12 February, 2003
Before we begin,
we'd like to welcome Larry Jensen to the Life in Punta Uva website
audience/mailing list. Larry was Manuel's 10th grade English teacher
at Farragut Academy and they have recently come into contact after
many, many years. The pressure is on to apply my grammar and writing
skills! Welcome Larry - we look forward to your visit in the near
future!
ps: Bring the Chemistry teacher with you!!!
It is taking shape!
Construction
on the house is...moving right along. This past month, we got
the main roof on and most of the second floor built. There are
still 2 (and perhaps 4) roofs to install, but the main one is
up...and functional! We are no longer victims to the sporadic
rainy weather - thus allowing the builders less excuses about
rain delaying their work although we have been blessed with nearly
perfect weather for several weeks now. The secondary roofs will
go over the kitchen/bodega and the office.
We
are presently working on the ground floor, putting up the walls
for the kitchen, bodega and office. At the same time, all the
wiring and plumbing is being put in place throughout the entire
house. The walls are made of styrofoam! Yes! You've been hearing
about it for years, and now you actually know someone one is using
this new alternative building material! The styrofoam is a temperature
and sound insulator, but more importantly, seismic proof. So far,
it appears relatively easy to install. It comes in sheets of 1
x 2 meters and is about 2 inches thick. Around each sheet is a
metal grid enclosing the styrofoam. This grid is also used to
'grab' the coat of cement (~5cm each side) that will be placed
over the Styrofoam After the cement, we will put on a thin final
coat of colored textured cement. Paint does not do very well here
- so the alternative is to premix the desired color into the cement.
The
expected completion date is moving further away with time. We
are now hoping for a May finish...but we are in Costa Rica...and
everything takes time!
View
previous construction update / pictures
Maya with her friends in Miami
In
January, the whole family made a trip to Miami for a 'break'!
Manuel actually worked 99% of the time (almost literally), but
Maya and Emmanuelle visited with friends and enjoyed the 'vacation'.
Many
thanks to our many hosts - Nia/Jonathan, Thierry/Kareen, and Scott/Fernando.
Yes, we hopped houses. Of course, the happiest person of all was
Maya - who played endlessly with her friends Morgan, Jake, Charles
and Belen.
As
odd as this may sound, the most satisfying thing about going to
Miami (as wonderful a city as it may be), is returning to Costa
Rica - realizing why we moved here in the first place! One quickly
forgets how wonderful something may be - until you no longer have
it. Well part of the secret of living in paradise -and appreciating
it - is to get out once in a while!!!
Get away in San Jose.
Further exercising the wisdom of the above statement, Emmanuelle
and Manuel took a brief 2 day 'work' trip to San Jose this past
week. Maya stayed behind with her Papi Christian. A trip to San
Jose is not something we wake up to every morning and tell ourselves
"Geez, I wish I could go to San Jose today!" San Jose
is a typical Central American city - noisy, dirty, traffic, pollution
and lacking in architectural beauty. However, once you get to
know it more and more, it's not that bad (I'm still trying to
be optimistic!).
On
this trip, we stayed at Hotel ABC in the center of town ($15/night
- and no thrills) and from there ran a long list of errands to
accomplish. We discovered an Office Depot, became members at Pricesmart,
registered our vehicles for 2003, went banking, found appliances
for the house and tried to get a cell phone (still unsuccessful).
Nicolas, our architect/builder/friend met us in San Jose and assisted
us in finding things for the house, including tiles for the living
room, bathrooms and kitchen. But the most important accomplishment
of the trip was going to see the new James Bond - Die Another
Day - all movies are played in their original language and then
subtitled - YEAH!!!
Maya
begins school
School year starts next week. Maya will be going to
her new school beginning next week. The school is just walking
distance from the house we are renting! She will have approximately
10 kids in her class - a mix of French, American, Italian, Spanish,
Swiss, German and Argentinean kids. The spoken language at school
is primarily Spanish - so Maya will suddenly be speaking a third
language (though she has already made significant progress on
her own). The system of education is based on the Waldorf-Steiner
system - which at her young age - may be good - any thoughts?
| Archived
Writings: |
| January
11, 2003 |
Happy
New Year
Tree Trimming
Waterfall Adventure
Beginnings of a Garden
OUI OUI Update
Moved Again |
| January
10, 2003 |
Construction
Full Speed Ahead |
| November
28, 2002 |
Maya's
Graduation Day |
| November
22, 2002 |
Jake
visits Maya |
| November
05, 2002 |
Well
Well Well - the well is well
We have a road - or does it have us?
Home construction begins
OUI OUI Update |
| October
30, 2002 |
Gisele
and Marlene's Vacation |
| October
4, 2002 |
Building
plans are in
Snake in the yard
OUI OUI Update
Welcome Christain
New Wheels
Manuel in Miami |
| September
21, 2002 |
The
trucks are rolling in
OUI OUI Update
Where's the water? |
| September
14, 2002 |
Bridge
is finished |
| September
7, 2002 |
Jeep
birthday
A
new Arrival
A
day on the waters
|
| September
4, 2002 |
The
NONI plant |
| September
1, 2002 |
August
in a Flash |
| August
10, 2002 |
Tornadoes and Earthquakes |
| July
11, 2002 |
The
Road Begins....and ends |
| July
9, 2002 |
The
Container |
| July
1, 2002 |
We
Made It |
| June
1, 2002 |
We're
Moving! |
|
