How to use printers... to collect water

I got a special "Christmas Surprise" just a couple days before Christmas this year - month-long renovations in my office were just wrapping up, when water pipes in the ceiling burst, drenching the freshly laid carpet, the ceiling, my co-workers, and much of our communications equipment.  Months of planning, thousands of dollars of equipment and weeks of work - all washed away in seconds by a massive burst of water from "on high". 

As we poured water out of printers, dried off networking gear, ripped up sodden carpet, and pulled down soggy ceiling tiles, it occurred to me that a guy named Joe experienced a somewhat similar Christmas surprise a couple thousand years ago.  In case you don't know this particular story, Joe was a carpenter, plying his trade in Nazareth.  He was engaged - to a lovely young lady named Mary.  I'm sure he and his family had spent months of planning, and thousands of shekels (?) for his upcoming marriage.  Dates were planned, the reception hall booked, the caterers hired (OK, permit me a bit of creative license here, OK?)  When all of the sudden... unexpectedly... from on high, he got a rather shocking message.  In Joe's case, it wasn't a gush of water, but rather, a heavenly visit from on high.  His fiance... pregnant!  The baby?  A Messiah!  Talk about a dramatic change of plans!  The news must have hit him... well, a little like a burst of highly pressurized water from a fire sprinkler main.

It can be a little hard to feel the Christmas spirit while ripping your newly renovated office apart.  No doubt Joseph found it hard to stay the course when angelic messengers dropped a messianic bombshell his lap.  But that's the wonder of Christmas.  In the midst of the chaos of Bethlehem at census time; ensconced in the squalor of a stable; sought after by shepherds and wise men from far away, the Prince of Peace was born. 

May you and your families experience the peace of Christmas this season - whatever your circumstances, and wherever you happen to be calling home this year.

2011 - A year in the rain forest

Another year has flown by, and it's time for an update on what the Rubesh family has been up to for the past twelve months!

Kevin continues to enjoy his job managing the computer and communications systems of the US Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica.  Erin keeps busy as a full time mom, chauffeur, entertainment coordinator, culinary specialist and Chief Operations Officer of "Rubesh Inc."  Jad's almost nine, a tall (where does he get that from?) third grader who enjoys computer games, drawing, legos and his most recent hobby, horseback riding.  Danna is seven and is loving second grade, hanging out with her friends, playing with her pet bunny and riding both horses and her bike.  Kyler turned four, and started preschool this year.  This is a good thing because he's also is rapidly becoming master of odd questions.  Where better to ask them than in school?!  We're thankful for a more settled year this year in Costa Rica - good health for all of us, and a great new school for the kids.

2011 begin with Erin and the kids ringing in the new year with a trip to Miami - now famous for beaches, manatees (Jad's absolute favorite marine animal), "Tayta and Jiddo" (Erin's parents) and cousin Cory (thought the last two probably won't turn up in any guidebooks!)  Jad turned eight and Kevin followed suit by turning 38.  No igloo building this year, but it was nice to see the sun come out after the long months of Costa Rica's rainy season.

In February, we said goodbye to Kevin's grandpa Fred Miller, aged 87, and Kevin joined his family in Oregon for a celebration of his life.  We'll always picture him with either a well worn Bible or a greasy rag and wrench in his hands... oh, and a cookie to go with the ice cream for dessert.  Meanwhile in Costa Rica, Jad changed schools, which meant no more uniforms, and we filled out the rest of the month with curry parties, trips to the beach and a "Problem at Outpost 25."

In March, Kevin visited the Nation's Capital for some training, and while there, "Murphy's Law of Absent Husbands" struck and Kyler added a "Harry Potter Scar" courtesy of a table corner at a cafe.  Fortunately, the owners of what's now our favorite cafe in town rushed "Harry" and Erin to the hospital for a quick stitch-up.  Kevin got back just in time to go to Boy Scout Camp with Jad.  We said goodbye to our good friends and neighbors from Sweden (boo hoo), but welcomed our first friends from home for a visit to Costa Rica (yay!)  Oh - and Danna made her first music video.

For Easter vacation, we headed to Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula. Five minutes from the end of our five hour drive there, one of Costa Rica's famous potholes beat one of Germany's tires. CR roads: 2, Tires: 0.  Our first trip to Volcan Irazu and movie production day at Jad's new school rounded out the month in good style.  

May featured Danna's seventh birthday, her first swim meet, as well as a visit from "Tayta".  Jad's first ever entry in a Boy Scouts Pinewood Derby brought home the 1st place ribbon for his troop.

