Another day in Costa Rica, by Jodi
Just dropped another $320 on the Galloper. The alternator was shot and the car just stopped working out of the blue yesterday. We had to push start it to get Tessa to school and then it died when I pulled back in the carport. On the way home, all the electrical components stopped working--everything on the dash, the turn signals, the windows, even the horn. We had to push start it again to pick up Tessa and then bagged taking Autumn and Jack in the afternoon since the car was so unreliable. Kevin drove it straight to the mechanic and left it there until they got it fixed. They also replaced the broken 4 by 4 part while it was there. Only thing is, the part the guy we bought it from sent is manual and the part on the other side that isn't broken is automatic. So, when we want to use the four wheel drive, we'll have to get out and manually engage one side, but the other side we'll be able to turn on inside the car.
We also need new shocks.
Kevin was pretty mad at the kid's school after trying to pick up Tessa yesterday. He went a little early since we didn't know if the car was going to get him there and we wanted time to call a taxi if we needed one. The guy that guards the gate pretended not to see him and walked away and there were a few teachers sitting just inside who also tried to ignore him. Ticos are a little passive aggressive and prefer to avoid you than confront you and tell you you're not supposed to pick your kids up early. But Kevin was trying to ask them to grab Tessa for him while still keeping his foot on the accelerator so the car wouldn't die and they kept ignoring him. He was really frustrated and was mumbling lots about pulling the kids out of school after that.
Sadie's on her second week in a row of no school. Apparently her teacher's arm is still too hurt to come to school. Maybe next week. Luckily, we've had a few Tico friends come over this week, so she's still getting some practice time in. My other kids are extremely jealous of her extended vacation.
I went for a sunset jog tonight since I'd slept in too late this morning to go before it got melt your face off hot. It was still hot, but better than any other time of day. However, I didn't realize how fast the sun would set and quickly realized I was doing a moonlit run instead...which would be fine if I'd chosen a populated, well lit location. But, I'd chosen a solitary dirt road by our house because I don't like being around people when I run. I was tripping over weeds and rocks and jumping every time something moved because I suddenly remembered I live in a jungle. Won't be doing that again.
Still love surfing. Kevin and I went for a couple of hours while Tessa was at school on Monday. My board got broken by the young men when Kevin took them out last Saturday, so it's in the shop. I used Kevin's and he used the kid's board, which, for both of us, was a lot more challenging. But, I got one really good run in amid a lot of crashes and getting pummeled by a lot of waves trying to swim out, so it was all worth it. :) Kevin and I watched a documentary yesterday about some famous family who had 9 kids and never sent them to school and lived in a camper and surfed everyday. It sounded pretty awesome until all the kids grew up and tried to support themselves and had no education or marketable skills other than surfing and it turned out the dad was a tyrant who they all hated in the end. They won a lot of surfing competitions, though.
We also need new shocks.
Kevin was pretty mad at the kid's school after trying to pick up Tessa yesterday. He went a little early since we didn't know if the car was going to get him there and we wanted time to call a taxi if we needed one. The guy that guards the gate pretended not to see him and walked away and there were a few teachers sitting just inside who also tried to ignore him. Ticos are a little passive aggressive and prefer to avoid you than confront you and tell you you're not supposed to pick your kids up early. But Kevin was trying to ask them to grab Tessa for him while still keeping his foot on the accelerator so the car wouldn't die and they kept ignoring him. He was really frustrated and was mumbling lots about pulling the kids out of school after that.
Sadie's on her second week in a row of no school. Apparently her teacher's arm is still too hurt to come to school. Maybe next week. Luckily, we've had a few Tico friends come over this week, so she's still getting some practice time in. My other kids are extremely jealous of her extended vacation.
I went for a sunset jog tonight since I'd slept in too late this morning to go before it got melt your face off hot. It was still hot, but better than any other time of day. However, I didn't realize how fast the sun would set and quickly realized I was doing a moonlit run instead...which would be fine if I'd chosen a populated, well lit location. But, I'd chosen a solitary dirt road by our house because I don't like being around people when I run. I was tripping over weeds and rocks and jumping every time something moved because I suddenly remembered I live in a jungle. Won't be doing that again.
Still love surfing. Kevin and I went for a couple of hours while Tessa was at school on Monday. My board got broken by the young men when Kevin took them out last Saturday, so it's in the shop. I used Kevin's and he used the kid's board, which, for both of us, was a lot more challenging. But, I got one really good run in amid a lot of crashes and getting pummeled by a lot of waves trying to swim out, so it was all worth it. :) Kevin and I watched a documentary yesterday about some famous family who had 9 kids and never sent them to school and lived in a camper and surfed everyday. It sounded pretty awesome until all the kids grew up and tried to support themselves and had no education or marketable skills other than surfing and it turned out the dad was a tyrant who they all hated in the end. They won a lot of surfing competitions, though.
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