Busy, busy Trip

Yes, yes, I know it’s been a looooonnnng time between blogs. My humblest apologies. A combination of writer’s block, busy schedule and laziness. Mostly laziness, I’d say. I do have a half written blog from a month ago, but, with your indulgences, I think I’ll skip ahead a little and work backward. We have some great adventures.

This past Sunday we returned from a fun, but busy, trip to the United States - a quick visit with my sister in south Florida, a couple days with Dara’s family in NJ with visits to friends and schools in Yardley, then to Orlando for a few days with Dara’s sister, Marcy, and her family. After a trip like that, you need a vacation! The trip to Disney had been planned months in advance - a present from Dara’s parents to get the whole family together. When Dara’s parents, unfortunately, couldn’t travel, we decided to make the trip a little longer in order to go see them.

Before the trip, I was already in the US on business. In Costa Rica we have gotten used to the more relaxed pace of life. When you go to a restaurant or the bank or whatever, you know it is going to take while. So you just sit back and take it as it comes. Pura vida, as they say here. As soon as I stepped off the plane in Miami, however, I was right back to impatient American mode. At the rental car counter I kept checking my watch every 5 seconds and tapping my foot - I had to wait a whole minute before someone helped me! I almost walked away and went to another rental car company!

Anyway, I met Dara and the kids at the airport in Miami. We are in Costa Rica on tourist visas, which means that every 90 days you have to leave the country for at least 3 days before coming back. Dara and I had both been out of the country so it wasn’t a problem. The kids, however, hadn’t been so we weren’t quite sure what to expect. We had been told that since they were kids it wouldn’t matter, but there still was the doubt in the back of our minds that there could be trouble - small trouble like a fine or big trouble like not being allowed back in the country. As it turns out, as Dara and the kids got their passports checked in Costa Rica, the inspector did notice that the kids had overstayed their welcome. But with a little quick talking and a nice smile, she let them go without any trouble.

Quick synopsis of the trip: from the airport we made a visit to my sister and Boyd - unfortunately it was only a quick visit, but Boyd did delight us with his culinary skills. And the kids did get a quick visit to the beach (formerly known as Dog Beach but now, unfortunately, with no more dogs). Then our jet set family took off for New Jersey with a stop in Yardley on the way. A visit with Dara’s parents, aunt, uncle, cousins and grandmother, back to Yardley for visits to Kol Emet, Quarry Hill (Ari’s elementary school) and more friends, back to Dara’s parents’, a quick game of mini-golf, a huge meal at a NJ diner, then to Orlando.

By the way -- another observation (and I know this one isn’t original, but it is so striking is deserves another telling) is that restaurants in America serve ungodly amounts of food. It is true that in Costa Rica restaurants are very inexpensive - at any soda (Costa Rican term for little café/restaurant) you can get a plate of the day with a good amount of chicken, rice, beans and salad for about $2 or $2.50. But that is just a good amount of food. At some of the restaurants in the US, however, one plate is enough to feed the whole family. And with all the sauces and frying going on, you can gain weight just by looking at it.

It was very good to see all our family and friends. If it weren’t for them, we’d probably stay in Costa Rica a lot longer. It is this network that we really miss. Sure we have some friends in Costa Rica, but not as many and not as close, naturally, as back home. But, on the other hand, things are still the same back home, so what’s a few months away?

So the big question - and one that was asked of us repeatedly -- is when are we coming back? We’re not sure. The plan right now is to come back some time in August - in time for the kids to go back to school in the fall. We are toying with the idea of staying until December, but right now that looks like a long shot. Dara and I would like to stay - Dara is just getting into the swing of things with her volunteer work at the Inbioparque (http://www.inbio.ac.cr/en/default.html) and Amigos de las Aves (http://www.hatchedtoflyfree.org/), teaching English and learning Spanish. Both kids have expressed the desire to go home but the intensity of that desire varies greatly from day-to-day. On the way to the airport in Orlando it was very strong, now that we are back in the swing of things it has ebbed. Ellie really misses her school - not only is it a great school with great friends and teachers, but they also speak English there. This has been tough on her. So if we were to stay, we would probably move her to the European School with Ari.

Unsurprisingly, as parents we want what is best for our children. And even though Dara and I were excited about living in Costa Rica, one of our big motivations was how the experience would help the kids learn and grow. So has the moving and living here given them the experience we were hoping for? Yes, definitely. Not only have they learned about a different culture and seen many cool things (yes, I know I need to get more blogs up) but they have noticeably increased self-confidence that comes from going to a new school and making new friends and being in new situations. Would staying the extra time enhance any of these “abilities” (other than improving their Spanish)? That is what we need to figure out.

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