Hola, I am Alora Cheney.
At this time I am 15 years old, and have lived in Caracas, Venezuela; San Jose, Costa Rica; Panama City, Panama; and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. My Father Duane D. Cheney is the engineer for Central American, Latter Day Saint Temples. So I get to be with him and my mother to all these countries. We lived in Venezuela for about one and a half years.
My house in Venezuela I do not remember very well, I was only 4, you know. But I do remember that we lived in a tower, and to get to our room, we would get in an elevator that opened right into our living room. I can not remember how many times we got stuck in that elevator. Our kitchen was to the right, and our rooms to the left. My Sister Dianna was with us for our time in Venezuela. As you walk through the kitchen there is the emergency exit, where trick-or-treaters came each year. Through the living room and to the right was my play room, which was three walls of windows. It was not a safe town so we would mostly spend our time at the pool down stairs, I only remember walking ‘round and ‘round that pool squishing all the centipedes.
My dad was building the Venezuela and Costa Rica Temples at the same time, I sometimes thought that he had another family in Costa Rica, because he would spend every-other week there. The church called us up one day after the temple was finished, and said get out now, anywhere, just get out. So we packed up and left to Costa Rica. I was only 5 at the time. Being so young I got to go with my mother into the temple, not many kids get to do that you know. I would sit and watch the gold leavers, or so they were called; they are the men that place the gold all around the interior of the temple. Or sit and watch the carpet carver, he and I became good friends, once he took me out to get lunch and I still have the stuffed animal from my kids box.
Right before the temple is dedicated we take bunches of people inside to place the crystals on the chandeliers and to clean the carpets, where ever there may be a spot. At such a young age my mother had already taught me how to sit, and be quite, to feel the spirit and how to clean a carpet with a wipe. If I crystal broke off, well you can’t use them again so you throw them out, well what a wonderful tangible way to remember my life in the temple, so I kept all those broken crystals, and all the gold flakes that would float around the room. I also wrote my name in the wet cement at the front door of the temple. Be sure to look under the rug if you’re ever down there.
When I was not at the temple, I was at the park near our house, I was so young I do not remember exactly what my house looked like, but what I can tell you is this; We were in a quite little condominium, two houses exactly the same were placed smack right next to each other, our house was on the left. It was a sort of orange color with a yellowish interior. The living room was three walls of mirrors, and right next to it, there was the dinning area, a small table sat there with four chairs. Along side the table was the stairs that would take you up. But under these stairs there was a small closet, which I would sit in to be alone and read, or play with my animals. Across from that closet was the bathroom, we must have found at least 3snakes in that bathroom. On the other side of the stairs was the kitchen and the Tv room, and also my play room, which was two walls of windows looking out over a train track.
Anyway back to the park. I was home-schooled back then, and well still am. We had a nice little group of Christan friends that were also home-schooled, so every now and then we would go on adventures together; The cookie factory, and The ice cream factory...wonderful memories those. Our neighbor, Ming Ding was her name, was a great friend of mine. She had a sweet little poodle, that loved it so much when I came over that he would pee. I had special cloths to go over there.
After about 2 and a half years in Costa Rica, the church called again and told us to move. We were all packed up and moving it all into the truck, when they called again and said, we’re not ready yet, we’ll call you later. We un-packed the beds, and borrowed pots and pans. We lived for 6months on the floor. Our entertainment center was all boxed up and being the artistic girl that I am, I drew our Christmas tree on there. We also had my mother and father’s birthday in boxes, I drew them cakes and presents all over that box. What a Christmas to remember.
One night my mother was sleeping on her bed, on the floor. We heard a gun shot, then a scream. My father and I ran up stairs and there’s a hole from the ceiling to 4inches away from my mothers head. We later found that there was a thief down on the train tracks behind our house, and the guard had shot up in the air, to scare him away. And it just happened to land in our house. Can you believe how furious my father was to this?
We finally got that call, and went to Panama. I was 9years old. Panama is very hot and humid, but where we lived made it really fun. We lived on an old American army base, about 2miles from the Panama Canal. I’m not here to give you a history of Panama, just of myself. So if you want to know more about Panama you’ll have to look it up. Our house was on the corner of a nice safe block with other Americans down the road.
It took my father almost 2years to get his working permit. Which really delayed the construction of the temple. Our house was much like the one in Costa Rica, but this was built by the Americans. It was a sort of duplex, where two houses exactly the same were stuck right together. It had a nice home feeling the very first time I walked into it. When you walked into the house the kitchen was in-front of you, and the living and dining room to the right. With the bedrooms up stairs. I had a neighbor Alisha, she and I became good friends, every night we would go to the play ground across the street and swing, looking at the moon and stars, sometimes even painting them.
