August 31: Friday's Fitness and Food Report

Today's walk to school included a slight delay as we stopped to take a picture of our neighbor's unique bicycle.  This old man is usually a bit grumpy and doesn't say much but he has engineered this unique motorized bicycle to ride around on and this morning we stopped to talk to him briefly.  When I asked if I could take a picture he quickly suggested that Angelina get on the seat.

Today's fitness time at school came at the end of the day.  We've offered to end each week with 30 minutes of gym class with George taking ownership of today's class.  He started off with some warm-up exercises before a few minutes of Red Rover, which the kids wanted to repeat from last week. 

Then George introduced them to Capture the Flag - it was a big hit!

Strategizing a plan

Tonight's Food Report:  ¡FABULOSO!

 We tried out La Cubanita restaurant just a few minutes walk from our house.  The food was outstanding and with unbeatable prices...the restaurant gets rave reviews so we were really surprised to be the only customers the whole time we were there.  I sure would love to take a cooking class from the family who runs this restaurant!

A steal of a deal for $5.00:  shredded beef, rice, beans, salad, yuca (potato-like vegetable  above the rice) and patacones (fried green plantains to the left of the beef)

Angelina loved it and asked if we could return...would be a great place to take visitors!  C'mon on down!

Nathan missed out but he's probably having fun too....he's at his first Costa Rican sleepover with some classmates (a family with 5 boys!!).

August 30: Art Class 101

One of the things we have offered to help with at El Puente is teaching weekly electives like art, PE and singing which were not part of the schedule when we got here.  Although we aren't experts at any of them we're willing to give it our best effort.  We're grateful to some friends and colleagues who emailed us some helpful websites that are giving us ideas.

This week I started art class for the first time.  The last art class I took was back in middle school and the students have not had formal art classes so I think it's good that we're starting simple.   A friend (¡gracias, Amy!) suggested starting with the basic elements of art (line, shape, color, value, form, texture and space).  To get us going,  I've decided to do 2-3 projects that concentrate on each element. 

After an introduction to the basic elements of art, we talked about today's focus:  LINES.  Students brainstormed what kind of lines there are (short, long, wide, narrow, horizontal etc.)

Then we analyzed together what kind of lines we saw in this painting and three other pieces of artwork online.

Time to create!  Angelina gave me the idea for this first project because it was one she had done at Zeeland Christian this year.  We call it 'People in motion' - students draw 3-5 stick people in motion and then add colorful lines around the figures until the whole paper is filled in with colorful lines.  Next week, they'll finish and we'll show you the final projects.

The girls are using all the supplies you need:  paper, a pencil and Sharpie markers.

If YOU have any art ideas or suggestions ...I'd love to hear them!!

August 29: Buy American?...¡NO gracias! Part II

Well, if you've been waiting at your computer for the grand total, sorry for the delay.  Our internet wasn't working yesterday....check out the damage to our pocket book if we'd buy American here.  The 'C' stands for colones, the Costa Rican currency.  The exchange is around 500 colones = $1.00 US.

Grand Total for these 11 items = $71.20!!!!

 Before we got here, we were told that groceries and toiletries were expensive but we are astonished at how much more expensive the cost of living is here, due in large part to being a popular tourist area.  What is hard to understand, however, is how the locals survive when someone working for the government with a master's degree earns a salary of $12, 000 a year.  Minimum wage is around $3.00 an hour.  The huge disparity between income and cost of living explains why for so many families rice and beans is the basis of their diet every day because it is the most economical option.

For sanity sake we have not eaten rice and beans every meal since arriving, although we do eat them 2-3 meals per week.  We do not buy these American brands (the one item I have bought of those listed above is Cheese-Broccoli Soup for Curry Chicken Broccoli Casserole), we have not bought much meat and yet we are spending almost $300 more a month here on groceries than we do back home.  There are a few produce items that are equal to or cheaper than back home - otherwise every thing is generally 2-4 times the Michigan price.

When you ask the locals what they think of the cost of living, they're not shy to blame it on the foreigners who have been willing to pay big bucks for vacations here.  Tourism brings in millions of dollars into the economy and I guess the people willing and able to afford luxury ocean villas like these are the same folks paying $10 for a bottle of shampoo.  It makes me wonder though how many tourists think about how their vacation habits are affecting the local economy.

