A Trip to Hiper Paiz

Today it was back into the school routine. We're happy to report that the teacher (aka Mom) woke up feeling a lot better. Christopher and Caroline had school and learned about helping verbs, two digit addition (for Caroline) and the Colony of New York. I worked with Luis playing the memory game, alphabet bingo and building with bristle blocks.

After school, it was just about time for lunch. While Jenny was working to get lunch ready, we got a nice surprise. The computer was ringing with a call from the Frenzels in Argentina. I finished the lunch prep so Jenny could chat with Alex who has been offline for several weeks with the move. She really enjoyed the time to talk and arranged to talk more later.

Next it was time for Hiper Paiz (aka Super Wal-Mart of Latin America). We arranged for the driver (it is about a 40 minute drive up one side of the mountain and down the other) and went to the Hiper Paiz in Villa Nueva. We picked out a bunch of food (for Thanksgiving and beyond) and other necessities, but the highlight was picking a new Chrismas tree and decorations. Luis loved the stuffed animals that sing and dance, so we grabbed a dog that dances and sings like Elvis. Jenny also picked up some Christmas gifts while I took the kids to get some ice cream at the Sarita located in the store. It was not until Jenny got to the check out counter that the wheels came off the bus. The bill was about Q4,000 (about $500) but the Visa was declined. She came and got me from the food area where we were enjoying ice cream. I went to the register and got declined with the Discover and the debit card. Panic was setting in. I did not hire a driver and go all the way to Villa Nueva not to get my groceries, Chrismas Tree and gifts. So I went and found an ATM and got the needed cash. It is a weird feling having to hand over a stack of 41 bills ($100 is the highest denomination) to pay for groceries, but it was taken care of and we were on our way.

When we returned to the apartment and put away the purchases, we already had a fraud alert from Discover. I called both Visa and Discover and reminded them that we had called to notify them we would be in Guatemala until March. Hopefully the next time we use the card it will work.

Usually we wait until after Thanksgiving to put up the Christmas tree, but Luis is so excited, we plan to put it up tomorrow. Can't wait to see his reaction. I will have pictures tomorrow.