pura vida

I’m here to provide you with an update after a few weeks of going dark, basically I’m trying to answer the question: how are you guys? Well, the answer depends! So I’m going to give you my take on every member of our family, from youngest to oldest.

An/Nene/Anders: One thing that you may not know is that some of us changed our names when we got here, in order to make things easier for Spanish speakers. So my Nene is your An is someone else’s Anders. Regardless of the name you call him by, our youngest member had a rough January/February. His best friend here moved back to Australia, to return in eight weeks, but I’ve heard that people come and go a lot here, so I’m preparing Nene that his friend may not come back. He also had a string of ear infections that turned into a perforated ear drum. You guys, the things that the doctor pulled out of Nene’s ears were indecent and cannot be shown on this blog lest you have a body memory of the vomit you had to swallow. I felt like the worst mom in the world when I found out all the drops we had been administering had been clogged up in the hairy, black mess that was growing in Nene’s ear. Nene, who in my opinion is a cross in looks and spirit between Gretchen/Eric Larson, has a lot of oomph and gusto and LOVES the water like his forebearers. When he’s in the ocean, you can usually only see his feet and a bunch of whitewater. So the fact that he cannot use the pool or go in the ocean means that spirits are low. To the point that I went and impulse bought him a bicycle. Ingrid and impulse buy have potentially never been in the same sentence together. Just trying to help you understand the severity of the problem without giving you that body memory.

Vien: I’ve spent a lot of airspace on this blog on Vien, which is consistent with actual life. I continue give a lot of real-life emotional and physical brainspace and heartspace to Vien. Because he requires it. So I guess you could say things are status quo? There have been some developments. We are initiating the process of braces and contact lenses and potentially earrings and anything else that will help Vien feel more grown up, as 12-year-olds are wont to feel, especially when they are the size of 9-year-olds. I think the thing that is hard right now is that there is deep desire to be seen and validated. There is deep desire to be mature and be appreciated for who they really are. But there is also deep confusion about what that means in everyday life, and actually the content of what is presented to the world. So of course, we continue to have a lot of meltdowns. I do feel like with the help of a local therapist, there is more earnest communication, rather than angry blow ups. Or maybe that is just the onset of depression? Guys I could go down the rabbit hole on this one, but I’m sticking with earnest communication for now.

Sinh/Emil: I think Sinh is doing great! Totally thriving in school, getting dopamine hits with the friends as teenagers do. Old friends, new friends. Old name, new name. Playing this beautiful book of Joe Hisaishi piano music every night. Responsible, open to some feedback, and communicative. Flummoxed at babysitting a 2 and 3 year old (of course!) but capable. Volunteering at an animal rescue center. Cleaning cages and feeding reptiles. Building a fish tank for a primary school classroom. Playing volleyball, desiring to try out for the soccer team. Creating incredible art in school with the guidance of an art teacher that everyone else hates. It’s like the world is open for all possibilities. The world is his oyster and it’s beautiful to watch.

Ingrid: I am learning how to surf after an extended love affair with boogey boarding. I am not 100% sure that surfing is better than boogey boarding, the first cut is the deepest, ya know? Also not sure I’ll be able to surf anywhere I can’t stand up most of the time (by this I mean that the water is very shallow and there is no reef, not referring here to standing up on the board because I’m still working on that!) and where the water isn’t 75 degrees F, so basically I may never be able to surf anywhere else. But I am enjoying this time in the water so much. The water is healing guys, I swear! I did have a rough time with the aforementioned ear infection and some other medical appointments we’ve had. I noticed that the medical system here is a lot more serious in its communication than in the US, where doctors are Extremely Optimistic. This threw me for a loop and gave me stress that I haven’t had since the first month we moved here (and the prior eight months in the States since D Trump was elected, of course). I was Freaking Out about hearing loss and surgery, which of course could still happen but I talked to some doctors in the US (thank you so much Kirsten and I know Trieu talked to Robert) and got that big ole dose of optimism so I’m feeling much better now.

Trieu: How bad is it that I started to write about Trieu’s Spanish first but then went back and made the first sentence about his job? That’s pretty messed up on my part. Course correcting! First, Trieu’s Spanish is getting really good! I mean, his pronunciation is still really bad but he doesn’t seem to care so I need to stop correcting it. Trieu has this ability to just forge ahead with total confidence. It’s incredibly admirable. Sometimes it makes me cringe (I’m certain my over-analysis paralysis probably also drives him insane) but in the Spanish arena it’s really good. He’s not getting in his own head about using tu vs. usted and interrupting his train of thought. Nope! Not for a second! He’s just committing to tu and that’s that. According to my Argentinian friend, that’s totally fine in Costa Rica and probably what I should be doing too. Second, I think surfing in the amazing water here and Trieu’s new job are the best things that have happened to him in a while because he is a lot healthier. Less time at work == less stress == more time to be active. Also, the Costa Rican diet agrees with his stomach much more than whatever we were eating in the US, which was ironically super organic everything but still somehow tended to freak out his stomach. Here, nothing is organic but digestion is easier. I dunno!?

So yeah, that’s us! Give me a ring and let me know how you are doing, or leave us a comment below too!