Learning To Live Here
Today marks five weeks since we boarded the Southwest Airlines jet and left the USA.
Since we’re in a transitionary period (language school), we are prone to ask "What are we even doing here?"
We don’t yet know what we will drive or where we will live. We’re getting adjusted to our current reality, and yet there’s this sense of "delayed arriving." It can feel pointless beyond just surviving.
And yes, of course, we’re learning Spanish. Right. But what’s the bigger point?
Here it is:
We are learning to live here.
I may have been born here, but I was a kid when I left and that was 1983. Now we’re here as a family of eight. Everything (almost) is different. Besides, we’re living in a rural town with many fewer conveniences that would be more available in San Jose.
So these are some things that we need to do in order to learn to live here.
Banking: opening accounts in Costa Rican Colones and in US dollars at two banks (one that’s the safest and one that’s modern)
Cell phones: switching to Google Voice and adding a local SIM card so that we can have our US numbers along with Costa Rican numbers, local for everyone. My number is +506-7197-0770. It’s free for me to call the US.
Citizenship: meeting with lawyers to get the process for gaining Costa Rican citizenship for Heather and the kids (because I already have it). It’s simply paperwork for the kids, but Heather will have to get temporary residency for 2 years and then she can become a naturalized citizen.
Vehicle: Now that we’ve sold both cars in the US, we can look for one vehicle here. We’d like something that can transport both our family AND those who visit. We’re currently looking at a Hyundai Starex or Toyota Hiace, which seat 12 and 15 respectively. Diesel and stick, please. :) We were trying to get one that’s at least a 2000 AND under $6000, but have received counsel that buying an older vehicle isn't a good idea because it's rough on vehicles here and you'll be paying for repairs. (Our friends here just had their engine rebuilt ). So now we're looking for something under $10,000.
TP: It bears repeating. Because old habits die hard, there is a tongs hanging on the toilet’s water supply pipe. In case habit takes over and you put the TP in the toilet instead of the wastebasket. And to be clear, those tongs were here when we moved in.
Shopping. Of course, when you move to a new place, you have to find new stores. But here, there's much less "one-stop-shop" convenience. So we have a grocery store, a fruits and vegetables store, a butcher shop, an appliance store, clothing store...and trial and error teaches us what the best of each of those is. And imagine taking a bus for 45 minutes, loading your purchases into the double stroller (without kids), walking to the next store...a quarter of a mile away, repeating, then getting a cab to haul everything home. Once a week, because the refrigerator is very small and things go bad quickly.
Hours of daylight. It's relatively the same as in the States, but it doesn't change much all year. It starts getting light at 5:00 AM and gets dark by 6:00 PM, so the evenings feel like winter. This probably has something to do with us still being on EST.
I’ll give you our daily schedule so you can get a feel for our routine.
Monday & Wednesday
5:00 AM
Get up, get ready. Unfortunately at this point, it’s pretty much the whole family that is still on Eastern Standard Time. SMH.*
7:00 AM
Crissia, our housekeeper, arrives and begins to clean.
7:45 AM
We walk the half mile to school, carrying umbrellas not so much in case of rain, but as sun shades. I’m pretty sure we’re a bit of a spectacle.
8:00 AM
Begin school. Heather goes to class with Cody and Jessica and their teacher Patricia. Aspen, Cleme, Lou, and Julz go to their class together with their teacher Yordania. I sit and work on my laptop in Caspian and Huxley’s childcare/class with their teachers Enith and Elisa. Enith is always speeding when she talks - high pitched, energetic, and literally the fastest Spanish speaker I’ve ever heard.
9:45 AM
Coffee Break. Everyone comes out of their classes and has coffee that’s prepared for us. Everyone brings their own snacks. The kids use the long pole with a hook to harvest guavas and guayabas, and often take a banana from one of the large bunches (containing 40-50 bananas) that had been cut from a tree and hung to ripen. Then they take turns on the swings.
