I would say that many Costa Ricans enjoy sports. Whether it is watching soccer on TV or participating in club sports or family games in the neighborhood. Today we joined other families and the teachers at our school for the annual "Sports Day" to celebrate the values that athletics bring to the people here in Costa Rica.
Maggie's class kicked things off with an interpretive dance.
There was face painting, balloon art and an inflable (you know, one of those inflatable jumpy things with a slide), hot dogs, carne asada (mmmmmm, grilled meat) and tons of desserts.
James and I took second in the Rally (once we figured out that a rally was a parent-kid obstacle course race).
And the Third Grade was victorious in soccer over their arch rival Fifth Grade.
There was talk beforehand about demonstrations of traditional Costa Rican games. But this seemed to fall a little short. Pretty tough to compete with a soccer tournament I guess.
The days are speeding by fast, check back often as we are going to have many adventures in the next three weeks.
In the fall of 1997, while a second year graduate student at the U of MN, I was living and working as a Hall Director on the campus of Augsburg College in Minneapolis. The Residence Life department enacted a policy allowing hall directors to have pets in their on-campus apartments, and within 24 hours I was on my way to the humane society in Golden Valley. When I got to the humane society, there was a small, lonely puppy - the last of six in an abandoned litter - just waiting to come home with me. And so began a 14 year relationship between girl and dog.
Java was named because of her color. I had just finished reading the book Coffee Will Make You Black when I met Java, and her deep black color plus the tiny splash of milky-white on her chest and chin made her look like a cup of coffee to me. From the minute I brought Java home, she was not interested in letting me out of her sight. Most of the time, she came with me to the office (right next door to my apartment) and entertained any number of Augsburg students. But when I had to go to class and leave her alone, Java was rotten. She was a chewer - and chewed up most of my life that first year (hairbrushes, shoes, my CD collection, the cushions on my sofa, a fleece jacket, the bottle of bitter apple spray I bought to make her stop chewing things...).
In the next few years, Java and I moved several times - but always together. And when Greg and I got together, Java not only gained a new person in her life, she gained a best friend in Greg's dog, Madison. Our little blended family had a pretty idyllic life - daily walks to the park, lots of ball retrieving, and plenty of doggy chase games around the big tree down the street.
And then came the move to MN, the addition of children to our lives, and the settling in to life as a family dog. For the last 8 1/2 years, Java has done her best to keep us all together (herding instinct) and to be right in the middle of it all.
This last chapter of her life has been yet another change. When we left the midwest to begin our Costa Rican adventure, we left Java in the loving care of Don and Marilee Muth (Greg's parents). And boy, has she been loved. She has probably had more treats and walks in the past five months than in all the years since the children were born. But sometimes love and treats are not enough; old age and a raging case of leukemia have brought Java to the end of her life.
So last night we gathered round our computer screen to say a tearful good-bye via skype, to tell her that we love her even from far away, and to thank her for 14 years of unconditional love. Rest in peace, sweet Java-dog. Rest in peace.
Costa Rica and Minnesota are different in their own ways. Here are some of them:
The weather is different. Instead of four seasons like in Minnesota, Costa Rica has the sunny season and the rainy season.
Another difference with Costa Rica is the bugs; they are just everywhere! Sometimes they are good because they are good food for the cool animals like toucans and frogs.
When it comes to fruit in Costa Rica, it’s like fruit punch every time! The tropical fruits are delicious. When we go to the market we almost always buy bananas, mangoes, papaya and pineapple.
We have a car in Minnesota, but we don’t have one in Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, we normally walk places, but its not as fun as catching the bus.
In the U.S. we have our family close, and in Costa Rica they are farther away. When they come to visit us all the way from the U.S., it’s a real treat. We go places like the beach!
To me, both Costa Rica and Minnesota are Home Sweet Home.
Here at Escuela Interamericana we mostly have our subjects in Spanish, but we have a few in English – like Science.Our science teacher is American, and her name is Brooke.Teacher Brooke was born in Seattle, Washington.When she was little she wanted to be an actress.Now, in class, she pretends to be plants and animals to teach us through acting how plants and animals work.
When she teaches, she tries to make everything fun.For example, she lets us work in partners and plays learning games with us.She makes me not want to leave her classes because they are so suspenseful and exciting.
She likes teaching because she gets to interact with all of the awesome kids.
When she is not teaching, she likes to swim.She is very athletic and smart like a cheetah (which is her favorite animal).
I feel very special to have been able to meet Teacher Brooke.
