The last week feels like a turning point.
A couple weeks ago I was feeling a little lonely and life was a bit on the empty side. Reading, audio books and podcasts everyday for hours starts to get a bit boring after awhile. I think I hit a bottom of sorts…nothing major, just a low point. Some chats with folks from home helped and I started to focus on scheduling things that would ‘fill me up,’ as they say.
So, Matt and I started semi-private Spanish classes at the Wayra Institute down the road. They focus on home stays and intensive classes (half or full day learning Spanish for a week). That felt a bit much for us, so we are taking 2 hour classes on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Our teacher, Sylvia, is really good…so patient, so positive. She has a bunch of cards with conversation starters on them. What is your favorite book? What is your favorite movie? Should students be required to wear uniforms? Should cars be limited to one per family? Then we discuss, using whatever Spanish we have and she helps fill in the gaps. Occasionally, a student from another class is brought in by their teacher and they have to ask us a question, which we answer as best we can. A ten-year old boy from England came in and asked us to name the fan and spell it. He was so shy (and adorable)…it felt good to urge him on. Then, we had to do the same, but I didn’t know the questions I was writing were for strangers, so it was a little weird when I asked them if they would call me later. We laughed about it and they said they would. Overall, it’s a pretty convivial atmosphere and I’m digging it.
My Spanish is slowly improving. The shower in our bathroom started leaking last week and it took a total of FOUR days for it to get fixed. Have I mentioned that things move slowly down here? I think I have. Also, the quality of the work would never pass at home, but Pura Vida y’all. The guys who fixed it did not speak English, so I had to use my Spanish. It was rough at times, but we got through it. It was painful being forced to stick to the condo while we waited, but at least I got a little education out of it.
I finally got a pedicure (and a massage) the other day and only spoke Spanish with the woman who took amazing care of me. We talked about her family, who she lived with and where she lived. I tipped her well and left feeling a tad more confident about just throwing the words out. I’ve got a long ways to go, but at least I feel like I am moving up the learning curve.
Last Thursday, we went to TIDE Academy’s “Meet and Greet.” There were probably ten families that showed at Volcano Brewing up on the hill behind the night market. We worked our way chatting through about five of them. You could tell that everyone was “on” and excited to meet other people. It was lovely to be greeted by such bright, open faces. We talked about where we were from, our children and we all laughed at how much we were sweating. A few phone numbers were exchanged before the boys finally convinced us to go back home. We left in a glow, so excited to meet new people.
The next day, I was reflecting on how much I enjoyed it and how good it was for me. I started wishing the Moms could get together for a breakfast or the like, then thought “Duh, I can actually make that happen.” So, last Monday, I dropped boys off a little early and hung out for awhile. I connected with a couple Moms, suggested breakfast Thursday, then collected a few more phone numbers with help from others and started a “Whats App” group called TIDE Moms. It felt so good to hang out with other Moms and get to know them better. We made plans for a bunch of TIDE families to go to dinner at the Surf Club next Wednesday. And, our “Whats App” group continues to grow.
Sunday night, we did our first “tour” with a tour operator. I’m so glad we did because I never would have found our way in the dark in a rental car down the maze of dirt roads they took us to get to a couple hidden beaches. We successfully saw green turtles hatching and a gigantic Leatherback digging a spot to lay her eggs. I had seen baby turtles run to the ocean before…it’s pretty cool how they clumsily flop towards the ocean. We wished them well and hoped they would beat the odds. Seeing the Leatherback was especially amazing. She was probably 5 feet long and three feet wide…by far the biggest turtle I have seen in the wild. She kept digging and rejecting different spots to lay her eggs. Despite the measures the tour guides were taking to make sure people were not disturbing her, I couldn’t help but think she was not happy with our presence. As we hiked out, I hoped she would be more comfortable and successfully lay her eggs in peace. Check my Instagram @gusamom for the video.
It’s feeling like we have a little structure to our lives now, with taking boys to and from school, Spanish classes, some kind of daily exercise and, of course, constant grocery shopping. Meeting new people has really helped and it feels good to have a couple things on our social calendar. And, we’ve got a trip next week to the cloud forest to look forward to. All in all, it’s starting to feel like we are approaching a good balance.
I had no doubts you would figure it out. I think it’s such a different pace with no safety nets re your existing social networks, I can definitely understand why it took a natural ebb and flow to get to this point. That’s a good thing. It shows that you really did separate from your previous lives here in Los Estados Unidos! Congratulations…. sincerely!
Your writing is so clear and natural and heartfelt, you could easily flesh it out with stories and write a great book. But even if you don’t do that, don’t quit blogging! I wish you could make the boys do it. That would make an even more terrific book if all four wrote!
Thanks, Mimi! I always think of Matt as the real writer in the family…so your words are so appreciated and encouraging.
This is a proof of concept that I know how to comment on Trina’s blog.
Thanks, Mimi! I always think of Matt as the real writer in the family…so your words are so appreciated and encouraging.