Cows at school, scorpions in the closet, snake on the road

Well...I suppose the title pretty well sums it up.
Today at school, there were about six cows wandering around in the recess yard. One left the group and wandered over to the classrooms, sticking her head inside the kindergarten room. Much excitement insued. Our office manager, Marlene, a Tica woman, said to me, "Only in Monteverde, ha-ha!" I was surprised that this event was amusing even to those who have lived here for many years.
Later in the day, I was looking through the shelves in what is called the "bodega" (the word for storage unit here. Not "store" as New Yorkers use it) for some dice to use in a lesson on probability. I was reaching back through some cards and papers, when something rushed across my fingers. I leapt up and saw the tail of a scorpion skittering away.
That certainly never happened when looking for school supplies in our storage closet in Philadelphia.
Incidently, this is my second Close Encounter With A Scorpion that has not resulted in a sting. The other morning I was happily showering (happy, in particular, because we have lately been without water for much of the day) when I felt a little tickle as something crossed my foot. Yes, a scorpion. I squealed and jumped out of the shower- managing to quickily clear the side of the top and have both feet land squarly on the floor. An impressive little jump. Fear, I suppose, makes us capable of stunning feats.
And yet ANOTHER wild creature encounter...while running on Sunday with Erica and Gina, we came upon a surprising little critter. I didn't see it at first- but I did notice Gina and Erica stop suddenly, and gasp. I had already run past the offending little bugger without even noticing. It was a small, skinny snake-- possibly a baby viper, we're not sure. By the pictures we have in the house, I think it is probably a viper, since they have the right coloring and are often found on the ground. Good thing we didn't get too close...they are quite venemous.
On a completly different note, I made an actual joke in Spanish today to a taxi driver. He was taking me back from Santa Elena, where i had gone to get some groceries. He was struggling to drive up the very bumpy and ridiculously difficult "driveway" to our house from the main road. I apologized, saying, "Lo siento. Es un mal camino." (I'm sorry! It's a bad road). Then, after a moment I said, "No es un camino. Es un sendero! Ha-ha!" (It's not a road, it's a trail!) Implying, of course, that it's more akin to a hiking trail than a road. He laughed. I was pleased.

Rasberries and Blackberries

There is nothing sweeter than the simple joy of picking wild rasberries and blackberries while walking home from work. There is nothing more lovely then picking something right off of a bush and plopping in into your mouth...the letting it dissolve slowly on your tongue as you pick more.
And the taste! The taste! The melt-in-your-mouth perfect sweetness. Every berry a slightly different bouquet of flavor, depending on size. Large ones are sweeter, smaller are sour.
Here they call the rasberries ¨fraisas¨ even though that´s the word for strawberry. Not sure why. The blackberries are called ¨mora.¨ This is the time of year when they are everywhere-- on the bush right by our door, on the path leading to the house, on the road down from Lucky and Wolf´s, in the field beside our house, in the field behind Benito´s house... everywhere! And this time of year they are HUGE and flavorful.
On a completly unrelated topic: at the moment there is the cutest little puppy sitting in a box right next to me. It´s just slightly larger than a human hand...it´s adorable. I wish I could take him home but unfortunatly he belongs to someone else... oh well.
Although really I just like puppies. Once they become dogs I don´t like them as much (sorry, Abby, but it´s true).

The engineers build the spacecraft

Here's a picture of our engineers in the Mission to Mars project in science class building the spacecraft. I think they've come up with a pretty cool design- the front triangle piece will be for extra leg room and will also feature a window.
Since this picture, they've added a frame on which they are going to build sides of the craft.
Special thanks to Tim Sales, our handy parent-volunteer whose power tools and know-how have been so valuable to the engineer team.

Things that crawl and sting...

