Tiny Grass

A week after I posted about my concerns regarding a proposed update to Costa Rica’s residency laws, I feel better about the situation.  Some lawyers in CR have maintained that it would be unconstitutional for the law to be applied retroactively, and that was my great fear - that people would be forced to leave when it came time to renew their residency and meet higher income requirements.  An article yesterday, quoting Mario Zamora (the Director of Immigration who basically drafted the proposal), goes a bit further.  Mr. Zamora is quoted thus:

“This does not affect in any way those already in Costa Rica. In fact, all Resident Rentistas (or pensioners) who have a temporary residence will automatically become permanent residents…. The benefits are retroactive, but not the negative aspects.”

I’m cautiously relieved, especially since his comments about the proposed figures being too high with a possibility of negotiating down to more reasonably levels is sensible.  Hopefully this sensibility extends to other legislators he will be working with.

This whole issue did force me into some soul-searching and what kind of a life experience I envisioned in Costa Rica.  The idea of having a large community of expats and the availability of western amenities were never the primary reasons that made CR attractive - they were the logical reasons that helped with the fear of the unknown.  The dream began with a land chock full of nature and affordable living.  After researching I found that there were quite a few expats, which was comforting.  Moving any place new is hard - it took us 2 years before we got comfortable living in the Hudson Valley.  Some neighbors recently moved away in less than 2 years, and I’m sure that the culture shock of moving from the Bronx to upstate NY made things a lot harder.  Moving to a different country with a new language adds some hurdles, but it will definitely be easier with people around who can offer insight into our shared experience.

I was back at school - or maybe just a school instead of the specific one I went to.  I decided to change my major, from economics to … farming.  Except they didn’t offer farming and I had to settle for horticulture.  No matter that I was already a senior, I figured I could double up on classes and graduate in just an extra year.  My immediate plan for summer was to get an internship at our local CSA.

Very strange dream - I’ve gotten over the fact that college was a general waste of time & money, though I did dwell on the could’ve/should’ve for a few years.  From the unschooling perspective, I can’t see going to college for something that can be learned other ways, like on your own or via volunteering, an apprenticeship or a job.

The cost of college has got to be a bubble waiting to be burst.  What’s the point of graduating chock full of debt?  Who needs a degree for menial office labor?  A recession will probably push college demand even higher as people go back to school to Improve Themselves, but there has to be some sort of backlash brewing.

Life is about adapting to change and it looks like we’ll be getting a nice lesson in adaptation if the Costa Rican legislature passes some proposals that could make an incredible impact on the resident expat population.  The potential changes center on the income requirements needed for certain types of residency which affect most legal expat residents.

The proposal came up quietly on October 27 (and has not been publicized much at all) and 4 days ago was unanimously approved and sent to the legislature for action, which is obscenely fast for a country where things tend to take their time.  It seems a little fishy and coincided with an official visit from China’s president (the CR goverment started sucking up to the Chinese government last year by breaking relations with Taiwan).  Here’s a quick rundown of the changes:

1. The old requirements

One could become a Pensionado (retiree) by proving $600/mo in pension income.  One could become a Rentista (legal resident) by proving a monthly income of $1000 per adult and $500 per child - for 60 months.  That requires a bank deposit of $60k per adult and $30k per children.  For a family of four like us, the total bank deposit would be $180k. Read more »

The picture has nothing to do with unschooling. I just like it

Early in 2008, Dumbing Us Down convinced me that unschooling was the way to go. But you still have to look inside yourself for compelling reasons to support unschooling. At least I felt that way, that the external and internal reasons needed to be combined to complete the big picture.

I also was concerned about saddling my kids with my baggage. Am I making a decision more for them? Or more for me? The whole process of going against the societal norms is daunting, with lots of Am I doing the right thing? worries. For the most part, I don’t have those worries now. They’ve faded over time, but I remember them cropping up quite frequently early on. Learning to trust my kids and myself has been a journey, and it’s not over by any means.

But I have looked inside myself for the compelling reasons. Like many parents, I’d like my kids to have it better than I did. The it is specifically the ability to be themselves and follow their dreams. Here are my personal reasons to be an unschooler:

1. My interests haven’t changed much in 25-ish years. When I was 10, I liked dinosaurs, mythology, Renaissance art and ancient cultures. At the time, I asked my dad for books on Michelangelo & Da Vinci. He was stunned but never followed up on it (I can understand - arts book are expensive, and we weren’t rich).

I added some more interestes since then, but just about anything on either of those 4 topics will hold my interest. I ended up studying Economics in college and hated every minute, a waste of time & money.

2. In some 16+ years of schooling, 3 specific things stand out as memories of wonderful learning or a point of personal pride. A high school paper on comic books, a college class on Hinduism and learning languages. They’re definitely reflections of personal interest. I don’t think the rest of the stuff was worth it - especially since I could have learned all of that without school.

3. Everything I do to earn money, I taught myself. I’m not talking about writing and math, but the specific skills that I use that result in my income: coding websites, IT stuff and all that. Realizing that my own interest led me to learn everything myself was a revealing moment.

4. (Caveat: this is probably baggage) When I was 11, I spent an afternoon considering the whole concept of college deeply. This was some serious thought. I knew that college was important, thought of what I liked to do and what I was good at, and I came to the conclusion that I wanted to go to art school.

I went down to my dad’s office in the basement and told him of my decision. The man blew up at me, railing about getting a job blah blah blah. I was crushed and gave up the idea of art school after that. The kicker is that it was his baggage being dumped on me - he went to art school and never did a thing with it. He was also foolish enough to not even try. I’m quite sure he could’ve gotten work as a commercial artist in advertising, but the loss is his. I bring out this memory on the rare occasions he pisses me off these days. Needless to say, I would not do this to my kids.

My son’s birthday is usually a day that I savor, but this time it sucked. Not anything to do with his birthday, but mostly to do with my relationships with people at the party. I’m having trouble relating to most everyone, except Arp, that is. It’s a lonely place to be. Maybe I would usually feel less lonely, as Arp and I usually spend lots of time together talking. But with his work schedule lately, I’ve been left with the continual knowledge that I feel like an absolute stranger around other people most times. Read more »