August 28: Student Spotlight: Jeremy

For those waiting the final tally of the savvy shopper question from yesterday....please see tomorrow's post!

Over the next few weeks we hope to introduce you to the students and staff of El Puente Christian School.  The first student spotlight is on......

JEREMY

How old are you?:  7

What grade are you in?:   First

How long have you been at El Puente?  

  2.5 years

  

 What are your favorite things about school?:  music, arte and PE 

(all three are new to the schedule!)

 

Who do you live with?: 
            mom, grandma and two cousins

How often do you see your dad?:
           on the weekends

How do you get to school?:
            I live really close so I walk

      

 What do you like to do in your spare time?
   play online games, soccer, read, art

      


    Do you have any prayer requests?
       My aunt is sick.  She has bad lungs.



        Jeremy is a little sweetheart and knows how to steal a girl's heart :).  Every morning when he arrives at school he comes to kiss each teacher on the cheek (only student who does that)
      In social studies he's learning about street safety and traffic signals.  He saw this project idea in his textbook and begged to do it for homework last week when I subbed for his class.  As his proud smile shows, the end result was marvelous!!

August 27: Buy American?... ¡No gracias! PART 1

Today’s post is for all you savvy shoppers out there.  I love bargains and coupons.  For groceries back home, I buy what’s on sale at Meijer each week and pick up certain items at budget-friendly Aldi. 

Moving to Quepos and having to adjust to the extremely high prices for groceries and toiletries has been a painful change.  I miss coupons!  I miss the 10 items for $10 at Meijer.

Since I’m having issues uploading pictures today, I will give you a list of 11 items that we could buy here if we wanted to (we’ve only bought one of them if you want to guess which one!).  Your job is to try to estimate how much you think you’d pay for these items (a grand total) if you were to buy them in your home town.  If willing, leave your estimate in the comments below.

I went around the grocery store taking pictures of prices of these American products.  Hopefully in the next day or two I can upload pictures again and show you how much they cost here.

1.  Keebler ready-made graham cracker pie crust
2.  14 oz box of Cheerios
3.  6 pack (12 bars) Nature Valley Oats and Honey Crunchy Granola Bars
4.  64 oz Welch’s Grape Juice
5.  Tostitos jar of salsa
6.  Campbells’ Cheese Broccoli Soup
7.  24 oz Prego Spaghetti Sauce
8.  Can of Glade Air Freshener
9.  Can of Deep Woods Off (standard size)
10.  Head & Shoulders Shampoo (400 ml...typical size shampoo bottle)
11.  Pert Shampoo (400 ml)


hmmmm...and the grand total would be????

August 26: A soggy Sunday

The last Sunday of every month the church we attend hosts an 8:30am English speaking service before the regular Spanish service.  Afterwards, there's a brunch served.  It's a nice opportunity to meet the many other Americans/Canadians in the area who live here long term because of retirement, tourism business (lots of hotels/resorts are owned by foreigners), teaching and ministry.


When we left the house this morning it was raining, but we hoped it would clear up so we could head to the beach after church. We packed our beach stuff along just in case.  When we were finished with the brunch at church it was still drizzling and dreary but the kids still wanted to go to the beach.  A family from church graciously offered to bring us - we chose a small quiet beach in a cove.  Except for two ducks, a dog and a couple other individuals we were the only ones on the beach.

Despite the drizzle, it was a beautiful place to spend some peaceful sabbath time as a family.

I don't think I've ever been greeted so closely by a duck like this before.

 

August 25: Happy kids...Happy Parents

It was a happy morning for the kids.  George walked them down to the produce market after breakfast so they could visit the animal shelter folks (where George and Nathan went yesterday).  They bring some of the pets each week to the market to try to let people know what animals are available for adoption.  The kids got to hold and walk the dogs so they were thrilled.

Tonight it was the parents turn to be excited....after 8 weeks of intense family bonding (we are together all the time!!) we finally got an evening out to ourselves to celebrate George's birthday.  A friend from church offered to stay with the kids.

