From Denver to Costa Rica

Hi everyone! I am writing this blog post (the first one!) from my porch in my temporary new home of Samara, Costa Rica. It is humid AF, but absolutely beautiful. The mosquitos are my new natural enemy, but as I sit here I can see trees all around me, hear a rooster crowing, hear bugs and birds buzzing by, and possibly, a howler monkey will drop by for a visit. So how did I get here at age 38 about to start a Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) program? Well, that's what this blog will be about. I hope to share my journey from being a School Psychologist in the states to starting a new life in Costa Rica. I would like to share what it took to get here, my experience doing a TEFL program, my anxieties (and there are a lot!), and the highs and lows of trying to figure things out as I go.

So who am I? My name is Rachel and my identify for the past 11 years (14 if you count grad school) has been as a School Psychologist. I would describe myself as a bit of a nomad, a reluctant leader, and an anxious adventurer. I stumbled into school psychology somewhat by chance as I never thought I even liked kids. Following college I worked at a mental health hospital for kids and then as a para in an elementary school. I discovered that I LOVED working with kids, and actually far preferred it to working with adults, and that I wanted to know more about how to help kids in special education grow and succeed at their goals. This led me from my life in Kansas City to grad school in Chicago, several years of work there, and then another major move to Colorado. Somehow I met my husband when I was convinced I would be single forever (Thanks OK Cupid! Happy to take a sponsorship deal if it's available!), and spent most of my 30s in the Denver area. So to recap: born and raised in KC, moved to Chicago for 6 years, 8 years in Denver, and now here I sit at a table in 85% humidity in Costa Rica ready to strangle that rooster I referenced earlier, drenched in my own sweat.

Today is day number five of being here, and while my husband and one of our cats, Luna, adjusted to our new life instantaneously, myself and cat number two, Misty, are slightly more wary and anxiety-ridden.

Misty, our 3-year old cat we adopted together as a kitten

Luna, our wannabe adventure kitty. Kalen adopted her around 1 year of age and she is six now.

I'm not going to lie, the process of getting here has not been easy. The year started off rough for me with the loss of my mother, followed by Kalen having an emergency appendectomy and myself having to have laparoscopic surgery and discovering I have endometriosis. This put prepping to move on hold for a few months as we recovered both mentally and physically. We spent every weekend from the end of February getting ready to move. The steps included:

1. De-cluttering like CRAZY! You accumulate a lot when you don't move at all for four years.

2. Holding a garage sale. An amazing friend's family let us hold a sale at their house since our condo didn't allow for it.

3. Selling things on Facebook marketplace. I have become a bit of a pro at this, although Facebook can be quite frustrating.

4. Renting a small storage unit for keepsakes and things we couldn't part with yet.

5. Crying and having random anxiety attacks.

6. Actually moving ourselves and our 2 cats using only 7 bags and 2 cat carriers.

   
   

   

   My husband and myself on Playa Carillo. Playa Carillo is a beautiful, fairly secluded beach only a few minutes drive from Samara.

But somehow, despite all the difficulties and the difficulties that still remain (finishing selling our condo and one car, getting remote mail set up, figuring out financials), here I sit in Costa Rica. We freaking did it! I hope you stay tuned to hear more details of the flight here with 2 kitties, our first few days of messing things up and figuring things out, and the adventures to come. Pura Vida!

view from our deck and home for the next month. It is up a very steep hill that you have to climb or use 4x4 to reach.