We headed back "home" in June to furnish our new home in Portland, Oregon for the summer.  In between furnishing a house, running to swim lessons, library visits and Vacation Bible School, we did manage to squeeze in lots of time with friends, family, as well as soaking in the natural wonders of the Northwest.  Danna's kidney biopsy showed that the treatment she's been on for the last 2 years is on the right track.  In July, Kyler celebrated his fourth birthday, and we took in a real life fourth-of-July fireworks show. Kevin took the 2 "big kids" down to Medford to visit with "Grandma Jane" (Kevin's grandmother) and his mom before heading back to work in San Jose.  Erin and the kids enjoyed another month in Portland with Tayta and Jiddo before returning to Costa Rica.

After a great summer in Oregon, we settled back into a routine in Costa Rica again.  All three kids started up the school year at the same small school.  With Kyler joining the ranks of "school kid", Erin found herself with 3 1/2 'kid-free' hours each morning for the first time in eight years!  Labor day was the perfect combination of a day off from work for Kevin and a regular school day for all three kids.  Great excuse for a "date day" hiking up in the hills above San Jose!  Danna started horseback riding lessons, and immediately fell in love with all things "horsey/"  Costa Rica's independence day brought out a lot of red, white and blue.

By October, the rainy season had started in earnest... and we discovered that a tree growing in your primary drainage pipe really doesn't mix well with heavy rain shower.  Interior floods resulted... until we finally got to the "root" of the problem.  The resulting dry floors were perfect for indoor camping as the rain forest did what it does best - rain.  We adopted two bunnies, and of course, almost immediately made them stars of the (very) small screen.

We made our first trip to Costa Rica's Carribean coast - oceans apart from the busy, touristy Pacific, and enjoyed a long weekend away with some good friends.  Jad took up horse back riding as well, and Kevin and Erin got all "fancified" for the annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball.

Which brings us all the way up to December - a month full of preparations for Christmas!  Erin (costume designer extraordinaire) and Kevin (video greenscreen magician) both played key behind-the-scenes roles in the International Baptist Church's annual Christmas production - helping to bring "The Jesus App" to life to an audience of over 1,000!  Jad and Danna played roles as a Wiseman and a Dove, respectively. Not a lot of lines, but a tremendous amount of wing-flapping and regal bearing required. In between play practices, costume fittings and Christmas parties, we carved out time to visit Volcan Arenal's natural hot springs, and welcomed Erin's parents back to Costa Rica in time for Christmas.

And that brings us up to date for now.  

From the Rubesh family in Costa Rica to all of our friends and family around the world, a very Merry Christmas! May this be a season of joy and peace, wherever you may be! 

From Igloos to Volcanoes - a Rubesh year in review

Three countries, 7200 pounds, lots of suitcases and yet another new continent. Time for a quick review of the last twelve months!

They say the third time's the charm, and we proved it in January with our first ever (successful) family ski vacation. The key? Having Erin's parents along to keep Kyler entertained while the rest of us went skiing. The Austrian alps in January? Gorgeous! Hot chocolate on top of a snowy world, before yet another slide back down the hill? It just doesn't get much "besser" than that! Jad celebrated his seventh birthday (and Kevin his... more than seventh) in our little mountain hideaway while we were there. Back home in Prague, we got snow. Lots of snow. Igloo building snow, in fact. If it's going to be cold, it might as well snow, right?
We liked Austria so much that we went back in February. This time via train, and this time, unfortunately, without babysitters. Austria's museums, aquariums, Sri Lankan restaurants and... pharmacies make it a great place to come back to! We've found that a truly "bonding" family vacation is one that starts with one sick kid, and finishes up with three. With a hotel room and pharmacies tying them all together!
We celebrated Easter on a hilltop back in Prague, and then rounded out the month of April by joining in a truly Czech tradition. A hockey game! We enjoyed watching the action on the ice. But even more, we relished finding one of the very few public places where Kyler could be as loud as he wanted... and not be heard!April was a month of Very Important Visitors. When you work at a US Embassy overseas, the first one was truly a presidential-sized job... yet another visit of POTUS (President of the United States of America) to Prague! No sooner had we bid Air Force One a fond farwell than the real important visitors arrived - Kevin's parents. A little icelandic volcano with a cute name (say "Eyjafjallajökull" three times fast) became our good friend during this visit. The volcanic ash paralyzed flights all through Europe. But this isn't a bad thing when you have grandparents on the ground where you want them to be by the time the flights are frozen!

