I’m Looking Forward To…

With just over a week left in Costa Rica, I can’t help but dream of all of the conveniences awaiting me back in Michigan.  In the same vein as Todd’s last post, here’s a list of what I’m most looking forward to:

1 – A Washer AND Dryer: While Todd and I had a fully functional washing machine for our first month in Potrero, we had to line dry our clothes.  Since it’s hot here, that’s not so bad until you notice that your clothes are stretched out in strange shapes and some of your t-shirts are lopsided.  For once in my life, I’m looking forward to laundry.

2- Meijer (or any other fully stocked grocery store): The Super Ceimy and Super Catalina have served us well but I can’t wait to have a limitless supply of fruits and vegetables and more feasible dinner options than just pasta, tortillas with beans and a smattering of veggies or mac ‘n cheese.

3 – A Grill: Thinking of grilled chicken, burgers, grilled pizza and vegetables, heck, even hot dogs is making my mouth water.  Oh, I can’t wait!

4 – Food: I could write a whole post on the foods I can’t wait to eat but I’ll spare you.  I’m most looking forward to good cheese (sharp white cheddar, I’ve missed you!), fresh, quality produce (food standards aren’t that high here) and restaurants with menus different that all of the other restaurants in town.

5 – Friends and Family: Two months is a long time to go without seeing the people you love.  I’m ready.

6 – Wedding Planning: It’s been so hard to be engaged for five weeks without being able to really start planning our wedding.  It will be great to be able to do more than surf the internet looking for ideas.  I also can’t wait to spend time with my mom and sister planning the wedding instead and getting their advice instead of just emailing them constantly with questions and ideas.

7 – Home: I can’t wait to just be home.  For the past two months we haven’t slept in the same place for more than 5 consecutive days.  Living out of luggage can only be enjoyed for so long.

8 – Driving: Oh to have a car again!  There is such freedom in being able to get around easily without buses or car rentals.  Added bonus – the paved roads.

9 – Things to Do: Having nothing to do all the time is overrated.  Granted, we have our volunteering time but the rest of the day we have all the freedom in the world to just relax, go to the beach or read.  The problem is that without the limitations of productivity, relaxing can get quite boring.  Having to go back to work, people to see and errands to do will be a nice vacation from perpetual relaxation.

I’m really going to miss Costa Rica too though.

The Latest and Greatest

I’m afraid that every blog post from now on will be a letdown since the last two were so exciting. It’s been a week since our engagement so far and it has been a pretty crazy and fun week. Here’s what we’ve been up to.

• Wedding Planning – Oh my goodness, there is A LOT to think about. There are so many options and I could definitely make it my full-time job to sift through all of the information that’s out there. Just putting together a guest list seems like an enormous task! At least it’s an exciting “job” to have to do; I’m enjoying every minute of it.
• Painting – On Thursday we helped paint the Salon Comunal. A group of volunteers came to Potrero to help Abriendo Mentes spruce up the Salon. When I commented to one volunteer that the rain poncho she was wearing was a great idea, she told me that she hadn’t brought painting clothes. I thought to myself, “Well, isn’t that silly.” But then she went on to tell me that she had assumed that painting meant painting pictures with the children. Turns out she wasn’t the only one, somewhere in the long line of middle men between Abriendo Mentes and the volunteers, someone forgot to mention that they were painting a large community room with an organization that teaches children. Even though it was a surprise they were great sports and we got the job done quite quickly.
• Pam and Kevin – Perhaps the most fun and exciting news of the week is that Pam and Kevin have arrived! They got to Potrero on Wednesday afternoon and we’ve been having a great time showing them around town. They rented a car which has been great, we can easily go to the surrounding towns and beaches without having to plan ahead for the bus or taking an hour to walk there. We’ve been to Playa Penca, Playa Conchal, enjoyed some great meals around the area and tried to improve our Spades, Euchre and Hearts skills. It’s been so nice to have friends from back home in Potrero with us, we’re so glad they’re here!

We’re getting ready now to go to Rincon de la Vieja National Park for the weekend. We’re hoping to get some tubing, rappelling and hiking in and spend some time in the hot springs there. It should be a great time, we’re really looking forward to it.

The other thing filling up our time has been reading all of the congratulatory notes, emails and wall posts (We’re so modern!) that we’ve been getting. There has been such an outpouring and it’s great to know that we have such supportive friends and family. Even though we’re in Costa Rica, it’s felt like everyone is much closer and that in a way, we’ve already been celebrating with you all. It’s been really, really great so THANK YOU! We appreciate all of it, very much.