We were really looking forward to dining in a restaurant overlooking the ocean but it turned out to be a really dark and rainy evening so no sunset or pretty views but still great company (and no bickering or arguing going on!).  It was delightful.

George chose chocolate to celebrate another year of life - a great choice!

For you history buffs:  the restaurant is called El Avión (The Airplane) because it is built around an army transport plane.  This particular plane was shot down in 1986 by the Sandinista army, leading to a scandal that uncovered illegal CIA supply missions to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

August 24: Flexible Fiesta Friday

Today was a little out of routine and required some flexibility.  We got a call a little after 6:30am that another teacher was ill so we were asked if we could fill in for her during first block.  It meant we'd have 14 students in 1st - 7th grade.  We were supposed to start a PE class for the first time with students at the end of the day so we switched it to the beginning of the day instead...and rather than 30 minutes, it was over an hour!

It was already hot and sunny so we had to stop for water breaks a few times but the kids did well and seemed to enjoy it.  We did five games/activities (all but one was new for them...we started with Red Rover which they had done before.

After the first half hour, though, George and Nathan had to leave so they could accompany some of the guys from the rehab center to their work at an animal shelter.  Nathan loved it because there were tiny puppies and of course that made Angelina and Sophia really jealous when they found out this afternoon so we all walked over to see them.  The result is that the begging to get a dog as a pet has intensified but they're still stuck with parents who aren't too keen on that idea.

Like the last two days, flexibility was also needed today during 2nd block.  Our preschool teacher that does the English part was gone this week visiting her family in the States so teacher Karina (Spanish preschool teacher) covered for her and that meant I covered for Karina's classes.  During this block she has 6 students for Spanish and Social Studies (in Spanish):  4 second graders, 1 first grader and another 1st grader who just joined our school this week but doesn't know any Spanish.  Hats off to all multilevel teachers...not sure how you stay sane every day.

Flexibility was also needed this week with showering....we had to get out the bucket and pitcher because our shower was broken.  The girls actually showered at school today because when school let out there was a guy working on our shower so we had all our water at the house shut off this afternoon.  Thankfully it's fixed now!! 

Today we also celebrated with a fiesta meal for George's birthday.  We ordered pizza (3 minute walk to the end of the block) and picked up some tiramisu from the Italian bakery in town.  Yummmmm.

George got to choose the family game...Settlers of Catan!

August 23: Angelina's Perspective

Now that you’ve been in Costa Rica for 7 weeks, how would you say it compares to back home?
It’s OK.  I still need to get used to some stuff, like school and sweating.

What do you miss about home?
Friends, neighbors, Grandma and teachers (especially Maestra Durán).

What has been hard for you in your adjustment to life in Quepos?
How small the house is and the difference in the neighborhood.  There’s not much room between houses and not anywhere to play outside.

What do you enjoy or appreciate here?
The food.  I really like gallo pinto (rice & beans).  The fruits are better, especially oranges and bananas.

Gallo Pinto in Costa Rica is made with black beans and usually has onions, sweet red pepper and the 'secret ingredient' according to the locals is called Salsa Lizano, a seasoned sauce sold in bottles like Soy Sauce or Worcestershire Sauce.

What’s been the highlight so far?
The tours and hikes we’ve done to see different animals like toucans and monkeys.

What is a typical school day like for you?
I wake up a little after 6am, eat breakfast and walk to the bus stop at 7am with Mom and Sophia. 






When we arrive at school I play outside with the other kids who are already there.  We often play four square and today we brought along marbles for the first time which the kids really liked.
During first block (7:30-9:00) I have mom as my teacher (my favorite part of the day by far).  We do English language arts with Nathan, a student originally from Maryland.  If there's extra time at the end of class I like to play grammar or vocab games online.

After recess I have second block (9:30-11:30) which is math, science and English again.  I’m doing better in math than I thought I would.
At lunch I usually play soccer with the boys.
During third block (noon - 2:00) I have social studies (in Spanish) and Spanish grammar.  I don’t really like this block as much as the others.

