We won't have snow this Christmas, but we will have morning glories! With the coming of summer, these gorgeous wild vines and flowers of just about every color are in full bloom. I'll take that over snow any year.
As I think about celebrating Christmas in a new country this year, I'm also thinking about how tough our immigrating ancestors had it, especially during the holidays. To be sure, we’ve had our fair share of speed bumps (and pot holes) getting settled here, but thanks to technology, we have been spared the heart-wrenching need to break virtually all ties with our past to do it.
Lucky for us, it’s a different world now.
The Internet makes managing the practical side of life - managing our finances and renting out our home 2,000 miles away - a piece of cake.
It's an important tool for finding answers that make the adjustment more manageable. We use it to help us improve our Spanish skills (a word I use loosely), to learn local recipes and answer questions about Costa Rican culture and traditions. More than ever, Google has become one of my closest friends.
On a personal level, the Internet provides a window we can look through to ‘see’ that our kids, grandkids, and friends are okay and busy with their lives. We see photos of birthday parties, school dances, slumber parties (called sleepovers, these days), Christmas-tree shopping, first snows, and trees down -- and sometimes even what’s for dinner. We get news about new jobs, promotions, golf scores, missing kitties and trips to the dog park.
Skype let us talk face-to-face.
By contrast, when my great-great grandfather came to America from Germany in about 1850, I’m sure he was lucky to get a letter from ‘home’ once or twice a year – if ever. What courage he and all the others like him had!
These are the thoughts that run through my mind just about every morning, when I reach for my computer over the my first cup of coffee and take a peek into life ‘back home’ and reassure my heart that all is well with the people I love.
Likewise, technology lets me share our experiences with all of you. Through Facebook, email, and this blog we can report on close encounters of the creepy-crawly type and … Oh yes! That’s what I’m supposed to be talking about. Creepy crawlies.
Here's a photo of the coral snake that got ticked off when a little grass-cutting in the front yard disturbed him.
After we snapped a few pictures of him, Vic carefully transported him (on the tines of a leaf rake) to the forest while I used Google to confirm his identity – and learn that coral snakes are indeed quite poisonous, but rarely bite humans. Their mouths are too small and, theoretically, the smart ones realize that they need to save their venom for prey they can actually eat. The question is, of course, is it possible to tell if you’ve encountered a smart one if you take a really close look?
That was on a Saturday. The next day, Vic walked into a large spider web. Although he didn’t feel anything bite him, within minutes his lips began to swell. Then his cheeks. Not knowing how bad it might get, we prepared to leave for the emergency room in San Ramon, but decided to call a friend first to find out if there was an alternative to spending the day in the ER waiting room. Together we decided that the ER was probably over-kill, as there are no truly deadly spiders in Costa Rica, and a trip to the pharmacy (farmacía) doctor made a lot more sense.
Yes, pharmacy doctor. Just one more difference between the U.S. and Costa Rica. Most medications are available here without a prescription; antibiotics, narcotics and a few other meds that require medical supervision, being the exceptions. To help consumers make smart medical decision, all farmacías are required to have a doctor on duty during business hours. And most farmacías are open on Sunday.
So off to the doctor we went. A half hour later we paid our bill: $8 for a topical antihistamine. No charge for the doctor, whose services are considered overhead for the farmacía.
Within 24 hours, he was back to normal with a new story to tell. Have I mentioned lately just how much we love our new home - spiders, snakes, morning glories, and all?
Pura Vida