We then put the volcanic ash behind us and headed west - to the south of France, to be precise. Kevin's cousin not only found, but married a lovely French lady, and we got join in the celebrations (by way of a fourteen hour drive)! Danna discovered dancing, and grooved the night away under the disco ball while her brothers snoozed in the playroom and her parents enjoyed the pleasures of French cuisine. France was lovely - but spending time with Kevin's uncle, aunt, cousins and new French extended family was even better. We even got to talk politics... in French (over croissants, of course!)
We had just enough time in May to celebrate Danna's sixth birthday before starting to pull up roots in Prague. 7200 pounds was the magic number. The limit within which we're required to compress our lives every three years as we travel around the world. It's nice in a way. Call it a periodic forced "Spring Cleaning." It was our chance to look at what you have, and decide what's really important to keep around (and what's not). We sold, we donated, we tossed... and then we shipped, hoping to see this stuff when we arrived in Costa Rica months later!
June brought goodbyes to Prague, and hellos to Portland Oregon! June's a great time to be in the Pacific Northwest, and we fell in love with the place all over again. With family in the area, the month was marked with curry nights, trout fishing, real life cowboys, cheese pizza and plenty of "cousin time" with Kevin's brother and his family. Kyler got to meet his great grandparents for the first time.
In July, we headed back east... but only as far as Oklahoma. Yet more cousin time, a small-town fourth of July parade, and Kyler's third birthday - in his birthplace, no less! We also did our part to help the American economy, in preparation for moving back to the 110 volt side of the world. To round off our time in America, we took advantage of willing babysitters and flew to Boston for the reunion of Erin's high school from Amman, Jordan.
August brought our spashdown in San Jose, Costa Rica... where it rained. And rained. And rained some more. For at least 40 days and 40 nights. No arks - but plenty of potholes, floods, landslides and the random cow or two roaming down the street. Lots of changes - new school, work, language, food and culture. Oh, and did I mention the rain yet?
Looking for some excitement in September, we headed to an active volcano, and explored the type of things that bring tourists to Costa Rica - lush rain forest, exotic animals and bridges hung in the treetops.
October. Let's just skip October for now. Leave it to say we invested heavily in Costa Rican
health care and learned fancy Latin words like "pneumonia" and "bronchitis" (maybe they're Greek words?). In between the visits to the doctors offices though, we did squeeze in some more Costa Rican flora and fauna.
We finally found the famed Costa Rican beaches in November, when we escaped to Manuel Antonio on the Pacific Coast - only three hours drive away, despite landslides having taken out the country's only highway the month before. Surfing, sand castles and Gallo Pinto at the "beach shack," along with the best gelato in Costa Rica (so far) made for a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend!
So far, December has featured sheep, stars and a chorus of singing angels at our church's Christmas Production. Jad passed his first ever Tae Kwondo exam, and we imported some some wise parents from the north - bearing gifts. Like ham! And M&M's! We can't figure out who's having more fun - the kids or their "Tayta and Jiddo!" (Erin's parents).

Which brings us right up to date. To all of our friends and family around the world, a very Merry Christmas! May this be a season of joy and peace, wherever you may be!

The daily commute

For those of you wanting a "taste of San Jose," here's what my daily commute to work looks like. This is one of about 5 different routes in to work, but this one is special. It features the infamous crossing over the "Bridge of Doom."

Mile 0.0 - leaving the house on "Rubesova Street." I didn't steal the sign from Prague - I bought it. Really!

Condominios Altos de Escazu.

Mile 0.25 - one of our favorite potholes. This one's been growing for over a month, and is shaping up to be a real car-swallower.

Mile 0.75 - I think they ran out of asphalt on this stretch. The lack of pavement makes the dumped building refuse fit right in.

Mile 1.0 - Kyler's preschool "The Kids' University", followed by the local dairy. "Se Vende Leche!" fresh from the cow each morning.

Mile 1.5 - One of about four river/creek/raging torrent crossings

Mile 1.75 - on the "Main Road" to Escazu. 6:45 traffic ain't bad.

Mile 2.0 - Mmm! A "Lunch Ejecutivo" at Tony Roma's would hit the spot!

Mile 2.75 - Hipermas grocery store. AKA "Walmart"



Mile 3.0 - The "Bridge of Doom". Jad saw the video, and said "Hmm - that looks like fun!" (much to his mother's horror)

[about a mile of very boring warehouses and train tracks]

Mile 4.12 - Just another day in Uncle Sam's service.

