Surviving the roads of San José

It is so encouraging when someone tells me that (s)he is praying for me.  (S)he usually does not specify what (s)he actually prays for – our ministry, my family in Georgia, my health, David, my marriage, our safety, etc.  I will take all the prayers that I can get for all areas of my life, but a prayer that I feel is being said for me is for safety.

Whenever I sit around with a group of friends down here, they can all go around the table and share tales of when they have been held up, carjacked, or have had their house broken into – multiple times!  The thought of any of those scenarios scares me quite a bit.  I have never had anything like that happen to me down here, in Mexico, or in Georgia, and the possibility of someone breaking my car window to steal my purse while stopped at a traffic light is frightening.

I definitely feel God’s protection when we are driving down here.  The highway is alright, but the side streets are atrocious.  The potholes, unpainted speed bumps, faded paint lines separating traffic lanes, sewer drains without covers, lack of traffic lights, motorcyclists weaving between lanes, poorly lit roads, driving down dark roads where pedestrians, people on bicycles, and dogs dart across the middle of the street, and driving in the daily rain is enough to drive me crazy.  I am amazed that in the 14 months that we have lived here, we have only suffered a fender bender while in a taxi and two flat tires.

I shouldn't leave out the earthquakes, a natural disaster that - while there have been a handful of tremors during our time here - I have only felt two and not suffered any damage.

Thank you for praying for our safety and please continue to do so!

Raising Children

Play dates are not in their vocabulary so it’s been difficult to find friends for David to play with outside of school.  Just last week, one of David's schoolmates' moms finally acquiesced to me picking up her son for the afternoon to play with David.  I literally had to beg her!

I’m used to my Atlanta mommy friends and I having play dates and exchanging babysitting favors, but that is not done here.  Most folks still live close to family so they ask their kin to watch the kids.  Since we don’t have family here, we’ve tried to get friends and neighbors to watch David, but they act like that’s a weird request.  Fortunately, we’ve found a local family in the same boat as us (no family nearby) so we take turns on a weekly basis with babysitting.  

David with his best friend, Matti.

Our neighbors have also come around and we’ve watched their baby girl a few times and David’s gone across the street to play with her while we have small group.

Since it’s not the cultural norm to leave your child with someone who is not family, newcomers tend to be leary of leaving their children with us in the nursery at church.  They’ll ask their nanny to stay with them the whole hour!  That may happen just the first Sunday or for a couple of Sundays until the parents see that we are providing a safe environment for babies and kids to have fun and learn about God.

Birthday parties are a big deal.  As stated in one of my earliest blog entries, Wendy’s has a party room and an employee hired specifically for party planning!  One of David’s classmates just turned three so David and all his friends were invited to Lauty’s party.  The package included games, face painting (David wanted to be Batman), cake, a piñata, a kid’s meal for each boy and girl, and a cup of coffee and an apple pie for all of the parents!

On the children’s cable networks, commercial after commercial promotes healthy toddlers by giving them formula…until they are three years old!  These preschoolers are already eating regular food, but their diet is supplemented with formula.  I transitioned David from formula to cow’s milk at 12 months so this cultural difference shocks me.  

As mentioned before, I deeply miss the plethora of children’s activities (many free) that are easily accessible online in the States.  Part of it is that I am not aware of all of the events offered in the area, but the majority of the problem is that there is not a central location where all local activities are registered.  Even if there was, there is not much going on for preschoolers.  David is on vacation for two weeks, but we don’t have much to do.  The good thing is that he’s fine watching “Toy Story 2” every single day (some days more than once).  Monday, he goes back to school.  Yea!

Food

When you think of Latin food, "spicy" might come to mind, but not in Costa Rica.  The food here is just the way I like it - mild.  Overall, I like the comida típica, or homemade Costa Rican food.  We like to eat at sodas which are little mom and pop restaurants with affordable prices.  A staple item on the menu is black beans and rice, or gallo pinto.  This item is consumed at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  While available at all sodas, you can also find it on the breakfast menu at Wendy’s, Subway, and McDonald’s!

