Day 25 - August 1, 2008

August 1, 2008

Our last day of school. I need to get money for David and for lunch so before class, I walk down to the ATM to get money out. I put in my card, ask for my money and the cajero automatico (ATM) takes my card because apparently it expired yesterday!!!! What am I going to do?! I walk home and think of my options.

I send the kids to class and go to the bank to try to get my card back. The bank that took my card is Banco Popular (why am I not surprised) and it is in the middle of town. I get there a few minutes before 8am and find out the bank doesn't open until 9am. I walk to the where the taxis are and take one to class.
Note: I thought I had no money at all but Leehia reminded me there was some money in Kasondra's suitcase we brought back from our last trip. Yeah! So I had a little over 5,000 colones or $10.

I went to class until 9am and then took a taxi back to the bank. When I went in, the manager told me that he would have my card at 2pm because the ATM is across town and they need to go retrieve it. I am about to cry (but don't). I am walking back to the taxi line when I see a Western Union sign. I go in and tell the guy about my problem and ask him how I can get some money. He tells me that someone in the US can go to a Western Union with cash and I can receive it immediately. They just need to tell them my name and that I am in Costa Rica. Bueno! I walk over to the internet cafe and call mom, of course! Mom saves the day and goes directly to the Western Union and sends me $200.00. I call to confirm before I head back to the Western Union in Turrialba and she says everything is done. I go back to the guy and he tries to find the wire. He can't find it anywhere. He lets me call mom and she has the transaction number. We are able to find it that way. The problem was that the guy at the Western Union in CA put my name as Melissa Kathleen Perez and in Costa Rica the last name is the 2nd name, so my last name is Kathleen. Anyway, I received the cash and went back in a taxi to class.

Class was fairly short as this took a while and they let us out a little early because we were graduating and receiving our certificate. After that, we walked to Betty's for our last meal in Turrialba and the kids (Jenna) actually caught on the the cats in the cage. We took pictures with Betty and took a taxi home to finish packing.

Packing went fairly smoothly and at 2pm, I had to go over to Banco Popular and try to get my card back. The manager remember me and it was very easy. I don't know why I actually need it because it is expired but, oh well. After, I went to the store and bought a birthday present for Jimena, Leehia's granddaughter whose birthday was 2 days before and went to a flower shop to buy an arrangement for Leehia. As I walked back to the house, David pulled up. Perfect timing. David loaded our bags into the van and I took a picture of the kids with Leehia. Off to San Jose and the Marriott!

We made really good time considering there is a huge fiesta happening in Cartago...a pilgrimage that happens every year. People walk from all over Costa Rica (some days, even weeks) to Cartago and the Basilica there. It is all over the news. Anyway, we arrived at the Marriott and we are very pleasantly surprised. It is VERY nice! There is carpet in the rooms, hot water and water pressure, nice linens, air conditioning, internet access, TV and phone. Kasondra was so happy she actually started crying.

We ordered room service for dinner (yes, room service) and enjoyed relaxing in the room. Everyone was in bed by 9pm. We are going to relax at the hotel tomorrow, enjoy the swimming pool and just try to take a break. Our flight leaves at 8:55am on Sunday so we'll need to be up early. I guess everyday is just another adventure. I can't believe I came to a foreign country and didn't look to see when my ATM card expired!

Day 24 - July 31, 2008

Thursday, July 31, 2008

The last day of July. Where does the time go? We only have 2 more days left of school. This picture is of Jenna on our walk home. I went into town this morning and paid my exit tax (taxes so we can leave Costa Rica). It costs $26.00 per person or $130.00 in all. Thank God for ATM or we might just have to stay here. After school we went to Betty's again but we had to be quick because Jenna, Abbey and Q were going canyoning again so we needed to be at Soda la U by 1:30pm ready to go. Kasondra went home in a taxi. This time we had a few other families with us and it wasn't as much fun. I stayed in the warehouse and did my homework. I have to do a presentation in class tomorrow.

We got home about 5:30pm and the kids had soup for dinner and I started to pack. It should be interesting to see if we can fit everything in our suitcases. Jenna is packing her stuff too and is pretty happy everything fits.

David is picking us up at 3pm tomorrow and taking us to the San Jose Marriott. It is really close to the airport. Our plane leaves at 8:55am on Sunday morning. I found out today another family is on our same flight. How funny huh? I was thinking of going to the zoo on Saturday but we might just veg by the pool instead. We'll see how it goes. I am going to take pictures of Betty's cocina and Betty tomorrow. Also my school and our mama Tica. Well, I better get going because I still have a lot to pack!

Day 23 - July 30, 2008

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

School again. Today, we ate at Betty's and the kids tried to catch a cat that is in the back. The cat is wild but they are having a good time trying. We walk back toward home to go to the souvenir shop to get a few gifts and then we head to the ice cream shop. It looks like it's going to rain pretty soon so we hurry up. There's a clothing store that has a gum ball machine and Abbey and Quinten have been after me to go there so we finally do. It's starts to rain as we head home. We have about two hours until we need to be at Betty's so we rest and I do my homework. Kasondra is resting on my bed in the picture. The other picture is of the TV room where Jenna and Q are watching some TV (in Spanish). The last picture is of Abbey and Kasondra's room. The picture with all the kids is on our walk home.

We leave for Betty's cooking class at 5:45pm and take a taxi because it's raining. Betty has the kids make cookies again and they loved it! Quinten is busy making cookies in this picture.

We got home about 8pm and everyone got ready for bed. We are all exhausted because we pretty much have something to do every day.

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Day 22 - July 29, 2008

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Today is school again as usual. Kasondra is being moved into a higher class...beginning level 2. There are 2 other adults in her class. After school today, we have a field trip to the Serpentaria. We will learn about snakes. Here is a picture of leaf cutter ants. They are all over Costa Rica. They cut leaves from larger plants and take them to their home. It is pretty cool to see the line of ants with their leaves. I like them because they are always working hard and not trying to bite me. We saw these leaf cutter ants at the Serpentaria.

