TICO TIME

So, what am I feeling now, after 3 months into this journey? Well, I have to say that there are ups and downs to everything.  I think  adapting to the pace here took some getting used to. Slowing down our lives to Tico time has not been easy.  LIke taking 6 weeks to open up our bank account - with every document you can imagine and then some.  LIke slowing down to let the dog wake up and move out of the way, so you can drive by, or the horse  or cow or even the drunk for that matter.  Like waiting in line at the bank or at the grocery store and it taking as long as an hour to get  served.
PATIENCE- is a virtue and you really need a lot of it to survive Costa Rica 101.  It is not snapping your fingers and having it done yesterday- as we are used to in Toronto.  Asking a question and having it answered, properly, the first time-  here you ask a question and you get 20 different answers.  Here you ask for directions, and there are no road names or addresses with numbers on houses- only land marks - like go down and when you pass the ice factory, you make a right at the storage sign and the house is on the hill to the right, with the red roof and iron gate. ( Incidently that is our address)
Time- it passes slowly , it passes quickly- but it is still 60 minutes, 60 seconds. We can say we have had plenty of it to digest the past, enjoy the present moment and contemplate the future.  I 've always felt there is  never enough time to do what we want.  I can finally say that I have found peace with time here- our pace is so much slower- not having as much to do helps- but still somehow always managing to do something.
This is one of our biggest challenges upon our return - to maintain a normal balance of time- to make the time needed for self, for our family, for our sanity.  I think about this a lot and we are already finding strategies that will help us keep this balance. Not having to rush is already a huge gift- not having to do 1 million things in a day - not having a wedding , funeral and baptism, also all in one day.
I will definitely miss this I know - like when we are running out to hockey games or soccer practices or music lessons, or when stuck in traffic on the 401 or 400 for what seems to be eternity, or when the snow and bitter cold just won't stop and the sun hasn't come out in weeks.
There have been days when I feel homesick, when I miss my busy life, when I get up in the morning and wish I had somewhere to go, something important to do, or someone to meet.  Feeling connected to friends, family, a job, community is critical to anyone's well-being and this has become clearly evident living here.  Although new friends have been made, and some plans or appointments booked, it is still not the same.  Perhaps more time is needed.  Perhaps the sense of giving back, helping out, belonging.
The honeymoon is over now and the reality of life sets in.  Living the day to day chores of cooking, laundry, washing dishes ( actually the sink can never be empty here - it is a constant chore ).  It has taken me this long to fantasize about our home, our backyard, our street , even the things in the shed like our bikes or the motorcycle.  It surprises me how long it has taken to miss these things but I do now.  Even my job, my colleagues and my students- I really miss them all. And of course, my dear close friends - I miss our dinners, our bbq's, our ski trips, our boat trips - I miss you all very much!!!!
I guess this makes you realize that when you are blessed with a terrific life, home, family and friends and even job- we sometimes  take these things for granted.  Sometimes we need a long break from our daily routine, a huge step out, if you will, to look at the bigger picture - to get a glimpse of our lives from afar,  almost as if an alien was looking in.
We all need to recharge and re-energize our lives.  I am so thankful that we were fortunate to have this incredible life adventure here in CR.  A journey that has taken my family to a new level, to a new closeness and a new awareness - an awareness of absolute love and compassion, of pushing our patience to the limits at times and learning to accept our shortcomings and forgive with ease.  We have indeed accomplished this - we have grown closer still, we have survived my daughter's injury, we have learned to enjoy days and days together (24/7), we have learned of the passing of a dear dear friend and had to deal with it from here without support of the family,  without the closure of attending the funeral, we have settled into our quiet evenings, of ending the day with a swim or a walk and then after dinner, always a movie ( and each one of us fighting over the only couch-like chair in this small house- but eventually everyone finding somewhere to curl up).
I am indeed very grateful that we stole this moment, this journey, this TIME together as a family.  To learn the virtue of patience - with a new country, with each other and with ourselves.  I am grateful for each new day and the promise it brings to start a new adventure- after all, it all began with a thought, a word, and then the courage to make it happen.

Our Life Here in Costa Rica

It's been 5 weeks that our family has been down here and are absolutely loving each moment.  Of course there have been some issues , at first with the house and getting everything set up,(which was supposed to have been done), then we had Nicky's Surf Accident, which was horrific , but in the end we Thank the Lord as it could have been so much worse.

Now we are very settled and enjoying everyday. It is so wonderful waking up without the thought and stress of heavy snow falls and major delays, or slidingdown our driveway on the ice first thing in the morning, rushing Nicky to her bus stop, traffic jams and busy downtown streets, activities here and there everynight of the week.. Wow. So nice to have none of that. We all wake up excited to face another day, and to explore another beach. It is such a change from the city and we absolutely LOVE it. Sitting by the pool with a nice cold martini, lying on the sand spotting crabs, adventuring out at night, not to go into the city for dinner, but to find sea turtles and watch them lay their eggs! The experiences we have already had in the amount of time we've been here are unbeleivable and amazing. Would love to make this permanent one day and we are working on a plan right now but don't worry, it will be over the next 5-7 years or so. In the meantime, Carpe Diem!!!

Funny how we think in terms of time, and if we slow our lives down, time will slow down too.  Well, that's not true - time flies, even here.  Our typical day starts around 7, although the sunrises at 5am.  After a healthy dose of fresh fruit with yogurt, or oatmeal, I usually head off for my pilates, Zumba or Yoga with Nicky ( when she's not in school).    When the school is open, I drop off the kids by 8 am.  A local little surf school the kids love where the've made friends with all the French, Italian and  Spanish surfers of the area. It is now closed for the next 2 weeks for Easter Break.  SO Nicky is getting Spanish tutoring and  both kids are working on their school at home.  But it's not easy to motivate them as our days are filled with beach time, surfing, pool time, running around and even church time.  Even now, I am heading to the store to pick up fresh vegies and fruit for dinner. As I am out,  Joe is preparing a local fish with some rice.  We have been cooking  healthy meals every day.  Food here costs the same as Toronto though, grocery wise, but I have become very efficient at finding the best deals in different stores as they alternate on different sale days.  PLus making connections is so important as we network with the different people we know and they suggest various meat, chicken or other contacts where we can buy supplies at best prices.

We have already had the chance to visit Nicaragua, explore many areas, meet some monkeys, buy some surfboards, go to local Fiestas, join soccer teams, meet some lovely people and so much more. We will do our best to keep everyone updated of our many adventures here in Costa Rica through this blog and share stories and pictures.  We do miss our family and dear friends back home, but at the same time we are loving our experiences here.  LIfe is too short to waste time; you have to take the bull by the horns and just go for it sometimes, and I'm really glad we did.  Even through the not so nice moments, you realize that every moment has a purpose and hopefully you learn from each.

Love and miss all,
oxoxo
Eva and the gang