10:00 AM
Back to class
11:45 AM
Dismissed from class and begin walking home
12:15 PM
Arrive at home, unless we stop at the carnicería (butcher) or Los Chinos (what they call the local little supermarket owned by a group of Chinese folk.) Gloriously, Crissia has not only cleaned the house and done laundry, but has lunch prepared for us as well. Caspian likely has fallen asleep on the walk.
12:50 PM
Get changed and walk over to the bus stop to catch the 1:00 bus to go to La Selva (which funnily means "the jungle"). At home, Heather, Caspian, and Huxley settle down for naps.
1:10 PM
Arrive at the foot of the gravel mountain driveway up to Tony Sanchez’ house, who is our fitness trainer.
1:20 PM
I’m completely sweated by the time we finish our 10 minute walk up a very steep drive. If driven, it requires a 4x4 vehicle. We’re loving this family fitness time!! It’s like a CrossFit styled, rustic fitness training on a mountain that includes jogging, circuit training, hiking, futbol, and dodging Venus, Tony’s huge, energetic boxer.
2:20 PM
Have refreshments that April, Tony’s wife, has provided. Then we walk back down the mountain and wait for the 2:35 bus.
2:40 PM
We’re still waiting.
2:43 PM
Juliana asks again when the bus is getting here, and suddenly, it appears. We hop on and take the 7 minute ride back home. (Last week, the driver waived but didn’t stop, so we walked the mile and a half home. After having worked out.)
3:00 PM
I take a shower because my hat and shirt don’t have any dry spots on them. Then I do some work while the rest of the children lay down for naps. Heather begins to work on her homework, and the kids join her after about an hour.
5:00 PM
We begin dinner prep, which might include running to the store to buy something we’re out of. Thankfully, it’s a 2 minute walk.
5:30 PM
We eat dinner. Ok, so this actually usually happens closer to 7:00. Perhaps because we've spent time closing all the windows to keep the bugs out...wishing for screens to let in the cooler air. But we've only seen one place that had screens.
7:30 PM
Everyone is exhausted and we start bedtime routine
8:30 PM
Lights are out and everyone is in bed. The kids beg us to tuck them in before they fall asleep. Heather and I may get up and do some work, clean the kitchen, or just go to bed.
Tuesday & Thursday
It’s much the same, except for that there’s no fitness, so we have the afternoon open. Plus Heather goes for a walk with Jessica…unless it’s raining.
Friday
5:00 AM
Everyone starts to get up and get ready.
7:00 AM
We eat breakfast
8:00 AM
Catch the bus to go to fitness
10:00 AM
Arrive back home and Heather goes grocery shopping. What a champ!
Then we do the usual…
6:00 PM
We host a time of worship, prayer, and sharing with the other two families who are studying with us.
Saturday
We don’t have a rhythm for Saturdays yet. Yesterday, we all hopped on the 10 AM bus to La Suiza and while Heather, Caspian, and Cleme went grocery shopping at the Walmart-owned Pali, followed by Verduleria Santísima Trinidad - "Holiest Trinity Vegetable Shop," two butcher shops (one for chicken and fish, one for pork), and a final store "La Canasta" (The Basket) that has other odds and ends and a recommended butcher. All this while I took the three older boys to get haircuts for $5 a piece. They’re so handsome!
Sunday
We’ve been going to the Voz Que Clama Mision church that’s connected to the language school. Last week I played on the worship team. It’s about 5 dB louder than Heather can stand without feeling sick. It starts at 10 AM and they have a time of worship followed by a dismissal of all the children for Sunday school. There’s not really an official break, but people go out and get coffee to come back into the service with during the sermon. It’s a small church, ranging from 15-30 people.
So, that’s a glimpse into our lives. Thanks for caring. :) <3
Dave, Heather, Aspen (Quique), Clementine (Gaby), Louis (Tino), Juliana, Huxley (Ooksley...he just doesn't respond to Sion), and Caspian (Cappi)
*SMH is a text abbreviation for "Shaking My Head."
