Preparing to Leave

May 1st we will leave Sabanilla for 16 days on the coast.

Goodbye to our CR home!

 We're renting a car and will do some exploring.

So begins the process of  closing down this chapter, while starting the new chapter in DC.

I finished classes at Mesoamerica. I left at an "Advanced" level. While I think I'm book-smart, and have a good understanding of all the rules, and the exceptions to the rules, I really am still speaking at a Beginner, -maybe, an Intermediate level. I came here hoping to leave fluent, with the realistic expectation of not reaching that goal. So the good news is I built a strong foundation and will continue to build my skills as I return to the US. I do believe living here was the only way I would have been able to make the jump from non-speaker, to speaker. As my friend Montzi always says, "Un poco a poco."

Came in at level 1, leaving at level 6!

It'll be difficult to leave our good friends (adopted family) here in Sabanilla, but the excitement of returning to our friends and family in the DC area really is helping to ease that ach.

I think Myles will miss Cristiana. His first BFF.

We are one lucky family to have the incredible support back home to help us transition us back to the US.

Both of Morgan's parents worked together to get our car shipped from Nanc's house to Mike's house. So we'll have transportation as soon as we land. I have a slight smile on my face as I write this, b/c not having a car has been one of life's luxuries I have missed the most while living abroad.

 

Myles has been accepted to a Immersion preschool in NW. We're super excited to work with this school as they seem to be a perfect fit. We're thrilled to have found a program that will nurture Myles's Spanish language development. I also have to mention it's very close to Guapos. So I'll be in the area every evening around dinner time if you want meet up at my favorite restaurant.  :)

My dad has offered us my childhood home as a place for us to live for the next year... or longer if we'd like. We fell blessed to have this house to transition back into the DC area. It's more than big enough for us and has great yard space for Myles and Kira and our new puppy to run and play.

Did you catch that last line? Yes we're looking into getting a puppy for Kira and Omar will have another companion to play with and hang with while Morgan, Myles and I go to work and school all day, 5 days a week. I'm super excited about expanding our family.

Omar has already made the journey across the country so we just need to get Kira to DC. I'm so anxious and excited to get everyone back together.

I'm happy to say I signed a contract with MCPS and have a job. I will interview with schools in late June and hope to know where I'll be teaching by the beginning of July. As many of you know, I've truly missed teaching, so having this job lined up is very exciting. I've already had dreams about my upcoming year teaching. I can't wait to get back into the classroom!

There are so many details that have to be thought through and planned for, but as I said, we're so lucky to have an amazing support system to help us get a few things (some of the most important things) in place before landing back on May 17th.

We'll spend the next two weeks traveling, exploring, and enjoying our last few days in the beautiful country. We look forward to meeting up with our friends Cindy, Roberto and Sunny.

It's all so surreal. I can't believe this chapter is coming to an end, all the while I'm very excited to move on to the next thing. I guess that's the best part... being able to look back with many fond memories, but at the same time looking forward with excitement. It helps to ease the pain of good-byes.

Kim and Ralph Come to Town!

As you read in the earlier post, Kim and Ralph made their way down to Costa Rica to help Myles find Easter eggs, learn to fly a kite, and explore the country too. We stayed at a friend's house in Arenal. This time we were on the NW side of the lake. Last time when we explored this part of the country we were on the SE side of the Lake, very close to the Volcano.

Beautiful Sunsets

We visited a hot-water river. This river feeds into the Hot Spring Resorts around town. Kim and I hung out in the water and enjoyed the scenery and relaxing water.

The water here is as warm as bath water.

Kim and Ralph in front of Volcano Arenal

After getting past the pack of cattle in the road, we went to a beautiful waterfall. We walked down a steep cliff to get to the bottom of the waterfall where Kim went for a dip.

   

 

 

Myles loves to drive us around.

 The next day we met up with our new friends for a day at the pool. We were the only ones taking advantage of this great spot and enjoyed, the sun, water, slide and company.

 

    

Cindy, Roberto and Sunny with our family

Kim and Ralph and us in front of the lake

On our way back to San Jose we made a stop at the beach so Kim and Ralph could get a little flavor of the Ocean. 

 

It was so great to have them down here! I'm glad they were able to make it before we return home.

Easter

Sunday morning, we woke up and found Easter Eggs everywhere! -A special thanks to Aunt Kimberly... b/c Easter Eggs are VERY unusual in this part of the world. Myles had a blast searching and finding them. Pouring them out and counting them was his next favorite thing to do.

 

Then we went over to Roberto and Cindy's house. We were remotely introduced to this family from a friend in San Jose. We pulled up and instantly hit it off when them. Their son Sunny and Myles got along great. They played in Sunny's pool and searched for more Easter eggs.

 

Kite Flying

Kimberly and Ralph flew in Friday. We picked them up from the airport and headed straight to Arenal. We stayed at a friends house. They bought a piece of property a few years back and built a gorgeous house. The house was perfect for our little family vacation.  

Unfortunately, we got lost getting to the house adding a few more hours in the car than planned. We arrived late, had a quick dinner and went to bed. Myles woke up Saturday morning, ready to go! Thankfully, the little boy in Ralph came out, and he found some Kites to play with and explore. Who would have known a 2 year would be so good at flying a kite? His face is priceless in some of these photos!

"Let's go!"

 

Watching Ralph fly a kite.

 

Getting a little help from Mom.

Up on his own!