Plantain, gallo pinto, and scrambled eggs.

One day, I ordered a casado (meat, two sides, gallo pinto, and salad) at a soda.  While I was waiting on my food, I was brought some tortilla chips to munch on.  At Mexican restaurants, you’re used to chips and salsa, right?  Well, when he brought me the chips, they already had some “sauce” drizzled on them…mayonnaise and ketchup!

Another day, Kelsey and I went to a different soda and as we ate, we noticed an unrecognizable food under the heating lamps.  The owner informed us that it was a plantain split down the middle with melted cheese.  No thanks!

In March, we went to an awesome arts and crafts festival where lots of food stands offered a variety of fare.  I ordered the patacones with shredded beef and guacamole.  Patacones are fried, flattened slices of unripe banana used as a base to be topped with the aforementioned beef and guacamole and/or beans and cheese.  Mmmm!

I've also enjoyed eating my own trout that I caught and Enrique liked drinking a pipa fría (fifth video from the top).

While almost everything that you want to buy is accessible here, American brands are expensive!  When I first moved here, I bought what I was used to - Campbell's, Planter's, Smucker's, etc, but now I try to buy local brands to cut back on the prices.  Other products that are expensive are American apple sauce, peanut butter, and (Canadian) maple syrup.  There is only brand of maple syrup and it costs $31 for a pint!  That's liquid gold, my friend.

Gone fishin'

On Saturday, Enrique, David, and I drove to Cartago to pick up Kelsey and bring her back to civilization.  She had talked with us about where her missionary friends lived, but I didn’t realize the tranquil beauty until I laid eyes upon it myself.  We live in the metro area of San Jose so I’m used to smelling exhaust as my neighbors drive by to go to work in the morning, and walking to the corner to get to the butcher, locksmith, or David’s school.  The closest neighbors to the Folks are the cows in the pasture and the trout in the pond.
The Folk family live on the side of the Irazú Volcano on a family’s property that rent a house to them.  This family has a restaurant that is only open on Saturdays and Sundays for lunch.  Since we were there last weekend, we had the joy of eating at this delicious little mom and pop operation.  Before having lunch, we had to catch it!  I don’t ever recall going fishing, and if I did, I never caught anything, and if I did, I certainly never ate it!

While we waited for the couple to prepare our lunch, Enrique and I talked with Jacob and Courtenay to get to know them better and find out about their ministry in Costa Rica.  They and their three kids are from South Carolina and arrived in Cartago in 2008.  They conduct Bible studies on week nights and also serve at a local orphanage.

When our meal came, I was delighted to see perfectly seasoned potatoes, fried plantains, salad with a delicious herb dressing, and of course my fried trout.  It was superb!

After lunch, we walked up a hill to see their home.  Jacob had built swing for his children so David and I gave it a try.

Their log cabin is very open, and large enough to house small missions teams who come to help out.  Jacob built their bed which is unusually high.  When I asked why, Courtenay told me that it’s so that none of her sheets touch the floor.  Why?  So that tarantulas don’t climb up.  That’s right, tarantulas!!!  While the climate difference that they experience frees them of the pesky ants that we battle on a daily basis, they deal with the occasional tarantula.  Ugh!

After we visited for awhile, we walked back down to our car to go back to the city.  On the way, Jacob dug up a calalilly for me so that I can plant it at our place in memory of my mom.

We will definitely be returning to the Folks’ home to enjoy the good company, fresh air, and peaceful serenity of nature.

Easter in Costa Rica

Remember the days when Spring Break was the week always leading up to Easter?  Now it varies, but in Costa Rica, Spring Break is always the week of Easter.  It is known as Semana Santa, or Holy Week.  All of the kids are out of school and many people have the week off.  If not the entire week, then at least Wednesday through Sunday.

On Thursday, practically everything but the grocery stores, McDonald’s, and Walmart shut down.  My high school Spanish teacher – who is from here – told me that “When I was little, people would not dare drive a car. People thought you were a heretic and threw stones at your cars. All bars are sealed (people drink liquor in their homes) and take off to the beaches.”  Interesting!

