Costa Rican Family Adventure: LEEP

I still find it hard to believe that mother nature sent us another big earthquake (6.0) on the exact one year anniversary of last year's huge quake (7.6)...and almost at exactly the same time. Last year was at about 8:30am and this year's was at about 6:30am. Coincidence? Whatever you want to call it, it was enough to have one of my kids ask if we could be away on Sept. 5th next year for fear of what it might be next time.

Last year's quake was a strong, long lasting (3 minutes!) quake that happened just after the kids arrived at school. 3 of our kids were starting their day and our oldest was at home with Kurt and I working on a proposal for the internships he would be doing that year as part of an elective course he was taking called LEEP...which stands for Lifelong Experiential Education Program.

As the earth began to shake and the noise from the rattling windows and doors got louder, the 3 of use stood up and pondered what we should do, but when things began to start flying off the shelves and glass started to break, we suddenly knew that it was time to run outside, which we did...but, the quaking kept going for at least another two minutes.

When we darted down to pick up the kids at the lower campus, there was broken glass everywhere, but the kids, just pre-school thru 5th grade, were all well cared for and loved. The quake had happened during the morning meeting out in the outdoor palapa....far away from any glass....and had found all the teachers close enough to all the kids to give hugs and immediate instructions. Lots of excitement filled the air and each kid had a story to tell.

When we drove up to the upper campus (grades 6-12) we found the kids up the hill/mountain, as a tsunami warning had been issued by then. Of course, this is more worrisome and fearful to most than the actual earthquake, so reports of this precaution sent a new found fear into our children when they thought it was all over. Lots of conversations ensued over what all these events meant and what our family plan of re-connection would be.

We then drove home to find dad with our property management team cleaning up all the broken bottles and items that had flown off the shelves, mostly in the kitchen. The neighbors were all out front and we met many of them for the first time as we had just moved in 2 weeks prior. It was amazing to see a community bond and connect thru such an event. We, at that moment, knew that our time in Costa Rica would be just fine. Not to mention the minimal damage sustained by all the buildings, if any. Kurt and I were living in San Francisco during the Loma Prieta quake of 1989 which registered a close (and lower!) 6.9 which leveled many buildings, including our own, killed 63 people, flattened a second of the Bay Bridge, and stopped the World Series. So, to see Costa Rica roll with the flow so easily, it made us all feel much better.

But, this year, the quake was loud and strong enough to wake us all up and send us again flying out the door in our PJ's. Well, except for the two teenagers, who woke up and rolled over despite our jumping up and down about the excitement of being woken up that way. No broken glass or power outages this time. And many of the kids in the neighborhood were all asking if school would be cancelled again...but, no. We did have a second really good aftershock a few minutes later and then one again that night....but, they all just seemed fun and not so scary. Dare I say that after so many quakes this year, that we are actually getting used to them?!

But, what this quake did do was remind us again that mother nature is supreme, that the Ring of Fire is real, and that community is everything.

Many of you have been asking about our regular days and because the kids are in school, we have lots of regular days like we did back home. Days when the kids don't want to go anywhere or do anything and days when they do homework or projects. But, for us an average school week looks like this these days....

First Day of School 2012....Will (1st), Zack (8th), Marissa (4th) and Dominic (10th)....Marissa is holding up the last Harry Potter book as she spent her summer reading this series and was very proud to have finished it!

The South Campus (grades 6-12) open for it's second year with plans for grades K-5 to come over next year with the hopeful addition of a second quad area (I say hopeful because they are still trying to raise the funds)

The courtyard at the South Campus (all native plantings).....

Monday....school from 8:00-3:00...we generally wake up the big boys at 6:30am to hit the showers, get the two little ones up by 7:00am, and leave by 7:45. School is about 5 minutes away by car. I drop off the big boys first at the south campus (grades 6-12) and then double back and drop off Marissa and Will at the north campus (preschool-5th grade). I come back home and have a cup of coffee and get Maria set up. She comes and cleans on Mondays and is included in our rental agreement. Marcos and Michael are also around a lot to fix things, put out fires (literally!), change light bulbs, etc. and are also part of our property management team. Great group at "Precious Places of Paradise" who we rented our house thru. William and Marissa have an all-school Morning Meeting in the outside palapa from 8:30-9:00am each day. I meet Dominic down at school from 12:30-1:50 for his LEEP period and work together on documenting his progress with his LEEP internship. Both Marissa and William have PE this day. After school the big boys take the school bus from the south campus to the north campus and workout in the "Jungle Gym" weight room while William attends gymnastics in the outdoor palapa and Marissa plays indoor soccer in the gymnasium. I pick them all up around 4:00 and they generally head straight home to jump in the pool and cool off from the hot day.

