Teddy pictures at last!

I know, I know, it took me a while, but here are the pictures of what Teddy was up to at Establo San Rafael!

Teddy loves hammocks as much as I do

Teddy of course had to get in on the acrobatics.

But bears need a lot of rest in the shade in such hot climates...

Kind of cool by the pond, plus he could watch the fishes (he wasn't allowed to catch them though, much to his chagrin) 

Teddy liked the aerial silks as well.  Cameroun gave him some lessons.

I think he picked it up fairly well!

Teddy enjoyed finding little nooks and crannies to hang out in...

Teddy also spent time getting to know the other animals on the farm...

And more acrobatics to finish things up. he sure had a fun time with this place!  (I think he's enjoying being home in the colder weather though...)

"Home"

The whole time I was in Costa Rica, I talked with various people about the "culture shock" I was likely to go through when I got back home.  But to be honest, I had no idea what "culture shock" was.  I'm not sure I do, even now, when I would supposedly be going through it.  But, maybe I am going through it?  I don't know.  I think maybe the "culture shock" is just another way people talk about the fact that, rather than unadulterated joy about being home, when you come back from a trip like that, it actually entails a crazy muddled mix-up of emotions.
Or maybe, it just means the feeling that everything is... weird.  I can't put my finger on what exactly it *is* that is weird, other than... everything.  Which conflicts internally with the deep sense of familiarity of everything.
Some things I can pin down. 
All the usual sounds are gone.  Complain as I may have about the roosters and other birds, it was weird as fuck not to wake up with the jungle noises around me.  
People here throw their toilet paper in the toilet.  How weird is that? ;-)
My body is pretty convinced, despite the rain, that we've relocated to a dry desert land, and my nose and lips and eyes are suffering from the lack of humidity.
Seatbelts are once again the norm.

But, it is, I think, something deeper and more fundamental, and really a bit disturbing.  I want to be all bouncing and bubbly smiles about being home.... and I'm not.

Don't get me wrong, I'm *SO FUCKING HAPPY* to see the people I love again.  And my wonderful family at the PDC (my home) did an amazing job putting together my new room for me (art and books everywhere! :-D).  Jason made a fabulous welcome home dinner.  Sleeping next to a warm body again was sumptuous.

But.

I don't know.  Maybe culture shock is just when you're gone so long that "home" was where you were traveling, and real home, where you're coming back to, became the strange and exotic place.

Whatever it is, it really does cause a sort of brain numb shocked sensation.  It will be interesting to see how long this takes to pass....

Keep looking here for a few posts of shit tons of pictures (including Teddy's adventures at the ranch) now that I have reliable, fast internet again.

Surreal

Over the course of this trip, I’ve had a lot of different feelings about or dispositions towards home.  I’ve missed it, yearned for it, contemplated it, been proud of it.  It has seemed terribly distant, or right around the corner. It has at times even been frightening.

But sitting here in the kitchen at the ranch a mere two mornings before I will be on a plane for home it seems mainly… surreal.

I had a little bit of this sense when Kelly and I first arrived at the luxury resort where we spent her last night.  As I walked in the lobby I was actually slowed by a sense of un-reality.  Was this place where everything was shiny and clean and expensive looking really still in the country I’ve been in for three months?  It happened again when I went to the high-end mall with Cameroun.  No dirt, no bare feet, clean clothes, the Spanish equivalent to Muzak playing over the speakers…..

Weird.

And now I’m going back to a whole culture/world of “weird”.  I mean hell, I haven’t driven a vehicle in three months.  I haven’t woken up to an alarm in three months.  I haven’t used a dryer, or microwave in three months.  Most of the roads I’ve been on have been dirt, and everything has been at least a little bit dirty.  I haven’t lived with the consistent sounds of traffic, haven’t heard car alarms or sirens, haven’t shopped in a grocery store where you could get anything, haven’t seen a layer of smog hanging in the sky…

It’s gonna be weird.

I’m tremendously glad I’m headed home from the ranch, and not leaving directly from the first farm.  At least here I’ve been online consistently, and we’ve watched movies, and have some neighbors. I think if I’d gone home straight from the farm I’d have fainted from the culture shock of it all.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to go home.  Excited to see the people I love, excited not to be alone when I go to bed at night, excited to see the daffodils and all of spring, excited to have a wider variety of food choices, reliable internet, an income…

But it really seems quite a bit unreal still.  And, odd as this may sound, I’m going to miss the… inconvenience of many things.  If that makes any sense.

