We have settled back into the school routine after the October break. We headed to San Jose to take care of some doctor appointments for me and John. The bus is always an adventure, so down the mountain we traveled for about $6.00 each. The kids enjoyed singing songs they are learning in Kinder and I am sure Melody (their teacher), who just happened to be sitting one row in front of us on the bus, was smiling as she heard the two little voices belting out familiar tunes. We spent four days and three nights in a nice hotel in Alejuela (Orquideus Inn) which had a great little whirlpool for the kids to frolic in and expansive gardens and greens to play and let off some steam. The hotel was nearly deserted as it is the low season, so we felt like we had the place to ourselves, except for these spiders that just hung from the trees (I found myself constantly ducking while enjoying the gardens). We befriended the driver of the hotel (Willy) who was kind enough to shuttle us back and forth into San Jose to the clinics and labs. He gave quite the spanish lessons to Mike, so certainly a Jack of All Trades!
John Gustavo was a real trooper at the Lab, not only did he have blood taken once, but twice, as we fed him the first morning (oops), so we needed to return the next morning for the glucose test. Barely a flinch! He proudly displayed his Certificado de Valentia (Certificate for Braveness) for being such a brave boy. Michael squirmed a little and he was just an onlooker! I was very impressed with the private lab facility and the friendliness of the staff. About 90000 colones for all the blood work (about $180 US mas o menos). All is well, just checking out why he is up 3 hours a night!
Willy planned a day trip to Volcan Irazu for us so we picked up some sandwich material, some juice and piled into his van and headed up in elevation. We passed through Cartago (which was the capital city prior to San Jose) and then were amazed to see all the onion fields unfold infront of us. Many workers taking care of the crops. As we wound up the mountain we eased back on the gas to enjoy a local school celebrating Dia de Raza (Day of Race). If I understood Willy correctly, it is the day where Costa Ricans celebrate their Indian heritage. We reached the volcano and quickly searched for our windbreakers and long sleeve shirts as it was quite chilly. Lucky for us, the clouds parted making way for some brilliant sun. Mike looked like a lobster that night. The boys enjoyed playing in the ash/sand and practicing their letters! It was quite a lunar experience and much different from our visit to Volcan Poas last year. We enjoyed a picnic lunch with Willy and keeping an eye on a very friendly Coati (who knew exactly where his every meal came from).
We headed back through Cartago where Mike jumped out to visit the beautiful cathedral while we all grabbed a couple of zzzz's in the van. You can see by the pics, it is quite something.
We also enjoyed a quick trip back to the Children's Museum but were disappointed that the Amusement Park was closed on the weekdays due to low season. Perhaps a trip back during Christmas break is in order.
Thursday found us lazing around the pool, the kids busy collecting small coconuts from the grounds and Mike and I discussing everything from our future here to Quakerism and Faith. Quite a healthy discussion. We are hoping to seek out some local churches in the zone as we are desperate to find some type of Sunday school alternative for our boys. The Monteverde Meeting is conducting a day long Quakerism 101 education for all community members on 11/13 in which Mike and I plan to attend. Should be interesting! I'd very much welcome the opportunity to lead a Children's Meeting with focus on a lesson from the bible. Nothing heavy, just a fun activity which can perhaps be founded on Jesus' teachings. Stay Tuned!
Thursday we met with John's doctor and quite liked her. She knows Monteverde and actually spent five years here practicing at the clinic in Santa Elena. Small world for sure. She is an MD and a Naturopath so a nice combo. A quick stop at the Homeopathic pharmacy in San Jose, then another at the Mall to buy some Melatonin at the GNC store, and then back to Alajuela to meet Kathya for our ride back home. Or so we thought! The traffic was unbearble, taking almost 2 hours to get through San Jose. Bumper to bumper brought me back to visions of driving on the Eisenhower or Stevenson in chicago. We ended up meeting Kathya in Alajuela Central Park and piled into her van and slept the entire way home, getting to the little brown house about 11 p.m.
We enjoyed having Veronica, Stuart and a new family over for a campfire last Saturday night...it was a dry night, so we took advantage of it! Everyone had a job, whether it be fanning the fire, whittling sticks for campfire bread, cutting up garlic or making gnocci (sp), we all pitched in. The kids got along great and were real troopers to keep the fire going through a little spotty rain. We enjoyed spending time with Debbie and Evan and their two daughters were great with our boys. Hey ,we actually had a chance to converse with adults...imagine that!
Michael and John amaze me now as they are really into their letters, spelling words, sounding out letters and hungry for paper and pens! Little minds are truly amazing!
The school project continues to keep me busy and I feel like we are starting to gel as a team. John, the director of the School, had a successful trip to the States where he grew existing relationships and formed new ones with potential donors. It really is exciting to see this school go through some changing times. Anyone interested in seeing the presentation or checking out the artistic renderings of what is planned over the next five years, just post a comment and I'll direct you to the site where you can view it all! Of course, donations are always welcome!
I'm thinking about posting my resume to some boards to see what the appetite is for doing some consultant work from here. If we want to stay longer, I will have to pull in some American coin. So for any of you out there, let me know of any networking possibilities - open to suggestions for starting a more aggresive job search!
I took the kids (Gaudy's son too) to swimming lessons yesterday. They have been eager to start and finally, Yesterday was the day. It is nice to have some organized sports coming into the zone - Leo, the owner of Bellbird, is a real go-getter and wants to provide as much opportunity for the kids here as he can.. "If it doesn't exist, we need to make it happen" is his mantra! The sun shone in the morning, so all was looking good. The lessons were offered through the Bellbird School at the bottom of our hill (2500 colones for one lesson - a little less than $5.00). The boys had a blast, there were about ten kids, ages 4 to 10 or so. Bellbird has a swim coach from Puntarenas that comes up and she is wonderful with the kids. Mike hitched a ride to the farmer's market, while I enjoyed snapping pics of the swimming activities. Can't wait until next Saturday. El Establo hotel opened up their pool from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., so nice to have the offer from local businesses.
Thinking that the boys would have been 'spent' and tuckered out, I sneaked out for a run, but I didn't get away without them both saying that they wanted to go with me. I looped back to get them on my way home and was amazed that they ran about a mile (up to where the pavement meets the dirt road) and back! Michael quickly found the couch and snoozed away until 5 pm. where we then headed to Veronica's for dinner. A full day indeed!
Mike and the boys enjoyed a trip to the Reserve last week with Veronica and Stuart - I for one, am glad that I wasn't there to see John gallop across the hanging bridge...yikes!
Lastly, we are saddened to have a number of birds flying in to our windows, this one didn't make it. Needless to say, we are putting stickers on the windows now in hopes of giving the little fine feathered friends a gentle warning...look out for glass!
Well, the boys are home now, and up in the trees out in the pasture with blankets and sheets constucting some type of fort while Mike is down at Megs with another couple learning about gardening in this climate....Never a wasted minute.
Lastly, we celebrate the new arrival of another Schaefer baby, little Charlie, congrats Sarah, Ken, Kenny and Jack!
Peace
Signed: S
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