RoJo in Costa Rica: It's been over a month!

Monday, July 26, 2010

It's been over a month!

So in the last two days there has been activity at our house. This is a multiple choice question.

WHAT ARE THE PEOPLE IN THE PICTURE DOING?

(It is hard to see them, we went to take a picture but they asked us not to, so it is out the window of our house)

A. Picking guava fruit

B. Fishing in the river

C. Going pee

D. Cutting up a 2 day dead cow that died of swollen head

If you picked D, you win a plate of rice and beans when Joe and I come and visit. One of the family cows died from swollen head. They think it is because it ate a plastic bag. Vets are too expensive to call in from Turrialba and at times cannot even save the animal so they don't bother calling. The cow had been lying on the ground dying, kicking every once in a while. Today a group of indigenous people asked if they could cut it up for meat. They pulled it 30 feet away from the milking barn down by the river and butchered it. Joe went down to take a picture, I couldn't make myself go out and look, but when he asked to take a picture they said no. That was our excitement for the day. He said when they butchered it it was all nice and neat. They hauled it away in burlap sacks. I don't think I will be walking in to town via the river for a few days.

This is one of our town's cowboys. I was hoping it was the Marlboro Man but it wasn't, my camera was already out and he was excited to get his picture taken. A killer version of the Marlboro man lives here though. I've never seen him off his horse. One day I'll get a photo of him and post it.

Joe and I's goal for the end of June until the end of July was to not leave our community for even a day, and we did it. We have to admit we are craving food that is not rice and beans. We eat all of our meals in our home, there is only one cafe here and it serves the typical plate of the day, rice and beans. Usually Joe and I buy vegetables and fruit from the trucks that come in and sell but they haven't been around in the last few weeks. None of the corner shops have any fruit and vegetables. Luckily the orange trees are finally having a few ripe ones and we are loving it.

The photo above is of one of our sports mornings. During the 2 week summer break for the school kids we asked permission to use the football field. This day we taught the kids how to play kickball. They loved it and keep asking us when there will start giving them classes of physical education. They don't have it in the school so they are very excited at the prospect.

Since our family knows that we exercise our host father Arturo wanted to show off his old training exercises when he played soccer. I felt like I was in the middle of a male muscle competition. Joe is doing situps. Testosterone.

This little green lizard loves to crawl on our clothes on the clothesline. We just think he's cute.

This is another multiple choice question.

What is the expression on Joe's face???

(Hint: For those of you who have lived in another country or traveled you might know)

A. Excitement for Breakfast Rice and Beans

B. Trying to dance a traditional dance

C. Morning prayers

D. Oh no......I think I have intestinal problems and need to hurry .......

Yes the answer to this multiple choice is again D. I took this photo as I was convulsing with laughter on the floor.

The last few weekends there has been a big soccer tournament with 8 teams in our town. This guy is strolling in from Tsipiri a 2 hour walk away. He started walking a little slower and then a little slower until he was walking even with us. Then he kept looking over, we knew he just wanted to check us out and start up a conversation.

A Sunday on the road to Tsipiri. When we don't have meetings or events for the day we like to take off on strolls to get to know the local communities outside of our town.

Our brother Yeison 10 years old and Gustavo 14 years old. Getting ready to head to the football tournament and socialize for the day. Looking sharp and looking for ladies.

THINGS THAT MAKE US LAUGH......NOW:-))

They keep washing our tennis shoes and hiking boots. We've never had white tennis before. Only the day after we walked out of the store.
We have grass growing up between the floorboards in our room. It adds to the natural environment we live in. We are from Montana and thought we were pretty hard core, but this is really with nature.
Robyn's counterpart, the doctor in charge of the health clinics for the territory calls his horse salchicha....because it is old and will soon become bologne. We are just hoping it will not become the deep fried bologne that we are frequently served.
There was a 4 x 4 inch spider on our bedroom door. That still isn't quite so funny. What is funny is that our the father in our household herded it out of our room with a stick and to the cracks between the floorboards. It also eats cockroaches. The cockroaches have found their match between that spider and the kitty cat Manchas.
There was a mama bird flying in the gap between the ceiling and wall in our bedroom. The bird had a nest in above our bed. During the night we wondered what the hacking sound was....we later figured out it was the mama bird puking up food for her babies. They have gotten big and flown the coop. We thank them for it.
I had a bot fly, and a video to prove a larvae was growing inside me. Joe put the video to Star Trek music. He does want to name our child Tiberius.
Never have we inspected our bathroom trips so thoroughly. Lots of people in our area get worms. It won't be on the list of things that make us laugh if we find something.
When we first came our little brother told us it was raton poop. Mouse poop. Later we found out it was cockroach poop. Who knew cockroaches pooped.
The kitties eat the cockroaches. Sometimes we have to maim them a little bit with our flips flops but then Manchas and Gary move in for the kill.

WE AREN'T LAUGHING.... YET

The kitties are once again....bolsas de pulgas....flea bags. We have treated them twice and hopefully they will be clean for a while.
Some nights we find 10 cockroaches all over our clothes. They especially like our tooth brushes and toothpaste.
We still find cockroach poop all over our clothes.
The roosters love to sleep in the tree outside our window. They like to start between 2-4 a.m. Then they move to just sitting under our window.
The kitties are still pooping under the floorboards under our bed. It stinks.

VALUABLE THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED

Rinse all glasses before pouring a beverage in. The slugs that look like miniature snakes have no nutritional value.
This is another don't look too closely but it must be mentioned. Don't look too closely at the drawers on the shower floor. Sometimes they contain turds. Now we just push them to the side without looking.
There is a reason Costa Rica is so green. It rains all the time.
One can never know how fast humans can actually move and get their clothes on until you've felt an earthquake.
Intense thunder and lightening storms in Costa Rica can make one believe that a Volcano is erupting. Joe didn't think so, but I had to check and see if Volcan Turrialba was still there the next morning.
Sometimes it's better not to look too closely. Nuff said. It applies to everything. Looking in your underwear bag, looking at the food, looking in the cracks in the floorboard at the cat poop, looking at your poop. Somethings are better left unkown.
Masking tape all bites that last more than 1 week. It might be a Bot Fly.
Keep headlamp on bedpost just an arms length away at night. It helps to avoid the toads in the kitchen on the night trip to the toilet. It also gives light to see what the noise near the bed is. Usually it is just frogs that hop in the hole in the floor. We herd them out with a stick.
Clear all winged flying insects and cockroaches out of the bathroom before going at night. Especially out of the toilet bowl.
Always shake your clothes out before putting them on. You never know what is going to come flying out. Supposedly it might shake off Bot Fly eggs also.