CR Update March 2008

Hi everyone.
Our new phone number is 88216957. It is the old number with an 8 in front of it. I have discovered SKYPE for making phone calls-Computer to phone for 2 cents per minute from CR to the US—it may be less from US to CR. Through the SKYPE site, you buy $10 worth of credit with Pay-pal. You need a headset with microphone to call from your computer. Please call us if you feel any inclination—we love to hear from our families and friends.

We had a fabulous St. Patrick’s Day party. We had a catering duo, Fritz and Tigre, who did a barbeque kitchen and Guinness stew. They prepared all the food, had their own staff and lowered the stress of party preparation for us. We had a separate station for Irish Car Bombs to take some pressure off the bar, Raspberry Stout and Amber Ale on tap from our microbrewery, and a great group of approx. 150 people—all the tables in the beer garden were occupied. With each party Joe has projects to have finished. The newest structure is an outdoor men’s room. We never know how long we will keep our help so we want to get things done while we can. Fritz and Tigre will be providing food on a regular basis and we are hopeful that all of us will benefit from this arrangement. They had fish and chips this past Friday and Barbeque on Saturday and it was well received.

We will soon set up our women’s group as a NGO (a non-governmental organization.) We had our first woman’s health event last week, it was poorly attended, and we now see what we are up against. Although there are girls getting pregnant in grade school, they don’t see a gynecologist or admit they are sexually active until they are pregnant. There is work we need to do to better understand the culture and why people are not more interested in this subject.

We lost Sophie, our 5 month old kitten. The last day we did target practice (we are still trying to be responsible gun owners) she disappeared. We are concerned the noise of the practice drove her away out but she was here for the firecrackers which were just as loud so we really don’t know.

I am trying to get back to NYC to Beth Israel Hospital where I was last year and I am hopeful that something will come through—send me your good thoughts about this. Joe will soon start social security. I think the pub and guest houses will eventually sustain us but not yet. The pub is becoming known. One of the doctors saw someone with a Black Sheep T-shirt in San Jose. A couple at the party had been at our St. Patrick’s Day party last year and organized their vacation so they could come again this year. And a new friend from Marin County CA told us that he had a Black Sheep beer mat on display at his house and a friend said: “I heard of that place—it’s in Central America, right?” Having the pub puts us in a position to meet everyone in the area and it is a diverse group of mostly Americans, Canadians, Europeans, and Ticos. Weather continues in the 80’s with blue skies and intermittent active winds. Our bougainvilleas with their bright colors are in full bloom and our tropical English is garden coming in. Write back and let us know how you are doing—or call—its cheap with SKYPE. Love, Joe and Helena