Videos of David from 10/28-29/11

The following random videos were taken yesterday and today.

This first one was recorded last night at the mall where there were lots of motorcycles and four wheelers on display.

Next, we're at the music store where you can play any of the instruments that you want.

The third one has a little commentary about Monkey Lu, a children's store at Multiplaza (the mall).

This video was recorded this morning at the park by our house.

And lastly, an example of the ants that are everywhere.

Things that I didn’t expect.

• I didn’t expect to have a small lizard in my house that I just cannot seem to trap.
• I didn’t expect to have a small garden atrium in the middle of our home.  That’s where the lizard came from.
• I didn’t expect to go to a spinning class on someone’s back porch/patio without any air conditioning or fans in 70 degree weather.  My first class was free so I gave it a try.
• I didn’t expect for so many people (at our church) to speak English so well.
• I didn’t expect to see a monkey and two parrots in the wild.  “The wild” is an hour from here.
• I didn’t expect to have to cohabitate with ants in the house.  They drive me crazy!  Little itty bitty ones and big red ones will eat/drink anything left on any surface for over 10 minutes –including a glass of water!

• I didn’t expect to experience the worst hailstorm in more than 58 years. 
• I didn’t expect to enjoy my first Día del Niño (Children’s Day).*
• I didn’t expect for people walking down the street not to give eye contact nor greet each other.**
• I didn’t expect for Wendy’s to have the biggest children’s play area out of all of the fast food restaurants.  They even have a party room!
• I didn’t expect for Wendy’s to serve chicken legs and nachos in addition to what we’re accustomed.
• I didn’t expect for there to be so much recycling – yea!
• I didn’t expect to have to sweep so much.  Everything is tile and we keep the front door open practically all day so dust and such comes in (don’t worry, we’re at home).
• I didn’t expect for my high school Spanish teacher’s family to live less than two miles from our house!
• I didn’t expect for it to be a requirement for everyone entering the pool to have to wear swim caps.
• I didn’t expect to have my water turned off from 8a-5p without any prior notice so that men down the street could work on the pipes.

*I always thought that it was an unnecessary holiday (also celebrated in Mexico, but in April) since kids get whatever they want every day, but after seeing David have so much fun at school and getting a gift from his teachers, his happiness made me appreciate the day.  On the way home from school he innocently asked me if it was his birthday.

**This was the case in Mexico City too, but I forgot since I haven’t lived there in twelve years.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Costa Rica has two seasons – rainy (invierno) and dry (verano).  When we moved here two months ago, I noticed the weather pattern of upper 70s/lower 80s with a light rain in the afternoon and found it charming.

While we are almost at the end of the rainy season that runs from May through November, we have entered an unusually rainy period.  What was initially charming has become mildly annoying.  It started raining last Monday, 10/10 and hasn’t stopped!  It probably rains from light to heavy about 80% of the day.  The news states that it should continue to rain until Wednesday and this has been one of the longest stretches of rain in recent history.

All of this humidity has caused the following:

• The front door has swelled and has to be leaned/pushed against in order to open and close.  Other doors in our house will not even close.
• The metal salt shaker rusted so I put some salt in a ceramic shaker.  The holes kept getting clogged so a friend gave me a plastic salt shaker with bigger holes.  It has to be tapped against the table frequently for the salt to come out.
• I cannot take David out to play or for a walk.
• Even though there is lots of water outside, the water on our street was out for four hours yesterday morning.

While these minor inconveniences are temporary, I cannot dismiss the gravity of the rain that has devastated neighboring countries. 

I have been told that the dry season is just that – not a drop of rain for months.  In a few months, I am sure that I will be missing some of this humidity.  The grass is always greener on the other side.  J

FAQ: What is our address?

Several of our family and friends have asked for our address in order to mail us letters and care packages. Please know that it is not my intention to avoid this inquiry because we love to receive mail. It’s just that we don’t have a traditional mailing address; we don’t even have a mailbox! How can that be, you ask? Mailing bills, letters, cards, and such is not done the way we do it in the United States. While it may seem frustrating not to have an address, the good thing is that we don’t get any junk mail!

