Mi Familia Tica

This weekend I went with my host family to the wedding of one a previous EMI intern who had lived with them. He was getting married at this beautiful place in Costa Rica and Emanuel got to be the ring bearer. They accept us interns into their homes like we are their children. Alejandra introduces me as her "hija gringa" (which could roughly be translated as "north american daughter"). I finally have a picture of the whole family so I thought I would write about each of them.

Alejandra, Juan Carlos, Maria Paula, Emanuel, and me

Juan Carlos is a graphic designer. He loves to ride his bike and study God’s Word. He also likes to read (which apparently is rare for Ticos). He doesn’t talk a lot, but when he does he is pretty funny. He is a great cook and likes to try fancy recipes from magazines. El es muy tranquilo. (sorry sometimes the Spanish just works better)

Alejandra loves to talk. I like it because we can still have conversations even without me talking! She likes to pretend to dance in the living room. She works hard to get us all out the door in the morning on time and with breakfast. She also works hard around the house. The only chore that she really doesn't like is ironing. (Ticos make sure everything is ironed. They are very conscious of looking nice.) She is pretty light skinned for a Tica and has green eyes. Posiblimente puedo parecer una Tica. She calls Juan Carlos her boyfriend all the time.

Maria Paula will turn 14 next week. She is likes makeup, clothes, high heels, and boys. She is outgoing like her mom and greets me enthusiastically when I get home. We have connected by riding bikes together, as well as me listening to whatever she has to say about boys, and helping her with math homework. She is very social and loves to hang out with the interns. Sometimes on Sunday afternoons we will walk to the center of town, get ice cream, and hang out at the park. She and Emanuel like to watch a reality TV show called Combate, where team Naranja and team Azul compete in a variety of games.

Emanuel is 8 years old and absolutely loves to ride his bike. When he can’t ride on our deadend street he rides endlessly in circles on our small patio. He is very responsible with his schoolwork. He likes to try to scare people and "help" me make bread and cookies by eating the dough. (They love my Mom’s homemade bread recipe) We play whatever game he comes up with: cards, hide and seek, mean dog…  When we watch Combate Emanuel will jump up and join the Azul victory dance. As I get near the house after work I often hear him yell, “¡Mamá, Esther viene!”