Day for the birds

Kid's table at lunch today

Friday, December 28th - Today we went to Rancho Naturalista (www.ranchonaturalista.net). This place has some really cool birds. I would not consider myself a bird watcher, but I enjoyed seeing some unique birds.


Our family was joined by Hector, Daniel, David, Beverly and Herb. This place is actually the only lodging option in Tuis. It is located 1 mile up the road and another 1 mile + up the mountain. We were supposed to have transportation from the school at 11AM. At 12:25, no one arrived, so we used the vehicles from the school and drove to the top of the mountain. The place was nice. We were able to see many birds. There were dozens of hummingbirds buzzing around.

Hummingbirds near next to our table

At the top of the mountain, it was foggy and we were unable to see beyond a few hundred feet. We will probably go back a different day to get some better pictures. There were more than a hundred birds (this number was debated among our group). Actually, I think it was more. The food was great.

(L to R) Annie, Grandmadele, Beverly, Herb, David, Daniel, Hector, George, and Kipplyn

Herb and Beverly have been attending classes for a few weeks. Beverly is the US representative for the school. This is the first time that she has taken classes (I think). She has a good knowledge of the Spanish language and speaks well. Herb and Beverly have been instrumental in helping Daniel and Hector with the Mission. David has been attending classes for two weeks. He has been taking classes in the morning and afternoon. He has progressed well in two weeks of classes. He appears to be a little frustrated with his progress, but he has done well. No matter how much you learn, it only takes one conversation on the street to be humbled.

Every morning John David is excited to get to school early and see Daniel. Daniel is an artist and enjoys drawing pictures for the kids. John David loves to try to copy the drawings that Daniel does for him. This is JD with one of Daniel’s drawings. John David received quite a few fun art supplies for Christmas and has spent much time practicing ever since. He is quite the artist himself.

John David with a drawing that Daniel made for him.

There is a microloan program that is available to aspiring business people in the Tuis area. These loans are available to persons that generally have needs of $300-1000. In some unique cases, the loans are higher. I had a meeting last night (Thursday) with 7 of the individuals. I will be meeting with them in the coming months to help them with their businesses. I get the opportunity to have conversations in Spanish and they get free help with their business. The businesses represented last night include construction, furniture making, sewing, and truck driving. I am looking forward to this opportunity.

Tomorrow is the last day that Grandmadele, Annie, and Karissa will be here. They will be leaving for San Jose in the afternoon. Chandler went to the hotel to stay with them tonight. We will be going over to the hotel in the morning to hang out, eat lunch and swim if there is sunshine. Their visit has been enjoyable.

Karissa and Chandler at CISA