At the Serpentaria, the guide started to lecture in Spanish about the snakes with everyone sitting on benches. The kids lasted about 5 minutes before we had to leave the lecture and walk around. He lectured for an hour. Definitely not kid friendly. After that however, the kids got to see the snakes and he even took out a few smaller, non poisonous snakes for everyone to hold. There are a lot of kids (younger ones) with the school now. I think there are 8 kids including Abbey and Q in the kinder now. It got pretty crazy.

We got back to Soda la U about 4:30pm and took a taxi back to the house. I was not in the mood to walk a mile in the rain without any umbrellas. When we got back to the house, Abbey took a shower and then we ate sopa again (chicken soup with rice). After that, I did my homework and gave Quinten a shower and bribed the kids with candy if they were good so I could go to the internet cafe and update my blog. So here I am and it's almost 8:30 so I bet the kids are asleep by now. But, my blog is current. Yeah!!!! We only have 3 more days of school and David is picking us up on Friday to take us to San Jose. I can't believe it's almost over but I am excited about coming home. The kids were really ready to come home this week but I think this week Kasondra is starting speak more Spanish and one more week will mean a lot. Gotta go now.

Day 21 - July 28, 2008

Monday, July 28, 2008

School again as usual. I now have 2 other students in my class, Elisa and Kathy. Kathy is a nurse who is going to school to be a anesthesiologist. She is from Huntington Beach. We have moved to the intermediate book. Yeah for us! Kasondra and Jenna are going horseback riding again today. They are really looking forward to it. We eat at Soda la U because they are being picked up there at 1:30pm. They go horseback riding and Abbey, Q and I walk into town. The kids want to get a gumball at this store in town. It is still a long walk even though we've been doing it for a while. We finally get to the store and it is closed for Guanacaste day. We decide to go to POP's for an ice cream and so the kids can play on the train and motorcycle. After ice cream, we go home and wait for Kasondra and Jenna.

Today, I need to make that stupid Friendship Bread again. It is my last time. Yeah! The kids get all mad when I tell them I am not taking any back with me when we come home. I make the bread while Leehia's daughter-in-law takes notes on how to make it. It's really funny when they say, "mush". Leehia's daughter-in-law is going to try to make it too. I am going to give one to my teacher also. Leehia will have 2 left over to do whatever she wants. I don't think she plans to bake the bread but who knows!

Kasondra and Jenna get home from horseback riding and it wasn't as much fun as last time because the horses were faster and the guide didn't want them getting out of control. Kasondra doesn't feel well and I think she has a fever. We walk to the store and buy some chicken soup for dinner. Then, everyone wants chicken soup. We buy chicken soup with stars and chicken soup with alphabet letters. Leehia asks if we want rice with it and I say yes. She added the rice to the soup. I was surprised but it actually tasted really good. We had Friendship Bread for dessert. I had Kasondra take some motrin and she went to bed early. We are all tired. We go hard and fast every day. I finished my homework and went to bed too.

Day 20 - July 27, 2008

July 27, 2008

Sunday morning. Everyone slept really late. Even Abbey and Quinten didn't wake up until after 8am. We had breakfast at the hotel and then packed our stuff. We are heading to the Volcano today but we need to check out of the hotel first. We head to the national park where you can walk to some volcanic rocks and get pretty close to the volcano. I have no desire to walk another couple miles today but okay here I go again. Giovanni is still showing us different snakes and stuff. Quinten is tired today and Jose puts him on his shoulders and walks most of the way there. As you can see from the sign, we are walking in a zone of volcanic activity. This volcano is very active and you can see rocks falling from the top of the volcano. While we are walking, we hear the volcano rumble. It is kind of creepy. We finally get to the volcanic rock and the kids go tearing across them. I stay back a little and take some pictures. In case I wasn't sure before, it is clear that I am NOT a great eco-tourist. Bugs and hiking are great but definitely not for me. In the picture, you can't see very well but the kids are to the right of the volcano and that is smoke coming from the volcano.

We walked back the way we came and we into Fortuna for lunch. Abbey and Jenna both fell asleep waiting for their food (I almost did too). I told you the service was slow. After lunch, we headed back to Turrialba. The trip took us 4 hours. Jose was driving like pretty fast and it was foggy and rainy. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. We made it back to our home in one piece. We arrived just before 6pm and Leehia made us dinner. The kids were really tired and didn't eat very much. Everyone was is bed by 8pm.

Day 19 - July 26, 2008

July 26, 2008

We wake up in the hotel room and it has been raining all night. We are supposed to go to the hanging bridges and then to the Baldi Hot Springs in the afternoon. I have no desire to walk on hanging bridges in the rain. I get up and take a shower and Abbey and Quinten are already up. We go down to breakfast about 8am and leave Kasondra and Jenna to sleep. The breakfast is included in the room rate and is a buffet. The kids have plenty to choose from. Giovanni meets us at breakfast and I tell him that I don't want to go walking in the rain. He suggests that we switch Baldi to the morning and the bridges for the afternoon. It's a great idea and it is just what we do. Who cares if it is raining while you are in the hot springs?

The hot springs is really nice. The water is heated by the volcano. They have water as hot as 152 degrees but they also have cooler water. They have some slides that I heard were pretty dangerous and of course the kids want do those. I let Jenna try it first and she comes down really fast. It was really funny. After Jenna comes Abbey and is even funnier. They don't get hurt or anything and want to do it again. Quinten wants to do it too. There is a straighter slide and I let Quinten try that one. He gets to the top but doesn't want to go down the slide but won't come back to the water either. Jenna finally gives him a nudge so we can go somewhere else. He was mad at first but then wanted to go again. I said no. Baldi Hot Springs has a swim up bar and so we all get a soda. After the soda, the kids swim a little more but then we decide to get changed and have lunch.