How do you think you’ll come back differently after your experience here?
Being thankful about our house and in the summer when everyone else complains it’s hot, I won’t think it’s that hot.

How do you see God at work through your experiences so far?
Sadie’s visit with her mom really encouraged us.  All the money that has been donated so we can do this.

August 22: Hump Day Hallelujahs

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. 

 Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

Psalm 100:4

I think we all have times in life when it's easier to focus on the frustrations and annoyances than the positives and blessings.  I think we as a family have fought this urge these last few weeks as we've had to adapt to so many new things.  Without going into details, there have been challenges at home, school, church and around town.  It's easy to let these frustrations and annoyances sour our attitudes so it's important that we try hard to celebrate and give thanks for the good things going on in our lives as well!

This week we give thanks for:

1.  Air-conditioning:    One of the classrooms at school had a broken AC unit for weeks and it was driving Angelina crazy because she spends 2/3 of her day in it.  This week it finally was fixed and she's really thankful about that.

2.  Cooler temps:  Rainy season is well under way which has decreased the intense heat we had the first 2-3 weeks we were here.  It's still warm and humid every day (we're still in sleeveless/T-shirts and shorts/skirts every day) but we're not constantly drenched in sweat like before.  We're told the intense heat returns in December or January but right now, we're thankful for the respite.

3.  Play Date:  The kids had their first play date with a classmate after school today.  Emily, a fourth grader, rode the bus home with us.  After stopping at the ice-cream shop for our weekly treat, the kids had fun hanging out with Davi (neighbor's dog), playing cards, and even got their homework done together!

  4.  Potable water:  In all of our other travels throughout Latin America we've always had to use bottled or boiled water for drinking.  In Costa Rica we can drink out of the tap which is a huge blessing!

5.  Safety and good health:  We praise God for protecting us and our belongings so far, for no injuries and for overall good health (although Angelina would report she has 36 mosquito bites on one leg).

What can YOU thank God for today??

August 21: Kids Singing & Moms Creating

This morning was full of extra activity at El Puente Christian School.  Wes and Casey, a couple visiting from Texas, came to share their musical talents and lead the students in a time of bilingual singing and a Bible lesson.  Wes is a percussionist and drummer for worship teams in Houston and he brought along an Egyptian drum which kids loved trying out.  Casey is a bilingual elementary teacher with a beautiful voice so together they were a great team to lead our students in worship.

Before starting to sing, the students made their own simple percussion instrument to play along with Wes:  a plastic bottle with rice inside.

At recess the kids enjoyed trying out the different sounds they could make with the drum depending on where their hand hit and whether their hand was in the drum from the bottom.

Some of the moms also came to school today for another jewelry work day.  They are currently working on making a bunch of bracelets.  If you're interested in buying some to help support their child's education, please let us know!  If you'd like to see more jewelry pics on El Puente's website, click HERE.

August 19: Perspective and Purpose

    Oddly, the weather has been feeling a little cool these past few days.   It must be a combination of us becoming acclimatized and the cooler temperatures when it rains and is cloudy.   There have actually been a couple of mornings when we felt a chill . . . and Jane wore a light jacket for the first time Friday evening after it had rained hard.   I think that was also the first day in Costa Rica that I only showered once in a day.   However, people keep reminding us that hotter days will be coming back again soon . . . and it only takes a few minutes of sunshine and high humidity to be reminded of the impending heat.   Nevertheless, we will enjoy this “cooler” weather while we can.   We even joked with our taxi driver about going sledding in town on the first snow day that comes after he commented on how cool it was.

     Today, I (George) had the first morning where I woke up not feeling well.   Sore throat, headache and generally lethargic.   It was soon clear that I was  not going to be up for a full day so I decided to stay home from church and rest.    Fortunately we had a second chance at worship in the afternoon when we were invited to join the men at the drug rehabilitation center for a time of singing and sharing.   This was the first time we were able to go there as a family . . . and it was a neat experience.   After a time of informal fellowship, card playing, meal preparation and conversation we entered into  a more formal worship time, led by some visitors from Texas.   Accompanied by a guitar and small drum, our praises echoed throughout  the house and into the neighborhood in two languages.   One of the Texans then shared a teaching based on Luke 7 where Jesus was anointed by the sinful woman at the house of a pharisee.   The message speaks of those who have been forgiven much being more grateful and loving in return while those who hold to their own piety, love to a lesser degree.   The challenge is to know how much you have been forgiven and to live a dedicated, grateful life as a result.  This message definitely resonated with the men in the house, many of whom have shared openly about their addictions and lives of crime before coming to the program.    

