Living my dream

For a long time I have wanted to be involved at a small local school abroad. I was fascinated with the idea of the way things would be different, and also the way things would be the same. I wanted to see those amazing little faces of the children. I wanted to feel like I was making a difference, and making connections with those kids and educators. I traveled for three years, and an opportunity didn't manifest. In Mexico last year we talked to a teacher of the youngest kids (I think five years old), and she said the school/teachers needed supplies. Not crayons and toys as much as cleaning supplies and toilet paper. So we got a list and made a trip and helped her out.
Then I suppose I was finally ready, because an opportunity unfolded before me. I had heard from this new friend last year, she talked about the school she volunteered with, but our stay here in Samara was cut short last January. This year we leveled up on our friendship, and she talked again about the school. It's an international school with only fifty five students, from two years old and up to graduation.
It was interesting to me that I made the decision to go, and it was something I had always thought I wanted. Yet I was very nervous. Even though it was the most laid back and non-demanding circumstances. I was going to help the teacher with the youngest kids, twelve of them between the ages of two or three to five years old. One of my favorite age groups. I think it's weird that I would have trepidation over this, despite it being a dream come true. I had to wait for it, it was before Christmas and school was out for a few more weeks.
I went the second day that school was back in, and it was so "amazing" that I need to find a new word because that one keeps popping up. It was deliciously fun. It's also a bit tricky, there were a few kids who only spoke Spanish. And every school or teacher has a different way of handling the hard situations. Like one child biting another, or a child who won't come out from under the table. It was a perfect introduction for me, this teacher spoke English as a first language, while others didn't even speak it as a second language.
These young children were every bit as darling as I could imagine. Their bright eyes and big smiles, and little child dramas. Who was sharing, who wasn't taking turns, who wanted to do their own thing. I learned all of their names, and it wasn't easy. They had names that made me struggle, they sounded like Ah-see-Ah. Guy-el. Zar-ee-ah. Kye. At-en-ah.
The first hour was everyone else starting lessons, and the littlest ones getting the playground all to themselves. I sat talking with the teacher from across a small yard while the kids played with minimal interference. The school is big on letting the kids learn to govern themselves as much as possible. We had to step in sometimes, but we didn't manipulate how they played, and we let them handle all the minor disagreements.
Then it was inside for an hour of play-dough. The children were sweet, and they did well. The lesson was by the Spanish teacher. The kids learn both Spanish and English, having two teachers who worked different classes with them. It was a simple concept, to just play and talk in Spanish. There was a lot of sweeping going on, the kids had all tracked mud in on their shoes. You would think they had just finished a soccer game with cleats. Then they had play time in the lobby kind of area in the middle, not a big area, lined with book shelves on some sides, and a row of tables for teacher to work. It always impresses me the way little skinny kids can crawl on their knees on a hard floor, and just throw themselves around. When did I lose that ability? Probably a hundred pounds ago.


I said it once before, and I'll say it again. Living the life of my dreams can be exhausting.
Today is Saturday. On Tuesday I went in the morning with my friend and neighbor, we walked to the school she volunteers at. It was Day 1 (for me) at the school. It seems like my life is a constant series of Day 1 events. I went to the school and chased around little kids for a few hours, then walked home in the heat of the day at noon. Man, it was a hot and dusty walk. We had an invitation to go listen to to some local fiddle playing music, but I was wiped out. Plus, we had already been there once. The band is so wonderful that I'm making plans to take my Mom there next week.
Many mornings include visits with a new friend, talking about everything under the sun. Many late afternoons include walks along the edge of the waves.
Today was a morning of waking up to the hours long breakfasts on the back porch listening to the birds sing. So many birds, so many kinds of songs. Trills and whistles and coos of all kinds. A French bakery just opened up around the corner, and I mean literally around the corner. The kind of bakery that makes things with real butter, selling very flaky things that are so delicious. On the way back from picking up two chocolate filled pastries I meet the agua pipa man. He rides his converted bike most mornings, calling out "agua pipa" in his booming voice, selling coconuts. He knows our house well. He stops and grabs his machete and chops off the top so we can put a straw in there to drink the juice/milk/liquid. Holding the coconut in one hand while chopping at it. He's braver than me. I couldn't do that even once, let alone all day long. He still has ten fingers (I counted), so he must be very skilled.
A friend came over to visit on the back porch, a six year old who loves to make music with my ukulele every chance he gets. Another friend came to visit, and we chatted and admired a lizard that was nearby, doing his mini dinosaur thing a few feet away.
I am also trying to learn how to play the ukulele. Sometimes I feel like a monkey trying to do a math problem as I figure out new things. I was ready to give up because everyone suggested songs that didn't feel right. Then I found a song that was so soothing to sing, and it revived me. Can't Help Falling in Love. Such an awesome song. I also tried learning some blues picking, and it was fun again.

