Well, after three months in the USA, we are back in Costa Rica, in our wonderful eighth-floor apartment overlooking the city as it rains, with our wonderful daughter, Anastasia, cooing in the background on the couch. All of our attention, 24 hours a day, is focused on her. She gets prettier and more adorable every day. At night, we tend to watch Netflix movies or series in both Spanish and English, which helps us because my wife needs to work on her English and I need to work on my Spanish.
I just realized that ever since my wife came to live with me about 14 months ago, we have spent every day together. And we still have fun and enjoy each other’s company. When I was young, I never imagined that this would be my future. And now, we are a family of three. There’s something comforting about that view, especially when the rain rolls in and the city disappears behind a curtain of clouds. Inside, we have our own little world.
Back at Work
Back at work, I’m interviewing 100 people a day, seeing so many faces and making people happy and sad as I try to maintain a poker face. There’s lots of investigation into potential travelers to the USA. I like it. There’s always work to be done. I could work through lunch and never finish. Obviously, I don’t like denying people the freedom to come to the USA, but the truth is that many people would like to misuse their tourist visas by overstaying their visas, working illegally, going on welfare, or having a child in the USA at the taxpayers’ expense and then returning to their country of origin with American citizenship for their child while sticking the expensive bill to American taxpayers.
One of my duties on the job is to serve as the training day coordinator/organizer, which allows me to create team-building activities for our section. It’s fun. During one training day, I split people into groups and had them take group selfies recreating an album cover from a music band or a scene from a movie. That was a hit. Then they all uploaded the photos to our WhatsApp chat group, and we voted on the winner. It was an activity that mixed creativity and competition.
There’s always something to do. I could work straight through lunch and still have more to accomplish. The days are busy, sometimes exhausting, but rarely boring. I like having work that keeps me engaged and gives me something new to think about every day.
A Sad Trip to Mexico
Well, bad news. My wife’s mother just passed away. It all happened while we were in Costa Rica and her mom was in Mexico. She got sick on a Wednesday or Thursday, and her children went to take her to the hospital. The hospital was public and seemed to be of less-than-ideal quality. She waited a while to be seen and diagnosed, so they took her to a private hospital. While the children, including my wife, were gathering the funds, she passed away. Obviously, my wife was very sad, and I consoled her the best I could.
We decided to fly to Mexico immediately to be with her family. From Mexico City, we rented a car and drove as fast as we could to Ayahualulco. (5 hour driver) They held a wake on Saturday and Sunday. The casket was in the living room of the family home, and chairs were set up inside and in front of the house. People came by and prayed multiple times. Food and drinks were served too. On Monday morning, we, along with many others, walked the casket to the church for Mass and then to the cemetery. It was all a very touching ceremony. She had many friends.
An Unexpected Food Delivery
On Monday afternoon, we drove back to Mexico City. That night, in our hotel room near the airport, we ordered Mexican food to be delivered. The delivery driver handed me the bag of food, and I thought, This seems really small. Inside, we discovered that an item was missing. In its place was something else: it looked like cactus with cheese, avocado, and onions. I thought, Jeez! Then I saw the note. It said something like, “Sorry, we were out of guacamole and tortilla chips, so we replaced them with this cactus and cheese dish. Thanks!”
What the…? I was a little angry and went to my phone to immediately write a bad review. My wife thought I was a little off my rocker for taking it so seriously. I’m glad she just left me alone to complain. Like, hey, if you don’t have the item I ordered, then just take it off the bill, but don’t replace it with something I didn’t order and then charge me for it! I eventually got a refund from the app. But still miffed about it.
Conclusion
Life has been a mixture of happiness, purpose, and unexpected sadness, from enjoying our new life as a family in Costa Rica to returning to work and traveling to Mexico to say goodbye to my wife’s mother. The journey continues. Next chapter will be brighter.