So last night we had quite a little adventure while out at Bromelias, a local bar/live music spot. Erica, Michael, May and Tim and I were enjoying a lovely concert of folk music played by local musicians Fredricio and Richard and visiting guitarist...and all of sudden, in the calmest voice, Erica said:
"I think there's something crawling on me."
We looked at her shirt and discovered a large brown scorpion seated, ever so calmly. Erica leapt up, brushed at it frantically with her hand, and it disappeared. We were not sure for a moment where it had gone. We checked the sofa and the floor, but saw nothing.
The location of the scorpion was shortly determined as Erica said, again ever so calmly, "It's stinging me. It's stinging me. It's stinging ME AGAIN." Apparently the bugger had crawled up underneath her shirt and was stinging her repeatedly on the side. Finally she managed to brush it off (only to have it sting her again on the hand). We watched it crawl away.
Erica's response was actually pretty mild--apparently the pain wasn't too terrible. I think it was more startling than anything else. Also she said the pain lingered for a little while, which might it more intense that a bee sting or wasp sting.
But she wasnt' screaming or passing out, so we were all reassured.
Also, she was very much healthy and alive after the sting, so for those of you who might have doubted our insistance that they are not lethal here- here's proof.
Also walking home the other day, Heather and I saw a large and beautiful tarantula walking along the road. A very rare and special sight.
Totally unrelated photograph above: This is what they call a guava here...what we call a guava in the U.S is called a guayaba here. This kind of guava grows in a large pod shape that you have to break apart with a knife and some elbow grease. The fruit inside is sort of a strange fluffy-cotton texture. You suck on the pit but don't swallow the whole thing-- just chew off the cotton exterior and throw the pit away. It's an odd thing.

Michael and the Tayra, out in the rasberry patch

Yesterday we went on a long walk through the woods and the crazy tayra followed us the whole way, climbing up trees and then leaping down onto our shoulders, where it proceeded to scratch us a lot.
It's a cute thing, but completly wacko.

In Memoriam

Today we lost a great writer, a great thinker, and a famously eccentric oddball: Kurt Vonnegut. He has been my favorite writer for as long as I can remember; my first experience with Vonnegut was when I read 'Cats Cradle' at age 14. I have adored him ever since. I consider his writing to be a key part of my adolescence. From age 14 to age 18 I read every book he ever wrote. At the moment, I have his last book "A Man Without A Country" sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read. I have been saving it for just the right moment.
He has always felt like a friend. Perhaps that makes me sound crazy, but his writing has the ability to make you feel connected to him. As a young teenager, there was nothing more beautiful than reading a man who spoke to his audience with affection and respect.
I once saw him read at the Barnes and Noble on Union Square in New York. The reading was packed and it was hard to see or hear him. After the reading, I chose to stand up on a chair and behave somewhat like a complete lunatic, shouting, "MR VONNEGUT!!" hoping he would look up and see me. He didn't seem to notice. Or perhaps he did and his publicist was standing next to him whispering, "Whatever you do, don't look up. There's a crazy lady shouting your name."
Yes, I suppose I have always been a bit of a Vonnegut groupy...
So, to my beloved Mr. Vonnegut- we will never forget you.
"Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt."

Murry

Murry, the other Greatest Kid On Earth. Isn't he adorable?? I am the luckiest aunt alive, I think. Two great nephews.

Wendy and Nolan

Here's a picture of Wendy and Nolan standing in front of the JCC shabbat crowd when they sang Happy Birthday to Nolan. Isn't he just the cutest?? He's such an awesome kid. Endlessly entertaining and hilarious and so sweet. I just love him to pieces.
Isn't this also a great picture of Wendy? I think she looks beautiful.

Michael holding the tayra

It's okay...it doesn't bite!
Just as I was writing the last entry, the tayra ran back into the house! We thought Benny took him away (Benny came up here looking for him), but I guess he escaped again and is back here. We took him outside, but now he's scratching on the door again...
He's so incredibly cute. If only he wasn't so destructive, we'd keep him in the house for a while and play with him. But even Benito doesn't keep him inside because he just tears through everything. Not exactly the ideal house pet.

Tayra in the house!

I just returned from a trip to Los Angeles to visit my sister and Bradley and their two kids, Nolan and Murry...my adorable nephews! I will post pictures of them shortly...
First, though, I must report on our exciting incident of the morning! Around 9:00 a.m. there was a scratching sound at our door. Both of us first thought someone was trying to break in...the knob seemed to be turning...so we peered through the window to see what it was. It was not, in fact, a human. It was a tayra- a black furry animal that is a relative of the otter, although it looks something like a large ferret. I opened the door and the tayra charged into the house. She ran around and around the living room, up onto the dining room table, up onto the stove, the kitchen counter, knocking lots of things over as he went.
This particular tayra actually is being raised by our neighbor Benito, who lives down the hill from us. So at least we knew it wasn't carrying any strange animal diseases. We chased her around the house a bit. She was pretty friendly and so we were able to pet it. Her hair is soft and thick and very fluffy.
We fed her some rice and beans, which she ate enthusiastically. We also gave her a bell pepper which she promptly tore to shreds, but did not eat.
Here's a picture of her on the kitchen counter...sorry it's a bit fuzzy, she moves very fast...