3 things I now know

In the past three days, I experienced three things that I knew were quite possible in Costa Rica, but had yet to have witnessed them myself.

1. We ran out out water. Not just drinking water.... shower water, laundry water, cleaning water... for three days. My apartment was starting to birth a funky smell, as was I. My hair became a bit moldable. Thank God for the pool! Apparently, there is a two inch water pipe that runs from Quepos to Manuel Antonio. So, it is hard getting a lot of water pumped in, and thus, we can run out. The city was out for seven days, and our tanks ran out four days into it. The roads were laced with water trucks, putsing up the road, trying to keep up with the demands to fill personal water holding tanks. Three days later, we got ours. We are now well advised that this can happen and does happen often, so we will keep the water on order.

2. There are earthquakes. I felt my first one last night. It was a small one, but enough to wake me up at 5am, wondering what was going on. While Costa Rica is pretty safe from other natural disasters (like hurricanes), earthquakes are more frequent. Good to know.

3. You can get the common cold here. I have it. While I thought that the sunshine would keep me immune, I was horribly mistaken. And Tylenol Cold runs at about $11 per 20 capsules. Worth every penny of it.

Two types of Monkeys

I know that I already posted pictures of the monkeys here, but you need to see this! Once a year, the female monkeys are able to have one baby. And they carry them around on their backs and stomachs. Mind you, they are still jumping thirty feet from one tree to the next, and running across our decks. This time though, they were especially daring, coming within a foot of us! You can see in the picture below with my hands, and how close I was able to get! We still are not sure how they react in defense, so we stood still and watched six or seven monkeys, having a "mom's day out" on our back deck.

In the Chandler family, we also have a few monkeys of our own. At the end of our steep and winding driveway, we have a gate. If people want to come up, they ring the doorbell to the house, and we can buzz them in. If the boys are quiet, you know they are up to something! Nicki had a hunch, brought her camera, and look what she found! As you can see, Drew and Cameron are trying to escape! (Drew was particularly daring!)

The office is open! (though I missed it on NBC last night...)

This week the office was up and running! We have our own space! And while there are minor things that need to be taken care of yet (namely, my desk, file cabinets, and any storage of any kind), it is definitely in workable condition. While my schedule isn't "defined", I am starting to get a better picture of what my days are going to consist of. I will be working in the office every morning through early afternoon, will spend a few hours each day tutoring the kids/helping with homework, and then a couple of nights a week babysitting so Nicki and Scott can go out.

Like I said before, because the kids are in a Spanish speaking school, one of the main educational concerns is that they keep up on their math and English language skills. So I spend time each day reviewing and teaching Gabi and Ryan. In the first picture, you see Gabi. She LOVES her timed tests, can't you tell? It is her favorite part of our tutoring time. :). She also works on coding words, which is quite impressive for a second grader. I am learning a lot from the teaching material! (and anything that could help my spelling skills is warmly welcomed)

Ryan, on the other hand, is working on learning and writing the letters of the alphabet. We have been reviewing what he learned at home (he has a hard time remembering what letter is what). He practices writing the letters and numbers, and draws objects that start with the corresponding sound. Ryan is also obsessed with Lightning McQueen and the movie Cars, so when we got to the letter C, he knew exactly what he was going to draw! Here, he is holding up a picture of Lightning, Sally, The King, and Mator (click on it and you can get a close up. I love his Mator!). And despite my efforts to convince him that his voice would not be recorded on a photo, he is screaming "MATOR! MATOR!" at the top of his lungs.

I have been helping Nicki get the paperwork done at the kids' school (the secretary only speaks Spanish... and surprisingly, I have done all right figuring what immigration papers, receipts, and forms need to get taken care of). This week, it has been a daily affair. Gabi goes to school from 7am-2pm, so after I was done working at the office, I would go to speak to the secretary and pick up Gabi from school. Today, when I picked up Gabi, she looked at me and said, "wow, you really did go to work today." And after I asked her what she meant, she said, "I dont know, because you look nice!" So, if that is any indication of the impression I have given to her before today... I know, it is hard to believe that when I am sitting in an air conditioning office, I am not always going to be sweaty and sporting my bathing suit or sweats. Thanks Gab. Here's a pic of my "first day" at the office that didn't entail cleaning up after construction... and one of the first days I straightened my hair and it didn't go "poof"!

