¡Pura Vida!

This seems like a good place to share this life update. We are moving to Costa Rica! I got a teaching job at a very cool K-12 bilingual school in the Monteverde region. The kids will attend the same school and Symeon will work remotely. It is a big change for our little family but we are ready for the adventure. We are looking forward to slowing down, learning Spanish, and exploring the outdoors like never before. The kids are nervously excited about this. We’ve been reading about sloths, zip-lining, and Costa Rican slang. I know they will make friends very easily and fall in love with this new school so I’m not worried, but it’s still a lot of big emotions and will be a tough transition. We look forward to having our parents and siblings come visit. I have always enjoyed writing more when I’m outside the U.S., so expect to read more from me about our adventures in Costa Rica. We will be having a big yard sale (June 19th) so we hope Philly friends will stop by and take all our stuff. We are heading down in late July. For now check out these fun facts about where we are heading:

• Costa Rica is a small country, roughly the size of West Virginia, but has amazing coastlines (Caribbean and Pacific beaches), rainforests, volcanoes, and multicultural communities.
• Famous for its cloud forests and ecotourism, Monteverde is bursting with biodiversity. It houses about 100 species of mammals, 400 birds, 120 reptiles and amphibians, over 2,500 plant species and thousands of types of insects. It is about 3 hours from San Jose, the capital.
• The Monteverde Friends School was founded over 60 years ago by Quakers who left the United States in search of a country and community that supported their peaceful principles. 
• Costa Rica abolished its military in 1949. It has since invested heavily in health care and education, which are free for all. No surprise, it is one of the happiest countries in the world.
• “Pura Vida” translated means “pure life” but in Costa Rica, it is more than just a saying. Costa Ricans (called Ticos) use the saying to say hello, to say goodbye, to say everything’s great, to say everything’s cool. No worries, no fuss, no stress—it means being thankful for what you have and not dwelling on the negative.