Moving to Costa Rica. . .finding a school, a car, a house and a dog

This was the view that awaited us our first morning in Costa Rica. What I thought was the hum of traffic in the distance was in fact, the sound of rushing water flowing at the bottom of the canyon. The small hotel sits perched atop the canyon housing Steve and Rita, one of those competent, uber-connected couples that are full of useful counsel and never obtrusive. I'm all for auspicious beginnings and staying at Casa Bella Rita provided us with a hearty one.

The fact that they have three incredibly charismatic rescue dogs named Tin Tin, Ratatouille, and Topo ("speed-bump" in Spanish) didn't hurt. The kids were in heaven.

Tin Tin, the man

Ratatouille better known as "Rata" who resembled a rat. . .

It would be through Rita that we eventually (we had planned on 4 days and stayed for 10. . .) found our house and car.   Neither are what we had planned on, both are working out beyond expectation.

View from our new home

It would be a lie to say that the first weeks were easy.

"A lot of waiting" said J of the first days as duly noted in this candid shot (I wish it were posed!)

The car we'd planned to buy and pick up our second day evaporated. We couldn't find a house (turns out there's tons of unfurnished places but not so many furnished houses). At one point, as we drove up and down roads looking for a place to live, Gigi shouted out 'Se Alquila!' (it means 'For Rent' in Spanish) so we promptly U-turned only to find what at best might be described as a shack. Isabel shrugged her shoulders and said, "you asked for 'se alquila' and you got 'se alquila'". The kids later took to chanting 'Se Alquila' as a rap of sorts as Rick and I tried not to lose our minds.

When doubt creeped in as if to ask "why exactly are we doing this"?  Answers whispered in from all directions. Finding a young woman, Oona, who bakes Gigi the most delicious custom baked goods- she specializes in Gluten-free, Artificial and Preservative-free products. . .

Picking up Gluten-Free, Agave brownies & cookies

Visiting the Toucan Rescue Ranch where the kids had a chance to visit with monkeys, sloths and owls- all rescued and sheltered by Leslie and her husband.

Izzy, found chained up as a baby, living a second chapter

Baby-O so proud to have run to the car and gotten bananas to share with Izzy, the monkey.

 Shopping at the Sunday market.

More on this later. . .our purchases from the market pictured below. . .cost $24. We joked that the ten ears of corn and two papaya would have totaled that back home.

One huge change was the kids' school- the school we'd chosen turned out to be a fabulous place to learn English and not miss a beat back in the US. After some hand-wringing we all decided that wasn't why we had moved to Costa Rica. More to follow but after extensive exams and more waiting we learned the kids had been accepted at Blue Valley School.

Taking a tour at Blue Valley School

The kids started on Friday and by Friday night Gigi was already out with a pack of girls until late. J came home ecstatic because he would be dissecting a chicken in his science unit. So far so good. The math is terrifyingly advanced (for me!). Even with Gigi having taken 7th grade Algebra she's working. The materials are clear and the kids seem excited by the challenge. Today, they received iPads that a young alumni secured for the school. J was studying Dickinson poetry today and last night Gigi interviewed me for an auto-biography she is to write. She's reading The Color of Water for English class. The kids will receive intensive Spanish tutoring and are expected to get up to speed in the next six months. J reported that he read his fiction book during social studies today (with the teacher's blessing) because he couldn't make heads nor tails of the lesson. Here goes the great experiment. . .

The last major thing to check off of our list was finding Baby-O a preschool. Today, I found it. More to follow but suffice it to say, that it was pretty shocking to see the plethora of quality early childhood education options. Montessori became popular in Costa Rica in the 1920's and the legacy is strong. 

Finally, we adopted a rescue dog today---his nickname is "Bones" because he's so skinny. The shelter named him Gaspar which we changed to Casper given his waistline. It's incredible to see emotional terrain develop before your eyes. Even though he resembles a 7 month old pup by weight, he's probably around 3 years old.

We don't know yet how it will all turn out but so far so good. 

We miss everyone to bits. Come hear the roosters crow as soon as you can.