Oh the Tribulations

It was truly a joyful moment to see Alena, Kayla, and Eva through through the glass door at the airport about 10 days ago. We have experienced much since then and much time has been spent just "getting settled". Mandarins from the backyard is a novelty that has not worn off yet for me. Tomorrow we finally get to go to the beach. I have been promising we would sooner but the car blew up on top of a very steep mountain and it is now at a mechanic about an hour away getting the engine rebuilt. Did you know that some mechanics here are apt to using a carpenters framing hammer on the drive shaft if they feel it is called for? Yes, its true, and we now have a new drive shaft because of it. We should have just committed to buses, it really would have been easier, never to late.

The rainy season "officially" ends in mid November though we are living in a new climate on planet earth and there is no official anything in term of weather is there? It has rained about every day though sporadically and this is really not all that bad of a thing though we are on a steep learning curve when it comes to using a semi automatic washing machine and drying all your clothes on a line when it is always raining. I am accutely aware of how much simple knowledge has been lost through the last century of technological advancement. I yurn to be a bit more independant of technology and I also yurn for dry clothes that dont smell of mildew.

Ants are lovely but they bite and they are everywhere here. I love the geckos that walk on walls and ceilings as if gravity just simply does not apply to them. I wish they were big enough to eat the cochroaches that think our house is the local cockroach community center. Do I sound negative? truly I dig it here. Today was just a doozy.

In more exciting news... We have a new addition to our family; Luka, a sweet little spaniel mutt like adorable foster dog. She is actually our friends mother's dog and the girls are in love with her. My oldest daughter hates me today and I still still love her though I have been looking for boarding schools in India that perhaps she could hang out at for a while....Anyone know of a recipe to clear up teenage-hatred-of-parent-syndrome? Mostly the girls have been awesome and getting along with each other without much of what they are used to. It is one thing to uproot yourself when you think being out of the pot is fun and exciting though it is another thing when you are uprooting you and a few other little sprouts. Did you know little sprouts can bite?

Eva had a full day hangin out with a new friend the other day at her new friend's house and Kayla has met a few girls her age though mostly she is keeping herself occupied with reading and music and playing with Luka. Kayla has been an amazing help in translating in sticky situations. She was right there when the car was on the lift in the shop talking about transmissions and pistons and how Korean cars are just not all that great. Alena is doing pretty great as well with Spanish though alot can be lost in the small spaces between the lines.

I am getting busier and more involved in the behind the scenes with getting the Osa Mountain Village project off the ground. The idea is to create a playground for sustainable technologies, food production, energy use, and a village where waste is just not part of the equation. We have a long way to go! I am meeting with surveyors, engineers, lawyers, geoligists, hydroligists, permaculture experts, and going for the ever elusive SETENA permit approval. As of yet, it feels like trying to put together a 5000 piece puzzle with 15 pieces and no finished picture to look at. The permit process can take anywhere from 6 months to multiple years if things go haywire. I am wondering just how amazing and how easy this could be? Best not think too hard on that.