Our fourth week already!

This week has been a normal week, or at least the most normal week we have had so far. Much of the weekend was devoted to getting some semblance of a college list organized, and then having a reality check with Anna Ruth's guidance counselor over this week.

On Tuesday night, Anthony and Amy went to "Back to School Night" at the Lincoln School. Our trip there was via Heredia Centro, which is hysterically funny for those who might actually know the geography of the San Jose area. We learned in vivo that you really have to know the barrio name when giving directions to the taxistes, or else you will not end up where you are going. After several conversations at the university in Heredia with some very kind, bilingual students and a phone call home to Ruthie who could explain very well, we drove on the hypotenuse from where we started to where we were, and where we started to the Lincoln School, in order to achieve the goal of actually arriving, and we succeeded only 1/2 hour late. Fortunately, this event turned out to be fairly similar to Back to school Night at Carolina Friends School, only mostly in Spanish. We really loved the classes, and noted the very different styles when the faculty were teaching in English and Spanish. A very fun parent, who arrived just behind us (perhaps she was grateful that she had company in lateness), gave us a ride back to our home with a history-based tour of her neighborhood along the way. She was going on a night out with her friend, and the two of them gave us great stories about growing up in their neighborhood and life today. Very fun!

Other news of the week:
--tryouts on Wednesday and Friday for the Lincoln School soccer team, which seems rather low key;
-- watching the Democratic National Convention live, with Spanish translations in the same breath as the speakers themselves;
-- a lovely exhibit of wood sculpures by Rodolfo Uder at the Instituto de Mexico around the corner from us; and
-- the Elon students arrival last night! Watch in a few days for more photos of La Paz waterfalls and animalia, and also our first trip to a volcano. . .

Visitors this week and UCR

Below, finally, are just a few of the wonderful sights at La Paz Waterfalls, where we went the first day of the visit from the Howards. We will be back there in a week, with the Elon students who will have just arrived, finally, so can regale you with more photos.











This week was a full week of school, more soccer, and visiting with the Howards. There was actually one day in which the team could play on the field and Molly and Anna Ruth returned filthy as mudrats. Literally covered from chest to toe in mud. It took five hand washes of their socks alone before they could even go into the washing machine. But it was fun to play!

Howards went off to the Arenal Volcano and Playa Tamarindo. We will get to Arenal in about another month or so. They returned for the last day of their visit.Tom, Anthony, and Amy went on a walkabout to the University of Costa Rica; Elvira and Alanna relaxed at home and then toured the Automercado (supermarket); Ruthie and Molly had the pleasure of school. In the evening, most of us went out to dinner but Anthony and Molly got to go to a quinceaneria, the special 15th birthday celebration for girls in many Latin American countries.

Below are some pictures of the university.

Synagogue and Visitors!

On Saturday we went to synagogue for the first time in Costa Rica. The synagogue is a cozy and pleasant building a bit west of where we live, there are two Rabbis and the service is in Hebrew and Spanish. It is considered a reform congregation but we found many resonances with Conservative and Reconstructionist styles and think we will be very happy there! There was a simcha bat and so balloons and a festive lunch. The parents brought both twins to the bima (we guessed that that boy had had a separate brit) and they were just adorable. Amy had an unfortunate engagement with a horde of ants who discovered 3 peanuts in the bottom of her backpack, and spent about 1/2 hour emptying out the pack and cleaning it, removing ants from her person, and pretending that the huge pool of ants congregated by her seat was not really there, or if it was, that it was certainly not related to her.

From synagogue, we went directly to the airport to pick up Tom, Elvira, and Alanna Howard, who are here for the week. And in the afternoon, we went to the artisans "mercado", a large market with gorgeous crafts of the country. Sunday we went to La Paz Waterfalls which were magnificent, and more on that when the photos are available.

Mothers Day in Costa Rica

Friday (15th of August) was Mothers' Day in Costa Rica. Ticans know how to celebrate mothers; all schools and businesses close for this important event! We slept in with gratitude this morning, then went off to the zoo. We are walking almost everywhere, and this day was no exception. The map we have does not designate entrances, and since the streets have no names either, it was an interesting experience walking halfway around the zoo to find the entrance. Great little zoo, pictures forthcoming. Anna Ruth also found that her class was a "patron" to at least two animals there, including some gorgeous toucans.