On Friday morning, Kelsey and I heard some drums.  We went outside to take a look and saw that there was a procession at the local Catholic church (I live just 100 meters away).  We went to check it out and it was a reenactment of Jesus and the two criminals being beaten and escorted to Golgotha.  The soldiers cast lots for Jesus’ clothes and then they placed Him on a cross.  Here is a video of what transpired:

 

This procession was just one of several.  I heard that on Friday night at the church, they burned a doll that represented Judas.  We weren't able to make it to that one or the other two or three ceremonies to mark the Easter season.  Even so, it was emotional walking with everyone on Friday morning and witnessing what I recorded above because it made me feel like I was a part of the crowd that crucified Jesus.  It made it real to me.

Saturday, we went to a friend’s house for pizza.  According to Costa Ricans, our friends live “really far away” (Considering the small size of this country, “really far” means more than 20 minutes!), but there wasn’t any traffic so we got there in about 35 minutes.  After lunch, we watched our home church’s Easter service since they offered several services this weekend and broadcast them online.

This morning was great!  Contrary to what happens in the States with churches being packed on Christmas and Easter, we actually didn’t expect a lot of people today.  We assumed that they’d still be out of town.  We were all pleasantly surprised to have a full house – about 50 kids and over 200 adults.  The Lord's Supper was observed for the first time at our church.  It was a great day to celebrate Jesus dying for our sins and rising from the dead.  He lives!

This video is of our worship time with little ones.  David's friend, Luciano, is really getting down to "Father Abraham".

On the way home, David asked Enrique what he learned at church.  Enrique told him that he learned that Jesus died for us, but on the third day He rose again and He lives!  David said that he learned the same thing.  As a mom – and his teacher – I was proud of him for remembering.

Family getting together for Easter and sharing a meal is not customary here, but I decided to prepare a traditional Easter dinner and invited Julio, Ashley, and Kelsey.  We had ham (Well, I thought that I bought a ham, but it turned out to be some other type of pork.), pineapple and cheese casserole, broccoli and rice casserole, carrots, zucchini, apple crisp and ice cream, and sweet tea!  We also dyed some eggs and had an Easter egg hunt (in the dark as the sun sets around 6p here).

All in all, it has been a great last few days.  Happy Easter!

Life's a beach.

Note to subscribers:  If you are reading this as an e-mail, the videos will not come through.  Please go to www.thegoveagazette.blogspot.com so that you can watch them.

Since it's summertime here and we only live an hour from the beach, that's where we usually end up every other weekend (on the off Sundays when we don't have church).  We must take advantage of this beautiful weather because rainy season is around the corner.

On our way to the beach, we like to stop at a bridge and see the alligators...or are they crocodiles?

While it's difficult for you to see the alligators in the next video, they are there - like 15 of them or more!  David keeps asking me "¿Qué es eso?" because he wants to know what Enrique is throwing down to the alligators.

Not every weekend is the same, but on this particular weekend, we were enjoying a resort (gratis).

Another weekend, a family invited us to their beach house.  While we didn't actually go to the beach that time, we had fun at the pool and in their neighborhood.

Something very common that is sold on the side of the road and along the boardwalks are coconut water.  I remember my mom buying coconuts and me having to throw them on the driveway numerous times to crack them open so that she could use the inside to make her famous homemade coconut cakes.

Since lots of people go to the beach on the weekend, traffic going back home is horrendous.  Here's a way that they've chosen to reduce the long lines.

Last Sunday, we saw lots of parasailers.

Of course everyday isn't paradise just lapping up the sun, but we do try to get out as a family and enjoy ourselves.

I got my Costa Rican driver’s license!

In the States, a driver’s license serves as your ID for everything.  Here, that is not the case.  Everyone has another type of ID called a cédula.  Since residency is required to obtain a cédula, I use my passport as a form of ID.  I don’t like carrying it on my person at all times, so I’m glad to have a local form of ID now.  It may not be as important as a cédula, but if you’re in an accident with an expired (or without) a driver’s license, your auto insurance is invalid!

