My Great #3

Ok, so if you know me (whether through the blog or personally) you probably know that I say things that I want to do, and then don't follow through. For instance...since saying that my blog is going to be devoted to great parts of my life, I've only done that for two out of four posts.

I think about my blog often, and though I don't feel guilty about not updating often, like I used to, I'm sad that I don't have the time to update it. I would love to talk about life, and how great it is. I would love to be able to share with people who are assigned to Costa Rica, or who are entering the Foreign Service the good, bad, and ugly of living abroad and being in the Foreign Service. And because I would love to be famous I'd love to be a, Kolbi, Jill, Donna, Naoma (or any of the other famous FS bloggers).

Well...anyways, all of that to say that because I did three hours of homework this morning while the nanny is here, I'll use the commercial time during Castle to tell you about my great #3: Costa Rica.

I love Costa Rica for so many reasons. Mostly I love Costa Rica because I love my life here. Sure, it's been hard some times. But let's not talk about that. Let's talk about why I love my life here.

I get to live in a place with a beautiful language. I took Spanish in Middle and High School because it seemed like the easiest choice, and everyone was doing it. After I spent three months here in Costa Rica (after high school everyone went to college - I went to Costa Rica) I didn't think there was a language as beautiful as Spanish. I still think it's beautiful. Sometimes it drives me crazy, but I love it. I wish I had worked harder to learn more, but I'm pretty proud of how much I do speak, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn it.

The scenery is amazing. Once you're about 30 minutes out of the city center (especially if you head West on the new/old Autopista) you see green, and hills, and trees (we have real Christmas tree farms here because you can grow firs at the elevations we have in Costa Rica), so many different kinds of trees. The sky is a gorgeous blue dotted with white clouds, or clear of clouds , or maybe some scary looking dark grey clouds. I have so many pictures from above those clouds when I lived near the top of Irazu Volcano of the clouds. Living above cloud line three days a week was amazing, cold, but amazing. The beaches aren't as great as you would think unless you go to the Northern Pacific coast, but they're still beaches. Costa Rica has water for surfing, or if you'd like calm waters for the most novice swimmers. My favorite beach so far is Tamarindo, we've been there twice and it's great. You can also boat down a river, climb mountains, camp in a Rain Forrest, sit in a hot spring near a volcano...you can see so many things.

Pretty blue sky dotted with clouds (picture by John)

Jaco Beach - another favorite

Wildlife! the range of things to see here is amazing. I know we haven't seen it all, and that makes me sad. But we've seen a lot...monkeys, birds, reptiles, spiders, crocodiles and we even saw a deer.

this is Angelina Jolie. She and I became close friends. 

This is a big beaked bird (also known as B.B.B.).

 Beauty Services! If I had time I could be at the salon every week getting hair cuts, waxes, facials, manicures and pedicures. It's certainly not Asia cheap, but it's cheaper than the States. If I want - I can have someone come to my house for the services. An at home massage after a hard day of working, homework and kids is a great thing (and too infrequent if you ask me).

Nanny! I have a nanny for the first time ever. Remember when I said I did homework for three hours today? Simon and Coen were up playing and eating during all of that. My nanny made that possible. My nanny has an adult daughter who likes my kids...a lot. She even babysat overnight last weekend so John and I wouldn't have to worry about getting home early or waking up early. I love having a nanny who has a daughter who loves my kids and is willing to do that (side note: next time, we're just doing a live-in).

Schools. Malachi has a great school that we love. The teacher is really dedicated to the education of her students, and is eager to work with parents to make sure they get the best possible education. She has been great for Malachi, and she'll hold a dear spot in my heart for a long time. There are a few schools that are pretty good here.

There are other reasons why my life is so great, but they don't really have to do with Costa Rica itself. Nonetheless, for many reasons (I'm sure I'll remember others as soon as I post this blog) Costa Rica is my great #3.