100-Acre Wood

We’ve heard more than once that moving to a new country, like going through the grieving process, has its own distinct steps.  It is fair to say at this point, that while we are very much glad to be here, the honeymoon is over.  This Thursday we hit our four-month mark since having left the U.S.  Our furniture arrives exactly four days after that.  Not complaining, but to borrow from Dalton:  “I’m just saying . . . .”  all five of us are really, really, but REALLY ready to get our stuff.  Not that we’re overly materialistic, mind you, but I admit that the charm of camping is over.

Last week the kids started Martial Arts

This week we had our apartment painted.  It was amazing the difference it made to get rid of the glare of white everywhere.  We have gone darker than we normally do, which seems to work just fine.  The light from the windows counter-balances the darker hues and the almond floors—and it is all very pleasing to the eyes.  Sometime between Wednesday and Friday we have area rugs arriving for the living room and bedrooms, which should also soften our surroundings.  Then, our Halloween “treat” will be to sleep in our own beds.  Let’s hear a little “woo-hoo” in anticipation.

Note the look on Brynne's face--yesterday, after her second lesson, the instructor diplomatically explained that in Costa Rica, women are considered the weaker sex, but, that Brynne was not really like that . . . really?

On the “wow” column of living in Costa Rica, a highlight this week was going to “U.N. Day” at Braden’s elementary on Friday.  There is a special assembly first thing in the morning when all of the students, dressed in typical clothing from their home countries, (highest honors go to the lone student from Belgium who wore a padded brown smock, and carried a sign that declared “I am a waffle”) parade in country at a time, akin to the opening ceremonies of the Olympics—country placards and all (instead of national anthems, local music is played—the U.S. paraded in to the chorus of “Sweet Home Alabama”).  There are about 250 students in his school, and this year, there were 40 nations represented.  Some nations only had one student representing them, but even so, the diversity was inspiring.  The biggest group was Costa Rica (no surprise there) with what looked like 60-70 kids, followed by the U.S., Colombia, and Mexico.  Nonetheless, there was a smattering from all over the world, including Europe, India, and China.

40 countries in all:  Argentina, Australia . . . .

On the Church front, Dayna and I are settling in (kind of) to our callings.  I think we have mentioned in previous posts how fun it is to see impressive maturity in the Church since we last served in Latin America.  The leadership we deal with now—different from Ecuador and Peru in the 90’s—has many who have grown up in the Church.  Their experience, commitment, and leadership skills are great.  In a twist of irony that belies our commitment to minimalist stake involvement, we have sought and just received approval to hold a summer soccer league and monthly stake dances during their summer break (December through March).  We have congregations with a lot of young men who like to play soccer, and our hope is to harness that energy and commitment into a greater sense of identity with the rest of the youth in the stake.  As for the dances—word on the street is that they have essentially been banned for the last decade.  Our new stake president has a different view on their role, and we are seeking healthy ways for young men and young women to meet and interact with each other.

That's Braden in the Cardinals hoody

So, how many of you remember the flood in the 100 acre-wood (remember how Pooh went in to save Piglet?).  Can’t say that I have watched the videos lately, but, more than once I have found the line from the chorus churning in my head (“and the rain came down, and down, and down . . . “)—because for the past 2-3 weeks, the rain here has been nearly incessant.  Costa Rica has its seasons too, and we are at the height of the rainy season.  Up until a few weeks ago, it was common to have rain in the afternoon, but the mornings were full of sunshine.  Not now—just rain and clouds.  It is hard not to get depressed.  Word on the street is that this should all be over by early December.  That is the hope to which we are clinging.  Temperatures are not terribly cold (mostly high 60s/low 70s during the day) right now, but, we finally came home from church today and turned on the heat around the house.  Heating bill be darned—it felt great.

We got out to see a flick last Monday (Columbus Day)—we saw Real Steel.  Kind of a 21^st century Rocky—and we all had a good time.  Had intended to head north to a beach, but the aforementioned rain doused that plan.  We are now focusing our travel plans to Christmas time, when, with Keaton home, we will actually have the entire family home. 

Got word that our niece Karalee is now officially engaged, and we are very happy for her and her Scott—congratulations to them, and to the Fullers!

Well, time to go.  Hope all is well out your way.

Pura Vida!