Fortunately, the process was pretty easy, albeit time consuming.  I was able to use my Georgia DL as proof that I know how to drive so I didn’t have to take any kinds of tests.  I did, however, have to get the required medical exam ($20).  I’m glad that I had my Red Cross blood donor card with me so that I didn’t have to pay the additional $10 fee to prove my blood type.

Once I found the driver’s license place (Thank goodness I have a GPS in the land of no street names!), I paid $1.40 for a woman to make copies of my passport and GA DL.  I then walked through a maze of buildings and offices following the signs to get my license.  A man at the door checked to make sure that I had all of the proper documents and told me and eight other people to sit in a row of chairs inside the very pink building.  While waiting, I took a picture of a poorly translated sign which made me laugh.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, five people were sent upstairs and the rest of us moved down a few chairs.  After waiting even more time with no direction, the rest of us got to go upstairs to have our copies officially given a stamp of approval and then sent back downstairs to wait in line again.

The lady that was supposed to help all of us wasn’t at her desk so we waited and waited.  While sitting there, I saw that everyone had a yellow receipt in hand, everyone but me and another guy.  I asked a fellow American what that was for and he said that you have to go to a bank to pay the $8 for the license, and then they’ll give you a receipt to give to the lady.  I asked if I should get up and go to the bank while we wait and he suggested that I stay and wait for the lady to tell me that.  Finally, she started seeing each one of us and the process was fairly quick.  I saw another poor translation that made me laugh.

It makes sense in Spanish, but not so much in English.

When it was my turn, I went to the lady’s cubicle and gave her my papers.  She gave me a white slip of paper to take to the bank so I walked about two blocks to pay and get my yellow receipt.  I was the last person that the teller saw before he went on his lunch break.  Phew!  The poor guy behind me had to wait an extra 45 minutes until the teller returned from lunch.

I walked the two blocks back to the office and handed her my receipt.  She asked me for an electronic signature, a digital fingerprint, and then took my picture.  Voila, a Costa Rican driver’s license!  

A day in the life…

Sometimes living in another country doesn't feel too different.  Other days, living in another country feels like…living in another country!  Even though we live in a nice area, there are some things that are quite different.

Many businesses offer home delivery, or express as they say here.  You can order express service for everything from a pharmacy prescription to a movie rental to Office Depot to McDonald's.  Here's a picture of a Pizza Hut delivery motorcycle.

The "trunk" is open and it reads "Siempre Caliente  Hot".

Trash is collected on Monday and Thursday mornings.  There are several ways to put your trash outside – bags on the sidewalk, or bags in some kind of receptacle, but not a big trash bin like we’re used to.  Here is an example of some homemade ingenuity of cutting a plastic barrel in half and mounting it outside the home.

The street that we use everyday has been under construction practically since we moved here.  Behold, a short video depicting the daily mess that goes on. (If you watch to the end, you'll see David.)

And last, but not least...The mom and pop store around the corner is so convenient with practically everything you need in a pinch before driving to the grocery store again.  Tonight was the first time that I went near closing time.  Grandpa was serious about security!

Repsycho

The first time that we met with our last small group two years ago, we had dinner at our apartment and made potato tacos.  We were getting to know each other and the topic of recycling came up.  It was then that Enrique revealed that I am not recycling girl, but Repsycho.  Even though it wasn’t necessarily a term of endearment, I thought that it was funny and describes me adequately. 

I remember going to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga as a teenager with my family.  While we were in line, one of us had finished a Coke (I’m not quite sure that it was an actual Coca Cola, but keep in mind that as a Southerner, “Coke” is used to refer to any type of soft drink.) and was going to throw it away.  I refused to let it land in the trash and looped the flip top through a necklace I had on and wore it until we got home!

If we go to a party where pizza is served, I’ll ask if I can take the boxes home so that I can recycle them.

In Alpharetta, our apartments recycled newspaper and plastic, but that wasn’t enough for me so I would drive to Roswell a couple of times a week to donate to Goodwill and recycle everything from the Eggo waffle box to phone books to baby food jars to old books.