Volcano, with a side of cow tongue, please

OK - so you don't usually run into volcanoes and cow tongues on the same weekend, but there we were, in a hole-in-the-wall hotel/restaurant in the mountain town of Ciudad Quedasa and it just... happened.

It was pouring down rain, we had hours left to drive to get back to San Jose, and the guidebook recommended the Hotel Don Goyo's steak (it also said the hotel would make a great Quentin Tarantino movie setting, so we really couldn't go wrong.) We started leafing through the menu (only available in Spanish), and settled on steak looking items and a plate called "Lengua con salsa de carne." Using our excellent Spanish, we quickly deduced that "lengua" was something similar to "linguini" and that a plate of "Spaghetti with meat sauce" would soon appear.

What appeared was clearly not spaghetti, but we weren't sure what is was. Danna started digging into it with a gusto - "I've never tasted such yummy meat!" she commented between mouthfuls. And then it clicked - a memory from our honeymoon in a small town in Mexico (our only prior experience in a Spanish-speaking country), where Erin and I found our way to a local church for the Sunday morning service.

Once we figured out the passage for the day (James 3), we were able to piece together the gist of the sermon - "La importancia de una lengua hermosa" - or importance of a beautiful tongue. Kind of like the tongue Danna was chowing down on.

The meal was delicious - the best steak we've had... well almost ever. The meat was fresh from the surrounding high pastureland - and in fact, it may well have wandered right off those pastures directly into the kitchen. And, in case you're wondering, no snappily dressed hitmen visited us during the meal. Delicious tongues on a Tarantino movie set. And that's just at the lunch stop on the way back from the volcano!

Tasty tongues aside, a volcano was the real destination for our first trip out of San Jose - an active volcano. In fact, Volcan Arenál is listed as one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world - it's been continuously erupting since 1968! About 3 1/2 hours out of San Jose, the Arenal Observatory Lodge is the place to see it from. Situated on a ridge less than 3 kilometers from Arenal, you really can't get much closer without burning your feet. Getting here involves a 10 Km drive over "native road" - (rough, washed out gravel) after exiting the main road just Northwest of the town of La Fortuna.

The lodge started its life as an observation station for vulcanologists from the Smithsonian Institute, and still retains a bit of the original expeditionary feel. It's no luxury resort - but the rooms are comfortable and clean, the shower's hot and you really don't come all the way out here to watch TV or surf the internet anyway. You come all the way out here to sit on your balcony and watch the volcano slip in and out of the clouds.

The restaurant serves up delicious (though a bit pricey for a rustic lodge - $50 for lunch for our family of five) meals as well as a commanding view of both the Volcano and the Arenal Lake at its base. The breakfast buffet, included in the price of the room, is almost worth the price of admission in itself. There's even a buffet set up outside for the tropical birds.

The kids kept themselves entertained while waiting for food by taking up chess on both of the oversized boards. Kyler soon picked up the essence of the game - you use one chess piece to violently knock over another piece, until all the pieces are on their sides. Bobby Fischer he is not (yet).

What's really neat about this place is that you're really out in the middle of the woods. The woods in this case being real, live rain forest! Every morning, a guide from the lodge leads visitors on a free three hour hike; first over the property's hanging bridge and via paved trails, past trees, bushes and shrubs that are labeled for your Botanic edification. Did you know, for example, that the one of the primary ingredients of Chanel N°5 perfume is the leaf of an extremely fragrant tree that is pollinated by bats? I wouldn't have believed it until I sniffed a crushed handful of leaves.

The trek then heads off the beaten trail to a waterfall surrounded by green. A great place to break in new rain boots, throw rocks into the rapids and pretend you're Indiana Jones searching for the long lost somethingorother.

For those without kids... miles more of interesting hikes await - to lava flows, flooded craters and more.

Of course, being in the rain forest, critters abound as well. The purple flowery bushes buzz with hummingbirds, furry racoon-like critters roam the grounds looking for a handout, white-faced monkeys glare at you from the treetops, and if you pause to look carefully at the plants lining the trail, you find an incredible variety of tiny critters roaming about (pardon the scientific terminology in the above paragraph).

What do you really want after a hike in the rain forest? A soak in the hot tub, of course. Being a lodge in the rain forest, you do have to cross a hanging bridge to get to the pool and hot tub, but it's worth the walk!

All good volcano trips do have to come to an end, and soon we were back on the road to San Jose - winding up and up the narrow mountain roads, in the rain (they don't call it "rain forest" for nothing!), and eating delicious cow tongue along the way.

I get a feeling this (and not the litter-strewn, potholed streets of San Jose) is why people come to Costa Rica.