Today was a triumph. Went to the jungle for a jungle zip lining thing, that everyone who goes to costa rica is expected to try. Teddy was skeptical...not against it, but just Teddy about it-just like he is about swimming in the ocean at 6 am with Thomas...you can just seem him thinking "can't this wait until 7?" But the night before he said simply " I am doing it. " and he never wavered, try as I might to convince him to stay back with the women who were cooking our lunch in an effort to get their chicken and rice recipe out of them.
We get picked up and pick up others including a family of extremely skantily clad 19 year old girls with how shall I put this, s very jersey shore vibe about them. Mascara is put on liberally...the costa rican guide with very pale green eyes, seems interested in Mackenzie. I tell the boys if they ever bring home someone like that they should hide her from Tammy or me.
We go to the jungle, we get a safety demonstration that lasts five seconds...don play with the clips, lift jor legs, don swing. Any que-shons? Nana Matzo ball true to form is yelling queschons at me..like I am reinhold messner with a caribiner. My strategy becomes clear: I am going first...and that I do..first group, first person teddy who, frederick who..I am out of there. Here is the drill. You are clipped in by a young beefy Costa Rican who is clearly paid to flirt with over-the-hill gringos...darling this, honey that..one is totally into Nana Matzo Ball. "she is Hee-steriKal. " then you zip down through trees until you get to a __and this is the bad part- tree platform high, high f ing high in the air where you cling unattractively with your rear end out to the tree....waiting to go again.
First zip is fine..I think what is big deal. then Nana then Teddy..he seems happy..no problem...we carry on. Only really really scary part is this "swing" 150 feet in the air...I cannot explain it because I am in my zone...the same one that got me down Corbet's couloir...total denial with eyes closed. However, there was some drama behind me as this other super sweet 10 year old kid from bermuda..a kid who calls himself "a total wimp" is sobbing...I did not see this, because other people are not my main concern. But when I did see him, I really did fear he would pee his pants. I have never seem anyone's legs shake like that. No joke. He was terrified. Well of course this was all we needed...someone more scared than you makes you an instant hero and then teddy and i are now letting go as we swing...high fiving close to the edge of the tree stand, 100 feet up...we are into it.
Fabulous..nana is so scared, but she is euphoric...we are in the middle of a rain forest and the view is sublime.
Finally just as we are finishing, it starts to rain..hard crazy rain forest rain and we are now soaked...back for chicken and rice and coffee and Mackenzie watching ...whose mascara is now off and she seems panicky.
Teddy falls asleep in the bus on the way home..so cute. Tonight we are all dressed up for passover seder (sorry god it was late!) menu planned by teddy and the chef...thunder and lightening and something baking in the oven. xo
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Nana Matzo Ball
Greetings from el jungle!
We are here with Teddy Klausner, traveler extraordinaire, and Martha, napper extraordinaire. We had small snafu in that when we arrived, there was no car waiting for us because the people thought we were coming the next day. No matter. We arrange for another driver to come in the morning for the three hour drive, and check into the best hotel in town: a Marriott with surprisingly comfortable beds and surprisingly cold pool. Unfortunately in Costa Rica, the Easter holiday is mostly a holy Thursday/good Friday celebration and to our dismay, no alcohol is served in restaurants either of those days. This is crushing to all but the children who delight at the buffet "oh it's one of THOSE things " teddy says....like I know how to work a buffet people.
So we arrive after long drive to a really nice house and lots of staff..cooks. cleaners, concierges...and run down to the beach where Thomas is pretty far out in the waves with the children and I am on my way in. We are told by Jeff another house person that there is a strong rip tide and no one should be in this section. I wave to Thomas frantically, thinking: I am not losing a cute Jewish kid on passover if I can help it. Who knows? Thomas thinks they are exaggerating, but i will allow no one but him in the water in this section...only to the right and left.
The great story of the trip is the bonding between Teddy and Nana...she told him to call her Martha...and then it turned into Nana Martha and then she said no that takes too long...all my really old, good friends call me Motz...Teddy thinks she says Matzo as in Matzo ball and this kills us...so it is Nana Matzo ball forever more..and an honor awarded only to Teddy. They have long chats about Judaism and the old testament and she tells him not to worry she will be there for his Barmitzvah...she knows all about them and fear not...Nana Matzo will arrive in a "large hat" I do not know what that means, she says it all the time, but it seems to signify a person whose presence inspires calm and confidence. Not the first things we think of with MMB, but Teddy seems to buy it.
