Feliz Navidad!

So yesterday was Christmas, I was going to wait to post until I had gathered the information needed to write about homeschooling but thought I'd share how our day went. On Christmas eve, eve we set out early in the am and spent hours shopping for presents and ingredients.

 (See our bus coming?)

We decided that we would give out loaves of banana bread to our friends, neighbors and local merchants. For two days straight my 15 year old baked a whole lot of bread, don't worry she loved every minute of it. On Christmas eve hubby and a few of the children set out to deliver these treats wrapped in clear bags, tied with bows and mini xmas cards. The recipients would not let them walk away empty handed, so they returned home with two bags full of Tamales! They were banana leaves stuffed with masa or rice, chicken or turkey, carrots, garbanzo beans, raisins, etc. depending on the person who made it.

We were told to boil them in water for about 15 minutes and enjoy. We had never eaten them before and enjoyed every bit of them! We went to church that night and enjoyed a wonderful service. One of our fellow sisters in Christ walked half way home with us as we discussed how chilly it was that night. She spoke of her home being very cold as it was made of mostly metal and right beside a river. She said that she was believing that the Lord would provide a better home for her and her children. So for my believers out there, please keep Marisol in your prayers.
When we returned home, the older kids began their tradition of baking sugar cookies as I read Christmas stories to the younger kids and put them to bed. We were up cleaning the house around 11:59 when all of a sudden a myriad of fireworks began to go off. We looked outside of our windows to see the most spectacular fireworks show I had ever seen. It was beautiful! From the view in our dining room, you could see miles and it was a grand way to bring in Christmas day!
Christmas morning was wonderful as we celebrated not only the birth of Jesus but of my 10 year old daughter also. The kids were up at the crack of dawn as usual. Didn't matter that I told them that santa made Costa Rica his last stop, so they were welcome to sleep in a bit. (smile)
We kept gifts to a minimum this year and I was happy to see them enjoy the little that they did receive.  Though we could have, we saw no need to give ipods, ipads, laptops or cellphones. Instead they received much wanted clothing items, journals, craft items, beaded jewelry and the most prized gift of all... an am/fm/cd radio. I'm not bashing anyone who did opt for the more high tech, expensive gifts... but for us, we have decided that there are way more important things for them to value.
What an awesome day God gave us.
As we near our time to travel to Nicaragua next month, I am increasingly excited to see what God will do. We have been in touch with an orphanage with 14 children, of which 6 are babies! If the Lord wills it, we will go and minister to them in whatever way we can. I pray that we stay in God's will now and forever, Amen!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
More to come...

Hola Morena!

December 15, 2010

I did it. I went to the fiesta with the ladies from church this past Saturday! It was awesome. I spent an entire Saturday with about 22 woman of which not one of them spoke English. Well, you know what that meant, I spent my day butchering Spanish. I was anxious that whole morning while I prepared to go. I showered, pressed, dressed and headed out the door reciting memorized words over and over again in my head. As I turned the corner of our gate I waved to our Tico neighbor who called out “Hola Morena!” (Does that mean that I have been accepted as Latina? Probably not, especially since he has never heard me butcher his native tongue).

I walked down to the bus stop and was happy to see a few familiar faces there to greet me. We waited another half hour or so for the rest of the ladies and a few babies to show up and we boarded the next bus. I still had no idea of where we were going but I knew this bus and its route so at the moment I was relaxed. We rode all the way to San Jose and got off together. The woman took turns holding the 3 babies that were with us, giving the moms a break. There were merchants everywhere selling every and anything. Watches, gloves, toys, dvd's, food and kitchen sinks...literally.

We made our way through the busy streets and met up with a few other ladies and hopped on another bus. This time the ride was shorter and when we got off I was certain I had no idea of where I was. I followed the woman past stores, bakery’s and a playground that I swear looked exactly like the one I frequented as a child.

When we arrived at our destination I was starving but knew that the chit chatting was about to begin, so I sighed and thought... bring it.

After reading a few passages from the bible and praying together the Pastor's wife arrived, she announced that we would be pairing up in twos to get to know as much as we can about each other then standing in front of the other ladies to report our findings. 

Amazingly I carried on a conversation. I learned that my sister in Christ Haylee lives very close to me with a gorgeous view of a waterfall behind her home. We talked about our family's and where I lived in the US. As my confidence grew, I stood and spoke to the other woman about her.

We were served a delicious meal of grilled chicken, sausages, steak, rice and black beans. My foolish eyes said that I could finish the whole plate while my conservative belly begged to differ.

As I stuffed my face I could hear one of the babies getting fussy in the corner. Her mom was eating and she was being held by another one of the mothers in the group. Her mom looked over at her shrugged and said that she might be hungry and without blinking an eye the other woman whipped out her breast and fed the baby. Now, I am a huge advocate of breast feeding but I have never seen a woman breastfeed another woman's baby! Sure, moms and I have joked about it..but there it was in broad day light. Ha! I love these people.