The Karlinseys

Ramon Vargas

One man's shopping cart yesterday morning

We are believers that one of the best part of life’s adventures is the interesting people you meet along the way.  This week we met Ramon Vargas.  Ramon is soon to turn 18, and is in his penultimate year of high school at a United Nations sponsored school about ten minutes from our home.  Students are selected from around the world—he is one of three Bolivians here this year.  We met Ramon through Church connections.  Besides just being a nice kid, Ramon is on our “watch” list because he is an orphan, and has grown up in a Bolivian orphanage in a town near the Argentine border.  He has spent much of the past twenty-four hours with our family, and we are as amazed as we are impressed that from his background, he has made his way into this type of an opportunity.  We hope to see more of him.

Braden and the Yuccas

“Going to market” has become a part of our shopping routine.  Saturday mornings there are open-air markets around town where you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables, and generally at a much better price than at the grocery stores. 

Yesterday at the market

I went to Nicaragua again on business this week.  It is a fascinating place, and much different than Costa Rica:  still feels to me like China twenty years ago (think that comes from the socialism), and, there is much less of a middle class there than there is here.

Home of MLB player Vicente Padilla (pitcher, Dodgers);  from the small town I visited Tuesday.  Local folks are very understandably proud of him

Leon, Nicaragua

Saw a surprising number of donkey-drawn carts in Nicaragua

The kids continue to do well.  School is much more demanding that what they are accustomed to.  We have all been surprised at the sheer amount of homework that the kids have.  We commonly see them spending hours per night, and much of the weekend immersed in assignments and projects.  Fortunately, the social adjustment has been very smooth, and all have friends, and feel comfortable. 

Dalton's P.E. teacher is a staunch believer in consistent, cardio workouts, and assigns four hours a week for homework.  Pictures are required as proof of completion.   Go Dalton, go!

Dayna and I are enjoying our church callings (working with the youth in the area).  We are working out the logistical issues of needing to visit ten congregations regularly, and still taking care of our kids.  We are taking them with us on visits sometimes, and others we are starting out in Sacrament Meeting with them, and then heading off for the next couple of hours to other units.  Friends in our ward are helping us to get them home.   What is not going well at church is our attempt to get our kids to join with us in the choir.  Time will tell how much the battle to do that is worth.  As noted from the attached picture. It has literally taken some wrestling to get them to go along.

Trying to "persuade" Dalton of the virtues of Choir Practice

We still have no furniture, but it is en route.  Supposed to hit the port on October 14^th.  We hope to have it in our home within a week or two of that.  Ironically, now that we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, we are worried about our furniture arriving before our area rugs do (we ordered these locally).  It was no small accomplishment to find a place that sold wall-to-wall carpeting that could make us area rugs, and they are scheduled to arrive right around the same time that our furniture does.  The race is on . . .

We are getting deeper into rainy season—but even so, we continue to have sunny mornings, and, temperatures seem to be warming up.  Some of the locals say that we are getting less rain this year than normal, and that it may end early.  Hope so!

So, with our furniture in place in a few weeks, we will be ready to receive visitors!  We hope you will decide to come.

Pura Vida!

The Karlinseys

September 04, 2011

Finally, we are officially a two-car family again.  We picked up Dayna’s car, another Honda, on Tuesday.  Feels good to be taking one step closer to "normalcy".

It only looks like we buy Japanese--the Pilot was made in the U.S.

Also, after two months off at Church, Dayna and I were both given callings/responsibilities this week.  Dayna was called to be the Stake Young Women’s President; I was called to be the Stake Young Men’s president (our thoughts exactly—what?).  The Stake Presidency didn’t seem fazed by the fact that we still have three children at home, and that we need to be at church with them.  However, given the fact that there are eleven units in our stake, all in different buildings, and all meeting in the morning, we see a decided logistical challenge ahead of us.  Yesterday morning we spent three hours with a member our stake presidency, driving to the different buildings and programming the chapel locations into our GPSs so that we can get there on our own.

This was a sobering week on the home front.  It is getting nigh unto impossible to deny that Dalton is as tall as me now.  With Keaton having already passed me . . . man oh man, what’s a Dad to do?

Speaking of Keaton, he will turn 18 this week (the 7^th).