Only two more days…

Almost home

Things I will, and will not, miss about being in Costa Rica (an incomplete list).

I will miss:

• Almost never being cold
• The actually useful (if at times terrifying) bus system
• The beauty of the flora and fauna all around me (yes, home is gorgeous too, but it’s different)
• The ocean and it’s warmth
• The sunsets
• The brightness of the stars and moon (damn light pollution back home)
• The sense of life being more simple
• Not “working” (obviously I’ve worked hard, but not had a job in the traditional sense)
• The lack of commute
• Cameroun (little sister I never had)
• The whole family here at Establo San Rafael
• The tribe at VerdEnergia
• True community living
• Farm work
• The food
• My leg hair
• Any and every body of water being warm enough to enjoy comfortably
• Early to bed/early to rise being an acceptable norm
• The goats
• The sound of rain on tin roofs
• Not needing to know the date
• Waking up with no alarm, and only fullfilling things to do in a day
• Fresh juices from native fruits

 I will NOT miss:

• Roosters. OMFG the roosters
• Other loud ass birds at 5am (or 4am sometimes, damn things)
• Being able to tell when it hits 8am because I have started sweating
• Ants
• Ants
• Ants
• Also, Ants
• Chiggers
• Mosquitoes
• Ants
• The instability of internet access
• The inherent terror of being in a vehicle on the roads
• Hell, the roads themselves
• The fact that there is an epic hill between any point A and point B in this country
• The constant itching
• The swollen feet
• Giant spiders
• Cockroaches 
• The feeling of jeans when you've dried them on a line.  So.. crunchy!

TATTOO!!!

Of course the damn pictures loaded in the wrong order. *sigh* anyway, I have my tattoo!  I thought it was good luck when the artist I found was named Jeremy, like my artist back home.  And the shop looked good, and was good!  The tattoo took about 2 hours, and was painful as all get out, but I love the results!  What do people think?

That's right, Beach!

So, last night at the farm, Kelly and I were chatting with a couple of folks, and mentioned that we were heading to the beach this weekend.  Their eyes got big, they gave each other a significant look, and they asked "...You have a reservation then?".  Kelly and I then gave each other a look before I said "...No....".  See, I had never needed one before where we were going.  The people we were talking to went on to explain that this weekend is, like, memorial day, or fourth or July at home.  A huge national holiday.  Apparently they had tried to get a room at the beach (different towns though) and had called 18 places and not found a single place with a room.  Kelly and I gulped a little and said "well.... We'll figure something out!"

This morning started off in an irritating and amusing fashion.  At 4:30am, the grass chopper in the barn that my room shares a wall with started going.  Kelly and I woke up with a groan and a Why The Fuck Is That Going At This Hour??!?.  A few minutes later, Abel knocks on our door and says "It is 5:30, I don't know if you know, you might want to be getting ready..." and we both say "Noooo.... it isn't 5:30.  It is 4:30."  "Oh, is it?  My watch is wrong..."
*grumble grumble*
I don't think either of us got back to sleep.  Still can't figure how he thought is was 5:30, since it was still dark and the sun is peeking over the horizon by 5:30...

Anyway, the "fun" continued when we pulled up to our bus stop.  Abel quirried the woman standing there to make sure it was the right bus stop.... only to learn that the bus had already come and gone... more than 20 minutes early. O_O
Another truck pulled up and got the same information right about then, and we all tore off down the bus route.  It was.... exciting.  I think Kelly nearly wet herself around a few of those turns.  But!  About 10 minutes down the road we caught the damn thing, and boarded.

3.5ish hours of bumps and squeaks and dust and Kelly's back killing her later, we boarded our second bus.  There, an ex pat basically repeated the act of being very dubious of our chances of finding a room.  At this point Kelly and I were thinking we might be camping, or having to bus on to another city or the like.

Finally, round about 1:30, we get off the bus in Domincal.  Fingers crossed and hope in our hearts, we approached the peeps at my favorite hostel.  They beamed to see me return, and handed us a key.

Ha!