Service in Costa Rica is not fast and in the restaurant we had a hard time getting a menu let alone our meal. As you can see, Quinten didn't make it through lunch.

After lunch, we went to the hanging bridges. It takes about 2 hours to walk through the hanging bridges and Giovanni gave us each a map. It was a really, really long way. Kasondra and I were both exhausted but Abbey, Q and Jenna had a bunch of energy and Giovanni kept up with them. He showed them a bunch of different seeds from the trees. Some are really big. We also were able to see some spider monkeys in the trees and a tree frog and some other stuff I don't remember. At the end (finally), we saw a toucan. We tried to take a picture but it kept flying to another branch. By the time we finished, the souvenir shop was closed (bummer!). I think Albert will be happy about that. We got back in the car and headed to the town of Fortuna for dinner and souvenir shopping.

We had dinner and headed back to the hotel. We were so tired the kids didn't even ask to swim. When we got to our room, Kasondra found frogs outside. They all had a great time catching frogs for a while. Kasondra said that you just shuffled your feet in the grass and wait for them to jump and then you go after them. Here is picture of Kasondra and Jenna with 2 of the frogs they caught. Quinten almost let one lose in our room! After that excitement, everyone got into their jammies and fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

Days 17 & 18 - July 24 & 25

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Kasondra is playing hookey from school today and is instead rafting down the Pacuare River with Olivia. It is a stage 3 & 4 level river which is pretty tough. They have some good guides so I am not too worried. The rest of us attend school but we get out at 11am because they are celebrating Guanacaste Day which is actually on Friday. It is the day that Guanacaste choose to become part of Costa Rica in 1824. It is a national holiday but the businesses will observe it this coming Monday. Banks will be closed and so forth. Our school is having a fiesta with dancing and music and typical Costa Rican food. The food is good. Their food is not spicy and is fairly bland so it is perfect for me. We enjoyed watching the dancing and eating the food. Each student also had to participate. Elise and I had to tell about Guanacaste Day and the history...first in Spanish and then in English. Kasondra and Jenna had to recite a bomba which is a Costa Rican poem. We had lunch at school with all the great food.

After lunch, we walked with Sonia and Gabbey to a house near the school because Sonia said there was a really big snake in the front of the house (in a cage). It was really big and is a python which was born in Chicago. We walked to Soda la U and then took a taxi to the Explornature office so I could ask them to drop Kasondra off at the office after her rafting trip. She could then just walk home from there.

Kasondra arrived home about 5:45pm. She was bruised and tired. She had hit her knee on some of the rocks and lost one of her water shoes when the entire raft tipped over. They raft with safety kayakers so that if anyone does fall out of the raft someone is always there to help. Everything was fine except she lost her shoe.

We were all very tired so we choose not to go to dancing classes this week. It isn't all the much fun anyway.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Today, Kasondra, Jenna and I do not have school due to the holiday. Abbey and Quinten still have school and they are going to have a party to celebrate Guanacaste day and Iann's birthday (a Tico boy in their class). We are going to Arenal this weekend to see the volcano and are scheduled to leave at 12:30pm. Abbey and Quinten will get home about 11:30am. I spend the morning packing and preparing for the trip.

Quinten and Abbey get home and we leave promptly and 12:30pm. The trip is supposed to take about 4.5 hours. We drove about 1.5 hours and stopped at a Church's Chicken for lunch where they had a play area. Jenna got a hamburger from Burger King instead. Our guide for this trip is Giovanni and our driver is Jose. They are both very nice. We are staying at the Hotel Mountain Paradise. Giovanni is staying there too but Jose lives in Fortuna so he will stay at home. We arrive at the hotel about 5:30 or 6pm and check out the room. The room has a waterfall shower and a regular shower. It also has a jacuzzi on the front patio (really it is a bath tub pretending to be a jacuzzi, but oh well!) The kids immediately want to go to the pool but we need to eat first. We eat at the hotel and then go directly to the pool. It is nice but we are all tired so we cut it short and go to bed. We have a busy weekend ahead!

Days 16 - Wednesday July 23

July 23, 2008-Day 16

Wednesday - School went as usual. We ate at Betty's again and then took a taxi back to the house to drop of Jenna & Kasondra and then went to Soda la U for Quinten and Abbey's horseback riding. It has been raining all day long. Horseback riding lessons are at the hotel Casa Tuirre just outside of town. The kids are going to be lead around the grounds, on horses, in the rain. Sounds like fun, right? They seem to think so. Abbey really enjoyed it but Quinten would rather jump in the puddles.

After we were done horseback riding, we went home to get ready for cooking classes. We had such a great time last week. We were really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, Betty had removed the raft she had last week because there were more people this week and she didn't do a dessert with the kids so it wasn't as much fun for them. We aren't really learning to cook these dishes. We are just cutting up a bunch of veggies. But we are getting the recipes if anyone wants to try one.

Finally I took a picture of the street we live on and a picture of the front of our house. We were a little shocked in the beginning too. It could be better, but believe me when I say, "It could be worse."

Day 15 - July 22, 2008

July 22, 2008

Last night was not good. Both Jenna and Abbey were up all night throwing up. I don´t know what it was. Maybe something they ate. I got almost no sleep. I finally got up at about 5:30am and got into the shower. Abbey kept drinking glasses of water because she was thirsty. Finally, I got her to drink only a little water at a time and she started to feel better. Both girls were able to hold down 2 tablets of Pepto for Kids and I had them go back to sleep.

I kept them home from school today but we were supposed to go to the pool this afternoon and Jenna wanted to go on that rafting trip. I told them that if they didn´t throw up again, they could go. They each had a little bit of toast before we left at 11:30am to get Quinten and go to my school. I didn´t go to school either but went to the store and bought some Powerade. We arrived at school and waited for Kasondra to get out.