William and Dominic enjoying the swings on the North Campus (grades preschool-5)

Tuesday...school from 8:00-3:00...Dominic is now "working" on the Gamefisher II fishing boat for his internship thru school and goes to the boat that is docked just in front of Brastillio's Restaurant and about 3 minutes away by car from 6:30am-noon. SOON, I hope he will have a bike for this trip. I then walk down to the hotel Bahia del Sol and attend a yoga class from 9-10:30am. Argentina comes on this day and helps around the house and cooks us dinner.....she is amazing and I want to bring her home with us! She does cleaning, laundry, shopping, cooking, etc. all for $20/per day. She also has four kids and rides a bus for 1 hour to get here and then walks from the bus stop to our house for another 30 minutes. I pick her up or drop her off at the bus stop whenever I can. Dominic then comes home from fishing and jumps in the pool, eats lunch, and heads back to school by 12:50 for his last two classes (math and science). Zack and Will both have PE today. After school the big boys take the bus over to the north campus and play basketball in the gym from 3-5:00, William does ballet from 3-4:00 in the outdoor palapa while Marissa assists the ballet teacher, then Marissa does her dance class (part Pilate's, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, etc.) from 4-5:00 while Will plays on the playground...and if it rains in the afternoon William is known for running in the rain during this time and many a Tuesday I have taken him home sopping wet and happy as a clam.

William and Marissa in ballet class....

The Gamefisher II is on the right (Dominic is on board doing maintenance)...

Wednesday...school from 8:00-3:00...Zack, Dominic and Marissa all have PE today and I meet with Dominic from 1:30-3:00 for LEEP then the big boys take the bus over after school and work out again while Marissa has her gymnastics class and then BATON twirling class. Can't believe that we came all the way to Costa Rica to find a baton twirling class!!...she is soooo happy about this. The gal who teaches the class was a majorette at Southern Georgia where it is still really big. William has started having play dates on this day as he does not have an after school activity.

Marissa and Sienna practicing tossing and catching their batons

Sienna and Marissa twirling!

Marissa twirling away.....

Thursday...school from 8:00-3:00...on this day Dominic and William have PE. I mention these days cause the kids have to remember to bring their gym shoes (if they don't already have them on) and their PE shirt or uniforms. The two little ones wear a PE shirt only (green t-shirt with school logo) and the big boys also have black shorts with school logo. The south campus (or colegio/high school) has showers for after PE as the kids are generally soaked with sweat from hiking, running in the hills, soccer, etc. The teachers were much appreciative of this addition this year as no one wants to have teenagers in their classroom after PE without showers! I do yoga again this day from 9-10:30am and Argentina comes to help and cook again. She makes the house smell soooo good in the afternoons. After school, the big boys again take the bus over to the north campus where they have indoor soccer from 3-5 in the gym, William has Hip Hop class from 3-4 in the palapa while Marissa attends homework club with her teacher, then her dance class again from 4-5:00.

William (in back in green shirt) hip hopping away....

The gym where the kids have PE or after school activities....

Zack (in green shirt under net second from left), Dominic (with shooting sleeve on) and friends playing basketball....

Friday...On this day Zack and Marissa have PE (each kid has it 3 times per week) and both little kids have library this day (remember to bring library books back!). They both have to check out a Spanish and an English book each week and are asked to alternate between the books each night. Mostly we have been reading Dr. Seuss books in Spanish...kinda fun! Dominic gets out at noon on this day and he is either on the fishing boat making repairs or we work on his blog. He is keeping a blog of his LEEP internship to keep track and document his experiences...

(www.dominicscostaricanleep.blogspot.com)

This helps with his monthly check-in with his advisor and the monthly presentation he makes to his peer LEEP group. LEEP stands for Lifelong Educational Experiential Program. We decided to name his blog "Dominic's LEEP thru the Oceans of Costa Rica". After school, the big boys usually scatter to friends houses while Marissa and William have been attending a fantastic 2 hour art class. They have painted on canvas, done paper mache, painted picture frames and made tissue flowers so far. I am sure that some of you will end up with one of these projects as a holiday or birthday present (that is, if you come down to visit...no bribery intended!).

Saturday and Sunday...I have to say that these two days have become our favorite days because for the first time since we can remember, we have no games, no practices, no recitals, no rehearsals, etc. on the weekends. This is our time to explore, be lazy, go to the beach, go swimming, etc. So incredibly nice to be able to choose what we want to do and not have it chosen for us. I would say that going to Lola's or Tamarindo/Nogui's restaurant are our current favorite things to do on the weekend.