Kids continue to do well in school.  Two of the three had invites this weekend; guess the third officially did too, but, Dalton decided to forego the “Freshman Welcome Party” to which everyone was invited on Saturday, mostly because of the cover fee for the open-bar (it wasn’t the fee, but the bar, that was issue).  Thank you, Dalton.

Dayna made it back from packing up the house in Jacksonville on Sunday night (yeah!), and we are really glad to have her back.  She made it out on a jaunt with several other moms from school this week to explore the markets in downtown San Jose.  Apparently, there are deals to be found there (we keep being told that food, clothing, etc. is all more reasonable downtown vs. in our suburb).  She also took an intro class to pilates, and is toying with starting up.

We love hearing from you, so don’t be strangers!

Pura Vida!

The Karlinseys

Summer's Over!

August 28, 2011

Two weeks in the apartment.  The air-mattress thing got REALLY old, really fast.  Not that we’re sissies or anything, but, because four of the five of the mattresses  could not hold air for more than about an hour after the second night.  We love the look of our almond-wood floors, but not the feel.  Even so, the kids did not want to go back to a hotel, so they toughed it out a night or two more until the rental stuff got here (I say “they” because I chivalrously went on a business trip to Nicaragua, where, ahem, the bed was quite comfy).  Now we all have our own beds, we have a kitchen table, and a couch and love seat for the family room (in addition to two folding tables and several folding chairs on loan to us by our bishop).  We’re still camping, but, one step closer to normalcy.

Like that dapper school uniform, Dalt.

Dayna has been back in the U.S. for the past week getting our home packed up in Jacksonville.  Keat flew out to help her, and now our belongings are on a container, scheduled to be in our new home by  . . . . Halloween?  Still too far away to real excited yet.  Dayna loved the week with Keaton, and getting to see family and friends as well.

It feels too soon for the kids to be going back to school.  But they did.  With no small dose of apprehension.  The whole “new kid on the block” thing exacerbated by the language and culture, and being the children of a mere mortal business manager, vs. one of the off-spring of Costa Rica’s rich and famous who make up a big chunk of the student body.

Volcanoes in Nicaragua.

Apprehensions were unnecessary, as it turns out.  They all have fit right in, and are already getting invites to parties, play-dates, etc.  Biggest crisis was Braden getting flustered the other day at lunch.  When he finally opened up about the root cause of the fuss, turns out that he couldn’t decide whether he should eat lunch with his fourth grade friends (he is in fourth grade), or his fifth grade friends (peer pressure stinks, no?).  He Solomonically opted to do recess with the first crowd, and lunch with the latter.

A kinder, gentler, more capitalist Daniel Ortega running for re-election

I enjoyed my trip to Nicaragua.  Not what I expected.  Very calm, orderly, pretty.  Said to be the safest country in Central America.  Daniel Ortega (remember the Sandinistas??) is in power, again, and soon to be up for re-election.  Polls show him in a decided lead.  This time ‘round, he’s a capitalist.  Guess since the revolution he has invested in several businesses (including much of the local media), and now has a healthy respect for making money.

The shuttle back from Managua.

Just gonna throw it out there—with all of the joggers and bikers on the roads everyday, I (Glenn) have found myself pondering another “Tri” for next year.  There is one that looks like a hoot a few hours from here on the ocean (“in” the ocean for the swim portion of the race).  March 17 if anyone wants to sign up with me.  Just throwin’ it out there . . . .      http://rev3tri.com/costa-rica/costa-rica-sign-up/registration/

We get Dayna back in about 61/2 hours, and can hardly wait. 

Let us hear from you.  Remember, you can reach us via a local call to our J’ville number:  217-245-9597.

Pura Vida!

The Karlinseys

CAMPING

August 14, 2011

It finally happened.  After nearly twenty-three years of marriage, four kids, and eighteen domiciles that we have called “home” it’s never been a problem.  But on the nineteenth, there was a clear competition over the bedrooms.  Will protect the guilty and not mention names, but the irony is that the room that was the coveted, and the one that was scorned, were in opposite esteem just five weeks ago.  Oh well.  Truth be known, it is the difference between a Bentley and a Benz (size, views, quality, each has walk-in closet, each has great views)—a point which has been emphasized, but only partially accepted so far.