Jenna went with Sonia (Kasondra was too sore from horseback riding and decided to come with us to the pool) and we went with our tour to the pool at CATIE. Quinten and Abbey went swimming and Kasondra and I watched and talked to the other parents. Andres was our guide and stayed with us the whole time. Quinten loves playing with him. He is now calling Andres "my guy". Abbey and Hannah had a good time climbing all over him too. After we were done swimming, the kids played on the swings and play equipment. We arrived home fairly early at about 3:30pm and were able to rest. Abbey is doing good. I am just waiting for Jenna to come home to see how she is doing.

Tomorrow, Abbey and Quinten are going horseback riding (more like being lead) but they are excited. I was excited because I thought Jenna and Kasondra could go with them and I could get a day off. It was too good to be true. The girl, Jenny, from Explornatura called me this morning and told me a adult needed to go. So, Kasondra and Jenna get an afternoon off and I get to go horseback riding. I am not actually going to get on the horse. At least I will get some pictures to share. Tomorrow night we have cooking classes at Betty´s. Everyone is really looking forward to it.

Days 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14

This is Abbey & Quinten's school.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Last night we had cooking classes and they were really fun. We made casado which is rice and beans and veggies. We cut up all the veggies and the little ones got to make cookies. Josette brought a bottle of wine. There was a large raft used for rafting down rivers and the kids had a great time jumping all over it. The walk to the cooking class was really hard because it was pouring rain. The picture above shows Kasondra putting some of the veggies she cut up into a bowl.

Today, after school, Abbey and Quinten got to go canyoning. I went with them but I walked down the side of the canyon instead of descending through the waterfalls. They descended waterfalls and went on zip lines through the rain forest. I was able to see them at a few spots. They went tandom with the two guides whose names were Andres and Raul. They were very good and made sure the kids were safe. Below is a picture of Abbey getting ready. It was really scary to think Kasondra and Jenna did it be themselves. The other picture is Quinten zip lining through the rainforest! Yikes!

The kids had a great time. After canyoning, they made their way to the warehouse where I was and we all had hot chocolate. The guides sat with us. Everyone is sooo nice to the kids. We finally made our way home just before 6pm and had to hurry to get to dance class. I learned the cumbia, I think. Or my version of it anyway. We were really tired. Jenna had stayed with Josette while I was canyoning and Kasondra had stayed with Leehia at the house resting. We finished with dance class and went home to have dinner about 7:30pm. After dinner we had showers and finally into bed. Oh, yeah...I forgot....at dinner I asked Leehia if everything was okay for the trip tomorrow. She said it wasn't going to work out because her son's wife's sister wanted to come home and she drove so there was no one to take us. What a pain! Telling me this on Thursday at 7:30pm! So, I went upstairs and called David, our driver from Allajeulah and asked him if he would be able to drive us. He said he could and it would cost $150 each way. I said okay. Then, I called some hotels in Puerto Viejo hoping we could get a room for the weekend. After trying 3 hotels which were full, I finally found one that had rooms. The name is El Pizote which in English means The Slouth.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Went to school again. It started at 8am this morning. David is going to pick us up at 3pm. While in school, I started talking to another mom named Sonia. She lives in North Carolina and has two girls, Olivia and Gabby ages 14 and 11. She wanted to come with us to Puerto Viejo. She said she would pay half the cost of travel. Perfecto! So, they came to. After school, I went home and packed our things and at 3pm we were off. The drive takes about 3.5 hours and is on some mountainous roads. About 2.5 hours into the trip, Abbey got sick and threw up out the window. Some got on David's car but a least not inside. Then Jenna started to feel sick and I had her sit up front for the rest of the trip. We arrived at our hotel, okay lodge, at about 6:30pm and it was raining very hard. We put our luggage into our bungalows and then let the kids go swimming in the pool (at night and in the rain). Finally, we went to our bungalows to sleep. We only had two double beds so the first night Kasondra, Q and I sleep together and Abbey & Jenna slept together. The beds were the hardest beds I have ever seen. They were like a board. Needless to say, we didn't sleep very well.

The lodge is fairly nice and really pretty. Other than the beds, everything was great. It is owned by a family and the father and two boys work there. Quinten took a liking to one of them and was always by his side. Abbey and Q both ran all over the reception area including the kitchen and behind the desk. Quinten was helping to check people in. The one brother even played soccer with Quinten in the reception area. Like I said, the people here really enjoy kids.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Today we got up early and went and had breakfast. Kasondra slept in. Breakfast was good. After breakfast, the kids changed into their swimsuits and we walked into the town of Puerto Viejo which was only about 500 meters. We got into town and asked about surfing lessons for Olivia and Kasondra. One very American surfer guy told us to go to the next beach Playa Cochles. We took taxis and found a teacher for the girls. The boards they were using were soooo big. Real long boards. It was tiring but fun. Olivia really wanted to do more.

While the girls surfed, the rest of the kids played on the beach. The waves were great for the kids to play in. After the surf lessons were finished, we walked down to Hotel Cariblu for lunch. They let us swim in their pool before lunch. It was perfect because the kids could get the sand off and be more comfortable. We had lunch and Quinten fell asleep at his chair. I laid him down next to the table while we ate. After lunch we walked looking for some booths Sonia had seen. She thought they were very close to Playa Cochles. Turns out they weren't close at all and we ended up walking 1.5 kilometers to Playa Viejo. Finally we got into Playa Viejo and did some shopping. We also found a great ice cream shop (shown below). Playa Viejo is on the Caribbean Ocean and lots of Jamaicans live there. Abbey got her hair braided (trensas). It took a long time. We finally walked back to the hotel just as it got dark.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Woke up early again. I can't believe how uncomfortable these beds are! We got up and had breakfast. Kasondra and Jenna slept in this morning. After breakfast, we are going to the beach called Playa Negra. It is just across the street from our lodge. We got our swimsuits on and off we went. Playa Negra is a black sand beach and the sand is very fine. Here is a picture of everyone standing on the sand and a picture of Kasondra and Quinten out in the water. The kids kept stepping on sand dollars out in the water.

