We were confused ....

... but now I think we are not, maybe, I hope. Regarding our pensionado documentation, I originally thought we would have all our paperwork done by the Costa Rican Consulate in North Vancouver. But, part of that paperwork required that we have a lawyer in Costa Rica to advise us. So we now have our CR lawyer and he has looked over all our documents and pronounced them to be okay and advises us that all we have to do now is have them certified by the Consulate in N. Vcr. and then send the certified documents to him and he will deal with Immigration in CR. When we arrive there sometime in May, our lawyer will take us around and about to be fingerprinted, get driver's licenses, etc.

As marido pointed out twice today, WE ONLY HAVE SIX MONTHS!!!!!!  Yes, that is so.  Well, this last week I've found a lovely woman to take all my orchids - I cannot bring them with us because of agricultural restrictions - so that is a step forward. Next step: putting our furniture on CraigsList.

A Good Website and More Spanish Lessons

Here is a really good website to check out if you are considering moving to Costa Rica: www.boomersoffshore.com. You will meet Fran and Andy Browne, who moved from the U.S. to Costa Rica almost two years ago. They have chronicled their experiences on video and through their newsletter. We've learned a lot from them - they tell it "like it is" and don't pull any punches. Every time I read their latest newsletter, I wish we were already down there.

We have two basic Spanish lessons under our respective belts - six more to go. A good friend gave me a complete set of Spanish language CD's and they are a great help in hearing how words are to be pronounced because I have the earphones in my ears. One problem I have in the classroom is hearing properly - obviously a distinct disadvantage when trying to learn a new language.

Me Llamo Diana y tu?

Went to our first Spanish Level 1 lesson last week and it was interesting and fun. Our maestra is a young mujer from Mexico. We learned some useful vocabulary words, masculine and feminine singular and plural definite articles, some indefinite articles, basic phrases (Hola! Como estas?) and learned the pronunciation of the Spanish alphabet (el alfabeto). We also practiced speaking with each other but, wow, is it difficult to translate what you are hearing and then formulate an answer - and we are talking about simple stuff here. Seven more weeks to go.

Marido (husband) Cleans Up His Stuff

Hubby was in the mood today to clean up some of his old things which meant dragging them out from wherever they were and depositing them in front of me. Said, "Here, you look after these."

Well, they are mementos of his Air Force days, and a few other things, so I'll keep them. As long as the cherished items are small and can lie flat in a suitcase or not take up much space in a small shipping container, they can come with us.

And so I have decreed.

How to Dispose of Books

We certainly don't want our cherished books to end up in the landfill but when you have boxes of them, what can you do? I discovered Reading Tree Books for Charity - www.readingtree.ca - where unwanted books will be given to schools, libraries and children all over the globe. Where we live, there are lots of bins to deposit the books in.

And that is what we did this morning - the first of several trips we'll be making. Poor marido (husband), he was making a valiant effort to toss his university math books in the bin but keep opening the pages and showing me charts and numbers and high level math stuff but a stern look from me put an end to that.

A good job done today and we can feel the bonds of possessions (that have been sitting in the garage for years) slipping from our shoulders.