My ward was very nice, and I became friends with three 6year olds, named; Adriana, Ana, and Alba. We created a little club we called the DOUBLE A CLUB. To this day I can remember the games we’d play, animal doctor, and me being the old lady. Their parents did not like me much, they thought I was a bad influence on them. Me? A bad influence? So after I was about 10 and a half, they asked me to find friends my own age. That hurt. Adriana’s mother still frightens me to this day, her evil eye, and the way she’d treat me like crap (excuse the expression).
I later became the babysitter for the block, sometimes even the dog walker. I got so lonely being the only girl my age in town that was home-schooled. So my parents got me a hamster, I loved Mrs.Kisses. When we got her she had already had 9babies, the school was supposed to save me one but forgot, so I got the mother. She was very sweet and very talented at running around the house in her ball.
I was having a sleepover one night with my friend, I believe I was 10 at the time. We had placed Mrs.Kisses on a box to see if she’d go all the way around and out the other side. She did not. I lifted the box to see where she’d gone, she was no where to be seen. I placed the box back down and hurt a crack. I had dropped her down the stairs once before, and I prayed and prayed to get her back, and she came back to me. I did the same this time, but it didn’t work. I placed her on my bed, I was balling. My father came up stairs, and gave me a hug and sat down right on her. I remember thinking, well now she’ll never come back. My friend wished to leave, she did not like seeing me so sad, but I don’t think I could have made it through that without her help.
My friend moved away the next week, and I bought a second hamster, her name was Snow-ball. Snow-ball was one of the fastest hamsters I’ve ever seen, sometimes I’d call her ‘Speedy Gonzalez’. Snow-ball was a great friend. I recall, Snow-ball biting me on the skin between my thumb and pointer finger, and I just let her hang there till she’d let go. The next year Snow-ball died hours after we had returned from a trip to the states, from pink eye. Now there are 2hamsters buried in the back yard under the Noni tree.
I was then 11, my friends were all younger then me, and I’d had a very sad two years. My mother surprised me with another hamster, this one I call Teddy. Because what better name for a comfort friend? Teddy was very slow, but very loving. Teddy got Cancer. We where going on another trip within 8months. Teddy knew how much she meant to me, so she held on. She began to use the cancer ball, on her side, as a leg. She finally gave up 3weeks before we left for vacation.
I have now moved into the Young Women's group in our ward. I am the only beehive, and my teacher is...you guessed it, Adriana’s mother. How well do you think those years went by? Alisha stopped talking to me, and always had an excuse not to hang out with me anymore. I became quite lonesome. I started in a Private school that next year. It was a Greek school, called Ateneas. I was already very good at math, ‘cause my mother had been teaching me at home. How well do you think I was at Greek?? Actually I was better my first week in that school at Greek then the children that had been learning it all their life's. Then I remembered a book I made of my own language in Costa Rica, and what do you know, I knew Greek at 6!! I got called a cheater in my math class, because I completed a 40min test in 20min. Well that was the end of that.
I finally got over my sadness of losing my hamsters, and bought another one. His name was Coconut. My mother wanted to name him Apricot. Apricot? He enjoyed running around in his cage at night, keeping me awake. So he had to sleep in the office. But I told everything to those hamsters, they were not only my ear, but my friends, and diary.
The temple is almost completed now. My Father was in a fork-lift, moving windows. That fork-lift began to tip, what does my father do?? He yells “MOVE THOSE WINDOWS!!” The fork-lift is now just balancing on 2 wheels. Angels were watching over my father that day. He slowly moved his weight to level fork-lift once more. Weeks later, my father was placing the windows using suction cups. Being my father, he’s not one for safety precautions. He did not have a harness on, but yet he’s up on the third floor placing windows from the out-side. What a dad. He had forgotten to put the safety on the suction cup, and it slipped, almost causing him to fall to his death. Again, Angles were watching over my dad, and helped him back to safety, and back to my mother and I at home.
Because of how safe our town was, I was able to go anywhere, anytime. I had FREEDOM!! When I got bored, I would go spend the day at the pet store. The owners knew me so well that the signs that read “DO NOT TOUCH” or “DON”T TAKE HAMSTERS OUT OF THEIR CAGE” did not apply to me. One day I found a little poodle in the window, and fell in love. I ran home, to tell my dad, I actually had to drag him back to the pet store, to show him how beautiful he was. Well we had them get all of the poodles out of their cages to decide, there were three. The white one was related to the black one and the one I wanted was brown, with no relation. They got out a bone, and the white one dragged the black one around the aisles while the black one peed the whole way. Which one do you think I got? We got the White one, and named her Ginger.
