Day and Night - Hannah

People here are early rises, and I understand why. The morning is the time to get anything done--it gets dark around 6:00 p.m. all year round, and lately anyway, it tends to rain every afternoon.

If I want to get laundry done, I need to wash a load in the morning so it can be up on the line to dry before the rain comes. If it rains before the clothes are dry, I have to grab the clothes and lay them out on our couches. Consequently we often have clothes lying around the house or hanging on anything that will hold them.

School starts at 7:00 a.m., which means we wake up before 6:00. If you know me, that is very unusual. Michael jokes with me that I'm not a morning person or a night person. I just like my sleep. But we're all adjusting. Basically we've just viewed it like we're in a different time zone. We get kids into bed around 8:00 if we can, and try to go to bed shortly after that. (Though the last couple nights Michael's been up late with work.)

Because it's dark in the evening and we don't know where to go anyway, we tend to stay in. But last Sunday night I braved the road from here to San Jose, the capital. I went with Julia and a few other Young Women and their leaders to hear a broadcast from the General Relief Society President. The way down wasn't too bad, since I was following another leader and it was still light. But the way back was dark and absolutely insane. The road is similar to a winding canyon road but with no shoulder and people walking alongside it. Occasionally the road isn't wide enough for lanes going both ways, and you have to know where those spots are. Add to that some fog to decrease the visibility to squat and you have The Highway of Death. Michael compared it to a horror movie where it's dark and foggy and people suddenly appear along the road. That about describes it. I was amazed that we got home in one piece. It will be a cold day in you-know-where before I attempt that road at night again.

Our Church and a Lucky "Coincidence" with the Cell Phone - Michael

Chapel/Cultural Hall at the church.
You can see the podium behind the kids to the left.

This morning we dropped the kids off at a primary activity at the church. Hannah and I were planning to then walk through town to check out the stores some more and try to get a new SIM card for my cell phone.

When we were about two buildings away from the place where we would get the SIM card, our friend, Silvia Rojas, drove by, honked and then stopped at the same building. We walked up as she was getting out of her car. She was going to pay her cell phone bill there and agreed to help us get the SIM card.
 


Another view of the church interior

If you are not a Costa Rican citizen or don't have a corporation, you can't get your own cell phone contract in Costa Rica. A pre-paid SIM card is generally your only option. However, that wouldn't help with one of the big reasons I want to have my cell phone: Internet access to use the phone's GPS for navigating.
 


Front of the church

As we discussed our options, Silvia offered to just add us to her plan, which would allow us to be on a contract with unlimited Internet. That was a great option for us. It was another one of those "coincidences" in timing to help things work out for the best.




 


Side of the church looking from the back to the front

 



Running of the Dogs - Michael

This morning I went running for the first time since we moved here.

It was hard. There is nothing level in this town. You are either going up steep hills or down them, and down steep hills isn't necessarily easy either. But the most annoying part is the dogs. Every 100 yards or so, you get some dog or small pack coming out to chase you. Some just like to bark, but others come looking to bite. I pegged one in the nose, with a rock when it got about a foot from my ankle and looked like it was getting ready to lunge.

The good thing is that these dogs are like the dogs I dealt with on my mission in Argentina: if you just bend down as though you were going to pick up a rock, they flee.

I started out hoping that if I just ignored them, they would get bored of me. It didn't quite work out that way. I was told that there is a track in town. As boring as it is to run on a track, I'm considering using it, so I don't have to deal with the annoyance of the dogs and how much it messes up my pace to deal with them.

"Lawn Mowing" - Michael

I wanted to share these pictures of the partially "mowed" lawn near our house, because the "mowing" was all done with weed-eaters. In both pictures, you can see a darker section and a lighter section of grass. The lighter patch is the part that got mowed. To give you a sense of scale, the fountain (which is empty) in the top picture is about 20 feet in diameter.

