Establo san Rafael

As for some reason early rising has not been coming as easily to me the last few days, and it has scarcely turned 6am, this is perhaps not the best of times to be trying to write a coherent blog post, but, you know, I have the time, and not much else to do while I drink my tea, so, why not?

At this point in time, the most I can give is first impressions of the new place (Establo San Rafael) as I’ve only been here one full day, and a goodly portion of that was spent in town seeing the doctor, and the most of the rest of the day half comatose on my bed watching a couple of movies.  I’m sure I’ll have a lot more to write about in days come, as I see more of the farm, meet the animals more intimately, get to learning my chores, etc.

Lets see.  There are far more animals here, of farm more sorts, than at VerdEnergia.  I’m sure I’ll miss some (and I’ve no idea the exact numbers of some) but here goes.

There’s:

A guinea pig

A toucan

A dove

2 geese

2 goats

3 dogs

3 roosters

4 cats

9 horses

Some number of rabbits

Some number of chickens

And some fish

First impression of the animals is most of them seem healthy, and nice enough, especially the horses.  The geese scare me a little, and the roosters… oh lordy.  Their internal alarm is set much earlier than the one’s on the farm.  It is not even 6:30, and they have been crowing for about an hour and a half, and quite loudly.  Not really ever going to have an issue with over sleeping here….

The toucan is pretty raucous in the morning as well as the geese… and then there are one or two wild birds that set up right outside my room that make a prodigious amount of noise.  Basically, dawn around here is heralded with about as much noise as an orchestra tuning for a performance. Lol (though somehow the people who live here sleep through it.  Amazing…)

The place and the schedule etc is a lot more laid back than at VerdEnergia.  Meals don’t run on a schedule, and are more often than not a sort of “make yourself at home and take what you want” kind of thing. Chores, though I haven’t gotten to do any yet, also seem to happen in a more organic and less scheduled fashion.

In a lot of ways, this place more resembles an American home.  There is a TV, and they have a ton of movies (and a portable player I can take to my room, which is fun).  The gas stove actually lights itself, rather than needing a hand held lighter to get it going.  There are things like poptarts and oreos in evidence.  Some things are the tico standard.  Cold showers.  One of the toilets doesn’t flush on it’s own, you have to dump a big bowl of water into it to make it go, and you certainly never flush toilet paper.

The cast of characters here is much smaller (especially since there are no clients right now, and won’t be for about a week).

Brenda: She was my contact for this whole adventure originally, and was also the one who put me in touch with VerdEnergia.  She is the mother figure, and the one in charge of me and the clients etc. She seems very laid back, has a good sense of humor, and obviously simply adores animals.  Most of the ones here are ones she has rescued. J On an amusing note, Brenda has been here 8 years, and still doesn’t speak Spanish.  Cracks me up.

Abel (I may be spelling this wrong): He is Brenda’s boyfriend of the last 8 years.  He is one of the few black ticos I’ve seen since being in this country.  Actually, he’s one of the only black people I’ve seen period.  There just aren’t many about.  His English is only so-so, so we haven’t done a ton of talking, but he is very nice, cooks very well, and I’m hoping he will help me improve my Spanish. J

Cameron: Cameron is Brenda’s 14-year-old daughter.  She’s home-schooled (And always has been) so she’s always about.  Bi-lingual (unlike her mom), and very nice and helpful, helping me translate with other members of the house (who I’ll mention next) and very into dancing. J

Santi (or Santiago): He is Abel’s 8-year-old grandson.  He basically only speaks Spanish, so we haven’t done too much communicating.  But he is obviously a veritable ball of energy, and certainly livens the place up.  Cameron is kind enough to translate between the two of us now and then.

Gracia: She is Abel’s daughter.  Don’t currently know how old she is, but she and Santi (who is her son) both live here.  She is a nurse.  Unfortunately, she was out of the house the whole day yesterday, so I don’t know much else about her or her personality as of yet.

Everyone has been very solicitous of me in my painful condition, and are encouraging me to take it easy until I’m feeling better.  It will be a very different life than on the farm at VerdEnergia, but I’m looking forward to learning the ins and outs of it, and getting settled in.

Pictures of the grounds, the animals (hopefully with names attached to most of them), and possibly the people to come soon.  I should note, not often is there internet available here, so emails and blog posts may be less frequent.