One of our favorite (among many) things about Costa Rica is our swimming pool. We spent some time here this afternoon:
There have been many highlights of the past couple weeks. The first one is for Meredith: remember in San Diego how we liked to say hello to people on the street, make up fake names for them (e.g., "Hey Jimmy!") and get them to talk to us? (Real mature, I know.) Turns out that in Escazu this is a common practice. I just thought that this was a small town and that everyone thus knows one another and says hello at every stop sign. That is, until today... I was driving around with a maintenance guy from work and, as always, he was saying hello, beeping the horn and waving to several people as we drove by. He hollered out, "Muy buenas, Zorro, como estas?" I looked at him and asked if that man's name really was Zorro. Then he explained that in Escazu, you can say hello to anyone on the street, make up a name for them, even ask about their family, and they will not only answer you with a huge smile, but also, in turn ask about you and your family. We proceeded to do just that for the next 15 minutes back and forth from the windows of the car giggling, smiling and living the Pura Vida.
This next highlight is for my dad, in spirit at least since he doesn't read this: we were invited to lunch at a high ranking official's home last week with about 10 other folks. Everyone dressed up and were on their best, polite behavior. There was a bucket of beer that no one even touched because we were all being so proper. (Everyone: Me? Beer? At Noon? Of course not!) The official tried to lighten up the mood and so we started playing games, turned on some music and made polite conversations. All the sudden I realized that we were listening to Jimmy Buffet. Nice! The next moment I realized that not only were we listening to the Parrotheads but that the song was "Why don't we get drunk, and screw". I turned to Cyn, (who had no idea) and declared that we were experiencing my favorite moment since arriving to CR. She looked surprised and a little proud, I imagine since I usually don't enjoy those types of occasions too much, then she glanced at my beverage. Lemonade only, like I said.
Last weekend, speaking of beverages, we were invited to a party at a friend's home. It was wonderful: beautiful home, delicious food, great company and...tequila shots. Not just any tequila either - the good stuff. The kind that you don't need a lemon after because it tastes so good. Needless to say, I enjoyed this very much. Cyn got to show off her dance moves, we did the Cuban Shuffle (friend: why is everyone line dancing all the sudden?), watched some very impressive father-daughter salsa dancing and managed to stay up past our usual 9pm bedtime. Might as well make the assimilation splash quickly instead of drawing it out.
Tonight we will go out with some family that Cyn didn't know she has that live in CR. Impressive, no? But first they want to come over and see our house. Entonces, I will get to cleaning right away, make sure the orchids are watered ($7 btw) and wash the fruit for after dinner. We are truly living the good life.