Ginger loved smelling Coconut, they became great friends, even through a cage door.
Coconut was almost 2 and half years old by then, much longer then most hamsters live. He knew I was now taken care of and could go. It was not as traumatic as the others, because I already had a replacement. I still think of them sometimes, and remember the love they gave me.
I got to be in the dance for the prophet, for the dedication of the temple!! What a wonderful experience!! Every Saturday we had practice in the stake center, I got to meet all the other boys and girls my age. Now there is something else you should know about me, I would rather be with the boys then the girls. And I’m not the only one, all of my sisters are that way too. I am also a flirt, where do I get this you may ask, from both my parents, but I’ll tell you more later.
Because of my height I was about 5’ 5” at 13 years of age. I got partnered up with what I considered to be a very weird looking boy. We later became very good friends (if you know what I mean). Our dance was the swing, a very fast and very long dance. Just in those few months that we had to practice, a lot happened, and just that would take up another 3 pages, so I’ll just say that A LOT happened in those months that I learned to dance. I got to be a guard, as my mother put it, to the painters, to make sure they didn’t sluff. I got to help put crystals up, because I knew what I was doing, while no one else did.
I had never been so scared in my life!! Getting up there and dancing in-front of the Prophet, and more then 900 people!! What if I screw up? What if I trip? What if my shoe comes off and hits somebody in the face? But my partner assured me that everything would be fine. So off we went. The dance went great, it was still scary but I kept my focus. My sister Dianna was able to come with her husband and see me dance. What a long way to fly! My sister lived in Alaska, she came all the way down to Panama just for me!! Looking down and seeing her, took all my worries away. My parents said I had the most bounce and energy in my step.
The dedication was very spiritual. Not many got to sit in the celestial room and hear the Prophet say those words. But I did. And I’ll never forget it. I’ve spent my whole life, watching temple after temple, after temple go up, and I get to be a big part of it.
We lived 6years in Panama, longest I’ve ever lived anywhere, and I did not want to leave. But we did. We drove from Panama all the way up to Guatemala, a long, fast, 3 day drive. We passed through Costa Rica, said Hi to all our old friends, and continued. We went through Nicaragua, a very dangerous country. We went through Honduras, got pulled over for trying to ask for directions. We also went through El Salvador, the people there actually laughed at my dad’s jokes. Which they don’t here in Guatemala. We drove all the way up to Quetzaltenango, the second largest city in all of Guatemala. I was about a foot taller then everybody else, which made me very dis-likable I guess. There was one other Mia-maid there, she and I had the same birthday!! How cool is that?? Well not very cool to her, she wanted to know what time I was born, to find who was older. She was, by a matter of hours. Her name was Samanta, and to this day she rubs it in my face. She told me that I had to respect my elders, and that she was bigger. Well I don’t take crap, so I stood up and said “Wait, who’s bigger”. 2 weeks in a new town, and I already have an enemy who is turning all the beehives against me. How Grrreat.
My house in Xela, another name for Quetzaltenango, is much smaller then my house in Panama, and still not quite home. When you walk in the front door, there is a guest bedroom on the right, and the living room on the left. Continuing straight you walk into the dining room, and kitchen to the right. Up the stairs is another living room, which we use as the TV room. and the bedrooms on the left. Ginger has adapted quite well.
It is not safe here, and so I am not allowed outside our 15house long condominium, with no side yards, just house after house. After having 6years of freedom, then being couped up here, gets really irritating, but I will survive.
Remember how I told you that I get along with the boys better? Well I do, because there is a lot less drama, especially from these 12-16 year old snobs. I did make one girl friend though. Her name was Andrea, she was the mission president’s daughter. She and her brother would go to the movies with me every week. Of course, what happens when you spend a lot of time with someone, you become to like them. Well I didn’t, but Andres did. He wanted to be my boyfriend, but I said no. It has been 2years since he’s spoken to me. I still hang out with Andrea every month, he just doesn’t come anymore.
Every year I like to go to the USA for my summer vacations. See my family, friends, and go shopping. This last year 2010 I went and spent sometime with Dianna up in Alaska. It was a lot of fun. I went to EFY and met some other amazing people. This year I made friends, lost friends, and made old friendships stronger. But isn’t that what high-school is for? “To find out how strong or weak your relationships are? Being home-schooled doesn’t change much, you can just cry your eyes out in class and no one sees.” - Russel Owings, Becky Ellis, Alora Cheney
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