This was week 8 of our time in Costa Rica and my first week since leaving Spanish school. It felt strange. I felt keenly aware that the month of March was going to fly by since our family would travel to us in three weeks, and we would depart to Puerto Viejo in a month. After Puerto Viejo, we will have a few days before crossing into Panama. One of the challenges I am struggling with is the ability to stay present without thinking too much about how fast our time is going; trying to enjoy what is happening right now and not let my emotions get in the way. This is still a rough work in progress.
I admit I enjoy having my mornings back to get up slowly. I wake up most mornings between 6:30 and 7:30 but I hang around in my bed for a couple hours reading, writing, looking at some social media, texting, sometimes studying Spanish. Some of it is time wasting, some is productive. What I miss about school is the structure; having a place to be at a certain time, and the immersive learning experience. Mostly I miss my teacher and our daily "rabbit hole" chats we have. I hope we can keep in touch occasionally.
One of the items of business I've been assigned from Clark since I finished at the school is the task of taking a couple days trips with the kids. My plan is to take the bus to San Jose to tour the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica and travel someplace nearby for a chocolate tour. We will go tour the Teatro Nacional one afternoon as a family and I would like to visit Cartago to view the botanical garden along with two historic catholic church sites.
One place I explored recently was a couple librerias. A top recommendation from my professors for learning Spanish is to read more. Of course! But I am looking for books near the level of my speaking to give me improve my vocabulary and comprehension. I think books for 2nd graders or around 7 to 8 years old will do nicely. I was to look in the libreria which is a tienda or store for books. Except it's so much more. The two librerias I visited in Coronado can be compared to Hallmark stores in the USA. They stock toys and other gifts, offer gift wrapping services, act as an office supply, and one even had a sizeable art supply section. I found a few books that could work but the price was a little steep; 20$ for a 20-page paperback. Clark and I happened to be in Walmart (we don't travel there often because there isn't a need) and the books there were also expensive. I asked my new conversation partner and my professors at the school if there were any secondhand bookstores which they confirmed "yes" but not nearby. Maybe in China town and my conversation partner said there was one near her university so she would look there for me.
This was the week of my birthday. I decided I would like maki sushi, so I located a place a few miles away in a neighborhood called Tibas (Tee-bahs). We "celebrated" on Thursday instead of Friday because we were leaving early Friday for our weekend trip to Tortuguero. Clark arrived a little later than expected and was quite flustered. He had left Coronado around 4 to get the sushi ordered and didn't get home until 6:15. He said the cooks couldn't understand the order and then took an hour to make it, which is quite a difference from the USA. Clark gifted me Friday morning with a box of variety gourmet chocolates similar to my favorite box in the USA and a couple used novellas he picked up at a libreria near the sushi place. Later, after our trip, I had a chance to really discover the books he brought. One is a series of short stories, and the other is a regency era romance novella, both perfect for my needs!
We had some issues with the water service over the weekend and again in the middle of the week. When we arrived home from San Lucas our water was running very thin. One thing we had noticed is the water suddenly coming on and running in the faucet when it wasn't being used. This happened on a few occasions. I guess there was some water pressure issues occurring because after the water was on and off a few times, the pressure issue resolved. But it did cause us some inconvenience. The landlord requires that we keep about a dozen 5-gallon water jugs full in case of the water being off.
To be expected from a tropical place, we've had to share our house with a colony of ants. We all agree to disagree and try to mind our own business. I drew the line though when they invaded Craig's dirty laundry, and I picked up a couple ant baits. Then, I had the fun surprise to discover a roach under the kitchen sink. Gross! Gratefully, the landlord called in a maintenance visit from a pest control company.
Church friends:
This week we had Roni's family back on Tuesday. Roni brought several ingredients to whip up some of his creations. This one is a juice made with fresh spinach straight from his friend's garden, lemons, sugar, and water. It was refreshing!
On Thursday, the evening before my birthday, I had the pleasure of celebrating by attending a concert played by the National Orchestra in the beautiful cathedral of Coronado. This is one reason Clark was flustered about the sushi. We needed to be early to get seats. We arrived later than we wished, and the mass had already begun but some friends saved seats for us. The sunset from the mountain was gorgeous that evening and a good omen for a wonderful performance!
Rosabel and animals-the dog and then some..
Pretty much everywhere we go, Rosabel makes friends with dogs, cats, birds, you name it. They seem to appear out of nowhere. One evening this week, I walked in the kitchen to find this little guy. I stepped out briefly and when I returned, Rosabel had it cornered in a dish!
Hunting and gathering:
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