Cat Box Training and Visa Interviews

5-24-2011

This update is mostly about Tigre the cat. So, Tigre is pretty much my bff here is Costa Rica, she's really the best cat ever. Since she was a baby, Tigre has known that she goes outside to use the bathroom. She's like a dog but better because I have a hole in the screen of one of my windows and just comes and goes when she wants too. Also, when I leave for trips to San Jose, I never have to worry about her starving to death because she is an exceptional hunter and catches birds, lizards and rats all the time. She's pretty much the coolest.

Now the time is approaching that we will go to the USA. Yes, Tigre the cat is also going to the states with me, but, I was lazy about training her with the cat box when she was a kitten because I just didn't want to have to clean it and now, what a problem. When we get to the states, she's going to have to be kept inside for at least 2 weeks so that she learns where her home is, otherwise she could get lost. In these 2 weeks, Tigre really needs to hit the target ie, the cat box. So, this last time that I was in San Jose I bought her a cat box and filled it with sand from where she usually goes outside. She's not sure what to make of this box with sand in it that is now in our house. Yesterday, I put her in there and she laid down like it was a new bed for her... At least today she has started to play around with the dirt. Training a dog is so not like training a cat. Hopefully over the next two months she will figure it out...

Update on visa stuff:

Last week Deivin and I were in San Jose running all over the place to take care of all the paperwork and stuff that he needs when we go the embassy for our interview. He had to have chest x-rays, blood test, vaccines and a visit to a doctor to make sure he is healthy. Each vaccine was $20! I could not believe it! So expensive. But, luckily they gave him a chicken pox vaccine so should my shingles come back one day, he won't catch a really bad case of chicken pox. Now we are all set for the interview that will be the 14th of June in San Jose. We should have the visa in hand a few days after that. Exciting!

2 more months to go!

For the past couple of months there have been no real changes made to any of my projects. I took the scouts on an outing to Jimenez to participate in the international day of the forest and they had lots of fun. I'm still meeting with my english class and am currently planning yet another clinic. I'm still waiting on the money to build the playground so hopefully that will happen soon. No big changes.

I do have big changes that happened with the Visa! Deivin and I were approved from the USCIS a few weeks ago and we were then quickly approved by the State Department (it's where they do a background check on me) and the papers were forwarded to the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica where I was able to pick them up last week while I was in San Jose for Peace Corps stuff. It's all really come together. Now all we need to do it take care of the medical visits, blood test, x-rays for Deivin, call the embassy and schedule an interview. We are just a few weeks away from having the actual visa in hand! Super exciting! We are heading to San Jose tomorrow and after that it usually takes about a week to get an interview and then usually it's the next day that you get the visa. It's all really worked out perfectly! Now we have plenty of time to prepare to leave while we have the visa. We will be able to buy airline tickets, Deivin and give notice to his work. It's all worked out so much better than I could have hoped for. Thank God for that!

I'm pretty much in a holding pattern for the next 2 months. I'm sooooooo extremely ready to get back to the states and see my family and friends and find a job and all that good stuff. I have the next 2 months to enjoy my friends and family here and to say goodbye. It will be hard, but I can't wait to see what's next, marry Deivin and start our life together! Life is good!