Into the Wild

Wow. It has almost been a year since my last post. I said that it is like exercise and I was right.

So, Claire and I are talking about all the animals and bugs and reptiles we have here at our house - inside and out - mostly in - and here is the list:

snakes (non poisonous)
scorpions
armadillos
tree frogs
spiders/tarantulas
chinchas
saltamontes (GIGANTIC GRASSHOPPERS)
rats
mice
ferrets
toads
zorros (sort of like a possum)
cat
dog
chickens
birds

And once I opened my front gate to leave and there was a baby cow standing there staring at me. Now THAT was a surprise.

So far, none have them, other than spiders, have ended up in the bed. Yet.

Lost in Translation

For those of you who have tender eyes, you might not want to keep reading (profanity). . .

For the last year I have been calling my cab driver (I have the same one every day - we are on a contract) and saying to him in Spanish:

"Puede recoger me? Porfavor, toque su pito cuando viene!"

FINALLY someone corrected me and explained to me what I have been saying to him over the last year:

"Could you come and fuck me again? Please, when you get here, touch your dick."

Really. Why in the hell didn't anyone correct me sooner? How totally embarrassing. And all this time I was thinking how good my Spanish was getting. Hmmm.

Catching Up

Several months have gone by and it feels like a year. I won't bother going into details but here are some highlights:

Ben took a job in Iraq with the International Medical Corps in Baghdad. It is a year contract and he gets a week off every two months so see us which is more than before! He is running a center for returning refugees and I am so proud of him. We miss him but love him so much for doing this. I am even happier about it since in the fortune 500 alone there have been 330,000 layoffs since November!

Henry got his molars, speaks a lot in Spanish & English and also had a trip to the hospital for an IV due to dehydration. That last bit sucked. The health care here is good but you have to bring your own blankets, sheets & pillows and share a room with 3 other screaming babies with IV's. (Although we got lucky enough to have our own bed in the "diarrhea" room.) Oh - and Henry is now is school every day for 6 hours. It is awesome.

Claire has a new best friend (aside from her cousin Cal Bear/Matthew) named Maria Jose. She (Claire) grew an inch and doesn't stop talking. I told her I was going to go jump in the shower and she freaked, "MAMMA! Please, don't jump - that is dangerous. You have to go slowly."

I think blogging is like exercising - you have to do it regularly or you won't do it at all. And no, I never exercise.



Claire and cousin Ethan in San Mateo


Auntie Katie & Henry in San Mateo


Last sunset of the year.


Patio dried coffee at a local micro-beneficio La Cabana


Henry at our family Christmas party

Claire's First Ballet Recital

Missing Daddy at Christmas!

I can't figure out how to rotate this but I think daddy will enjoy it regardless!

Henry's First Haircut

Well, poor guy. We cut off his hair - the hair he rubbed and pulled every time he went to bed. But, he seems to be adjusting to the fact that his new military cut is here to stay. I would have cut it differently but the cut was free (courtesy of Mercedes Zamora) and all she had was the buzzer dealy so here are the pics! He was amazing. No tears. He just kept saying "Ah done" "Ah Done!" Not sure why I don't have a final pic of how cute he is - with his "no hair" cut.

Christmas in Costa Rica

What's that you say? It is too early for Christmas? Not here gosh darn it. The stores are full of wonderful "porcelain" statues of Jesus, Santa & angels, Faux Trees, bulbs, garland, anything holiday-like that you can have made in China.

So, now Claire has decided that tomorrow we have to go down and buy our plastic tree. It is difficult to rationalize with a four year old why buying a tree on October 8th isn't the best idea. She is even decorating the house as we speak with "cuttings" from one of her workbooks. Last night she wanted to leave oranges & cookies out for the reindeer & Santa. "What is that stuff that Santa & the Reindeer eat?" She asked.

Good lord. I have three whole months ahead of me to deal with this. Wish me luck.

Recent Challenges

Internet Problems: I had a tech come to the house even though I knew there was nothing wrong with my connection - it has something to do with a cable between here and San Jose. I seem to be playing the internet lottery. I can open some pages and not others. No rhyme or reason to it, just a lottery. I tried to open the French National Newspaper website LeMonde.fr (don't ask me why - I don't speak a lick of french) and of course, I didn't win the lottery. The tech says to me, "Well, that is because" he pauses, looks at his watch and continues "it is very late in France." I highly doubt that this connectivity issue will ever be fixed if he (or "they") think that the internet closes after dark in Europe.

Parasites: We debugged & dewormed about four months ago. Over the last week, Claire has been screaming from the bathroom "MOMMY! I HAVE ANTS IN MY BUTT!!!" I guess the parasite meds didn't quite work. She is on them again. Poor girl.