School and Soccer Begin

Well school began on Monday; please see photo for the uniforms. Anna Ruth wears the orange shirt with green trim as the senior class gets to pick their color of the year. The first day was pretty wild with a lot of excitement among the seniors, and both of our children trying out different classes. Ruthie has three classes in Spanish, it turns out. Molly has just Spanish as a second language. Transition to school is challenging as there is a lot a lot of newness. School bus arrives at 6:50 am.

And soccer began today. Women's soccer is relatively new in Costa Rica, and our children have connected with the highest league, but which might also be the only league for women. Lots that we don't quite know, and so we go with the flow.

Today was another milestone for Amy -- conducting a thesis defense long distance. Fortunately all went well, both electronically and intellectually successful! Looking ahead, Mother's Day is Friday, and all schools and offices are closed for the holiday! Mother's day is not a card here, it is more like a washing machine. . .

Farmers' Market

Sunday we went to the Farmers' Market and met our upstairs neighbors and owners of our apt. The Farmers' Market was very similar in many ways to ours in Durham, with lots of veggies, fruits, and flowers. And it was very different in that we did not know what more than half of those fruits and veggies were! We bought four things that we had not seen before and committed to use them in our meals. One was cassava, one was some kind of squash, one we still don't know what it is but it is a fruit we have never had, and one was fresh coconut and we drank it up out of a straw as we walked about in the market.

Our upstairs neighbors are missionaries heading to Venezuela once they have a full year of Spanish. The three young children came over and were enamored with Ruthie and Molly and filled the apartment with their enthusiasm. The owners are of Italian descent and we actually managed to have an interesting conversation in Spanish, in which we learned a lot about when the house was built and who was born where, etc. Very fun! Tomorrow: the School Report!

Guanacaste beaches

After three cold, rainy days in San Jose, three hours of placement tests, and three more hours filling out forms and buying of uniforms at Molly and Ruthie’s school, and we were very ready to get outta town. Luckily we were off to Guanacaste for four days with our friends, the Lasters (who happened to be visiting here at the same time), at the beach.

We got to go to some fabulous beaches, snorkel multiple times in crystal clear water, paint various scenes along the way, and just relax. Also birthday celebration with Bracha Laster. Lots of great sunny weather too!

On Friday, we went on a boat trip on the Rios Palmas and Tempisque, and saw many wonders including:
.... a frog that changes colors but does not yet have a name because it has only just been found, white-faced monkeys (Capuchins);
crocodiles (one of which was petted and fed chicken feet (big yuck for us, but the croc loved 'em); iguanas; and many different kinds of herons and sandpipers who had not gone further north for the summer.

We had to take a big detour around a bridge that was being fixed, but got to go to Guital, which has a big pottery industry, based on hundreds of years of potting heritage back to the Choroteca Indians. We were glad to watch a demonstration with a small handwheel fashioned out of parts from a motor bike, and tools including shells and corncobs. The clay was made from a mixture of various dirt and clay and felt very soft and smooth. Another great day without rain, which only began to trickle as we made our way back to Liberia and across the mountains back to San Jose. We did stop in Liberia to see one of the great spheres that date back to prehistoric times, and to marvel about “how did they do that?” and a really pretty tiled church in Canos.

The van broke down on the way home, but no worries as we actually did make it home with lots of singing en route! Today, more rain. And that is the news until we get the new school report on Monday. . .

Arrived!

Hi all,

we have arrived! Long line in customs but very enlightening. Literally. Big glass windows above, and huge storm, so we were entertained with huge claps of thunder and several power outages while we waited. Taxi drove around San Jose to Los Yoses to our apartment so we did not see much. Day was dark and dreary, and given our multiple very-late nights getting ready and packed for departure, we pretty much collapsed in apartment and unpacked what we needed. AR and Molly snuggled up to Pride and Prejudice while Anthony and I walked to the Supermercado for groceries and our first full conversations in Spanish. We only bought two things that were other than we thought; strawberry goat yogurt turned out great but I don't advise buttermilk in your tea.

Today we begin to explore. . .