Tutoring and Trails!

How lucky I am, not only to have had two uninterrupted hours of Spanish, chattering, learning "and a little floundering" but doing this while walking the Guindon Farm. As some of you may recall (in earlier posts), the Guindon family is one of the original settlers of Monteverde. Angelina Guindon is a lovely, gentle, giving lady who is so patient and interesting. As we walked, she showed me the grass she is growing outside their newly constructed home, the various trees and bushes and where the kids use to play, where the remnants of an old tree-house and tire swing lazily sit. We meandered through trails, crawled under fences and peered into the little casita her husband built for one of his artist sisters so she would have a refuge in the woods to create and paint. The vistas were spectacular, some of the pastures were thick with trees, while other views opened up over the mountains, looking toward San Luis. Precioso! It was such a peaceful and edifying time; seeming so natural. Angelina was impressed with my Spanish and was convinced all I needed was more conversation and vocabulary! I have another date with her this coming Tuesday.

Last Sunday was also a great day - you know those days when things are 'easy', the hours tick by and you have a 'good' tired feeling as you end the day and climb into your bed. We hiked down to the Caminata again, but this time with Veronica, Stuart and a few of their four-legged friends! The day was filled with sun, hardly a cloud in the sky. We spent several hours at the waterfall; the boys investigated the water, the terrain; however Veronica was the brave soul who discarded her socks and shoes and got ankle deep in the somewhat chilly water. After a few moments, I'm sure her feet were numb as she bent down, turned over rocks and yelled "crab, hurry, come see"! We found crabs and all sorts of aquatic life; you just have to be patient and have sharp eyes. The boys enjoyed hop-scotching over the river rocks and swinging from the vines. It was just good, clean fun! So much nature, so many beautiful things to look at and study, whether it is strangler figs, weird plastic suction-cup under-water fungus, spiders and such, the kids were fully engaged! John decided he'd be better off keeping his shoes and socks on while wading through the river. I'm not surprised to say, that after cleaning his shoes in a bucket that night; the in-sole had simply disintegrated as it appeared to be made of some sort of paper material. So Auntie Beth, be on the look out for some kids sneakers coming your way...hoping you'll find room in your suitcase for them.

A quick shower, and we were off to Peter and Carol's house for dinner...well almost! As we waited for the arrival of the taxi, time sped ahead as we heard the whoosh of four horses gallop again into our front yard. We quickly called Meg; only minutes passed and Rigo appeared to corral them for the night in our pasture. They are huge animals and time seems to go into slow motion when these gigantic animals appear. Peter and Carol live on the Guindon farm and rent a quaint little green house just in front of Angelina's home. The view from the house is spectacular on a clear day - the Bay of Nicoya just invites you to exhale! We were pampered with a lovely dinner and great conversation, not to mention Carol's magic tricks that kept the boys entertained. Although I'm not quite sure they have mastered or understand the "now pick a card and DON'T tell me!" We savored the chicken, potatoes, green beans, salad, corn bread, and ice-cream. A lovely couple and an equally lovely evening. Carol also shared with us the little lullabye she sang to her kids when they were young which I find myself singing to the boys now. Ah...'Mr. Moon'!

My back is finally feeling a little better, but still not 100% - I will again lay-low in this afternoon's basketball mini-course but am eager to see the progress in the kids. It is entertaining to the say the least :) - Side note: as I was waiting in the re-bounding line this afternoon, I could not help overhear two kids talking about their faith...Christianity and Buddhism (so the one thought)...very interesting, then the topic quickly turned to 'hey dude, do you like Rap?".

As I close this for today, I feel the warm sun on my back as I perch on the brick retaining wall in front of the school and watch the kids scurry off to their class in hopes of beating the dreaded bell!

I continue to pray for those that are ill or recovering - (you know who you are) and I think of you always. I lift up in prayer the folks from my home church, CPC, that are ill and struggling as well.

Signed: S