Before arriving to Costa Rica, we lived with my dad in Lithia Springs for a month.  While there, I continued collecting trash to be recycled, but didn’t know where we were going to take it.  My dad took me to the dump (or Douglas County Landfill and Recycling Center if you want to be proper) and I was in heaven.  They recycle tires, cooking oil, mattress springs, vacuum cleaners, and mixed paper (I didn’t have to separate newspapers, magazines, chip board, office paper, and cardboard anymore!), among the regular recycling of aluminum, glass, plastic, and steel.  I went twice a week and loved it.

Now that we are in Costa Rica, I am glad to know that they recycle even more than we do.  As you walk the main avenues, there are receptacles every few hundred yards with two categories – recyclable and not recyclable.  You don’t have to separate anything and can just throw any trash that you have on you in the right compartment.

Our house lies just past the security gate which we pass several times a day walking in and out of the neighborhood to explore or go shopping.  At the guard’s station are four metal barrels for recycling – mixed paper, glass, cans, and plastic.  This means that I can recycle to my heart’s content and not have it sitting in my house making a mess.  I love it!

At the grocery stores, there are many products that come in large pouches (like big Capri Suns) rather than plastic containers or glass.  

From L-R: sour cream, mayo, jelly, mayo,
more sour cream, nacho cheese, and ketchup.

Yesterday, we bought strawberry jelly, mayonnaise, sour cream, and dish detergent in those presentations which are cheaper for the manufacturer to produce and leave a much smaller carbon footprint.  I also saw ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and mustard like that.  The mayonnaise that I bought was Hellmann’s which makes me wonder when the United States will embrace these packages that are much better for the environment.

So for Repsycho, it is nice to live in a place where I am not considered such an oddity; I am just another person doing her part to make the world a cleaner place.

Each sold separately

While there is a Costco-type store here – PriceSmart – most people live day to day and only buy what they need for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  For my American mindset, it’s hard to think like that because buying in bulk seems more economical (and ecological due to less packaging).

Pens
I went to Walmart to buy a box of pens and was surprised to see that pens were for sale in individual little bags.  The most that I could purchase together was a pack of three.

Microwave Popcorn
There are only two brands at our nearby grocery store, a local brand and Act II.  It’s like someone took all of the packages out of the box to sell individually (at about 50¢ each).

Cookies and Crackers
If you buy a package of Oreos, you’ll be surprised to see that inside of the package are more little packages with four Oreos in each one.
If you’re used to four rolls of Ritz crackers in a box, you won’t find them here.  Inside the plastic package are little packages with eight crackers each.  The same goes for soda crackers (Saltines) and Goldfish.

"Big package" of soda crackers with a small package inside.

Beverages
Canned and bottled beverages - be it soft drinks, water or beer - are sold individually on the shelf.  Is there someone in the back pulling each can from the plastic ring? You can, for example, either buy imported (more expensive) American Coke or Costa Rican Coke.  Personally, Costa Rican Coke tastes better to me because sugar cane is used rather than high fructose corn syrup.

Yogurt
Drinkable yogurt is consumed much more here than the kind that we eat with a spoon.  Activia yogurt is sold by the little cups, not the four or six pack that I am used to purchasing.

Tissue Paper         
I needed some tissue paper to wrap a gift; it was available in either one sheet or two sheet packages.

Greeting Cards
There are two Hallmark stores at the local mall (Multiplaza is so huge that several stores have two locations so that you don’t have to walk the whole mall to get there.).  For each style of card, there is only one available with its corresponding envelope.  Forget about buying a box of thank you or sympathy cards!

If you take into account the little mom and pop mini-grocery stores that are on almost every other corner, then the list grows.  The following items are also available individually:

• Cigarette
• Light bulb
• Wrapping paper (one sheet that measures about 2’x3’)
• Slice of American cheese
• Dog food (you can buy it by the scoop)

Nicaragua vs. Costa Rica

The Goveas spent Christmas 2011 in Nicaragua renewing our tourist visas.

I have lived in Costa Rica for four months and was only in Nicaragua for six days so the following comparison is not a completely fair analysis, but one that I did want to make.

