~with love from the osa~

we've officially been here for over 21 days.  they say (on deepak chopra's 21 day meditation challenge) that it takes 21 day to fully change habits and adjust to a new lifestyle.  those 21 days have been a roller coaster, but i'm not feeling nauseous yet... i'm still hanging on.

speaking of nauseous, i REALLY wanted to blog about our trip to town a couple weekends ago.  (our internet has been down for a week or so).  it was truly amazing in so many ways.  the ride out here is super rough and really bumpy.  we caught the collectivo- which we mistakenly called called the "bus".  we waited for about 30 minutes, watching monkeys swinging up in the trees, when the "bus" showed up... it looked straight out of a mexican border-crossing movie drama.  big truck, two benches on either side, covered top...no frills.  i thought a lot about my mother and grandmother on that ride and how much they would've absolutely hated it.  i'm smiling now even as i write this.  so for the first half hour of the ride i was in good spirits~Amara was on my lap and thought all the crazy, flying-above-our-seat bumps were super fun.  but soon enough my motion-sensitive stomach began to settle in.  i was convinced that i was more than happy to get off and walk the 10 km to town, but patrick's better judgement (at the time i was definitely feeling worse judgement) encouraged me to stay on the ride.  so we did.  i really wanted to take a picture of the collectivo to post, but felt it was slightly inappropriate and didn't want to be an american jerk.
...we spent the afternoon wandering around pto. jimenez... i have to say that the highlight was a chocolate espresso frappachino i got at a sweet little coffee shop that i'd scoped out an hour after we arrived in town in early august.  patrick later told me he was surprised i'd ordered that and said, "i've always thought of you as more of a caffeine fiend than a sweet-coffee person", to which i replied, "what is it about chocolate ice cream and espresso that doesn't scream me??" patrick doesn't drink coffee, so we don't spend much time at the coffee shop at home together... i guess my mama's magic mochas are a little under the radar. 
here are amara and i on our way to the collectivo...

 we went on an epic hike last sunday.  it was the moment that i could breathe out.  i love going hiking on the ku nature trails at home, and really needed to connect with the forest.  don't get me wrong, the beach is absolutely phenomenally beautiful, but i'm a forest girl.  along the way, we hiked up a waterfall...

... up to another waterfall...

... and to the tree-climbing tree!  here's patrick swinging down.  i have yet to attempt it.  this is the rainforest tour that andy, the dad of the family we're living with, takes people on.  this is what he does for a living... best. job. ever. 

the one thing life here is short on is girlfriends.  not that i would EVER want any others than my girls at home, but there are a lot of dudes and not so many ladies (relatively speaking, of course~there aren't many people here).  i did get the opportunity to go to lapa rios for a delicious ginger-tini with terry (mama i'm working for/living with) and some other women who've been here for the month of august.  it was be-au-ti-ful.  i want to take patrick up there to get some video shots for his music... and get another ginger-tini:)

it's been kind of a challenge not having the internet for the past week, but in a way it has been really good for me to unplug and let go of kansas.

wishing you love and light as the leaves start to fall from the trees...

((hibiscus wool dye))

Gathering plant material for dyeing: Blossoms should be in full bloom, berries ripe and nuts mature. Remember, never gather more than 2/3 of a stand of anything in the wild when gathering plant stuff for dying.

To make the dye solution: Chop plant material into small pieces and place in a pot. Double the amount of water to plant material. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour. Strain. Now you can add your fabric to be dyed. For a stronger shade, allow material to soak in the dye overnight.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour.

Strain.

Now you can add your fabric to be dyed (in our case, wool). For a stronger shade, allow material to soak in the dye overnight.

Voila!

((from: http://www.pioneerthinking.com/crafts/crafts-basics/naturaldyes.html))

This was a super fun project that Talon loved.  We talked about sheep shearing and watched a video on youtube.  He had all kinds of questions... I assured him that the sheep remained alive and well after a seasonal shearing.  Then we walked around Sueno Verde and gathered hibiscus flowers from the numerous beautiful plants.  Check out the website above to see what's in your yard and kitchen that you can make a natural dye from!

{prairie girl in the tropics}

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we started school on monday and so far it's going well.  I'm still trying to find the right rhythm but am confident that i will.  all the kids i'm teaching are super sweet and live a simple and beautiful lifestyle here in matapalo.  one of the little girls' mamas did a foreign exchange program in high school and studied in... kansas.  at olathe east.  very close to where patrick and i grew up.  small world!

