Well folks, Anna and Dreutch have been in Costa Rica for about a month, and she has been sending me crazy  pictures.  Here are a few that blew me away, and a letter from Anna at the bottom!

The flowers and trees, alone, are just incredible:

The things that live in the flowers and trees:

Locusts the size of kittens.

Howler monkeys instead of squirrels outside their bathroom window.

Outside the rainforest:

Amazing beaches.

Costco….there is a Costco in San Jose, CR
…??  Apparently!  And they have a gluten free section in the store!

There have also been some pretty familiar stuff, as well, like

Playgrounds,

Lego stores,

Barbie stores,

and boxed wine. How is this a universal thing?

Tamarah,

I grew up in Michigan and Colorado, doing things one generally does in a happy childhood… imagining myself in the adventures of any book I was reading from riding dragons to Little Women. I enjoyed writing, playing sports, playing piano, riding horses and reading. After high school I left for the beaches of California to study at UC San Diego and play volleyball. I answered the “what do you want to do when you grow up?” question with broad brushstrokes “a lawyer, a translator or international development”. I loved my classes for my Political Science/International Relations major. I transferred to Westmont College my junior year and then spent a semester at San Francisco City college as well as interning for the Public Defender’s office in San Francisco. I dabbled in a bit of painting, trail running, bikram yoga, poetry, and a lot of volleyball during these years.

I decided that I did not want to go to law school, graduated, worked in sales for a cell phone company and then in administration for a financial services company. My husband and I met through volleyball (go figure) and have been married for 2 years! I currently enjoy reading (almost anything) art, poetry, musicals, working out, going on dates and cooking.

On September 12th we moved to Costa Rica. Our friends picked us up from the airport and made us a special dinner with steak and whiskey (which goes for a premium here). What a great help it has been to know people who know the area. For example, there is a particular little store where you can buy good cheddar cheese. It’s the Italian store – and only sells Italian food. Also, for chicken, while you can buy it from the grocery store… you can get a great deal if you hunt down the chicken delivery guy on his way to all the restaurants. One of the challenges was that it took us 3 weeks for us to install Internet in our home. We thought that it was going to be difficult and did way too much research on how to get it. It was important for us for work. 3 weeks in I finally asked the neighbor. His response was “Oh, you just go over to the Cabletica store in Plaza Conchal and sign up”. So we went, the next day, and they only require a passport and will install in 2 days! Or in my case, call you on Saturday morning at 10am and ask if you will be home in 10 minute because they are waiting outside. Seriously!? Well, that’s how you learn.

Highs – The sense of accomplishment that I am getting out of the fact that I am here. I doubted that I would be brave enough to live overseas. BOOYA FEAR! I enjoy learning Spanish, living by the beach, finding great workout partners, getting involved in the local church and discovering new foods!

Lows: Being an emotional roller coaster at first. I quite often needed to apologize to Dreutch who had to live with me.   

Favorite Spanish word: diente de ajo – literally means a tooth of garlic in Spanish. In English it is a clove of garlic. BUT THEY TOTALLY LOOK LIKE TEETH! That discovery merited all capital letters.

Goal: Learn how to drive manual – I currently can’t drive my car. Although there are benefits to chauffer service (via your husband)…

This was a beautifully written note that I wanted to share. I am so thankful for all of the people we love who encourage us!

“Look high. Look to the sky. Don’t look back. See the flowers, the bugs, and the sea. Find the interesting people. They are there. Whatever you do –  DON’T stay inside that awesome apartment for long. Guard your spirit with a determined effort to grow as a person. Focus on the good. Even being in a marriage… focus on the best attributes – compliment and encourage.”