The Initial Suprises of Life in Costa Rica

I know we’re not in St. Louis anymore when…
• The grocery store runs out of peanut butter (and when it does come in, it’s tiny jars of crunchy)
• The entire frozen foods section is only about 12 feet long
• Some taxis don’t have seat belts
• You can’t flush toilet paper in your bathrooms.
• None of the sinks in the house have hot water (you have to boil water for dishes; however, the showers do have individual instant water heaters).
• Electrical outlets aren’t grounded (Crocs and hot pads help avoid shocks while cooking).
• There isn’t a single closet to keep your clothes in.

Actually, other than the safety hazards, I appreciate (most of the time) these daily reminders that we are in another country and that in the United States we take so much for granted.

Things I’m enjoying about Costa Rica…
• The bright colors—interior and exterior walls (our house is white, but it has a bright blue roof and fence; the master bedroom walls are a pale lavender and the living room a light green), fabrics used in decorating (our comforters are so cheerful), the yellow little pitcher and cups we bought and the blue glass bowls, and even the hot pink or blue striped grocery bags (they’re really strong too).
• The gorgeous flowers growing everywhere including our own yard—lilies and hydrangeas (we’ve enjoyed fresh rosemary and lemons from the yard too).
• Waking up to roosters crowing and listening to the bell birds “sing” all day with their unusual clanking and squeaky hinge sounds.
• The sound of rain on our tin roof and the wind in the trees.
• The neighborhood dogs who escort us on our walks (Bogie loves having so many dog friends).
• People being so kind about my limited Spanish, and learning/using a little more of the language each day.
• The gorgeous view all the way to the Pacific Ocean seen from the Cloud Forest School and enroute to the Quaker meeting.
• Delight in finally getting something to “go through” on the internet (my apologies to all who haven’t gotten personal responses to comments and emails, but thank you so much for them!).