We went back to the lodge about 10:30 so we could take showers before David came for us at 1pm. I needed to go into town to the pharmacy and try to get some dramamine for myself and the kids. The pharmacies were closed but the grocery store had something that worked. We went to a Jamaican place for lunch and the kids had great fried chicken. Kasondra and I had arroz con pollo which is really like chicken fried rice. It was good but we should have shared because there was so much left over. Finally, we started for home.

We got back home about 6pm and I gave Leehia our dirty laundry which was all wet and smelly. Everyone was tired and we got ready for bed early. Leehia went to the bus station to pick up the two new students that are staying at our home. Theirs name are Karri and Hannah and they are from Indiana. They are very nice. Finally, we dropped into bed and now my bed seems VERY comfortable.

Monday, July 21, 2008 - Day 14

School again. We get new teachers. I am in a classroom with one student this week and her name is Elise. She is currently living in Oklahoma taking post graduate classes in genetic counseling. After class today, we are eating again at Betty's (of course) and Kasondra and Jenna are going horseback riding. We need to meet their guides at 1:30pm at Soda la U. Jenna didn't wear long pants and so we had to go back to the house for her to change. The guide drove all of us home. Yeah!

After Kasondra and Jenna left, Quinten, Abbey and I went to the bank to change some money. I had none left. The teller told me I understood Spanish well (that's because I was saying okay). He was very nice. Quinten stood over by the guards and checked people in with them. He really likes their guns. After the bank, we went to a camera shop to see if I could get the pictures transferred onto a disc so I could upload them in this blog. He said he did it but when I tried to open in on the computer, it didn't work. I finally figured out that the computer has a place for the camera cards! Duh! That's why you all get pictures now. After that we went to a ice cream place called Pops that everyone has been talking about. The ice cream is really good. Quinten was being a butt and running far ahead and not listening so we went back to our house to rest.

Quinten and Abbey started watching Bob the Builder in Spanish and I took a nap.

Kasondra and Jenna got back about 4:30pm and woke me up. They had a great time horseback riding. They even got to lope for a long while (which is going pretty fast). Kasondra definitely wants to go again next week. They rode the horse through sugar cane and a village. It sounds like a lot of fun except for the horse part (in my opinion). Tomorrow, the girls are going rafting down the Rio Pijeballe. Quinten can't go because they have a 5 year old age limit. So the girls are going with Sonia and Quinten and I are going to a swimming pool with another family that just came in today. Their names are Cindy and Craig and they have a 3.5 year old girl named Alisa. They are from New York. Exlornatura will take us there right after school and buy our lunch from the cafeteria and our admittance into the pool. It should be fun. Sonia will make sure the girls get home okay. Well, I better go now. I will be able to blog again on Wednesday.

Days 6, 7, 8 & 9

July 13, 2008

The first day on my own. Albert left last night about 5pm and it was WAY harder to see him go than I thought it would be. We woke up this morning and had breakfast. Our host mother is going to pick us up at 11am. We were completely packed and ready to go when she arrived. Her name is Leehia and she lives alone. So much for expectations! Our host family is not the family the school told us it would be. The drive to her home was very quick and she lives near the center of town. We brought in all our bags and she showed us where we could sleep. We have 3 rooms. Abbey and Kasondra are sharing a large room, Jenna has her own room and Quinten and I share a room. Her home is very comfortable but definitely not what we are used to. We unpacked and then had to go to the school to test at 2pm. Leehia drove us to the school which is not that close (definitely not an 8 minute walk) and dropped us off and then she told me that we would be walking home. Oh my gosh! What did I do? Walking a looooong way with four kids! I want to go home! Kasondra and I took the tests which consisted of a written portion and a verbal portion. It was pretty easy and not very scary. It really didn´t matter how we did. It just told us what class we would be in.

After the testing, we started walking. The walk is about 45 minutes with children. It would probably take about 30 without. We stopped at a soda (which is a little cafe) and bought some water and sodas (real sodas, like coke) for the walk home. Everyone was complaining. It is a long walk. We actually got home and didn´t get lost. Yes, we were impressed too and our mama Tica had dinner ready for us. We had chicken and white rice. There is another student staying with us until Wednesday. Her name is Katie and she is from Colorado. She teaches 4th grade. Quinten, Jenna and Abbey love her! Almost too much!

After dinner, we all got ready for bed and went to sleep. The weather is not really that hot but is very humid. The city is celebrating Saint Buenoventura which is the patron saint of the town all this week starting today. There were many "bombas" or blasts. I think they are fireworks. They are very loud.

When I walked into Leehia´s house, I already had a full suitcase full of dirty clothes from the past week. I looked all around praying for a washer and dryer. I was very disheartened to find no dryer and an interesting looking washer. I asked Leehia if there was a laundrymat and she said that Turrialba didn´t have one. What was I going to do? Quinten didn´t have anymore underpants! Leehia told me that she would do our laundry. Okay. Leehia does our laundry, cleans our rooms and cooks for us. Doesn´t sound too bad, does it? Now it´s starting to sound like a vacation. Our clothes are line dryed and they actually dry pretty quickly even though it rains every day. I don´t know how but who am I to question it?

Monday, July 14, 2008

Our first day of escuela. Gabby, the director of the school, picks us up every morning (thank goodness). This morning, she picked us up at 7:30am. We also picked up another mother and her little girl, Hannah who is 5 years old. We went to Abbey and Quinten´s school to drop them off first. It is a really cute little school and clean too. After dropping them off, we headed to our school. I have one other student in my class. Her name is Josette. She is from New York and has two children Trina and Zeke ages 11 and 10. She is completing her 3rd week here and she will be leaving to go to Arenal on Friday.