Electricity: Every now and then the municipality decides to just shut off the power. There is no warning, they just shut if off. Sometimes it is for an hour and sometimes it is all day. They shut it off on Saturday. I had no hot water for my shower (it is heated by a freaky electrical gizmo that makes you think you will be electrocuted every time you shower,) no internet, no light, no tv. . . I had to go downtown to buy a few things and I HAD to take a shower. So, I took an ice cold freezing hellish brutal painful shower. The point of all of this is that nearly every Tico I know wakes up at 5am and takes a cold shower. Why? Because they say it is a great way to start your day. Maybe that is why they are all insane here?

Things with four legs: I have some rather large animals scurrying around in my ceiling. Actually, it isn't really scurrying - it is more like thumping. They aren't mice, and I doubt rats. I am thinking opossums? They decide to play chase every night when I get into bed. It creeps me out and I am worried that one of them might fall through the ceiling and bring lots of horrid bugs with it into my bed. I need to figure out how to get rid of these mystery beasts.

I do have to say that the kids are great. Although by the looks of this picture I took of Henry tonight, my frustrations are rubbing off on him.
(Yes, that is a bruise on his cheek from falling off a chair two days ago, and today he fell trying to climb into his crib and split his lip and bruised his chin.)

News from the North

When a vice-presidential candidate can't even name ONE newspaper or magazine that she reads to keep up on world news we have a problem. The failing economy is a problem. The bailout issues are a problem. Gas prices are a problem. There are so many problems right now in the states that I am somewhat happy I am in my little Costa Rican bubble. I did just read a summary of the bailout bill - it is only one page but it provides a basic overview of the bill. For the whole thing, you can go here.

Thank god we cashed out our 401K earlier this year!

People here are extremely concerned that the problems in the US will soon trickle south and further harm the economy in CR. Wages are horrid, jobs are scarce, food/gas/electricity are terribly expensive - i really don't know how people survive here. I feel so lucky that Ben is working and that CAFECOSA is slowing growing.

Our Tica Blanca

The Costa Rican national holiday was last week and Claire's school was in the parade. It was interesting - the teacher asked if I could dress her in "typical" CR dress. Of course, I said that we don't have anything like that and she said "you can find it downtown and it is really cheap." She must think that because I am an American I have lots of money because I found the dress and you have to have it made and it is $25.00 and the shoes are another $8.00. I know this sounds inexpensive but when someone is living on a tight budget in a 'third world' country this is spendy!

So, we got her all dressed up for the parade and Henry and I followed her on the float for two hours. Two hours in the hot sun and all we did was walk around the church. It was slow and a little painful but I did have a chance to talk to some other parents and I made a new friend - and Claire loved it! So, I guess it was all worth it! And, she looked so freakin' cute.

Voting From Abroad - And Daddy Leaving

It was a big day. Or should I say week. Daddy was here and we had an amazing visit. It was only about 9 days but it was better than nothing. I think the best part about the visit was being back together as a family and watching Ben play with the kids. He is an amazing father and husband and I am so lucky.

We didn't take any pictures except for what you see here, we didn't do any fancy trips, we just sat around and relaxed and talked and played with the kids. It was perfect.

Today we took him to the airport. Of course, we forgot that we didn't have a car seat for Henry so he couldn't come with us. While this was probably hard on Ben, it was much easier for me! Two tired kids in a cab after daddy leaving just isn't my cup of tea.

But, before he left, I printed out my absentee write-in ballot and I voted. I voted for John McCain. NOT. Obviously I voted for Obama. It felt great to cast my vote and if you know anyone abroad who needs to figure out how to do it (if they can't get to the embassy) here is the link http://www.votefromabroad.org/ and it is very straight forward.



Like father like son.



Of course, when you are late for the flight there is always a herd of cows in the street blocking your path.



Henry, scraping off the top layers of Ben's nose.

Happy Birthday Daddy

Today is also Children's Day in Costa Rica so in a wierd way, we celebrated your birthday! At school claire had a pinata and special lunch - she even wore her princess dress to school!

I have Fox News!!!!!!

Well, I just discovered that they cable company kindly added Fox News to my fine selection of channels. I have to say that I am thrilled. I never, ever thought I would say that about Fox but I now have a news channel in ENGLISH that I can really follow! CNN en Espanol is nice but it is too hard to follow, especially with kids running around.

So, while I missed Barack & Michelle's speeches, I can now follow what is happening in the world!!! Of course, it is through Fox's juvenille view but it is something, and something is better than nothing! (I am sure there are many of you that disagree and would encourage me not to even bother. . . )

Henry

Some videos for daddy who misses the kids far more than words could even explain.

These aren't great but they are better than nothing!








At the fire station! (baby talk is for Henry, not Claire - who is so big that she went down the FREAKY HIGH fire pole by herself!

Fistfights & Boyfriends

It was a monumental day yesterday. Claire had her neighbor friend Isaac over for a playdate. He is a sweet, 6 year old boy who lived in the states for the last three years and speaks perfect English.

Here is how it went.

I was sitting outside working on my computer.

Isaac: "Darcie, what would happen if Claire was my girlfriend?"
Me: "Well, she is a girl and she is your friend so I guess she is your girlfriend."
Isaac: (with a confused look on his face) "huh"
Me: "Would you like her to be your girlfriend?"
Isaac: (wide eyed, enthusiastic nodding) "Yeah!"
Me: "Okay then!"