Teddy seems to worry about two things: mosquito (Kid you not he wanted to pull out his mosquito net from Africa in the Marriott. I tried to tell him nothing lived in the Marriott but us, and we were hanging by a thread as it was, considering the alcohol policy. He settled for spraying himself constantly. The second thing he seems to worry about it is going to hell for not celebrating passover, or worse- celebrating it in a catholic church. We dragged him to Easter mass and right off the bat he looked skeptical...had to shake hands with costa rican with nine fingers and this kid's father is an infectious disease specialist, so I saw him slyly wiping his hand on his shirt afterward. I let him play with my phone and covered his head with my hand when they threw holy water around..just in case it resulted in a spontaneous conversion. Finally I let them play outside before the end ..which was good because the celebration ended with a big chanting between the priest and the congregation..where the priest yelled (I think) Jesus is the messiah..or is great, or something, and the congregation yelled in response: VIVA!!! VIVA...it was a strange combination of Hitler rally and soccer match and it could have sent Theodore over the edge. When we got home he had pulled out chocolate covered matzo crackers (bless you tammy klausner!!!) and asked me several times pointedly when we were gong to do the seder dinner. The chef has done them before, and I had told him that...but tonight for Easter in honor of Jesus we would be eating sushi. But tomorrow!
Then at the absolute height of the afternoon heat, a surf instructor shows up...he does not look entirely sober, and the waves are four feet, so I do the only sensible thing and send the kids out alone and do not partake in the lesson myself. They did pretty well..both caught some waves, much to the delight of the fat white people on the beach who pronounced them "amazing" and came home euphoric and happy to be back in the pool with the monkeys in the trees around them.
pictures soon i promise!!
Final note is the sleeping! the sun goes down and so do we....kids slept 12 hours, Nana Matzo ball 12 plus a two hour nap, and the wehlens 11 with breaks but still!!! crazy.
So we arrive after long drive to a really nice house and lots of staff..cooks. cleaners, concierges...and run down to the beach where Thomas is pretty far out in the waves with the children and I am on my way in. We are told by Jeff another house person that there is a strong rip tide and no one should be in this section. I wave to Thomas frantically, thinking: I am not losing a cute Jewish kid on passover if I can help it. Who knows? Thomas thinks they are exaggerating, but i will allow no one but him in the water in this section...only to the right and left.
The great story of the trip is the bonding between Teddy and Nana...she told him to call her Martha...and then it turned into Nana Martha and then she said no that takes too long...all my really old, good friends call me Motz...Teddy thinks she says Matzo as in Matzo ball and this kills us...so it is Nana Matzo ball forever more..and an honor awarded only to Teddy. They have long chats about Judaism and the old testament and she tells him not to worry she will be there for his Barmitzvah...she knows all about them and fear not...Nana Matzo will arrive in a "large hat" I do not know what that means, she says it all the time, but it seems to signify a person whose presence inspires calm and confidence. Not the first things we think of with MMB, but Teddy seems to buy it.
Teddy seems to worry about two things: mosquito (Kid you not he wanted to pull out his mosquito net from Africa in the Marriott. I tried to tell him nothing lived in the Marriott but us, and we were hanging by a thread as it was, considering the alcohol policy. He settled for spraying himself constantly. The second thing he seems to worry about it is going to hell for not celebrating passover, or worse- celebrating it in a catholic church. We dragged him to Easter mass and right off the bat he looked skeptical...had to shake hands with costa rican with nine fingers and this kid's father is an infectious disease specialist, so I saw him slyly wiping his hand on his shirt afterward. I let him play with my phone and covered his head with my hand when they threw holy water around..just in case it resulted in a spontaneous conversion. Finally I let them play outside before the end ..which was good because the celebration ended with a big chanting between the priest and the congregation..where the priest yelled (I think) Jesus is the messiah..or is great, or something, and the congregation yelled in response: VIVA!!! VIVA...it was a strange combination of Hitler rally and soccer match and it could have sent Theodore over the edge. When we got home he had pulled out chocolate covered matzo crackers (bless you tammy klausner!!!) and asked me several times pointedly when we were gong to do the seder dinner. The chef has done them before, and I had told him that...but tonight for Easter in honor of Jesus we would be eating sushi. But tomorrow!
Then at the absolute height of the afternoon heat, a surf instructor shows up...he does not look entirely sober, and the waves are four feet, so I do the only sensible thing and send the kids out alone and do not partake in the lesson myself. They did pretty well..both caught some waves, much to the delight of the fat white people on the beach who pronounced them "amazing" and came home euphoric and happy to be back in the pool with the monkeys in the trees around them.
pictures soon i promise!!
Final note is the sleeping! the sun goes down and so do we....kids slept 12 hours, Nana Matzo ball 12 plus a two hour nap, and the wehlens 11 with breaks but still!!! crazy.
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