We attend school from 8am until 12:30pm with two 15 minute breaks. It´s a lot of spanish and my head is spinning. I know way more than I thought I did. But I still just know un pocito. Today, I left at 11:30am to go with a taxi driver to get Abbey and Quinten from their school and bring them back to my school. When we arrived, we needed to wait a little bit for Kasondra and Jenna to be done and then we headed to Cocina de Betty for lunch. Betty comes over to the school during the first break and let´s us order our meal ahead. I ordered a burrito con pollo, Kasondra and Jenna ordered a hamburger and I ordered Quinten and Abbey quesadillas. The walk to Betty´s is about 15 minutes.

After lunch, we walked over to Soda la U where there was an introductory meeting with the group that plans tours for the school. We were a little late so we missed most of that meeting. It was okay. Then, we started on a walking tour of the city. Thank goodness they were walking toward our house and not away from it. We got a abbreviated tour because the kids were very tired and then walked home in time for dinner. Tonight we had carne and arroz which is very similar to carne asada. Leehia asked me what the kids would eat and I told her. It makes it much easier for her too.

After, dinner, everyone took a shower. The shower is really big. There is hot water but the pressure is not very strong. I got in with Abbey and Quinten fully dressed to wash them down. There is only a shower and no bath. Jenna, Abbey and Kasondra had homework to complete and then it was time for bed. Quinten watched Underdog until he fell asleep.

I brought down the gifts I brought for the host family and gave them to Leehia. She seemed happy with them. I still need to make the Friendship Bread. I just haven´t had time. When Albert was here, he bought some whiskey for the host father. We don´t have one but Leehia´s brother was here so I gave it to him. I gave him the Angels hat too but apparently he likes the Yankees.

Oh yeah! Leehia DOES NOT speak any English. Our conversations are very interesting.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

This morning, school begins at 7:30am so Gabby is picking us up at 7:15am. Kasondra is very happy to be getting up even earlier (yeah, right!). She picked us up and dropped us off before Quinten and Abbey because they don´t start until 8am. Mauricio took Abbey and Q to school and will pick them up and bring them to me at my school at noon. Today there is a coffee tour planned.

Jenna is getting along very well with Josette´s children and they want to do canyoning today so Kasondra and Jenna are going canyoning instead of going with me, Abbey and Q to the coffee plantation.

After school, we head down to Betty´s for lunch and then we need to go to Soda la U (another little cafe across the way) to meet the tour. I had to run home really quick during school and get an extra set of clothes for Kasondra and Jenna and Kasondra came with me because she had to change into shorts and tennis shoes. They needed to bring a towel and insect repellent too. At Soda la U, Kasondra bought a water proof camera for 5,000 colones so they could take pictures. They left when we left.

We did the tour. It was not great for kids. But they did like the gift shop (of course!). I bought a bag of coffee for my mama Tica and one for Albert. Abbey bought a thermometer and Quinten bought a lanyard. I also bought a DVD of Turrialba. When we got back to Soda la U, I asked the driver to take me to the Explornatura office (which is the tour company) because that is where Kasondra and Jenna would be dropped off. Quinten fell asleep on the ride home and I was carrying him. We got to the office about 5pm and waited an hour for the girls. Finally, Alex (one the the men that works for the company. He used to live in Los Angeles but moved to Costa Rica and has a family now) said he would walk Kasondra and Jenna home for me. We just live around the corner. We got home a little after six and Leehia made dinner for us. About 6:45pm, Kasondra and Jenna arrive. They were soooo tired and their shoes were soaked. I can´t believe I didn´t bring their water shoes. Duh! They ate with us (again carne y arroz).

Canyoning is repelling down waterfalls, doing the zip line and walking across teeny bridges. Jenna would totally love to go it again. Kasondra says once in enough. Quinten and Abbey are going to do canyoning for kids on Thursday afternoon. I hope to get some great pictures!

After dinner, we went up and Kasondra took a shower and the others watched some TV because they were very tired and school begins again at 7:30am. While the kids watched TV, I did my homework. It was fairly easy.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Mauricio picked us up on time today at 7:15am. We are eating breakfast drinks and having cereal. There isn´t much time for breakfast except for Abbey who continues to get up about 6am. She has a great time with Leehia in the mornings. Mauricio takes us to school and then drops off Abbey and Q. School is the same. Mucho espanol. Kasondra´s class went to buy ice cream today and she brought me back a shake. It was very nice of her.

Again, we walked to Betty´s for lunch and after we walked home. Josette, Trina and Zeke came with us. We have a cooking class at Betty´s tonight at 6pm so we will eat dinner there. Josette and I left all the kids with Kasondra and Leehia and walked to the internet cafe just down the street. I have been on line for 1 hour and 5 minutes and it is costing me 400 colones (almost a dollar). I need to change some traveler´s checks but I left my passport at the house.

There is a lot of cement and bars (on the windows) in the city but the city is pretty small and everyone has been very nice. I think they are used to students from the school. The houses are run down but everything seems to work. I have a nice clean room and a fan. The bed could definitely be better and I may have some back issues when I return home but it´s nothing terrible. Leehia´s brother bought a large jug of water for us to use. It was very nice of him (I think it is because we gave him whiskey). The city is not very pretty but when you get outside it, there is so much green.

I was talking to Explornatura about taking some weekend trips and I told Leehia about them. Last night her son came over and told me (in Spanish) that his mom has a house in Playa Viejo and his wife and daughter are staying there right now with her sister and children. He said that he could drive us there and all we would have to pay for would be the gas and our food. Apparently, the house can sleep 20. This is the beach that the tour company is going to this weekend. It is such a nice thing to do for us and will save us a bunch of money. The weekend after, I am planning for us to go to the Arenal Volcano in Fortuna. It is were the kids can go down waterslides in the hot springs. Que Bueno! Every week, we have a tour on Tuesday afternoon with the school, cooking classes on Wednesday night and dance classes on Thursday night. We are very busy which can sometimes cause grumpiness so I am making sure the kids have some down time. Well, I better go back home now and make sure Kasondra hasn´t killed anyone yet. Hope to blog again soon!