He immediately ran back to Claire and I peeked in through the window to watch this 'courtship' unfold.

Isaac: "Claire! Guess what! Your mom said that you could be my girlfriend!"
Claire: (looking at me giving her a thumb's up through the window) "Okay."

So, I guess the deal is sealed. Maybe I shouldn't have been so encouraging?

Then, about an hour later. . .

Isaac: "Daaaarrrrrciiiieee, Henry hit me!"
I went inside to see Henry sitting, staring silently at the floor.
Me: "Henry, hitting is not nice. Isaac is sad because you hit him."
Henry: (looking up at me with the most pathetic, hurt face) "Waaaaaaaaaaah"
Me: "Isaac, did you hit Henry back?"
Isaac: "Well, yeah, it is because he hit me."

It is good that they are starting young.

The Hermit Had Visitors

I have been feeling a bit like a hermit lately. I told Katie (my sister in law) how I just seem to be slipping into not wanting to talk to anyone. I don't know exactly why, but it is happening. Or happened. (Sorry to everyone who I haven't spoken to in ages. I am lame.)

So, to shake things up a bit, I had visitors from Seattle for the last four days. Rachael, Claire's old Montessori teacher, and her sister Sarah (who works for an NGO in El Salvador) came down for a visit. It was really nice to have guests who love the kids and love to speak English. I was a little worried that Claire would have some strange "I miss Daddy" freak out thing (because Rachael she knows from home) but she didn't. She was so happy. Although tonight she cried for daddy :(

It was a relaxing four days and the highlight was taking them down to the beneficio (coffee farmer co-op) for an honest-to-goodness coffee tasting. I think I may have enjoyed myself more than them! Today just before they left we went down to my property (there is a nice garden there) and picked avocados, kale and rosemary. I sometimes take for granted what bounty I have down here! Although, the chickens aren't laying eggs. . . that is another story.

Here are some pics of our last four days.

Misc. Happenings

Henry's new friend. Too bad he isn't real!! (Katie - this one takes the cake!)



Random pretty green bug.



Swedish midsummer celebration - dad was the only non-Swede!



Baking rosemary bread with 'Roggie' - a regular Sunday event.



Looking at our new house plans - at one point, Claire tried to climb into the monitor! I think she is excited.

Henry Reads

I mean, he doesn’t actually READ but he loves books (see him reading in the video on the right.) He loves to chase me around with Truckmice and Llama Llama Red Pajama. I have read them so many times I could scream. But I don’t. I have them memorized.

Then, the gods were smiling upon me and I went to the post office and there was a HUGE box from Auntie Katie. It was a Lipka Christmas. They sent books, socks, shoes, bath crayons, stickers, activity kits, disney towels, bathing suits, and last but not least, mouse ears (there is more but I can’t remember it all!!) Thank you Katie, Ethan, Jared, Cal Bear and Glen!!!

So, I now have a lovely selection of books to read to Henry and Claire occupies herself with the cool crafts that Katie sent.

It was a great day!

Tenemos Gallinas!

The price of food here is insane. It is amlost the same price as it is in the states. Here is an example:

Milk = $1.00 for a litre
Eggs = $3.50 for 15 eggs
Cheese = $3.00 for 8oz of cheddar

What I don’t understand is that wages here are so low! I pay Flori $1.50/hour and she is probably the highest paid nanny in town. The going rate for a nanny is about $.90/hour. So, how do people afford groceries? I just don’t get it. On top of all of that, they pay for water and electricity (obviously) which just went up by something like 40%.

So, I decided that it would be a good idea to buy some chickens so I can have fresh eggs every day. I paid $30 for five chickens and this morning Claire, Henry and I went to the hen house and collected our breakfast. It was AWESOME!

Claire loves the chickens but she refused to stick her arm in the hen house to get the eggs. Not because she was afraid of the hens (and they are big!) but because she didn’t like the poop on the floor. She is such a delicate flower.

Side Note: So much has happened in the last month it is hard to try to blog it all. So, I am starting today and Ben honey, I PROMISE to be better!!!

Happy 4th Birthday to Claire!!

What a great day!! Claire had a party at school on Friday and on Sunday we had a birthday/father's day party. We rented tables and chairs, everyone brought food - arroz con pollo, picadillo de aracache (a type of tuber veggie), fried platanos, corn-cilanto-avocado-tomato salad, and chicharrones. It was amazing. We had a pinata, a fishing game (where everyone fishes for a little present) and a lovely cake & gifts. It couldn't have been better! Well, it could have been better if Daddy was there with us but under the circumstances, it was fantastic. All in all there were around 30 people - mostly the family of Mariaelos, my neighbors, and Floi & family.



A good Claire quote from the day:

Claire: "Isaac is so cool."
Me: "Yeah - he is you buddy!"
Claire: "No he isn't! Daddy is my buddy!!" Said with an angry little 4 year old face.