Ever dream of moving to Costa Rica? Our new co-director Rick Juliusson (in the grey “Raven Lunatic” shirt, hiking with other newly-arrived school parents on the nearby mountain trails) shares his initial welcome in July:
As a newcomer to the Monteverde community, my Welcome Radar is running strong. We can learn a lot about a school and a community by how new families, workers and students are welcomed.
My welcome begins as soon as I arrive after a 24-hour flight/drive up the mountain. My co-director Debbie has already lit the lights, opened windows, and made sure the house was clean and ready for me. She gives me enough of an orientation to know where to put my bags down, then compassionately lets me crash for a few minutes on my own.
Only a few minutes, though, before one of our school’s local families shows up with a hot seafood meal. Delicious food and good company, telling me all about the reasons they choose our school for their children and showing how genuinely excited they are to have me join them. Instead of feeling alone and hungry, I feel loved and valued (and very well fed – they’ve just opened a seafood restaurant down the road, so they know how to cook!)
Breakfast (gallo pinto rice & beans with fresh-squeezed mango juice) the next morning is in the home of another family – one of the founders of the Quaker community from back in 1950 – and lunch is brought by yet another school parent/volunteer. And it’s not just food. Teachers, students, local families are constantly making special efforts to come and introduce themselves. Within the first week I’ve joined or been invited to weekly groups for Scrabble, yoga, volleyball, Shakespeare reading, choir, ultimate frisbee, indoor soccer, and more committees than a Quaker can shake a friendly stick at. I walk up to a local hotel to ask about using their pond for swimming, and the receptionist eagerly tells me that his children are in the school and how they’ve been looking forward to meeting me since reading my bio (and that we’re welcome to swim if the cold water doesn’t freeze us).
I’ve lived in many communities in many parts of the world, and never had an easier time getting plugged in than here at Monteverde Friends School. I believe that in part, this is because Monteverde’s founding families literally had to rely on each other for survival and sanity – living (and giving birth!) in tents on the cloud-forest mountainside for years as they established their new home and community. This legacy of giving, receiving and welcoming is not just a good habit, it’s the true spirit of this special place. Whether you’re a family wanting a new space to breathe together, a student looking to study abroad, or someone wanting to visit or volunteer, you’ll be welcomed with open arms (and kitchens) and love living here in Monteverde.
