CR091909 Saturday 8:09am

Friends feed each other’s spirits and dreams and hopes; they feed each other with the things a soul needs to live. – Glen Harrington-Hall

SYNOPSIS:  Musings on middle school friendships, getting ready for school, meeting ex-pats from Colorado, mosquitoes, the boys at school notice Kassidy, Kassidy's love language. Spanish lessons.

BFFs

When I was 12 I had the best friends in the world. The friendships were volatile, but tightly bonded. We  were what I imagine Kassidy and her friends are now. We had falling outs that were as dramatic as any adult break-up and we shared our hearts and our heartbreaks and teased each other and grew up together. We mourned when River Phoenix died because Stand By Me had been our theme. I can almost not think of a girl in junior high who I wasn’t close to at one time. When you go to school with the same people for so long in a small school at a time when your life is chaos and your emotions are so close to the surface and your friendships are made up of a series of inside jokes and rituals and memories, at some point you end up being partnered in a science lab with absolutely everyone. If I had left for a year, would that friendship have stayed as strong, or would they have closed the circle so that it was impossible to get back in? These are the kinds of questions that keep Kassidy awake at night and cause her to wake me up in the middle of the night and ask how many more weeks until we go home. It’s not that I don’t understand… it’s that I do.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

We arrived 2 weeks ago today. After buying school uniforms, books and paying tuition, Kassidy is now enrolled in school. Uniforms are worn in all public and private schools in Costa Rica. All we still need today are black shoes. We will shoe shopping and go to a movie and then I really need to stop spending money. =)

EX-PATS FROM COLORADO ON THE BEACH
When we arrive at the beach to meet Patty and company we are significantly late, but Denise’s daughter Maggie is 11 and moved here in January with her family from Littleton. They swim together until all of the over-protective mothers decide to pull the kids out because of lightening. It’s the Friday afternoon ex-pat club. Chantelle’s dad tells us with all sincerity that if we want Kassidy to learn Spanish faster we should really try Berlitz. (!!!!!!!!) Yuppers.



Maggie and Kassidy talked for a while while they were swimming. Her mom, Denise, and I stood on the beach talking. Flying fish are leaping behind the girls while they play. Maggie is being homeschooled by a private teacher in Playa Panama. This may be a good choice for part of December and January to help her catch up on work from Colorado. The teacher teaches in English. Not a good choice for our overall goal, but facilitating a friendship with Maggie, who must have been equally reluctant to move, and leave her friends but has adjusted, is a stepping stone on the way. Their dad owns Palo Windows and Doors and commuted between Littleton and Playa Hermosa until the business got too busy this year and they all moved together.



WE FEED THE ANIMALS

It was almost like magic how the bugs came out precisely as the sun came down. I think the sun setting is like a warning sign to run. We were dancing and swatting, but in the dark, we were helpless prey. They sting when they bite and then start itching. We get home and assess the damage. Kassidy has three large welting bites. I have 19 on my legs and 1 on my arm. Barb, the owner of our house, calls bug spray “Costa Rican perfume.” The bugs, though, are directly proportionate to the rain. We’ve only been bitten on rainy days.



LOVE LANGUAGES

Kassidy’s love language is quality time; most definitely not physical touch. As she has gotten older, though, words of affirmation seem to feed her more. Since we’ve been here she has been very appreciative of gifts, particularly of food. She’s even noticed acts of service. I am the only person loving her, and she is lapping up all that she is given and withering when I can’t give enough. Last night we had a slumber party and stayed up eating popcorn and watching T.V. and cuddling on the couch. Yesterday when the principal went into the classroom to tell the students that there would be a new student on Monday two of the boys said, “Is that the girl wearing the crystal? We talked to her yesterday.” This puts a grin on Kassidy’s face. The boys noticed her. Cool. Last night she put the crystal back on. The boys had not talked to her. She was never not with me. We have no idea what they are talking about. Maybe they thought about it and re-wrote history. =) We spend all day every day together. We sing in the car when we’re driving. Last night we ate dinner in front of the T.V. because when you have spent every single moment of the last 2 weeks together there’s really no quality conversation left to have. I thought about how contrary that was to our normal routine and let it go. How much time could anyone really want to spend with me? She probably needed a break. =)



SPANISH LESSONS

All I have learned about Costa Rican culture and language today is that we have found ONLY 2% milk. There are no other options. We bought a gallon. We will never do that again, for the same reason we would never buy a gallon of ice cream. When the electricity goes off for a day, everything goes bad. I have almost a full gallon of sour milk in my fridge. I can’t remember what, but I think you can cook something with that.



Ooo… and if you need one of those cords that connects your wireless adaptor and your computer, when you go to the computer store it will be 15 minutes. They MAKE it. When we went to go buy school uniform pants, the store we walked into had seamstresses and a tailor. This is PRE-Wal-mart land. When you buy things you go to multiple places to make purchases one at a time.



What I learned from the ex-pats is that we need a “Denver list.” Oil of Olay, snorkeling masks (you can snorkel for free in one of the inlets, but everything in the touristy areas costs more), sunscreen, scissors (we haven’t found scissors here and they were $20 in the Maxi-Bodega), Chai.



The cost of living here seems to be about the same as the cost of living in Colorado Springs. I am cheap… so we’re living here the same way we live in Colorado Springs…attempting to live on as little as possible so that the excess can be saved for worthy expenses… like SCUBA diving and zip lining. We have switched all of our purchases to Costa Rican products as opposed to American already and we have converted all of our dollars into colones. If I could just get myself to stop buying books.