Entry to the Apartment--which will be through the elevator door at the end of the hall

Yesterday we “moved in” to our apartment after six weeks of hotel living.  We have all new appliances that we bought last week, so we can cook, clean dishes, wash clothes, all from the comfort of our own home.  What we don’t have, however, is anything to sit on.  Literally.  The floor is our throne.  Last night we slept on blow-up air mattresses; two queens and a double—which means that Dalton and Braden had to share.  Don’t yet know how that worked out for them, but if it was at all like Dayna’s and my experience, they gradually lost about half of their air overnight.

Did we mention we like the views?

As comfortable as that wasn’t, the inconvenience of no furniture in the house was eclipsed by the awe of waking up to the sunrise over the Central Valley as it is called here in San Jose.  Personally, I love it.  We have wonderful views in any room with windows.  From the front of the house, it is mountains, valley, our suburb of Escazu, and the city of San Jose.  From the back windows of the house, it is Costa Rican countryside—literally.  There is a lot on a hill behind us where a few minutes ago I watched the chickens roaming the field looking for breakfast.

Sunrise this morning from our Master Bedroom

On Wednesday or Thursday, we will be getting a bit of rental furniture, thank you Cargill, until ours arrives.  (Since Dayna has not yet packed it out, getting our own in house could still be a couple of months away).  Gotta love camping!

View from our breakfast area--back of the house

Tomorrow, Monday, is Mother’s Day here in Costa Rica.  To their credit, it is a national holiday—i.e., the kind where people don’t go to work.  There will likely still be some stores open, and we will likely go look for area rugs.

Last Friday the kids had new student orientation, and school starts this Tuesday (the 16^th).  We have sensed a little nervousness, but nothing too onerous.  They will be in uniforms, and all three campuses (high school—Dalton; middle school—Brynne; and elementary school—Braden) are all within a stone’s throw of each other.  With the high mix of nationalities in the school, we expect a United Nations experience for them.  We are also assuming, from admissions testing and standards that have already taken place, that Country Day may require more study at home that our kids have been accustomed to.

To their credit, all three of the kids have “exceeded expectations” (can I use performance review lexicon?) this summer.  Rarely a complaint has passed their lips about the move.  They have dived in heads first with Spanish, and with Church, and even tennis.  We fully expect they will take on their new school with the same approach, and do just fine.

I will be going to Nicaragua on Wednesday and Thursday.  This will be a first for me.  I have been told multiple times that Nicaragua is the safest country in Central America.  I am looking forward to the visit.

For the record, we now have Vonage set up as well.  So if you want to call us, just use our Jacksonville number (217-245-9597), it has followed us here.

We hope all is well for you, and hope to hear from you soon.

Pura Vida!

The Karlinseys

July 31, 2011

View of the Orosi Valley, as seen from our breakfast table

Outside of the Orosi Valley

This week we finally got a car.  Yippee!  Our Pilot finally arrived, six weeks after we ordered it.  We have had one before, but this one is better.  They've made some improvements since '02 when we bought our last one.  We were supposed to have a second car as well--but, after the saleswoman promised we could have it last Tuesday, and we transferred the money to the dealership, she told us that we couldn't have the car until August 18.  To ease our pain, she offered an Accord to use until then, at no cost.  On Friday when we got the Pilot, we also picked up the Accord, and we came to understand why it was no charge.  "Goldie" is an '02 model herself, with 190,000 km on her.  No need to document all the dings and damage, would take too much paper, and the Costa Ricans are eco-conscious if they are anything.  Dayna was already in a state of self-consciousness over a haircut that she got on Thursday, and loathes (the stylist took "a little shorter" to an extreme), and now the car to go with the cut.  She may not go out in the daylight.

Braden and Bynne in front of our chapel this morning

Pigs at the organic farm

Speaking of short haircuts, Glenn got one too.  His short cut started with a short stylist.  She seemed to be somewhere between 4' 8" and 4' 10".  Not a good sign from the start when he had to make unnatural contortions so that she could get at his head from different angles.  But he knew he was in trouble when she went into a deathgrip biting of her lower lip (constant), and then started breathing really heavily.  Tried to talk to her and get her to loosen up a bit (self-interest), but to no avail.  The good news:  he won't need another haircut until Thanksgiving.