Cuanta Cuestan

It is interesting, because everyone assumes that living in Costa Rica is a lot cheaper... which can be true... but it totally depends on what you are living on. Here are some figures of what things cost… the first number is in Colones (Costa Rican currency), the second in US Dollars, considering the exchange rate of about 515 Colones to the Dollar.

1 Liter of Milk- (which does not have to be refrigerated until opened, yeah, I'm still getting used to that one) 392/$0.76

1 lb ground 1820 Coffee (the best non-touristy brand) 630/$1.22
1 lb of Britt (by far the best coffee, but in a tourist shop) 5000/$10.00

1 Pineapple (amazing!) 570/$1.11
1 apple (not so amazing) 326/$0.63

Spaghetti sauce 2955/$5.73
Pasta Noodles 240/ $0.46

Chiky (one of the best packs of cookies you can buy here!) 815/$1.58
Chocolate Chips (to make homemade cookies instead) 1975/$3.84
On another note... I have yet to find great chocolate/dessert here.. BUT my mom just sent me some of my favorite Mini Eggs! And they are even better a little melted from the heat!

Gas- Unleaded has been running between $4-$6 a gallon, where Diesel prices are maintained by the government, to make sure that things like rice, pineapples, bananas ect can be transported and exported (making it about 80% cheaper, so I am told. I'll let you know when I fill up my car for the first time).

New Cars- what you would pay in the states. Consider this with the average tico wage of 100 a week. A bus fare from Quepos to Manuel Antonio- 102 colones (.20), and from Quepos to San Jose (3 ½ hour drive) is only 2.000, or $4.

So, that's just a glimpse... And, I'll leave you with these pictures of the house I live beneath! My apartment is down the steps you see in the final photo. It is under the back deck, with a jungle view, but I am upstairs enough to get a peek at the ocean. Enjoy our view!

A recommeded read

Because the management office isn’t open quite yet, I have had a lot of time to read and enjoy a few books while sitting in the sun. And it has been a blessing! I just finished N.T. Wright’s newest book, Simply Christian, and I highly recommend it! It has some great insights on how we are wired to seek justice, relationships, and beauty, how God’s story seeks to reconcile what has been broken, allowing heaven and earth to meet, and how are called to participate in God’s act of recreation. If you want to read the book, perhaps I am spoiling it by offering you the last paragraph. But these are words I want to remember, challenge myself with, and cherish:

"Made for spirituality, we wallow in introspection. Made for joy, we settle for pleasure. Made for justice, we clamor for vengeance. Made for relationship, we insist on our own way. Made for beauty, we are satisfied with sentiment. But new creation has already begun. The sun has begun to rise. Christians are called to leave behind, in the tomb of Jesus Christ, all that belongs to the brokenness and incompleteness of the present world. It is time, in the power of the Spirit, to take up our proper role, our fully human role, as agents, heralds, and stewards of the new day that is dawning. That, quite simple, is what it means to be Christian: to follow Jesus Christ into the new world, God’s new world, which he has thrown open before us."

Pura Vida

This picture makes me laugh... It is hard to get pictures of yourself with your own camera... this was was taken after Nicki stole my camera and asked me to "pose on a rock"... but, I must say, I had a beauitful backdrop.

Today is a pretty big day... we might get wireless (which means on my own computer in my own room!), and I might get my own car (which I will have to share... but none the less). So, we will see if this all happens like it should... I'm crossing my fingers! It is also my third week here, and I think that I am going to start working in the office soon... the construction guys are working on setting it up, the decorator is coming today to work on picking out furniture and colors, and Rolando, our internet guy, is starting to wire the internet and phone system there. If all goes well, it should be up and running within the next week.