     God is doing amazing things in the changed hearts and lives there!   We were encouraged by the story of Jorge (George) who is graduating from the program after 9 months to look for a job.  He is a recovering alcoholic who shoulders a lot of shame and guilt from his former abuses of family and friends to feed his addiction.   He shared about the pain of losing his mother and sister and admonished the rest of us not to wait to appreciate what we have been blessed with . . . especially family.  The rehab center hopes to continue to help Jorge in his journey as they open a “half-way” house as the next step.  Sadly, Jorge does not have even an elementary education and his prospects are limited.   We gathered around him to lay on hands and pray for peace, protection and perseverance in his walk as he shook with emotion.

     After a tasty meal of rice, chicken, potatoes, carrots and squash we were treated to ice cream and some more hearty conversations with the men.  We left encouraged, uplifted and feeling like this is a place we could help out.   Nathan and I plan to accompany some of the men as they do their service work at an animal shelter this week.   As a family we hope that we have further opportunities to worship with them again . . . or perhaps relate over games and coffee or something.  Could it be a slice of what God has purposed for us here?

       Peace,     George

August 18: Walk around the block

Today we'll show you around our block.  We are very centrally located in Quepos which is a huge blessing since we don't have a car.  We walk everywhere...to the market, grocery store, bakery, bank etc. or we walk to a bus stop if we need to go to school (5 minute ride) or church (10 minute ride and then a 10 minute walk).

Our area is relatively quiet (except for the occasional barking dog), mainly because we only have a street out front and jungle behind us (we've seen monkeys from our back washroom area!).  Sometimes we do hear the roar of the fans at the community soccer field just a block away but otherwise it's pretty quiet.

Looking to the right from our gate we see these two houses.  We haven't met either of these neighbors.  However, there's a really nice older couple who live in the house on the other side of the green house.  Teodoro and Edith make a point of greeting us every time we walk past their house or they pass by ours.  Our kids love stopping to pet their two dogs

 

              We walk to the end of the block every morning on our way to the bus stop.  

                    We imagine the homes on the hill have a beautiful view of the ocean!

When we turn the corner and keep walking we pass by two bars.  This afternoon there was a drunk guy laying on the sidewalk at the end of the street...sadly, it's quite a common sight around Quepos.  On Friday night on the way to the market we saw people doing drugs on the sidewalk.  Although Quepos is surrounded by incredible natural beauty, the town itself is not very attractive and is well known for a variety of lifestyles.

If we keep walking beyond the bars we arrive at this yellow building,  Super Iguana, our local neighborhood grocery/convenience store.  It's not where we buy the majority of our groceries but it's super convenient when we need just a couple of items

If we stand at the stop sign in the last picture and look to the right, we see the Catholic church,  which is undergoing an expansion project.

Turning left at Super Iguana, the corner store, brings us past the Quepos soccer field.  The kids played here this afternoon with a friend from church.

Across from the soccer field is the ice-cream shop - it doesn't compare to Hudsonville ice-cream but once a week we go as a family to enjoy a cold treat

Next to the ice-cream shop and on the corner is Chicken Bros, a restaurant serving fried and rotisserie chicken.  Although it smells and looks good, we have not been here  (a rotisserie chicken is $14.00 !!). 

walking up the road from Chicken Bros brings us back to our street...

We can stay on the street or cut through the open lot back to our house

Hopefully, that gives you a little idea of what we see every day as we walk around our neighborhood.  We are so thankful that we feel safe in our home and that God has protected us and our belongings so far.

Another praise from this week...after a number of weeks the kids have finally made a neighborhood friend.  Six-year-old Landon comes over quite a bit to see if the kids can play with him and Davi the dog.  Landon's Grandma is our next door neighbor (on the other side of the empty lot)