Choosing to live in Costa Rica. . . we are staying. Choosing to stay. . . we are living.

I haven't quite known how to tell you that. . .



 We are staying.  

We don't know what the future holds, just that that we are putting our house up for sale and that our time here isn't done.

Certainly that Gigi's health is thriving here is paramount to our decision.

My dear friend Lynn wrote, "Saw the awesome picture of Isabel surfing and couldn't help but marvel at how far she's come! Is that really the girl that could hardly lift her head for all those grueling months? Pictures like that make me realize that you are in a good place (maybe the right place although we selfishly don't want to admit it!) :-)"

She is off all of the medications she was put on after becoming ill last year and gone are all of the symptoms.

 

It's hard to believe that she was so sick and terrifying to recall it. I want to say thank you again for all the support, all the meals, all the scaffolding in so many ways that you helped our family and 

my sanity. 

We have our girl back 

and then some.

If I had to summarize what it has been like to live in Costa Rica this year I would put it like this:

the pace is slow, the sense of gratitude is great, hard work is all around us creating a sense of appreciation, the nature is astounding and so is the sense of conservancy, the Spanish and cultural challenges character-building, the proximity to creatures big and small stirs something in all of us that is profound, as does the fact that this tiny country has no standing army and a socialized system of medicine that dates back to 1941.  

It's been voted the happiest country on the planet two years running.

It makes sense.

It is like an Eden in many ways:

4 pineapples for 2 dollars

The past seems closer here.



A big part of our decision to stay is because of the kids' school, The European School. It's radically different from anything we have experienced as students or parents. 



That is a painting done by one of the students. There is a heavy focus on Art, Music, Literature, public-speaking, group projects, critical-thinking, global-mindedness and self-development. The school has a 100% pass-rate for the international baccalaureate degree, a difficult two year program that requires fluency in a third language, community service, a 4,000 word essay about an extended research project,  and depth in core subjects. However, the thing that we have loved about The European School is the attention to freedom by way of recess, breaks and celebrations. There are no standardized tests.

 There are also no lockers.







 The campus has sculptures, gardens, groves and fields. It is intentionally beautiful. The school is a recycling drop-off, teaches 'The Art of Living" meditation to the parents and students, hosts yoga for parents and students as well as massage for interested parents and faculty. 

 Here is a shot of the morning 'snack'. Lunch is a bit of a lightening rod. The kids love to 'hate' it- the food is organically grown-- largely by the school and is low-sugar, no-fry, nothing artificial and heavy on the veggies. The kids argue that they would like a bit more flavor. . . everyone has to finish their plates. 

Recent exchange students have been perplexed, frustrated and aghast at the lunch program. When I asked what they ate for lunch back home in Indiana they replied, "we normally don't eat lunch". When I asked what the choices were they said "Arby's on Monday, Pizza Hut on Tuesday" and so on. Our host daughter was talking about eating disorders and Gigi told me the next day, "I realize that it would be impossible to have an eating disorder at The European, you have to eat." 

 Our host daughter, Lexi, visiting the newborn calves that live just down the way.


The French Director and Founder (she 'started' at 42 after raising 5 children) had this to say to this year's graduates:

"I would like to think The European School was able to awaken the naughty child in you, the non-conformist, and one who sees beyond the daily grind to dare speak his mind. As one of you said: I can reflect upon where I am coming from in life and where I am heading to and I can faintly see in the horizon the dim silhouette of a yet higher mountain called life."

It is not easy to talk about the mind; it takes years of daily cleanup and awareness to come to a reasonable state of balance.

However, stick to your healthy diet; that, at least, is one less obstacle in the road."

The kids have been challenged. The school takes the long-view. Grades don't matter in the same way as they do in the US since everyone will sit for the IB degree. It means grading is not inflated nor is it based on how the kid is compared to their classmates. Grades here are meant to teach each child where they can improve. It took some getting used to, that's for sure. So did having to learn a third language- both kids will have to become fluent in French or Mandarin. 

 We are beyond proud of their efforts, tenacity and perseverance. The year has been tough but J recently said, "I learned that you have to give things time". 