After eating and playing a few more games which were all geared towards teaching us to work together, we enjoyed cake and coffee. 

The day was winding down and I truly felt like I was connecting with these woman. I didn't feel like much of an outsider, just someone who needed ever word articulated...and...said...very...slowly.

I shared a cab home with 3 other ladies and was happy to have had the experience I had. I was able to see these woman in a more relaxed environment and I dropped the constant worry of saying something wrong. I just spoke and when I was unsure I asked and they helped.

Back on the homefront, Christmas is creeping up on us and we are so unprepared. We finally have a tree, a live one I might add, but I have no idea what we'll do for presents. We have prepared the children to receive less this year so that we may have more to give to others to which they were less than thrilled about. I'm pretty certain that the Lord will direct us, even if its on the 24^th...

Homeschooling has taken on a mind of it's own as I went from a classical educator to an eclectic homeschooler. 

My kids have been doing what some may call un-schooling. I wouldn't call it that as I still give weekly assignments, but if they have an interests that I feel is relevant and will keep them engaged in learning they are encouraged to pursue it. That doesn't override all essential learning such as math, literature and science but I have definitely taken a more relaxed teaching style this year. Next blog post will include a “Day in the Life of ” just for homeschoolers. That was always very helpful to me as a new homeschooler and I hope that it will help, encourage or drive fear into someone out there... (smile)

more to come...

Saving a buck or two...

I really didn't have much to talk about this week. Things were pretty normal and I spent lots of time keeping house. I shopped, cooked, cleaned, homeschooled, bathed children, kissed booboos and entertained guests from the states.

Last night I went to church with the children, Tony had not gotten home from the cafe in time to go with us. I knew that the women were expecting me at a function next Saturday but I prayed that they would not try to ask me questions about it without Tony being there to help me with words I didn't understand. Well, right in the middle of service I heard my name and looked up at the woman at the podium asking if I would be there on Saturday. I quickly ran the days of the week through my head, smiled and said "Si, Sabado."

After church one of the ladies came to give me some more information to this event that I was clueless about. All I could catch was, San Jose, McDonalds, party, taxi or bus, 2 not 11, and will be fun. I thought that it was  in the catholic church in Guatuso at 11am?!? Oh boy, once again I smiled and said "Si, Sabado." I will not cower behind my Spanish/English dictionary (Tony). I will go on Saturday and sit next to all of my sisters in Christ, smile and try my best not to say anything stupid, so help me Jesus!

Since we have been here, our whole motto have been to live on a shoe string. No extravagances like we had in the US and absolutely no complaining about it out loud. My children have adapted very well to my surprise, even commenting on how clean they are able to get their socks by washing them by hand. (Is it weird to love seeing them scrub their socks in the laundry room sink?)

We came up with lots of ways to save money and not all include manual labor. We downloaded Skype and have used it daily as a tool to keep in contact with friends and family members. What an economical way to keep in touch. No cost involved other than your internet connection. We also purchased a device called Magic Jack. Now, I'm going to tell you all right now. I paid a minimum of $39.95 per month before taxes and fees for telephone service back in Maine. This was with the promise of caller ID and unlimited long distance. Magic Jack cost $39.95 for the purchase of it with the first year being free. After that you pay just $19.99 per year. It took literally 5 min to install and I was able to make my first test call to my mom in Florida who asked "Where are you calling from with that 305 area code?"
Nothing else is needed but your home computer and a phone. What a whopping amount of money I could have saved if I had not been too afraid to switch from AT&T and try a different company. (Don't worry, I have already taken the liberty of kicking myself.)
There are many different ways we have significantly cut down on our cost of living. We no longer have vehicles, we take the bus like most locals and the cost just cannot be compared. We can get from our home to the major city of San Jose for less than .45cents, not to mention the exercise that our bodies so desperately craved.
We hang our clothes out to dry on a line after washing which saves on electricity costs. Our cell phones are now powered by pre-paid cards with an average cost of $10 per month. We have become accustomed to eating the local food here which is very economical. (Rice and beans, fresh fruits and veggies, fresh baked bread, coconut water which seems to be all the rave in the US now, fish and unbelievable coffee.)
We have ditched the television and though we have a small flat screen sitting in our linen closet, the kids barely remember that it is there. We do love movies, always have. We used to have cable until we found out that Netflix offered instant movies online and lots of them. We ditched the cable a few weeks before we came and do not have any plans on having cable here.
When the mood strikes, we all sit around together and watch a show/movie online with our $8.99 per month membership.
If you enjoy books like I do, you can download kindle for PC from Amazon.com on your computer for free, then download a ton of free books.
Now I know that some of these money saving ideas are not possible or realistic in the US, but a few certainly are. Give one or two a try, thank me later and save a buck or two...
more to come...