The rest of the afternoon has been spent with drinks, waves, and hammock naps.  :-)  Gonna be a good couple of days.

My sister is coming! My sister is coming!

My sister arrives for her visit tomorrow, and I am just so very excited!  Washing all my clothes, and the sheets and sweeping the room in preparation.  Making plans, and looking forward to showing someone I know a small taste of what I have experienced here.  I realized how much I am looking forward to one on one time with my sister, which has been scarce for a few years (yep, twins, I'm looking at you. Lol) but also just how much I'm looking forward to seeing someone I know, something from home.  I am feeling ready to start wrapping up this grand adventure. :-)
Can't wait to see my sis and show her the sights!!

Chocolate and flat tires...

Yesterday was exciting!  We went on a planned outing to a chocolate factory about two hours from the ranch.  Had to shove 6 people in a car meant for 5 at most (called a "galloper", not sure what brand), and two of then were youngins, so that was interesting.  The tour at the "factory" (it's a very small scale operation, family run) was fun and interesting.  Got to eat the cacao fruit again, which rocked (even got to take one back with me!) and see each step in the process, from the fermentation, to the drying, roasting, shelling, grinding, and making into the chocolates.  Also, there was a litter of puppies, which added to the whole event a ton of cute.  Bought some goodies to bring home, and got to taste a bunch.  It is weird to me, back home I don't like dark chocolate, but this stuff is dark as you can get about, and I love it. /shrug.
The exciting part came on the drive home when, about 15 minutes away from the factory, we blew our back tire.  And had no spare.  And the last bus had already passed.  A car stopped and tried to lend us their spare, but it wouldn't work.  We were all eyeing the trees to spot good sleeping locations when it turned out a friend of Abel's was in the nearby town and returning to Puriscal and was willing to give everyone but Abel (who needed to stay with the car, and wouldn't have fit anyway) a ride back.  So we all pile in.  We get to stop at a restaurant with a lovely view of the sunset, which was nice, and suddenly we all see Abel fly past us! Apparently he found someone to lend him a spare, and he got it wrong where we were waiting. So!  We all pile back into the friend's car, and speed home.
Oh, I suppose I should mention that the friend only spoke Spanish, and apparently had a big ol' crush on yours truly.  He nicknamed me "Linda" which means beautiful, and was fond of furtively touching my leg as we drove.  Oh, and he had two beers over the course of the trip.
Like I said, yesterday was exciting. Lol
Now for pictures!

Tour guide guy about to cut open the cacao fruit.

Cut open.  Looks gross, eh?  Tastes wonderful!

Shelling some freshly roasted beans.

Can't get enough of the sunsets in this country.

Puppy!  All I could do not to smuggle this guy home.

More sunset. :-)

Hey, me and the sunset!

Trapiche trip!

Ok, so this is something I am so glad I went to.  Rather near the farm here, there is a Trapiche.  It is the name for the places that make a local kind/form of sugar called "tapa dulce".  It is similar to brown sugar in taste and color, but they make it into hard, conical, flat topped... things (you'll see in the pictures below) and it gets grated or shaved off with a knife blade for use (or sometimes dropped whole into a pitcher for tea or lemonade).  I got to watch the whole process, from pressing the cane, to heating the water (also got to try the fresh cane juice.  Looked gross, tasted AMAZING!)
Mostly I'll let the pictures speak for me, but I will say OSHA does not exist here; there were no gloves, or hair nets, or safety glasses.  It is a family industry and the brothers sure know their work.  Fun to watched people so practiced at an activity.  And the fires!  Wow!  Anyway, pictures now...

One of the brothers in front of a full table of the finished product, Tapa Dulce.  I loved his hat so much, I went out and bought one. :-)

Boiling vat of sugar!  This one was almost ready to be cooled and poured into the molds.  Looks much less... molten when they first put it in the vat.

Rays of light.  Just cool looking.

Fires!  The cane fed fires burned incredibly hot.

The cane juice.  Told you it looked gross.

I may like fire.

A lot.

I didn't realize how silly my hair looked until later...

Finishing filling the molds.

Pressing the cane.

Stirring the pot.