Days 4 & 5

Friday, July 11, 2008

Good news! I got my boxes!!!!! Finally! Bad news....my battery ran out in my camera and I brought the wrong charger. Ugh! I would really like something to come easily!

Today we went to the coffee plantation tour. It was really funny and we learned a little history about coffee and how it is made. Kasondra and Jenna enjoyed trying the different kinds of coffee. We had lunch there but it was nothing special. Albert bought coffee to take home with him. Catch him and have him make you a pot. We had checked out of our hotel before leaving for the tour so David already had our bags in the car. After the tour, we went to try and get those stupid boxes! They were not there yet so we decided to try to find a charger for my camera. No luck again and we headed back for the boxes. Finally the boxes were there and I had to pay for them. They charged me for taxes, they charged me for storing them and I had to pay the guy who helped me get them. What a rip off! NOTE..DO NOT SHIP ANYTHING TO COSTA RICA! My life will be easier now that I have these items.

Anyway, after that we headed for Turrialba. David said it would be about 2 hours because it was Friday at 3pm. We stopped for Burger King on the way. It took us longer because it started raining and we arrived in Turrialba at the Turrialtico Lodge just a little after 6pm. Yes, it is a lodge and not very impressive except for the views which are just amazing! We have 2 cabins side by side. Kasondra, Jenna & Abbey stayed in 17 and Albert, Quinten and I stayed in 16. The rooms here actually have a tv but no swimming pool and no telephones or clocks in the room. Albert set up a movie for the kids (Transformers) and Kasondra and I went to reception to ask about tours and have a drink at the bar. I had a punch and Kasondra had a hot chocolate. Unfortunately, all tours had been booked for Saturday so there is nothing specific to do tomorrow. We will have to see.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Today is Albert's last day here. I am getting a little nervous because he is leaving. David is coming at 5pm to pick him up and take him back to Alajuela where Albert will stay 1 night at the Adventure Inn (I hope it is okay. It sounds kind of hokey.) This way, he can be close to the airport because he leaves at 8:55am on Sunday morning.

We got up and Albert took the kids to breakfast while I showered. Abbey woke at 6:30am (yeah, I'm sure everyone is surprised). After breakfast, we decided to head into town and check it out. We thought we might try a bus and the waitress told us we could catch one at the bottom of the hill from the hotel. We walked down there and waited...and waited...and waited. Finally, a taxi was passing and we flagged him down. Abbey, me, Jenna, Kasondra & Q jammed into the backseat and Albert rode in the front. The taxi driver didn't object. We got into town and just walked around until (of course) someone had to use the restroom and then everyone had to use the restroom. So, we walked into an optometrist shop and pretended to look for sunglasses for Kasondra (they cost over $200 and Kasondra really wanted them) while everyone else used the potty. You gotta do what you gotta do. After playing at the park and looking at different shops, we decided to get a taxi and head back to the hotel for lunch. While driving back to the hotel...okay lodge...the taxi driver swerved to the other side of the road giving these birds on the shoulder a really wide berth. We looked and saw that they were vultures. I guess they aren't nice. I really don't know but I don't think I want to find out.

We had lunch which was very good. They started with a chicken soup that tasted very much like something Grandma Rose would make (with hominy). It was very good and since the kids wouldn't eat theirs, I was able to have theirs. The kids didn't eat much but the rice (with ketchup of course) but found some little dogs to chase around so the lunch was pretty peaceful.

I called the host family today and the mom seemed very nice. She says she has a car large enough to fit all of us and our luggage and she will pick us up tomorrow at 11am. Yeah! Maybe my luck is changing! We are going to test on Sunday (tomorrow) at 2pm to see which level we will be at. Apparently, they have a lot of students starting on Monday so they need to do the testing on Sunday instead on Monday morning. That's okay. One less thing to do on Monday morning. The director of the school said she will pick us up at 7:40am on Monday morning to take Abbey and Q to their school. That's a little early for my taste but whatever.

Hopefully, I will find a charger for my camera soon so I can add pictures to my blog. We are doing very good considering. A few bug bites but nothing huge (and considering the bugs we've seen that is saying something). The weather is humid but not too hot. This is a great country to visit if you love the outdoors and wildlife and such. I don't think I will need to come again. This trip is not so much a vacation as it is an adventure. It is really far from Kasondra's, Jenna's and my comfort zone but I think it will be good for us to experience this. The younger ones don't really mind. Well, I will go now and see what everyone else is doing. Hopefully, I will blog (and add pictures) again soon!

Day 3 - July 10, 2008

Okay....today didn't go quite as planned. You see this building pictured above? Well, that's were my boxes are and customs doesn't want me to have them. I will start from the beginning. We got up early because we needed to meet David at 7:30am to leave to retrieve the boxes and then we were off to a volcano and to swim in the hot springs. We packed our bags and left them in the room because we had to change rooms today. Today we are in the main house (not even as many bugs!) The hotel moved our luggage for us while we were gone. That was really nice. We ate breakfast and then left with David armed with a backpack full of swimsuits, towels and sandals. We arrived at the place above and went in (me & David, Albert waited in the car with the kids). We were told we need to get something from the airport. Albert and David found a nice guy who changed the paperwork so Albert was the recipient but now he (meaning Albert) needed to register as an importer at the airport. So, we went and did that and ended up back at the place above. Albert and David went in and I stayed with the kids in the car. About 40 minutes later, they came out with nothing. Apparently, they had to open the boxes for inspection and the inspector didn't like that everything was knew and didn't like that I had body cream (Vaseline Intensive Care). He said we need a permit to bring in cream! Then, David knew someone who worked in importing (had an agency). We went to meet with him and they are trying to get my bags. Hopefully we will get them tomorrow. This took all morning so we finally went and got lunch.