Now it is two weeks later and the joy continues. I went with my Mom and five other people, we ordered dinner, and our table was right in front of the band by a few feet. After we ate we moved some chairs and the guy playing the fiddle would sometimes walk right up to the edge of our table, and lean over it a bit. The four man band was very very good, playing music everyone could clap to. The drummer was outstanding, and the fiddle playing was just incredible.
In the last week we have done many things. We rented a car for two days and took a scenic drive to a little town of eight hundred people called Huacas. We had the keys to a friend's place (she's currently in Australia), she has a few acres of coffee plants shaded by orange trees. We went with a friend and showed her all of our favorite places. We picked wild cilantro from the driveway, watched monkeys in the trees, and looked at a property for sale next door with a phenomenal view of the gulf of Nicoya. We picked mandarin oranges that were perfectly ripe, and a local friend stopped by and climbed a tall tree in bare feet to retrieve a guyabana for us. One fruit, about six pounds, looks like a big green strawberry with spikes. The inside is milky white and is like a fibrous soft melon, with seeds half the size of a plum that have to be manipulated out of the inner flesh. I think we took out about thirty or more seeds when we cut it up later. The most amazing part is that it smells like a lovely perfume. Which is why I'm not fond of eating it, but enjoyed squeezing out the seeds. It's also known as soursop in some places. A man from Australia said they have yet another name for it, but I can't recall what he said.
My husband and I met this man in a typical Costa Rican way. We were at an outdoor restaurant on the beach having breakfast with a friend and this man walks up and sits down at our table. He had done the same thing yesterday with our friend Gerry, so now they were old friends. So we all talked and talked. The next day he came over and chatted with us on the back porch when another friend was over, and there were five of us sharing stories and ice cold water.
Since we had the car we went to two other beaches, one for the view and one for the sunset.

This first picture is the beach next to ours called Carillo. It's an amazing beach, this doesn't give it justice. This is one end. This beach has no businesses, just the waves of the Pacific meeting a sandy beach that is lined with palm trees.

This picture is a tree in a park in the middle of a small town (bigger than our Samara) called Honjancha, on the way to Huacas. The trees are full of air plants, it was amazing to me. They also had some trees covered with orange fruits the size of cherries, but looked more like a kumquat, I suppose. The trees were cropped into a rectangle at the top, maybe six trees in a row. I picked one and asked a local if we could eat them and she said "No!" Good to know.

This is part of the view going from Samara to Huacas, there are several routes to get there. It is about an hour drive. This is a picture of a living fence. Where they use wood to make a fence post and the tree just keeps growing, and ends up embedding the original barbed wire.

This is the view from our friend's house, showing Chira Island. One day I want to go there, I have gazed at it for so long now. This is in the gulf of Nicoya. We were here for three months once, and we could see the tides as they came and went. The end of the island that can't be seen in this picture, that's about where the sun rises for part of the year. Also the moon, both of which are breathtaking.

I don't usually include pictures of other people, but this gives an idea of how big the guyabana is. As you can tell, my husband loves this fruit.

This is me at the neighbor's house. I look like I have a walking stick or scepter, but really it's just a broom stick handle for the steep driveways. I'm not a wise woman on top of the world, I'm a woman getting yet another sunburn and very thankful for shea butter to make me feel better before bed.

Our friend has a very aromatic property. Right out back there is a frangipani tree, and it smells as good as it looks with the deep pink flowers. There is also the scent of orange blossoms during the year, and a very big ylang ylang tree. When the wind blows it smells divine out there.

This is the view of our beach area from a hill that we drove to, about five minutes away. I would like to watch the sun set one day, from up there. There are many vacant lots for sale. It's very peaceful, only two neighbors so far. The area is full of banana trees and orange trees and coconut trees and so much more.

We arrived just in time to watch the sun hover over the ocean, this the beach on the other side of us, called Buena Vista. Which means good view. I know why. The sun goes down fast, within ten minutes it disappeared and somewhere else a sunrise was happening.
This is the beach where we saw a crocodile eat a dog, a few years back. Life in the jungle. It gets real over here. Circle of life. And no, no crocs on our beach. It has a reef, so no sharks either. There are stingrays, but I haven't had any issues with them. There are jellyfish, but only once did I get some stings. We didn't even see them, but the three of us felt it. It was like a cat scratch kind of sting that lasted a few hours. I suppose that's why some people like resorts. But me, I have all the stories I can tell. Travel is awesome, folks. Just be aware, ask questions, and explore! When it comes to my safety, I'm usually more concerned about an angry dog than I am with a hungry crocodile. I talk to the locals, and it's a fantastic learning opportunity.