Results of our scouting trip to Costa Rica

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Nancy and I have been back for about 3 weeks from our 5-day scouting mission to Costa Rica. We have also moved out of our house so our renters could move in August 1, settled into our friend's house for the month of August, and continued working and such. So, here is what we learned and accomplished on our trip.

The people of Costa Rica are - as advertised - wonderful. Everyone we met was so helpful and patient with our pathetic (for now) lack of Spanish.

The driving will be exciting - from the potholes to the dearth of lane markers to the fact that there are basically NO STREET NAMES. Honestly, people give their address as a set of directions (i.e., "From the day care center, 200 meters to the west and then 50 meters to the south, the yellow house on the right" - that is literally how you would address a letter). Nancy has indicated that she will enjoy being chauffeured by me over the next 12 months.

Looking up at the lush green mountains is such a treat - especially coming from drought-stricken, flat Minnesota. It rained pretty much every afternoon - sometimes in a torrential downpour with big bolts of lightning, but not for very long.

The clinic in Alajuletia will be a blast - a great combination of a patient population very much in need of basic care and young volunteers circulating through every 1-2 weeks from all parts of the US and Canada (undergrads and med students looking for hands-on experience, an opportunity to serve, and something unique to bolster their resume!). And, the on-site staff (doctor, health education teacher, and volunteer home-stay coordinator) are amazing - and so excited to have us coming down for the whole year. If you want to learn more about the organization with whom we are volunteering - the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children - you can go to their website (www.fimrc.org)

We found a great 4-bedroom house on the outskirts of Ciudad Colon, which is on the western end of the San Jose metropolitan area. It will be about a 20 minute drive to the clinic. Interestingly, Colon is the location of the UN's Universidad de Paz (Peace University). Our house is one of two on a big lot (the other is occupied by the owner and his family - which includes a 9-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl; none of them speak any English, so that will accelerate our Spanish language acquisition). We have included a few pictures of the house:

And finally, we found a school for the boys. It is called Pinewoods and is located between our house and the clinic in a town called Santa Ana. There is one class per grade (about 20 students per class), almost all Costa Rican students, with half the subjects taught in Spanish and half in English. They have 2 dogs, some chickens, and a horse on the grounds - Sam will be in heaven! The school year runs from February to the end of November - so the boys will basically enroll in the 1st and 3rd grades (the levels they finished here in June) for the last trimester of school. And then they will move up to 2nd and 4th in February.

OK, that is all we have to report at this time. Needless to say, we are even more excited than we were before we went down.

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Photos

The front lawn
Note the lush green hillside across the way

Comments

[Mariela]

Good luck!!!!!
Steve, Nancy, Kyle and Sam. The house looks so pretty and I´m sure that you will have an exciting and unforgettable experience living in Costa Rica. I´m so excited for you guys. God bless you!!!!! Kisses Mariela