Did You Know That Charlie is an Angel?

A couple of nights ago about 2:30 in the morning, I was awakened by two very annoying dogs barking like it was their sole responsibility to wake the dead. It went on and on and on. I finally prayed that God would send an angel to shut their mouths, after all, I had Daniel in the Lions Den for a precedent! Well, wouldn't you know, as soon as I had prayed that, Charlie got out of bed (without a word) and went outside to investigate. Nothing usually wakes him up. Apparently the dogs were barking at a cat. Anyway, when Charlie arrived it broke things up, and they've been quiet ever since. So you see, Charlie must be an angel! (At least mine :-) )

I'm writing this at 12:50 in the morning because I've been up making preparations for Colleen's 9th birthday. This will be our first birthday celebration in Costa Rica.

My apologies for not posting sooner, but we were without internet for a couple of days. We weren't sure why, and then we found out that the company had cut our service because we hadn't paid the bill. You may ask, "Why did you not pay the bill?" Well, I'll tell you. You don't get a lot of bills here. You just know when you're suppose to pay them, and go to the local supermarket or bank and pay it, of course, you find out how much you owe once you get there. And if you don't, the company reminds you by cutting your service! Then you pay a late charge and wait until you get an authorization code to get your service back. Needless to say, we will put a date due chart on our refrigerator so we won't be late again. ;-)

We're still doing well in school, but some days I fell like I didn't understand a word my teachers have said. I did,however, catch that yesterday we learned all of the North America, Central American, and South American countries and their nationalites. And then, our homework was to learn all of Europe. I didn't even know all of those in English!

If you can, let me know how you are. We love news from home. You can either post a comment or e-mail us at audreygleckie@hotmail.com. Love to you all.

Fin de Semana

Weekends! At this moment, it is 6:12 Saturday morning so it is officially the weekend. I thought everyone might like to know how a typical weekend is for us. First, it's trash day, so I took that out first thing. Then, this is sheet and towel washing day. We are thankful to have both a washer and a dryer, but because of size, it takes 7 loads to wash both sheets and towels. During the week we hang clothes on the line to save money. (Electricity is very expensive here, along with everything else.) However, we do use the dryer for the Saturday loads. After the 1st load is started I read my Bible, get dressed, check my e-mail, update my blog, and fix breakfast.



Now it's time for the 2nd load. During it I wake everyone up and we eat breakfast. Then they get dressed for the day. Time to wash dishes and put on load 3. It should be about 9:00 to 9:30 now and time to go to the Open Air Market. Everyone wears a backpack to be filled and we walk to the park. Charlie watches the children who want to play and any that want to shop with me, do. (usually Colleen). We have had great fun finding out what things are and trying new things. One lady at a booth, always gives each of us a slice of watermelon to prove that they are ripe. We enjoy the treat, but it makes it a little difficult to shop with sticky hands! The first time Colleen didn't know what to do with the seeds, and the lady motioned for her to spit them on the ground, so Colleen obliged happily.



(Pause to put on load 2)



With bags loaded we walk home to bleach the produce and put it away, and of course put on washing loads 4, 5, and 6. By this time we are ready to have lunch. After dishes are washed, (we must wash and sweep immediately because of ants and bugs) the children usually like to go back to the park to play. This makes a good time for Charlie to stay home and work on bills and other computer stuff I don't know much about.



Usually in the afternoons, there is T.V. watching (mostly in Spanish), studying for Charlie and me and finishing the laundry. After dinner we get together with friends to talk and play games. God has blessed us with wonderful neighbors and fellow students.



We end Saturday with showers and bedtime stories. However, this weekend we are puppysitting for a couple who is puppysitting for another family. We are enjoying taking care of Preciosa because we miss our puppies greatly. Also Devon had a friend spend the night, and Mary-Esther and Scarlett spent the night with some of their friends. Things are a little different this weekend.



Sunday, after our morning routine, we head to church, El Lugar, it's a wonderful church with good teaching. It's all in Spanish, but the pastor gives us outlines so it's easier to follow, plus we can study it later when we have time to go through it slowly! After church we eat a snack and take a bus to the public pool in downtown San Jose. The water is so cold that I don't get in, and Scarlett and Mary-Esther swim for a while and then play at the adjacent playground. Don't worry, though, I keep a sharp eye on them. We swim until about 3:00 and then walk to McDonald's or Burger King (they are in the direction of home). After eating we walk the rest of the way home, take showers, prepare for the next week, eat a snack and go to bed.



I'm sure there will be many things to alter this routine, but these are the basics.

I'm just now posting this (I first wrote it two or three weeks ago) because I thought I had lost it. I didn't know that the computer had saved it as a draft - I just found it!

A Typical School Day

First, I (Audrey) get a wake-up call at 4:30 from a neighbor that has a really loud motorcycle that sounds sick. He must need a new muffler. (Do motorcycles have mufflers?) This may sound like complaining, but it isn't. I never liked waking up to an alarm clock anyway! So then, I read my Bible in both Spanish and English. If I'm feeling alert, I read in Spanish first and then check myself with the English. If I'm feeling sluggish, I read the English first and then read the Spanish. After that, I put one load of clothes on to wash, check my e-mail and facebook, get dressed, and make breakfast.

Next, I wake up everyone else. They get dressed, make their beds and come to the table. We eat and pack our backpacks and lunches.

We leave after we have locked all the doors and gates that protect our house. This is a feat in and of itself! Our school is only 1 1/2 blocks away, so we walk. School, for everyone, starts at 7:30AM. The children go from 7:30-2:30, and Charlie and I go from 7:30-1:00.

Charlie and I have 1 hour of language, 2 hours of grammar, and 1 hour of phonics all conducted in Spanish with lots of homework. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have chapel around 9:30. It's great to hear the testimonies and sermons by our fellow students that are ahead of us in classes.

After Charlie and I are done with classes, we try to get as much homework done before the children get out. On Mondays & Wednesdays, they have gymnastics, and on Tuesday & Thursday they have soccer. Then it's time for their homework. So far all is well.

To wrap it up, we eat around 5:00, take our showers, play or read, and then go to bed by 8:00 -8:30.

I'll do another post later about our weekends. Ciao!