The circus act progresses

So, Cameroun and I are continuing to practice our various balance feats and acrobatics.  Today was especially fruitful, because we got some time in the river, where it was safer to practice, since falling wasn't going to be injurious.  Her part is the more spectacular, of course, but I swear mine is difficult!  :-P
So, I clearly need a performance name, and we need an act name!  Suggestions?
Here are a couple of pictures from today. :-)

We can actually do a lot out of the water too, but practicing the one footed stuff and the front slips felt safer in the water.

Impending changes

Well, as much as I don't want it to be true, I think that I may have to admit that it seems very probable that diet is at least in part responsible for one of the plagues of my existence: headaches.  At the other farm, where my diet was exceedingly different from home, I went almost a whole month without any headaches (excepting a couple I could directly attribute to dehydration).  Now that I am at the new ranch, and I'm eating fairly similar fare to home, the headaches have been back in force.  Since I am still away from (most) of the stresses of home, and the physical environment is nearly the same, I think the diet change is the most likely culprit.

So.

When I go home, it is my goal to mostly if not entirely quit the following:

Caffeine

Gluten

White sugar (probably corn syrup too)

Preservatives


Boo!  Despite the fact that I loved the food at the farm, and never really felt like it was lacking (though it had basically none of these) I somehow feel my life at home will be sadly devoid of goodness without these things. ;-)

We'll see how well I manage.  Easy to "avoid" such things when they are no where in evidence, but when I'm surrounded by them on all sides, I suspect it will be more difficult.

My blond was showing...

Abel, the gentleman at this ranch, has a penchant for refilling just about any empty jar or bottle with water and putting them in the fridge or freezer so we can have cold water.  Clearly, I was not keeping this well enough in mind last night.  I went to go make my favorite drink that I've found here, which is just the local booze called Guaro and coconut cream.  I knew my coconut cream was in the fridge, and as I was rooting around for it, I saw my Guaro in there as well.  I thought "Perfect!  Since there's no ice right now, it is even better if both ingredients are cold" and I poured myself a drink.  After I poured in the Guaro, I saw *my* bottle of Guaro on the counter, and felt guilty thinking "Oh no!  I've gone and used someone else's Guaro!  Ooops."
I'm sure you see where this is going...
But, despite thinking the drink tasted awfully weak a few times last night, it wasn't until I saw the Guaro bottle this morning, now in the freezer, that I put it all together and realized I had just made myself watered down coconut cream... and felt guilty about it.
Ha!

Construction day at the farm

Having fun with a couple of construction projects on the farm today.  Cameroun and I scouted out a nice piece of wood and cut it into pieces so we can paint them for dressage letters for the ring.  And we also fixed the very broken door to the hay barn. :-)  Feeling nice and productive. (Now we're having to wait for the next trip into town so we can get paint).  Here are a couple of pictures of me with the circular saw.  Not actually sure I've used one before today...  I've got to say, a lot of what I've done on this trip has helped me to tone down my meticulous, perfectionist tendencies... I've had to to stay sane! :-)
(And, of course I am in a dress!)

If I had all the money...

The weekend I get home, one of the days would go like this:

Wake up in the morning and head to the spa, for a body scrub, body moisturizing, and a massage.
From there, go to Gene Juarez to get my hair and make up done.
On to dinner someplace nice that I love, maybe SeaStar, or Cutters, or the Salish...
Finish the evening off by checking into a fabulous hotel with a giant tub in the room and a wonderful bed with sumptuous sheets...

Anyone want to help make my dream come true? ;-)

In reality though, seeing my friends and family, getting the hugs and kisses and cuddles... That will be a welcome fit for a queen. :-)

Birthday away from home.

So, this was the first birthday of my life where I haven't been with my friends and family.  Made me a little homesick, to be sure.  But the family here at the farm helped to ameliorate my heartache by making it a pretty nifty day.  Cameroun, the 14 year old gal here, made me waffles for breakfast, and then slaved away all day making and decorating an apple spice cake for me (she even made the applesauce from scratch for it!).  It ended up being beautiful and delicious.  :-)  They even bought me a couple of small gifts; a cute pair of earrings, and a nifty key chain.  I got to enjoy an adult beverage, and there was mac and cheese with broccoli for dinner.  All around, I felt welcomed and loved.  It was lovely.

Drink, Cake, and Gifts.  Who could ask for anything more?

Such a pretty cake!