Monday was a holiday here, and we decided we really needed to get out of our little apartment (the hotel one), and away for the morning.  We scoured the internet, and headed for Orosi Valley--approximately an hour a way.  The criteria we wanted was a good, typical breakfast, with a view.  We weren't disappointed on either account.  And, the restaurant/hotel had an "organic farm" to boot.  Had fun talking with the gardner, and looking at the livestock.  The kids also found a playground, and things literally "took off" after they got Glenn to pump the handle that made the swing go-round.  (We have tried to put in a video clip, but not sure it is working).  After breakfast we headed down the valley, into the town, and then countryside.  Beautiful scenery, farms (coffee, mainly), and tranquility.  Saw a lot of bikers, and put this on our list of places to go back to with bikes.

Some men on horses--just a few blocks from our hotel

We continue to be glad we brought the family down before school started.  Dayna and the kids continue to study Spanish everyday at Berlitz, and the kids have been fairly involved with the youth group at church, giving them a natural way to begin to adapt to the culture.  

We are very anxious to get into our new apartment--which was supposed to take place tomorrow.  However, the land-lady called the other day to say that there were problems from the previous renters that needed to be fixed (floors), and could we wait until the 12th.  Bummer.  Even so, we are going to the complex often to use the pool and the gym.

Brynne, Dalton, and Glenn went on a youth trip to the San Jose temple on Friday night.  It is much smaller than the temples in St. Louis and Nauvoo, but beautiful.  It shares a parking lot with a smallish chapel.

School starts in two weeks (just like back home).  The kids are getting tested for entrance on Tuesday.  They are excited (for school to begin, not for the testing).  

Please drop us a line when you get a chance.  We love hearing from you.

Pura Vida!

The Karlinseys

July 22, 2011

Kind of an almost normal week.  Kids went to the orthodontist--looks like Brynne will get braces soon, and Dalton still keeps his (will this ever end)?  Thank heavens for insurance.  It's a long weekend--tomorrow celebrates when Guanacaste, the big province on the coast (where much of the tourism is) was annexed from Nicaragua.  Guanacaste was where we had the Bunnell Family Reunion earlier this month, and where these first two video clips are from (first is Braden repelling in a gorge, the second is Brynne on a surfboard on the Pacific; Brynne made some of the 40+ crowd envious with her natural comfort on a surfboard--during our first lesson when we were trying to just stand up for more than a few seconds, she was bouncing up and finding time to adjust her swim suit for modesty without ever missing a beat on the wave).

Thought we would have the car by now, but, still going through the licensing process.  We have paid for the second one now as well, so have the hope that, after not having cars of our own now for nearly two months, we will again have two by the end of the week.

Dayna and the kids are at Berlitz every afternoon (M-F) and are all progressing.  Braden now answers the phone in Spanish.  We get as far as "Hola.  Como esta?"  Dalton keeps getting asked to give prayers in church, and has actually done very well at holding his own with his youth group.  Brynne, a little shy about speaking, is also getting a lot of vocab down.

Youth group ("Mutual") has also been a great inroad for the kids culturally.  We appreciate this, but, it is an adjustment in some ways for mom and dad too.  For example, we thought twice as we saw Brynne drive off in a little "micro bus" about the size of a volkswagen jetta on Wednesday night, with about eight people crammed in it, to drive off for a young women's activity.

Dayna's cell phone disappeared.  And then the hotel phone quit working.  Pain in the neck.  But someone told us today how to go by a SIM card for a few dollars--think we're going to invest in one or two, and slip them into our U.S. phones that are sitting unused in a drawer.

Introduction

When we first saw it, we assumed that the ubiquitous “Pura Vida” in Costa Rica must be the center of a national publicity campaign (kind of like the insidious “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”). We were wrong, as it turns out. “Pura Vida” (roughly meaning “life to its fullest”) is a long-standing part of the cultural mantra here, and frankly, does a pretty good job at giving a snap shot into the Costa Rican psyche. Besides ads for tourism, Pura Vida is an often heard response for “how’s it going”.

Tamarindo Beach at Sunset

Well, we like both the mantra, and the message. So as we launch our maiden voyage into the blogosphere, we have dubbed our blog “Pura Vida Karlinseys” and sincerely hope that our time in Costa Rica will be “Pura Vida.”

We admit, up front, that we are pathetic correspondents, which is ironic given our desire to stay in touch with friends and family. So, in an effort to touch base more regularly, and to document our adventure, we’re going to attempt a blog.