Nicaragua

• Food is cheaper and tastes better.
• It is a more agricultural country.
• Many people use bicycles and motorcycles as their main source of transportation and will carry whatever they need to on them such as:  three other people (including babies and children), propane tanks, groceries, cakes, etc.
• There are less ants.
• Gasoline is cheaper.  
• The roads are better.
• Overall, the people seem to be gentler, more accommodating.
• Lake Nicaragua is very impressive. ("Despite being a freshwater lake, it has sawfish, tarpon, and sharks!")  Here is one of the many videos that I shot on our trip.

Costa Rica

• There is a wider variety and abundance of restaurants.
• The literacy rate is higher (96% vs. 87% in Nicaragua).
• The people are fairer-skinned (which means that I don’t stand out quite so much).
• The streets are cleaner; people throw trash in the garbage can instead of on the curb.    
• The wealth of flora and fauna (such as iguanas, parrots, monkeys, palm trees, and fish) is beautiful.

Christmas in Costa Rica

What’s Christmas like in Costa Rica?  Do they celebrate Christmas?  Are there Christmas trees?  Do they have Santa?  These are the questions that family and friends back home have asked me.

Yes, Costa Rica celebrates Christmas a lo grande (bigtime) from Christmas trees to lights to Santa to music to nativity scenes.  Since this culture doesn’t have to compete with Thanksgiving, people start decorating at the beginning of November!  Although the only thing that we did this year in terms of decorating was to string up some lights in the window, our neighbors have wreaths, reindeer, Santas, Christmas trees, and lights up. 

There is no other way to celebrate this season here than to call it Christmas so there is no debate with holiday trees or Happy Holidays (although there is the Felices Fiestas [Happy Parties] to encompass New Year’s as well).  Even government offices have huge nativity scenes on display which I love.

Fireworks are for sale everywhere and I hear that many will go off on Christmas Eve, but we won’t be here (more on that in a moment).  The major difference here is that the big celebration when families get together, have dinner, and open presents is on Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day.  That and the fact that mailing Christmas cards to each other is nonexistent.

We won’t be here because we’ll be driving to the neighboring country of Nicaragua to renew our tourist visas.  A kind family has graciously offered us their vacation home in León so we´ll most likely stay through Christmas.  We’re leaving tomorrow so I better pack! 

We now have an address!

I am happy to report that the Goveas have an official address where you can send us cards and letters.  Please write to us at:

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

If you want to send us any kind of package, please e-mail me and I'll give you that address.

We look forward to hearing from you!

*The address on the previous "FAQ: What's our address?" has been revised to this one.

How the Other Half Lives

One day, Enrique, David, and I were playing in the park by our house when a woman approached us asking if we knew of anyone who needed a maid.  We quickly responded, “Us!” and she came over a few days later to begin.

I wanted to pay her fairly, but had no idea what that meant so I asked a friend.  She said that ₡1,500 (roughly $3.00) an hour would be good.  I couldn’t believe that such a low amount would be acceptable, but then my friend told me that if I consider the fact that ₡1,500 is double minimum wage here, then it’s a very fair amount.

Simona is 50 years old and has eight children.  She is from the neighboring country of Nicaragua and has lived in Costa Rica for 10 years.  She (and many, many other people) immigrated here to work towards a better life.

I haven’t been inside of her home, but I have learned a little bit about it and her lifestyle in general.  She doesn't have hot water.  She either takes a cold shower or boils water on the stove and then pours it in a bucket and dips some out to bathe.  I don’t remember how many relatives live with her, but she and her son sleep in a room the size of my laundry room.  Her granddaughter, who is a few months younger than David, doesn't even have those hard, durable plastic plates with cute characters on them.  She uses boring, disposable plates.  Simona's youngest son is 12 years old and he still lives in Nicaragua; his grandmother takes care of him.  Simona was hoping to go home for Christmas to see her son, but she’s going to have to wait until Easter.