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i'm definitely missing home a little bit.  i miss my own community and have a new found appreciation for the 'independence' of lawrence.  granted, with that independence definitely comes more struggle and responsibility.  life here is much more interdependent and simple.  everyone in the community helps each other out.  we haven't been out of sueno verde much at all so we're planning a trip to town this weekend to get a little cultural exposure... and some random life supplies:)
i'm finding myself pining over seasonal changes and the festivities, traditions, and foods that accompany them.  one goal i had for this fall was to learn how to can veggies from our garden... but that'll have to wait until next year.  fall is my favorite season and i always find the change from summer to be such a relief. 

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here are some pictures from the last few days...

 delicious tamales hand made by a local family~such a treat!

 howler monkeys!

 p&a off to pan dulce~the swimming beach

 we said goodbye to our new friends, Jake and Akua, yesterday.  they are from the east coast.  we shared some stories, laughs, and beers with them...

Talon and Cayenne

 

{{some projects the kids have been working on}}

 

making butterflies out of seashells~activity for the letter 'b'

 

leaf prints

 

making candles from crayons

~maestra casa~

for the past few days we've been staying in the two-bedroom, two-bath, shared-kitchen, double-occupancy cabin.  which is pretty dang sweet.  a mama from austin, tx with 4 kids was staying in the teacher's cabin that we moved into today.  it is a great spot for us and definitely feels more like home.  Amara even has a little play kitchen here.

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Teresa just came by and asked us if we like tamales (yes!) and said a local family that makes them came by.   about an hour ago i was asked the couple that was sharing the double cabin with us (Jake and Akua... both super cool and really great with Amara) if they'd had any seafood since they'd been here.  10 minutes later i heard a motor scooter engine that sounded like a chainsaw.  Akua came to our cabin and said "there's a guy here that's selling mahi mahi and tuna".  amazing.  ask and you shall receive, i guess.  yesterday another guy came by selling bread.  it's real charming that the vendors come here... and a really good business move- it's not super easy to get to town.  so we're set up on the food front and the chocolate literally just got delivered as i was typing.

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i have been planning out what i'm going to do with the kids.  so far on the list of ideas are:  making felt balls and using hibiscus as a natural dye (the flowers are abundant here), making animals and dolls from palm leaves, a lot of singing songs, storytelling, puppet shows, and painting.  i'm trying to embrace this incredible natural beauty that we are surrounded by and fully integrate it into lesson planning.

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today we played with Amara in some tide pools, ate some fresh coconut, and got set up in our new space.  this morning Teresa made me a delicioso coffee drink and Amara got a little bang trim.  simple pleasures abound.  here are some snapshots of our new space...

acclimating

 <<i became obsessed with making baskets from palm leaves yesterday. this one didn't turn out so well but amara jane likes it... >>

  <<amara made a new friend last night. she was fascinated and delighted by this beautiful moth. she asked about it first thing this morning... it stayed with us through the night and was right on the lamp where we'd left it >>

 <<love offering for the pacific>>

 <<some beach rocks amara and i painted together>>

what am i missing the most about home right now? the merc. quick, easy access to local organic food. and chocolate. must get some sweets and maybe some wine when we go into town next:)

 <<forgot to add this...patrick working on the kids' tree house>>

~hola pura vida!~

after a long (but smooth) journey, we arrived this morning in puerto jimenez.  we were greeted by arturo, a super friendly and helpful cab driver who took us to the fruit grocery store, to get something to eat, then to the "other" supermarket to pick up the amazing kids i'll be teaching.  along for the 18-mile-but-40-minute ride came their nanny, Maria, and her son.  it was a pretty epic journey into the rainforest on a road definitely well traveled by 4x4's.  we saw a baby crocodile, or "croco-idle" in amara's language, some cows, a couple monkeys playing in the trees, and some gorgeous, lush plant life.  this is a place that clearly nourishes and supports life.  here are some of our first pictures...

...~SUNRISE OVER SAN JOSE~...

 ...~getting on the plane to puerto jimenez~...

 ...~views from the tiny plane~...

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 ...~the fruit & veggie market~...

 ...~eating breakfast in pto. jimenez~...

 ...~views of sueno verde~our housing~...

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...~the beach behind the houses~...

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