Flying home....

About 4 AM I made the decision to fly back home today. I feel I NEED to be home and not here. I changed my flight for today and packed up my things. Some of my stuff are now "gifts" just like I had planned. I am leaving these things with my wonderful host family. It is the least I can do for them. Anita has already started washing up the sheets and the towels I am leaving behind.

I gave Guido the honey peanut butter crackers I brought along. He seems to really like them. Hey, they get me through many a day... I sent a note to Alex and Karina so they would know why I am not at the 9 AM breakfast at Kay's Postares. Karina will go to Alajuela this afternoon too and fly to NYC before her final leg to Norway.

It will be hard to leave but the time is right. Soon we will call a taxi and then the return trip begins. Anita will let the project know I have gone early.

Life really is all about adapting to change...especially unexpected changes.... Flexibility....ah, yes!

Good bye Atenas.....

Death never takes a holiday....

About two hours ago I learned that my dear friend Gerrie found her way to heaven. Godspeed, mi amiga. Being so far away makes me even more sad. Yes, this is my work, to comfort the grieving, but nothing makes it any easier when grief comes to your door. Now I need to decide if I am coming home early or not...

Gone from our eyes but buried in our hearts.....

Parades and flags....

Today we celebrated Costa Rica’s Independence Day! Alex, Karina and I planned to meet before the parade and enjoy a nice breakfast at Kay’s. Alas, it was not open so back to El Balcon del Café we went. That turned out to be a great idea. Here’s what I had for only $6.00 total, including tax and tip (which is always included in your check).

We finished just in time to walk the next block where the parade was forming. We were fortunate enough to land a spot at Gellys, the gelato place, perched right above the street but in the shade.

It was only about 82 degrees this morning but with the heat index it was more like 95 degrees!!! We could hear the participants long before we saw them….. police sirens and Red Cross sirens grabbed your attention. Here, the Cruz Rojas is a very active body: they are the equivalent of our EMTs.

One by one, each school marched through the street. Some dressed in costumes while others came in uniform. Children of every size proudly displayed their pride in their homeland. Here are some of my favorite photos:

more later....


All in all, it was a great day to be here. I don’t know how they ever get used to the heat and humidity, but then again, that is what people say when they visit Florida too.

some bad news...

Some days you just can't escape the realities of life. I knew my dear friend Gerrie was fighting a battle for her life when I left. Yesterday I found out it is almost over. Please pray for comfort and peace for my friend and her family. They are wonderful, special, giving people and are worthy of your prayers.

Have a safe journey into heaven's arms, mi amiga. Jake will take you home.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOBcwJbKOdY&feature=share

teaching at the high school...

When I arrived at the classroom today, several students were already waiting to get into the locked classroom. By 7:04 AM they apparently decided that Freddy, the teacher, was not coming to teach today so they left. Whatever happened to the 15 minute rule??? I didn't know what to think so I just waited...it seemed reasonable to me! Yesterday I met another English teacher and I thought maybe I would just go and find her if Freddy never showed up. Within a few minutes, there he was and all the students were tagging along behind him. He had been in a meeting with the principal he explained. We discussed how to improve on today's lesson and agreed to put these students in a closer circle so everyone could see and hear. I gave him one of the HPH calendars I had brought along. I thought it might be interesting for them to see some pictures of our local area. It also would help Freddy understand about hospice work, something he clearly did not understand.

That class was very interesting and the students seemed to enjoy the challenge. They did better than I thought they might. It is not easy to formulate three questions in a new language.... One of the students took out his cell phone so he could use a translator program. They seemed surprised that I caught on to that trick!

For the next group, he suggested I take three students at a time and sit with them outside the doorway and talk to them that way. This seemed to help them hear and to relax with speaking English. I enjoyed it very much too. Some for them speak much better English than Freddy thinks they do. One young man has excellent skills. He said he lived in Los Angeles for a month and has been working on his English skills ever since by using the internet and watching American movies or tv. He hopes to work for an airline after he graduates so that he can travel more. Some of the students have no real plans after graduation. It is hard to be young in this world today. I do not envy their youth.

