We are family, I got all my Ticos with me

Well yesterday I labored over a blog entry only to lose it when my computer froze. It’s not that bad though because it wasn’t very good. I was sitting out on the patio with a Chihuahua in my lap, laying on my hand as I was trying to type with my gigantic glamorous acrylic fingernails. Plus every time the cocker spaniel puppy tried to “attack” us, the grumpy old queeny Chihuahua would type something like this – “ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzz     mm kl”. So I’ll just start over.

I’m staying with a Tico family. It’s pretty random how it got set up. I sent a message to Laura, who works for LASP (the semester abroad program I did in ’05). She gave me the name of the former LASP intern, Lindsey, who married a Tico and lives in Cartago (where my friends also live). I’ve never met Lindsey, but I sent her a message asking if she knew any places I could stay. She was so helpful. She messaged me back and said she had found me a place to stay… with her in-laws! I met them Tuesday afternoon. Of course I was nervous, partly because of my preconceived ideas about living with a family in Costa Rica (my homestay when I was a student was good, but they were busy all the time and a little distant… plus my Spanish was pretty much non-existent at the time so I couldn’t communicate or understand which I’m sure was understandably frustrating for them). Anyway… it turns out this family is awesome! I feel so comfortable here.

Here’s the scoop: The dad, German (pronounced Herman), is a retired lawyer, but still works every day. The mom, Meli, works in the administration at a school. Andres is the oldest son. He’s married to Lindsey (who’s from Ohio). He works in San Jose at a call center. They live just down the street. David is the middle son. He’s studying architecture and is super busy with school. He’s been referred to as a zombie and a fantasma (ghost) because he stays up late working on projects. Daniel is the youngest son. He’s in high school. He likes music and rugby.

Bruno is the cocker spaniel puppy who is SO cute, but likes jump on you. Perla (Pearl) is the 9 year old Chihuahua. She hates Bruno, but he still tries to play with her. She likes me though. I just love having animals around… even though Bruno pees when he gets excited.

Neli  (not "Meli"... that's the mom but I don't know if I'm spelling that right) is the maid. She is shorter than me and is super nice. She made me breakfast this morning… eggs with gallo pinto (beans and rice) and coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice. Perfect.

Anyway, the family is great. They’re always making jokes (even with me) and talking and laughing together. We even played Escrabble the other night. Not to be confused with Scrabble which is the English version. Escrabble comes with “ll” and “ch”. I didn’t win. The sons all speak English very well so they help me a lot. They’re good about making sure I understand and filling me in on inside jokes and whatnot. The parents both know some English vocab (milk, butter, beer, etc.). Meli wants to learn English so sometimes I teach her words (like 'pineapple upside-down cake' because we had some for Lindsey’s birthday). They have a huge extended family and people stop by a lot. The other night Meli’s sister Yadira was giving me a Spanish lesson. She would draw a picture of something then write the Spanish word. She kept saying, “Que mas?” (What more?) so we just kept thinking of words for me to learn. The lesson even included field trips around the house to find things to show me to help explain what she was saying. She’s a teacher and really has the heart. She lives close by so I hope to go visit her sometime for another lesson.

Anyway it’s been really great so far. I feel so relaxed here. I have keys so I can come and go as I please. Everyone is gone during the day (except when Neli is here on Monday, Wednesday and Friday), so it’s also nice to have time to myself. I get tired so fast from concentrating so much (I have to pay attention 100% to understand).

They have a washer and dryer, wireless internet, tv, etc. It’s a really nice house. The patio is awesome. There’s an enclosed porch type area and then they have some trees and plants and flowers. There’s an orange tree which I’m allowed to take oranges from whenever I want. They also have some chili plants they use for cooking. It’s great. Apparently they also have a turtle who lives out there, but I have yet to see him.

Well it’s time for a cafecito so I’m gonna go rock that. I’m really enjoying myself.

Love love love.