Simona mentioned that her oldest son, 27 years old, was mugged about six years ago.  He took two suitcases to the bus station in San Jose and was going to travel to Nicaragua.  He wasn't hurt, but was robbed at gunpoint and everything was taken from him except for the clothes on his back.  He was wearing several gold chains and rings that were taken as well as his suitcases.  Besides being full of clothes, his luggage also contained gifts for his family back home.  Once he arrived in Nicaragua, his grandfather, Simona’s dad, had to sell one of their cows in order to buy his grandson some clothes.

This sad story puts things in perspective for me.  Yesterday, the sermon at our church was about how to be rich.  Not about how to become rich or earn more money, but how to be rich in spirit, to be giving.  The pastor gave a good definition of being rich.  It wasn’t defined by getting the latest gadget, going to Europe on vacation, or owning a second home.  It was defined as having more than you need.  Do you have more than one pair of shoes?  You’re rich!  There are thousands of people in the world who don’t even own a pair of shoes.  Do you have food left over after dinner?  You’re rich!  

You have so much that you have plenty to give away.  To bless others.  What do you have – clothing, food, toys, time, God’s love - that you can give to others?

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.

San José and Atlanta - a comparison

What's Different

• The weather.  It's basically the same everyday - highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s with rain in the afternoon.
• The language.  Even though Spanish is Enrique's first language and I am bilingual, Costa Rican Spanish is different than what we learned so sometimes we don't know what people are talking about.  For example, for croissant, we use the French word or crescent roll.  Mexican Spanish says "cuernitos" (little horns), but here they say "cangrejos" (lobsters). 
• Security.  There are security guards everywhere - at the bank, in the KFC parking lot, at the entrance to our street.
• Holidays.  August 15th was Mother's Day and Labor Day was on May 1st.  This Friday, September 9 is Día del Niño (Children's Day).  The schools have big parties and parents give their children presents.  September 15 is Independence Day so there'll be more partying then too.
• Cost of living.  While many Americans choose to retire in Costa Rica, it is expensive to live here when compared to other Latin American countries.  Coffee, produce, and the water bill are cheap, for example, but most everything else is imported so packaged food, clothing, and furniture are expensive.
• Religion.  The official religion of Costa Rica is Roman Catholicism.  "Every village, no matter how small it is,  has a church facing east, on the west side of the central plaza, and its own saint’s day, which is usually celebrated with secular fervor. Every home, taxi, office and bus has its token religious icons. The Catholic marriage ceremony is the only church marriage with state recognition, and so, Catholicism is the official state religion as mandated by the Constitution of 1949." (http://www.infocostarica.com/culture/religion.html)

What's Similar

• The language.  Our "target audience" is highly educated and, therefore bilingual, since many of them graduated from colleges in the US or Europe.  When I can't remember how to say "yucky", "monkey wrench", or "entertainment center", I can say it in English.  Our church even shows one of Andy Stanley's sermons in English every Monday night at a theater.
• The restaurants.  Costa Rica has lots of their own restaurants, but there are plenty of American restaurants that you can go to to get your fix.  Within a half mile of our home are Wendy's, Taco Bell, Quizno's, Applebee's, Pizza Hut, and McDonald's (We live off of a main avenue.).  There's also Tony Roma's, Outback Steakhouse (my favorite!), and others nearby.
• Technology.  Many places have wi-fi and everyone has a cell phone.
• Skin color.  My grandmother recently asked me what Costa Ricans looked like, if they all have dark skin.  There are people of all colors here and it's hard to know who is American and who is Costa Rican.  Not that there are that many Americans here, but many Costa Ricans could easily pass for Americans.  I am tempted to speak to them in English, and then I hear them speak and am surprised that they are Hispanic.  Costa Ricans can have blond hair and blue or hazel eyes, red hair, fair skin, be tall or short, thin, very athletic cycling or running down the street, wear shorts and T-shirts and tennis shoes, or be darker skinned and look African American.
• The human condition.  "The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us.  And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him.  For there is no difference between us [Jews] and them [non-Jews] in this.  Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us.  Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself.  A pure gift.  He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be.  And he did it by means of Jesus Christ."  -Romans 3:21-24