If you would like to send us a letter or card, please write to:


Enrique Govea, SJO 20066
APDO 424-1260
Plaza Colonial, Escazú, Costa Rica


If you would like to send any kind of package to us, please e-mail me and I’ll give you the address.

We would love to hear from you!

FAQ: How's David?

David with his good friend, Matía,
on Independence Day.

My friend, Kristen, reminded me recently that any big change takes about six months to get adjusted to which I have to continually remind myself of so that I can better understand David.

David gets sick with a fever pretty regularly, enough so that my friend, Joanie, said that every time we talk on the phone, it seems like David's sick.  My friend, Ashley, who has been here four months longer than us, said that her two little boys were sick like that the first two months too.  We all think that David's just getting used to a different environment and may pick up things from kids at school too.

David had a week off from school so on the first Monday back, his teacher painted the kids' faces.  David is a tiger.

Speaking of school, he goes everyday from 8 to noon.  Most days have been very hard dropping him off because he screams, cries, or takes off in the other direction.  I know that he's fine after about five minutes or so, but it's hard to leave him in that condition.  I don't know if he genuinely doesn't like something about school or just that he'd rather be at home with us.  For the past seven school days, however, he has walked to school merrily by my side and kissed me goodbye at the school gate which is a relief!

On Children's Day, David didn't have to wear a uniform and was allowed to wear regular clothes to school.  He's either eating cheese puffs or candy from the school party.

David has swimming lessons at school on Mondays, but he doesn't like them because the instructor holds him.  Of course he needs to be held in the water, but David doesn't like to be held by anyone but Mommy and Daddy.  When we walk to school in the morning, he asks me to tell the teachers not to hold him.  I tell him that they only try to hold him when he's upset so he should try not to cry.  Sometimes when I pick him up at noon, he tells me that for whatever reason he "cried like a baby" (his words, not mine).

For Independence Day, all the children dressed as farmers and carried  little lights inside their oxcarts (it's a tradition).

Also, if anyone besides Enrique and me tells him to share or not to do something, he cries and runs to me.  He cannot seem to take any type of correcting from anyone else.
Other new characteristics about David since we've moved here:

• He doesn't want his picture taken (or mine or Enrique's).
• He doesn't like attention.
• He's afraid of more than four people gathered together.
• He's scared to walk by houses with dogs (they're inside the gates, but sometimes they bark loudly).
• He doesn't want to say hello or goodbye to friends or acquaintances which includes not wanting to talk to family and friends on the phone or via Skype.
• He doesn't like the slide at the playground.
• It's very difficult for him to share.  He thinks that his friends who are visiting are going to take David's things home with them.

Of course, we can't chalk all of this up to change.  It could be his age (he'll be three in November) combined with the continual formation of his personality.

But it's not all bad news.  Some fun, new things about David are:

• He likes to jump off of everything - the couch, stairs, and curbs, for example.
• He can speak equally as well in Spanish and English.
• He talks all day long (but only with Mommy and Daddy).
• He loves to play on the swing.
• He can sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and the ABCs all by himself.
• He likes to wear a cape and run around (like his cartoon counterpart, Caillou).
• He's made new friends and likes to play with Luciano, Matía, Lucas, Zaareth, Nicolás, and baby Daniela.

Volunteer Appreciation Day

Yesterday, we had a great time at Openhouse's first ever Volunteer Appreciation Day.  It took place at a staff member's family ranch about 45 minutes away.  We had a cowboy theme so we played country music, dressed in jeans, plaid shirts, boots, and cowboy hats, and line danced.  We ate hamburgers and hotdogs and played fun games.  There were about 30 people there with their families and we took pictures of each family as a souvenir to remember the special day.

Adrián is one of the production volunteers and
his wife, Viviana, is one of my new friends.

It was nice to have everyone together to show them how much we appreciate them working so hard on Sundays.  Some volunteers are in the background (like the sound and lights guys) while others are greeters, parking lot attendants, and nursery and children's workers.  As a result of their behind the scenes dedication, people who attend the service can "be still and know that [He] is God" (Psalm 46:10).

Waumba Land (nursery) volunteers

Production volunteers

Julio (the pastor), Adrián (production volunteer
and small group leader), and Enrique (small groups director)