january started!!! everybody is ready to enjoy vacations as school opening is untill february, on summer most of people likes to visit beaches, get a nice tanned skin color and take pictures. Another option for " ticos" ( costarican people nickname) is enjoy the fresh waters of the several rivers of costa rica as summer is so hot about temperatures, people likes to visit rivers and stay long time there ( hours including days), on weekends people use to camp around the rivers, makes BBQ's, music and enjoy with the people who is around of them. This is the way how [View Full Entry]

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Without time to get lonely after Sharon and Jeff set off on their travels we began planning for the arrival of my sister Genny and her husband Mitch, who were supposed to fly into San Jose late on January 29th. We were going to meet them the next morning and do some sight seeing in the San Jose area. As I imagined them flying over the US on their way, Genny called me to say they were still at the Saskatoon airport. Their flight had been canceled due to weather/technical difficulties. With a cold spell hitting the Prairies with average temperatures [View Full Entry]

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December 2007 will be remembered as the month of firsts for many reasons. The month started with Benjamin’s class trip which was mentioned in our last blog. The following weeks have featured an excursion or two that gave at least one or all family members a lifetime first. Also this will be our first tropical Christmas and it has been a challenge getting into the spirit of the season. Du, Du, Matanga!! Was the greeting we received once we arrived at Fossil Land near San Jose. Owen and I were invited to go along on the grade 2 class trip to [View Full Entry]

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After the awesome trip to Nicaragua, we were all a bit tired but life kept moving with Ron and Benjamin heading off to school on Monday morning. Owen did not have to attend school for the first three days of the last week, as the students were writing exams in Spanish. While he has been learning a lot of Spanish at school, he was not quite ready to write the exams. He did however write the Math exam, in Spanish, and did very well. In fact on Thursday, November 29th, at the final school assembly, Owen received a certificate of honors [View Full Entry]

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As many of our faithful blog readers already know we like our computer time, especially the internet. With the election, the Riders, the Canadian dollar making so many headlines and of course keeping in contact with all of our friends and family we find it difficult to let one day pass without going online. Now that we have the car it is much more convenient to make our way to the Internet Café. However, we are still longing for the convenience of having Internet at home. On Friday November 9th after waiting one month for our Internet connection I visited [View Full Entry]

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We updated the blog on the weekend but it didn't notify anyone maybe we did a quiet publish by mistake. Click previous at the top of this page to view the latest news. Love to all! [View Full Entry]

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October 23 to November 11, 2007 As life gets busier here we seem to have less time to update the blog. As well, we are now settling into a somewhat normal day to day life of work, school and a bit of fun and rest on the weekends. The biggest news of the last few weeks would have to be the purchase of a car. While we planned to use the local buses and taxi service we missed the convenience of our van. So when a fellow teacher at Ron’s school decided to sell his car and the price was right [View Full Entry]

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It’s been a while since I’ve written an entry and I must admit that it felt weird having Nataghia tell our story. It was good reminder that it is OUR story and that we all have a different perspective on what we are experiencing. With that in consideration we have decided to share the thoughts of everyone in the family for this entry. However, first I’ll catch you up on the news. On Friday October 12th, Costa Rica celebrates Christopher Columbus’ birthday. To celebrate this national holiday the school holds an event they call Encontre de Culturas or Encounter of Cultures. [View Full Entry]

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Just as the boys had always wished for, we woke up early Thursday morning to ride on the school bus to check out yet another school. The great thing about the change in plans is that we are really seeing a wide spectrum of what is available to students in Costa Rica. Saint Patrick’s American School is definitely different than Sancti Spiritus, yet, still with a Costa Rican touch. It is a smaller school, serving Pre-School age 3 to Grade 6. Students arrive and have homeroom from 7:45 to 8:00. It is much more calm and organized with the students going [View Full Entry]

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Nataghia has always said that I’m a good judge of character and that I can assess a situation with both speed and accuracy. Actually it is something that annoys her on those occasions when I tell her I’ve made judgment about someone or something she likes and I disagree. Nataghia’s day didn’t go any better than my first day and for the remainder of the week things never got any better. No supplies, no books, no students until fifteen minutes past the bell every morning. Changing schedules, very distracted and inattentive students and complete chaos seem to be the norm. Actually [View Full Entry]

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