What else?

The kids have had to depend on each other here. There have been many, many hard days but overall, we've grown closer and stronger as a family and as people. 

 Less running around has opened up space. 

My commute now involves timing things so I don't run into the cows. Yes, "the" 48 cows that live just down the way at the dairy farm. When I fail to time things right it looks like this:

They have actually rocked the car and closed both my side mirrors, it never ceases to be thrilling. 

The insanity of how mind-blowing nature is is never far. 

Nature, and all of her creatures, have also lent some character-building material.

This is what I saw one day when I went to start the car. 

The moth below was as big as Rick's hand. It was more bat than moth! If you turn it sideways with your mind you'll see it was half the length of a pillow! Seriously, you cannot believe how big this moth was- I found myself screaming last night when a normal moth zoomed by and the kids looked at me like I was nuts. Tropical trauma I suppose.



A pair of oxen pasture down the street from our house and this was my view out the car window recently:



J was out in a field getting some wood for a science experiment recently when their owner calmly had them walk by:





Baby-O and I nearly had a heart attack when we turned around and saw this coming at us. Ok, she screamed and I don't even remember what I did besides get out of the way. If you peer into the left side of the picture you will see the oxen handler. That is simply how small he is and how BIG this ox was!

Before we go. . .

My beloved friend Susan said the other day on Skype,"show me where you live" and so here is what I showed her:

 It is sunny every day.

But it can also look like this! Can you spot the spider that was in front of my face and as big as my palm with another bug to his right?

  

We are now in the 'green season' and it can rain like someone is dumping a bucket over your head.

We never mind it, probably because the sun is never far away.

We got so lucky with our new house- it has a huge yoga deck along with a hammock that fits 3! 

 I loved having my yoga mates over recently!

 We are living at 5300 feet. We look out over the whole Central Valley. It can get cold and windy,  but who cares when the birds are the loudest noise you routinely hear?

 Casper the 'rescue bait dog' is so happy (and getting fat!). We will be bringing our Boxer, Roman down in August. We could never have done this year without our fantastic neighbors' taking care of him. 

 More people walk than drive here. As in walk a couple of hours over a mountain to get to their job to save bus fare. It is humbling to walk for pleasure.

Another commute shot:



We can smell the cows at night and during the day. We hear them too. They lick us sometimes--- Elaine I think you would like the cows! I never stop having a sense of wonder as they watch me drive by. 

We love the cows but the hardest thing for sure, is being far away from our family and friends back in the US.  Our parents have been incredibly supportive even though we know being separated from their grandchildren is not easy.

Skype and Google Hangout (NOT hook-up Bridget!) make it a lot easier. . . and funnier. Here is my Mom being 'decorated' by Gigi, a funny Google feature.

The other really tough thing is not being with Rick 100% of the time. He is commuting and doing it with grace. The kids have all agreed they actually prefer this set up so that when he is with us he is with us. 

The distance helps remind us to value time spent together 

It makes us value and savor things back home too.

Speaking of 'back home,' we recently received big news that one of Gigi's best friends from WA will move here for a year and attend The European School along with her younger sister. We can't wait!

That's enough from the adult-set. . . here's what was on the kids' minds about staying and what the year has been like for them.

Costa Rica is fresh. It gives me the time to take a deep breath and enjoy the good things in life. Costa Rica gives you the time to think about what life is worth. The time here has taught me patience and gratitude, to be more funny and outgoing, and to try new things. The director of my school says that you should, ''unleash the naughty you''.Yesterday she came into my Spanish class and we were playing Jenga. She sat down and played. She showed me that you have time to sit down, relax, and enjoy life. Those words fuel my time in Costa Rica. I try to be the funniest I can be and be patient and to have gratitude. That is my goal in life. I think that if you can achieve your goal you will be happier and a better person. In Costa Rica I have come to realize that. I think that my parents choice of having me and my sister travel to amazing countries has helped me realize that. To see how little people have compared to us. To see how to be outgoing and friendly. If you can master those things, you will master life.