I was able to take two pictures just before school began. They are just regular kids you might find anywhere.

a short day today...

I arrived at the high school at 7 AM today. I actually took a brief stroll through the Friday market on my way. This time I have photos to share. So many smells and sights! Gabriel was there too just as he told us last evening. My connection takes a long time to post pictures but I am already back from school so I have time to send them out this morning.

Can't you almost taste the goodness?

An excellent day....

This morning I thought I was being taken to the high school just to meet the teacher of an English class. Before I got there, I came across a practice session for Saturday’s Independence Day celebrations and parade. It was so much fun to watch all ages practicing together. I can see that this is a very important event. Just as they finished up, Hannia met me at the corner. We walked the four blocks to the school where she introduced me to the teacher, Freddy, and then she left. It was about 9:45 Am. Freddy took me to his classroom where some students were just finishing up their lesson. He asked me to introduce myself to them. After they left, he told me that he learned English here in Costa Rica and has not yet been to an English-speaking country. He also told me that even though most students do take English classes over many years in school, they rarely speak the language, only read and understand. That is why he said he was happy to have a native speaker come in to encourage the students to speak the words even if they are not sure of the sounds. I assured him and them that it is impossible for them to do a worse job of speaking words than when I speak my little bit of Spanish. Freddy and his wife are planning a trip to Miami in November. He seemed surprised when I told him he would not hear much English there but instead mostly Spanish. Maybe he will change his mind and go to Orlando instead...they are only staying one week. He was also surprised about how far Orlando is from Miami.

Before the next class came in, we went to the gym for a student led assembly. Apparently they do this every day as he later told me his English Department must be in charge tomorrow. Because I was a special guest, I was asked to sit with the school principal and also with Freddy. The principal seems like a very talented lady but she gave no indication that she speaks any English. Fortunately we did not have time for much conversation so I think I have not created any international incident! The leader opened with a few words, then the national anthem. Some awards were presented to students who took part in a Special Olympics event. There was a skit about domestic violence. Then some traditional dancers gave a performance. Freddy had to leave for a meeting but he told me they have a lunch break at 11 and return to classes at 12 and end classes about 1:30 PM. Yikes, I thought to myself. That does not leave me much time before taking the taxi to the coffee plantation at 2PM and I did not bring my closed toed shoes with me this morning. I am getting really good (for me) at walking faster and timing what I need to do here. I got back home in time to grab my things, explain that I did not have any time for lunch and that I would see them later…and PLEASE do not worry about me today. Back I walked to the school only to realize I had no real idea where the classroom was….. A young woman helped me find the classroom but it was locked. I just sat on a bench outside and cooled down until Freddy came back to open the door.

With the next class he decided to have them write down three questions to ask me. They did pretty well and it was fun for me…. I imagine it was hard for them but they were pretty good about it all. Tomorrow we will try a few other things to get them TALKING. It was a good day…. I did not take any pictures at the school because I did not ask if it was allowed. Perhaps tomorrow… school begins at 7 AM. That means an early day for me!

I needed to get to the park and wait for the taxi so I hurried along until I was close enough and had plenty of time. Speaking of time, the cheapy watch I bought stopped working today so I resorted to using my cell phone as a replacement time piece. Our cell phones do not work here at all for phone service but it apparently can pick up wi fi and time. I bought a cold soda and waited on the park bench across from the church. The air was cool and breezy and it felt much better than earlier today. The park is a pleasant place just to sit and observe anyway.

