here in Nicaragua...life went on as it should be.

V is definitely happy there and so are we. Every imaginable country up North is represented. Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland - hmmm, did I forget anyone? The school has only done Vicente good and not only is he happy but we've developed great friendships with other parents as well. It's like one big happy family. I can still hear my friend F telling me (her kids are at ANS), just recently: 'you're lucky you're friends with the parents there, me, I've been sitting with this woman (we're both waiting for our kids to come out) for almost a year now and we still haven't said hello. In reality, it's the school that brought us together. We have many activities where parents do help out and out of town family day 2x a year. It is as well convenient for the parents to hold an adult party while the kids play together some place else with supervision.

V now speaks 5 languages in various degrees of fluency. I make sure he speaks Tagalog with me, Danish with his father, our family together in English (my Danish has by now been trampled mercilessly by my Spanish while T's Tagalog is non-existent), Swedish in School and Spanish with friends. I shouldn't have worried at all.

Presenting the Swedish School boys

Ugghh, don't ask me why, I'm just glad they're having fun and are comfortable with what they're doing...all in the name of fun!!!

Where is HOME?

Ours is an inter-cultural marriage which complicates further the concept of where home is. I have spent more than half of my adult life in the Philippines to not consider it at some level, home. Although I don't miss it as much as I did the first time I left, it beckons me. In fact, I plan to retire there (shhh, don't tell T). I'm sure T feels exactly the same about Denmark . It would be so easy to say that 'home is where the heart is'. But what if our hearts are not in the same place.

Home is where The Core is. The solution came when the movie 'The Core' came out. The Core obviously is T, V & myself. It sounds corny even to me specially this moment, when I'm actually writing it but we needed to come up with something for V to really understand the underlying concept of 'home ' or feeling at home. He is after all a 3rd culture kid. With all the challenges of moving, changing schools & environment, gaining and losing friends all within a years time each time, he must already be experiencing frustration & loss in his young life. We strongly believe that a semblance of an anchored life should help him feel secure about himself in his ever changing environment and that anchor should be the core. That even if everything else changes around him, T & M would always be a constant. So far this process of thinking has worked for all of us (yes including T and myself). Home is where The Core is on this planet or beyond, as long as we are together.