- J




There are many reasons I want to stay in Costa Rica. The schooling is amazing. I believe it has made me find my voice. I have had the chance to perform and act, something I want to do later on. We get so many projects that require us to be more creative and that make us use both the right and left side of the brain. In English, we have read Beowulf, Romeo and Juliet, Persian poetry, Renard the Fox, and 1001 Arabian Nights. 

After finishing 1001 Arabian Nights, we performed a play that we wrote in our group. After reading Renard the Fox, we had to write and perform a play that satirized some aspect of our society. In History, we recently finished studying the Renaissance. We were assigned a notable figure from the Renaissance and then had to prepare an argument that would win us the position of the person who contributed most to the Renaissance. I was assigned Niccolo Machiavelli, and through much determination and many rounds of debate, won 2nd most significant person, out of 19 different people including Da Vinci, Columbus, Shakespeare and Michelangelo. I lost out to Mehmed the Conqueror. Later on, we studied the fall of Constantinople. We read about it, then we made a biased movie or news story about it. The amount of acting included in this curriculum is endless.

In Spanish class, today we had a picnic lunch. My teacher brought all sorts of traditional Costa Rican food so that we could experience the culture. Her mom came, a 70 -something year old and she taught us how to make traditional corn tortillas. The school encourages new friendships for both the parents and students. Meeting a teacher's mother and having her teach us a skill is really memorable. The school encourages friendships among the parents as well. Every Wednesday and Friday, my mom has yoga classes with some of the other moms, including the moms of some of my best guy friends. 

The feeling of community is strong here. In the States, I feel that there are many cliques and the people who are in one of them, hardly ever, if not never, talk to the other people. Here, with max 40 kids in each grade, everybody knows everybody. For instance, I have friends in the 10th grade, 7th grade and 6th grade. In the States, many people don't have friends outside of their group. I believe that the low number of kids and feeling of a family opened up my mind to new friendships and possibilities.

In May, we went on a 2 night field trip to a little town on the Caribbean, called Gandoca. Earlier this school year, the eighth grade had read a book set there, called La Loca de Gandoca. We went there to do community work and to see turtles. Whereas the community work was 4 hours of grueling torture and the lack of turtles was disappointing, I feel like the trip brought all of us closer together. After 3 hours of cards each day, you became very close to the people you were staying with. Also, when we weren't playing Poker, BS or Jerm the Worm, we were singing around the main table at our cabin.

Waiting at the beach for the turtles also created a sense of family. One of my friends fell asleep, her head on her best friend's lap, I talked with someone for an hour and a half, about the randomest things, and later on, we all joked that the turtles were gigantic, pink, blue, and had eyes like the moon that was reflected across the Ocean. Where in the States would you get to go on a 2 night field trip with your entire grade, and then sit on the beach for four hours, while your teachers just talked in the back ground or played in the illuminated sand? Trust was present throughout the entire trip. The teachers trusted us to do what we thought was right, letting us sit on the beach at night, with everyone together, or having the teacher sleep on a whole different floor in our modest cabaña. In the school I attended in the States, there was very little, or no trust at all. There were video cameras in the hallways, and during passing periods the teachers were standing in the hallways too. You needed a pass to even leave the classroom, and they were debating the idea of putting cameras in the classrooms too. Where would the freedom be if they did that? The feeling of being watched and not trusted is present everyday at the school. Maybe there's some reverse psychology that makes kids act out, when they feel they aren't trusted.

The ideas of finding your own voice, experiences, new friendships, being a community and trust are represented every day here at my school. I believe this is what makes it have a 100% pass rate, be the happiest country in the world, and most of all, is what makes leaders in the changing world we are in today.

-Gigi

A couple of weeks ago the blog hit 25,000 views. I want to thank You for reading sharing this journey. We have moved from a sabbatical to expats. 

The business thinker Seth Godin wrote recently: 

"The best experiences and the biggest ideas don't fit into a category. They change it. They don't get filed away, they transform us."

Sunset from our new rental house in San Rafael de Heredia 

Here is to change and transformation. Keep in touch by receiving the blog by email. I am challenging myself to keep in touch once a week. 

Hope You are happy, healthy and well.