Soon I saw Karina as she was walking to her family home. She needed to change her shows too so she came back in about 15 minutes. The taxi arrived right on time (seems like a miracle to me as most things run on Tico time here…) We were whisked away up a narrow, curvy road to the Organic Coffee Farm about 20 minutes outside of Atenas near San Isidro. A most remarkable young man and his wife operate a totally unique and organic farm there along with several other family farmers. It is called the Café de Toledo and tripadvisor highly rates it as a very good tour. Karina and I loved it! A couple from Montreal were the only other visitors today. He talked about how they began this process about 14 years ago and all the obstacles they faced. He is very connected to the land and has incorporated other methods to make the farm productive and environmentally pure. They also have a small tilapia pond and added trees and plants that assist in the crop productivity. He educated us about different kinds of beans and roasting procedures to get varied levels of flavors. Then they brewed some using the old fashioned drip method. We had to guess which was the light roast, the medium roast and the dark roast. Gabriel and Yvette are wonderful hosts! Here are some pictures from our tour…

This is how Yvette brewed the coffee...using cotton filters, hot water and the stand is made from coffee limbs.

And this is me enjoying the delicious coffee.

This was one of the best educational tours I have ever taken anywhere and I highly recommend it to you. Finally we needed to call for our taxi and let them get ready for tomorrow’s market days in both Atenas and Grecia. And yes, I did buy one bag. It smells so good …….


I have to get this posted so I can get some sleep tonight. Bedtime comes early and so does wake up time here. And tomorrow, I really need to get going early…. So much happened today and I hope you get some sense of the excitement it brought. It was a very special day….. Pura vida!

a new day, a new project...

This morning I walked to Su Espacio to see if Tina had any news about where I might volunteer. She had not heard from the education official yet so I agreed to go to the preschool fora few days. These old bones and knees are not really up to the preschool scene anymore but I wanted to do something... Then a call came in from someone who said it is all right for me to come to the high school tomorrow. Hooray!

While I was waiting for that call, Tina asked if I wanted to tutor a 10 year old young man who is fairly advanced in his English studies. "Of course" I wanted to do it. For the next two hours, we went talked. We used one of his English language workbooks. That was not very interesting so we just started to talk about his interests. That was so much better for both of us. He is very bright and loved telling about his future plans, his family and what he did on vacation in the USA. Only a couple of times did we need Tina to explain a new word concept in Spanish. I had a great time and he seemed to enjoy the change. The time went by really fast too. At last, I felt productive here. It was a good feeling.

Now more than ever, I am truly looking forward to working with the teenagers. I am a glutton for punishment anyway.... Hannia will take me to the high school tomorrow morning at 9:30 AM to meet their English teacher.

While I was waiting , Tina called and made a reservation for Karina and I to go to an organic coffee farm nearby. It is a highly rated tour by Tripadvisor and also by several local people. Here is a link to their blog:

http://cafeateniense.blogspot.com/

After the lesson, I walked over to a cafe Karina introduced me to yesterday. It is a pleasant place to enjoy the view from the second floor open air cafe. I had plenty of time before I was to meet two sister s who recently moved here from Oregon. There was only one other person there. He said "hello" and was an American who has lived off shore for over 15 years. His name was Paul (seemed familiar for some reason...lol.) People here are so easy to talk to. I joined him at his table and soon another German man, George, joined us too. It was quite an interesting conversation as they have fairly checkered pasts (and present too I imagine.) I was not afraid in any way but enjoyed the new experience. I finished my lemon cake and water and we all parted ways. Once I arrived at Kay's, she told me this man was somewhat well known in the ex-pat community and was considered to be a little bit odd. He teaches gun classes here in CR and also arranges for motorcycle tours. He even offered to teach me while I am here. Ha! No thanks! I don't like guns or motorcycles but I never told him that. Anyway, I did make a couple of photos from the balcony of El Balcon de Cafe.

This photo I found on a webpage.

Today I met two sisters who recently moved here from Oregon. They have a blog called http://sistersintransition.blogspot.com. Roxi, Judy, Karina and I had a really fun afternoon. They took us on their Pathfinder (aptly named Dora the explorer) to a large restaurant on the north end of town. I had some of the best fried chicken anywhere and as always a huge portion. Thank you to both Judy and Roxi.

As you can see, this trip is not all work. Every day I am learning new Spanish phrase sand feeling more comfortable here. It s very satisfying to be able to communicate fairly well even if part of it is my charades. Flexibility......