Dalton on the Canopy Zip Line

Today officially marks the end of our third week in Costa Rica. As big moves tend to be, it has been go-go-go-go-go for the past several weeks. As Dayna pointed out recently, most of the time, one makes major decisions at a measured pace, with information gathered over time. So it is not for the faint-at-heart to be simultaneously deciding on housing, schools, cars, doctors, language teachers, music teachers, coaches, major appliances, telephones, temporary furniture, opening banking accounts, obtaining residence visas, etc., all while trying to get the kids off to a good start in making friends, and laying the foundation for a positive experience. Oh, and Glenn has a job, too. One which he is loving, but, is extremely busy, and probably will be for a while.

But, no complaints. Really no attitude problems from anyone so far (we’ve had a few “deer-in-the-headlight” moments with Spanish, but other than that, we’re good).

Cousins

So, enough intro. Here’s what’s new:

Our place is top left of the right tower

Housing. After looking at probably 30 houses, and never finding one that had the size and amenities we need, we scrapped the house hunt, and decided on an apartment. We are going to be on the 10th floor of a tower fairly high up a hill on the south side of the central valley that is metropolitan San Jose. The altimeter on the rental car we have puts the place right at 1100 meters (3,500 feet?) elevation. Our new home is similar in size to our home in Jacksonville, but distributed differently, and one its best aspects is the two story windows in the living room that over-look the valley, and the fact that there are great views from every room.

View from our Living Room Window

It has an Olympic length pool, tennis court, weight room, gardens, etc.—which we have to share, of course—but, which someone else will take care of (woo-hoo!). We move in on August 01, and are in an “aparthotel” in the meantime. That means a we’re in a long-term hotel of sorts.

At the top of Poas Volcano

Cars. Not an easy thing getting cars here. Besides the fact that they are some 70% more expensive than home, they’re not just sitting on a lot to drive off in, either. We ordered a Honda Pilot about a month ago, and just got word that it is now at the port. We hope to have it by the end of the week. We are still trying to decide what we want for a second car, but hope to resolve that this week as well. In the meantime, the company has assigned a car and driver to Glenn; Dayna has gone beyond the driver, and is getting herself around town with a rental car, and a GPS. The latter is Heaven-sent, since the Costa Ricans don’t really use addresses the way most countries do (the addresses are “relative”—literally—for example, a store, instead of being #45 Main Street, will be “3 blocks south of the Marriott Hotel. So, one learns to program places found into the “favorites” section of the GPS.

Dayna in front of the "Friendship Bridge"
donated to Costa Rica by Taiwan.

Work. Great, and busy. The combination of a new business unit, greatly increased responsibilities, and the integration of an acquisition mean long hours and pretty intense focus. While they are all smaller, Glenn has responsibility for 15 plants instead of one, with three distinct product lines. His main focus for the next few months will be the operations in Costa Rica and Nicaragua; but, eventually he will also spend more time overseeing the operations in Honduras and Guatemala as well. He really likes the team he is with, and is really enjoying it.

Glenn rock climbing

Family Reunion. A long time ago, Dayna’s family started planning a 50th anniversary celebration for her parents. Much to our benefit, they made the venue the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. None of us expected that my official start date would be delayed as much as it was, so as it turned out, it was the same day as the family arrived in Costa Rica. Glenn ended up taking off a few days (flew back for meetings, and spent time most days on the computer), but was able to pull of time with the family in what was a great time. As it turns out, it was also great time for the Karlinseys to explore their new host country—surfing, zip lining, river rafting (tubing), horse-back riding. Pura Vida, man, Pura Vida.

Dalton enjoying the rapids

Keaton. Came down a day early, and drove with us from San Jose to meet the Bunnell clan on the coast (this particular spot was 4+ hours away). He then returned with us, and just headed back to BYU a few days ago. Was a lot of fun to have him with us, but we were not able to coax him to give up his job and his life in Provo to stay with us. C’est la vie.

Church. We are blessed to belong to a very friendly congregation that has reached out to us a lot. Admittedly, this has made the transition much easier. It is fun to have “local contact” for Dayna and the kids (Glenn gets a lot at work, but, they may not otherwise). There are also a number of expats in there as well who have been a great help in getting a “lay of the land” and getting settled.