We went to a nice place in the city where the airport is located. It starts with an A but I don't remember what it's called. Kasondra and I had a carne asade open faced taco with cheese. Albert had a tamale and something else (I don't remember). Abbey and Quinten had chicken and Jenna had BBQ ribs. Everything here comes with bananas. I think this trip will be called 101 ways to cook with banana. They are called plantains and I am not too fond of them.

After lunch we went to the bank so I could cash some travelers checks. This took forever and the teller counted the cash at least 5 times! I cashed $500 dollars and received about $223,000 colones. It looks like a lot of money anyway. We parked and walked around the downtown area as there were shops, not really tourist shops but normal everyday shops. We bought a few souvenirs and as you can see from the picture, Albert bought some interesting bottle of alcohol. Quinten bought a fanta. 1 small fanta and 1 regular sized coca cola costs $750 colones.

Finally, it was 4pm and we decided to head back to the hotel and call it a day. David is going to keep checking with his friend to see if we are going to be able to get my boxes. By this time, I am just determined to get those stupid things hell or high water. We got back to the hotel a little before 5pm, made dinner reservations for 6pm and let the kids wander around.

We met a couple from Wisconsin that are staying next to us and they are going down south next to the real rain forest (Yuck!). We wished them luck. Dinner was great and the staff as usual is very friendly and helpful.

Tomorrow we are going on the Cafe Britt tour at 11am. David will drive us to the tour and then pick us up. The tour includes lunch and coffee tasting. Jenna and Kasondra are very excited to taste the different types of coffee. From there, we will go back and pick up our luggage and then drive into Turrialba. Maybe we will get my boxes sometime during the day or maybe David's friend will need to deliver them to me in Turrialba. Tomorrow night we will be staying in a little hotel called Turrialtico. I hope it's not too bad because I won't hear the end of it if it is. I don't know how much access I will have to a computer in Turrialba so it may be a while before my next post. Hope you guys are all doing well!

Days 1 and 2

Hey.....we made it! We landed in Costa Rica about 9:47pm because we were an hour delayed in Dallas. Immigration and customs were a piece of cake. We met our driver and hauled our luggage to a van. Thank God we had him because the exit was crowded with people trying to give the tourists rides. One man tried to help Quinten with his bag (but he wouldn't let go) and finally helped Jenna and Abbey with theirs. We paid him $2 for the help. The trip to the hotel took about 20 minutes along a bumpy road. The kids would not stop talking! They were so excited! Albert and I were tired and would have liked a little but of silence. Our driver's name was David and he is very nice. We arrived at the hotel after everything had shut down so David helped us to our room with the help of two other men. The villa is very nice but different from what we are used to. There are bugs everywhere! Ants that are an inch long and are sturdy so you need to step on them a few times to kill them! Spiders too! The kids were very unhappy about having to stay in this room. Jenna was crying...I WANT TO GO HOME!...after she found a spider in the bed she was supposed to sleep in. We finally killed all the bugs we could find, sprayed the kids with bug repellent, and tried to get everyone into bed. Kasondra and Quinten were going to sleep together as were Albert and I. Jenna and Abbey had singles. Because of Jenna's fear of her bed, she slept with Albert and I slept with Kasondra and Q. Abbey crashed without a word.

Wednesday morning, July 9th

Everyone slept in and I woke about 7:30am and started checking the place out. The view is gorgeous! I went looking for more bugs to kill so the kids wouldn't freak when they awoke. Killed 5 spiders near the standing shower (one really gross big one!) and a few of the ants and some other bugs but when the kids woke up, they didn't see any. Took my shower and then Kasondra took one and then Albert. Everyone dressed and we made it to breakfast just in time (10:15am). Breakfast was good....fruit, eggs, bacon, juice and Jenna had a muffin. It was so pretty sitting among all the green. The staff is very friendly and all speak English! Yeah!

After breakfast, we walked around the grounds and down to the stables. The hotel has 4 horses and the horse caretaker let Q, Jenna and Abbey get on the back of one of the horses. Q wants to ride more now! After that, the kids wanted to go swimming so they got their suits on and I went to the reception to see if I could try and get the boxes I shipped (apparently they are still at the airport where everything goes that doesn't have the correct paperwork). After a bunch of work and help from the hotel staff, Albert and Kasondra went off the David (the driver from the night before) to try to get the boxes. They arrived at 4:30pm and the place closed at 4pm. Just our luck! David took them into San Jose to a mall and Albert got hair gel (because he forgot him) and some water along with a few souveniors. Kasondra was not too impressed with the city of San Jose. She said it looked kind of run down. While Albert and Kasondra went to San Jose, the kids had finished swimming and as it had started to sprinkle, we went back to the villa and each took a long bath. Quinten was actually shivering in the pool. The weather is very mild...cool but humid. After their baths, Abbey took a nap, Jenna watched a movie and Quinten made a huge mess with the play doh while I was napping.

Kasondra and Albert returned at 6pm and we had dinner reservations for 7pm. Oh...I forgot! When it started to sprinkle then it really started to rain. It rained all afternoon and evening, sometimes very, very heavy! The sound on the roof of our villa was so peaceful I couldn't help but fall asleep. I just love that sound! Okay, we went to dinner and it was really good. Albert had sea bass and I had chicken filled with ham and plantains over mashed potatoes. Abbey and Q had chicken strips, Jenna had pasta with butter and Kasondra had a hamburger. I had creme brulee for dessert and everyone else had white chocolate mousse. It was a great meal!

Well, I better go now as I have a very busy day ahead! Wish us luck!

Tomorrow we are going to visit a volcanoe and will be able to swim in the hot springs. We need to leave really early to go to the airport and try to get the boxes again and then we will be off. David will be driving us. The drive is 3 hours one way and Albert is very unsure about it. He says we should have stole some barf bags from the airplane. I think it'll be fine. We can stop for lunch and dinner. There is no schedule. Unfortunately, we also need to pack up our stuff because we have to move to another room tomorrow because someone else had already reserved our room for Thursday night. Bummer!