The twins started the equivalent of "three-school" in the states, so they are at school the same hours as Ryan- from 7am-12pm. So, it has been really quiet around here the past few mornings. The private school that all the kids go to is entirely in Spanish. Which is great for learning the Spanish language. However, often English speaking students fall far behind in their English language and Math skills while they are here. So this week I started tutoring Gabi and Ryan in both Math and English, to help them keep up. We go down to my apartment for a few hours after school, have a snack, and go through worksheets. A lot of word coding, timedaddition tests, counting and letters! I have also had to help them with some of their schoolwork- all the homework is in Spanish, so I am learning too!

Tomorrow night I start teaching an English class with some women from the church I have been going with. Bill and Debbie, the couple who headed up the idea, started these classes as a missional outreach, providing a much needed service to the community. The "students", which includes a lot of housekeepers, youth, and other low income ticos, only have to pay $7 for the three month class, which is the cost of their book. The class meets once a week, and there are three different times and locations to meet the needs of the students. I am really excited about this opportunity to invest in the community and meet some new people! And Auxie, our empleada (maid), is going to take the class! She is quite excited.

I will end with this: Pura Vida. It is a national mantra, and one that explains the attitude of the culture. Pura Vida literally means "pure life", but when asking a tico how they are, they will often use it as a response- and to the best of my understanding, it signifies that life is pure, content, full, and well.

No Snow Here...

I had fun reading the emails that were sent my way over the past week... since almost all of you are in Michigan or in the Midwest, you have been sending me many winter wishes. ...

"holy crap have you heard what the weather is like in Michigan right now? blizzard 07. "

"It's cold here--four degrees. Sheesh."

"man, we got blasted with snow today, like a foot of snow! wow! "

"It's crazy cold up here, to the point that I really don't go outside unless I have to."

" It is Saturday morning, and our area in under a Blizzard Storm Warning!!! It is just awful outside. Everything is canceled!"

"Also...in case you didn't hear, the weather here has been CRAZY!! We were snowed in...literally for two days. So, be grateful for the sun and warmth...and send some this way!"

"Enjoy your sun and sunsets, you could be freezing with us in Michigan."

So, the only appropriate way to respond to that is to continue to share with you that I rarely stop sweating, and have made a habit of hopping in the pool several times a day to cool off, which usually results in staying in my suit all day long. I have started making coffee and keeping it in my fridge, concocting an "ice coffee" creation that allows me to still enjoy the dose of caffeine every morning without having to drink it hot. I am ever grateful for my air conditioning, and haven't seen this many consecutive sunny days in a LONG time. My best wishes to all of you as you bundle up and attempt to stay warm!

Church and the Beach

It actually happened! We have the internet at our place! You never really know how long something like getting an internet line can take here... you need to solicit them, so, say, a phone line isn't available, you have to wait until one opens up. We are getting wireless this week too, so I should (cross my fingers) have full access in a few days.

Today I had the chance to meet with a small group of about 15 English speaking Christians for a little church service. They meet every week, and Moxie- an Scottish man with his PHD in Theology leads them through the text. Today we went through part of Joshua, and talked about what it meant to go through trials with a perspective that God is leading. It was really affirming to be around some people who shared their hearts and asked questions as a community. So, I am excited to get know them, and while I would still love to go to a Spanish speaking church, I am excited to continue to meet with them when I can.

Since church doesn't start until 3pm, we all went to the beach this morning. (I know, I am not trying to rub that in, for all of you stuck in Blizzard 2007 in the Midwest) I love the beach here, which is surprising because I am so used to salt water. But it is so clean, and I haven't seen anything sketchy, like jellyfish littering the beach. Every time Nicki and Scott take the kids to the beach, they stop by Ishmael's cart to buy copas, or granisadas. The closest thing I can compare them to is a snow cone, except they are layered with powdered milk and topped with condensed milk. Sooo Good.

The beach at Manuel Antonio is a lighter sand beach, compared to a lot of the other beaches in Costa Rica which have black sand. It is a gorgeous view, and we have gotten into the habit of going down at sunset to watch the sun go down, around 5:30. So, this is what I say goodnight to on a daily basis!