Yesterday and today the humidity has almost disappeared. No rain today either.

Tonight Anita and I watched the news. There were many more pictures and stories from Samara and the earthquake epicenter. Lots of houses, buildings, schools, hospitals etc. have fairly substantial cracks in them. Many are closed and considered to be unsafe. It looks like many families are just collecting what they can and moving away. There are still aftershocks in that area. This morning on my way to Su Espacio, two men were out collecting funds for the earthquake victims. I wonder how they will repair those buildings or if they will have to tear many down and begin again. It is still very much a topic of conversation here.

Please remember these hardworking people as you ask for God's blessings.

Pura vida!!!

La Paz Waterfall Gardens....

Today was a really special day here in the land of pura vida. I made new friends with Pat and John and we shared an incredible experience in one of Costa Rica's most beautiful parks. Here are some pictures from our day. And yes, it really does rain a lot in the rain forest!

This park is very well maintained. They are expanding it so most of the big cats had been moved until the new, bigger cages are completed. It rained really hard for a while. Fortunately, we were inside the butterfly garden. Even so, it was much cooler there and also cooler back in Atenas today. More photos...

My connection is slow so I will just add a few more from the butterfly garden.

We also saw toucans, mountain lions, monkeys, snakes and tiny little frogs. There were more hummingbirds than I have ever seen in one spot. And lots of Florida familiar plants and flowers.

And lastly, we drove to the waterfall instead of taking the 45 minute walk. After wards we had a wonderful lunch at one of their favorite restaurants. It was a very good day...

Unexpected blessings....

I corresponded with several American ex-pats before I came to Atenas. Some of them said to look them up and that is exactly what I did. Since I have no new project to go to tomorrow, I am able to take Pat up on her offer to go sightseeing with she and her husband. She lived here many years ago and has been a resident for over a year now.

It was a little tricky getting Anita to understand that I wanted her permission to use her phone but we got it done. All outgoing calls have a fee. Once I had Pat ion the phone, I asked her to explain in Spanish what our plans are so I won't be in trouble again....lol. Pat made sure Anita knows where she lives and has her cell phone in case we are later than expected.

http://www.michunche.com/


We are planning to drive to Poas and LaPaz tomorrow morning. I am meeting them at Kay's and off we will go. Hopefully there will be LOTS of good pictures to share. Pura vida!

Saying good by is never easy...

Today was my last day at the Hogarcito. The children were so happy to see Alex and me today. They had no way of knowing we would not be back. I took matchbox cars, some McDonald's Happy Meal toys and a frisbee. They seemed to enjoy everything. It is hard to explain the affection they freely give to anyone who comes to see them. The Tias were also sad.


There really is no good way to say good by to anyone is there? I wish I were able to post photos of them, but that was strictly forbidden. Rest assured they are as beautiful as any children anywhere in the world, inside and outside. We both had tears in our eyes as we taxied away.

May God bless them richly and give them hope.

This and that

I finally took a photo of one of the other family members , Guido. He is 42 years old and has his own locksmith and key making business. I wondered how much need there might be for that in such a small town but I got my answer yesterday. He already works six days a week. Yesterday morning (Sunday) while we were having breakfast, his cell phone rang. Apparently someone was asking for his services on Sunday. He told them he would come on Sunday afternoon. After he left, another man came to the door asking if he could help him too. Apparently , locksmithing is good business here!

I also took a photo of the shower system here. They call them “suicide” showers. You can see from the wires wrapped around the shower head (I have no idea how that really works) it is best to shower carefully and NEVER TOUCH THE SHOWER HEAD or WIRES or PIPE. There really isn’t anything resembling warm water here anyway….but it sure feels GREAT after a hot, muggy day.

The only AIR CONDITIONING I have here is pictured below. God bless whoever invented fans.

I did make some pics of the broken pavements which are everywhere. I am being REALLY careful as I walk around. Two left feet are not welcome right now…

Today I stopped in at a small market nearby. That water could not have tasted better and it was ice cold!

And the last picture is a good representation of how I spent most of my week end…