Building our new house
In early 2006, we were catalyzed to build a new home here at Sacred Groves to expand our residential facilities and community living on this beautiful land.
These new structures, purchased from Oregon Yurtworks will be the heart and hearth of the Sacred Groves community, home for 4-6 residents. Residents will have private space in one of the house bedrooms or in cabins (small yurt in photo). We want to model a "small is beautiful" lifestyle with each person 'downsizing' their personal, private space to less than 300sq. feet. We intend to share cars, kitchen, bathroom and laundry with a commitment to the spiritual and personal growth required for community living.
In Spring 2007, our dream is becoming a reality. We have 'broken ground' for the new house and the foundation is being built with carpenter Tere Carranza at the helm. Watch this blog for progress as the house grows.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Costa Rica - the short story
Costa Rica is a beautiful country - green mountains, puffing volcanoes, very friendly and helpful inhabitants. I met more relatives than I had the brain memory to integrate - my father's cousins and their progeny. I heard stories about ancestors ( 'all the Mercedes die young'; my grandfather was dishonorably discharged from the National Guard of El Salvador after his company failed to help extinguish a burning building because they were all passed-out drunk; several sets of children were the offspring of the local town priests....etc etc) , sat at many a table for the late afternoon 'snack' with cousins and relatives - where coffee, pastries, a creamy cheese, and sometimes tortillas and beans were served; caught a bit of the conversation as Papa caught up with people he had not seen in 20, 30, 60 years.
I passed through the three stages of driving-acclimation :
the first: sphincter-clenching heart-stopping terror as we run stop signs, aim for pedestrians fleeing across the street;
secondly: averting the eyes from the road, and breathing in peace and tranquility - as we hurtle past the cluster of people standing in the narrow trail-like road waiting for the bus ;
the final stage - total acceptance that the stop signs are there (like fake flowers in a lobby) but aren't the real thing, that people are meant to scurry across the road and dart in and out of zooming traffic, and that street names are a crutch that keep people from really knowing the landmarks and storefronts in their neighborhoods.
I enjoyed staying with my father's cousin - Leyla, in her little apartment in a barrio of San Jose. The family is close and connected - her sister Xennia lives across the green swale that separates the rows of 'townhouses', a daughter of Xennia lives next door, another sister used to live in that complex as well. Xennia and Leyla constantly move from one house to the other - and I found them very dear and amusing as they engaged in a constant banter and discussion about everything from how to boil water for coffee to whose house should we have almuerzo (the main mid-day meal).
I didn't get a chance to see those areas that draw the crowds of international tourists ( beaches, rain forests, rafting rivers, etc) - but we did get out of San Jose a couple of times to visit two volcanoes - which were stunning and amazing in their own right.
I was hampered by my limited ( OK - non-existent) Spanish - in that I could not fully participate in some of the lively discussions about politics, family, the weather. My father translated where he could - but it was tiring for both of us to be 'on' so much. One of the highlights of the trip was having a conversation in English with a young cousin who clearly enjoyed practicing her language skills with a native speaker; another was taking a walk with her younger sister who showed me all the plants and trees and flowers in the neighborhood - we even snuck through a fence to gather the 'oreillas' - the earshaped pods of a lovely large tree that rattle when you shake them...
All in all- it was a wonderful once in a life time trip - thanks to the generosity of my father - I am grateful to know this land where he was born and to have met so many good people to whom I am related!!(costa rica pics here)
However after a week in paradize - I was ready to get back to the 'grind'.
posted by Tere # 11:39 AM 