Farmers Market - Hannah

Every Saturday there is a Farmers Market in town. Our plan is to go each Saturday and buy the produce we'll need for the week. There are a few good staples, like pineapples (usually around $1.40 each) and fuzzy guys (pictures to follow), and each week I try to buy something new for us to try.

The Farmer's Market in Puriscal, Costa Rica

Our loot for this week

Michael displaying a "fuzzy guy." I can never remember what they're actually called, but you open up the fruit (on the right), to get what's inside (on the left). It tastes a little like a cross between a cherry and a grape. They look and feel a little like a hard-boiled egg. We all like them. And Julia is happy :).

A plantain. It looks like a big banana, but you cook it. You slice it and fry it in a little oil. I think they're delicious. The rest of the family wasn't so excited about them, so this week I bought one just for me.

Like a Deer in the Headlights - Hannah

Today the kids got ready for school, and then Caleb showed me a note from the teacher that said he didn't have school today. Sunday is Costa Rican Independence Day, so I figured it was a vacation day for that reason. I wasn't sure about Dylan though, since their schedules are always different. Every day I have to find out what time to pick them up--sometimes they get out at the same time as each other, and sometimes it's different.

So today we drove past the school to check on Dylan's schedule, and found a bunch of kids going to school. We went up to the guard to find out, and a couple teachers told us that both the boys didn't have school today. I have no idea why other kids were going to school today, including some in the boys' classes. But I just went along with it.

Julia did have school, though. But she thinks she's done at lunchtime. We're not exactly sure, but I'll pick her up at lunchtime.

I had planned on taking Jonah to school today--there was something on the school's facebook page about going on an outing today related to Independence Day. But since the boys were home today, I needed to stay here with them.

So basically, I feel a little like a deer in the headlights. I normally feel like a fairly educated person. But lately I mostly feel clueless. I also feel slightly ridiculous as I try to pantomime what information I'm trying to learn from somebody. Yesterday I was at a yard-supply-looking store, trying to pantomime that I needed a hose, and then found out afterwards that the guy I was gesturing to spoke some English. Yes, I felt a little foolish. Also, I usually feel like the last to know anything.

Monday was Children's Day--think Mother's Day/Father's Day, but for children, along with pinatas, games and food. At Jonah's class, I was supposed to bring a gift for him, but I and the other gringo Mom didn't have one. There was plenty of other fun stuff though, so I don't think Jonah realized I messed up. Also, I was supposed to send a little gift with Caleb and Dylan to exchange at school, but I mistakenly ended up sending money instead.

Jonah as a tiger for Children's Day.

Oh well. Pura Vida. It's a saying here that has many meanings, one of which is just to live the simple, good life and don't stress. So I'm learning to roll with things. And my respect for immigrants to the United States has increased a ton. To be in a situation where you don't know the language, customs or routines, makes you feel more like a fish out of water than I had originally supposed.

All that being said, it's a beautiful morning as I'm writing this on the front patio; Jonah just brought me a lovely pale purple flower; Dylan and I have been using the binoculars and Costa Rican bird book to try to identify some birds; I'm listening to high school kids singing in the distance; and I've got a pineapple-banana-lime smoothie in the fridge ready for lunch.

Pura Vida!!!

Two Weeks and My Prediction Appears to be Correct - Michael

So we have now been in Costa Rica for two weeks. Before we left, I had a prediction that I shared with a number of people -- and with my kids many times. It was that the first two weeks would be pretty good, but then the novelty would start to wear off and the difficulty and frustration of not speaking the language would make the next two months a pain.

We had a pretty significant meltdown with Dylan this morning and him not wanting to go to school. Then this evening, Julia was begging to not have to go to her last class tomorrow. There are two parts to that one, her school is from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm (none of that is extra-curricular activities) and P.E. is her last class tomorrow.

For the sake of the kids, I hope things get easier faster than I predicted, but I think we may be in for a bit of a rough time for the next little while.