Tom and Ronit Ricoy: September 2005

Tom and Ronit Ricoy

Sunday, September 04, 2005

View from our apartment (Tenerife)

¶ 12:40 PM

Bananera (Tenerife) 2km from our home

¶ 12:34 PM

Final Blog Update

From the Ricoys: Final Blog Update (September 4, 2005)

Greetings from the Canary Islands!

This is our last blog posting. From time to time we’ll send out a group e-mail, but mostly we’re going back to good `ol individual e-mails and even letters/postcards. The reason: Instead of encouraging communication, we’ve found we don’t write to individuals (since we’ve already given our “news” on the blog) and few people reciprocate with their own updates (which we would truly love to hear). So this is our final blog and then we’ll change our medium of communication.

Above, you see photos from Tenerife. The promised Paris photos are just below this update.

We live in a spacious (long but narrow, all with view) studio apartment on the edge of Puerto de la Cruz, on the northern side of Tenerife. (The southern side, where the popular beaches are, is crowded and completely overrun with tourists. The northern side has its areas, but it’s much calmer and retains more of its Canary character.) Our studio is old and does have some “peculiarities”: We have to wear rubber-soled shoes when using appliances to avoid shocks, we had to use candles for 6 days after we lost power in the bathroom and entry, the hot water heater provides 2 minutes of hot water and leaks, etc. Despite all this, it’s a comfortable place, and we are winning the war against the cockroaches who wish to share our abode…. Anyway, we are blessed with an ocean view!!! (That view pretty much makes up for anything and everything else.)

We’ve just completed our second week of Advanced Spanish in Tenerife; we are gaining a better understanding of the subjunctive forms and usage. We requested to be in the same level and the Salamanca class content (Intermediate Spanish) was review for me, but now we are both learning new things. Just before coming to Tenerife, we heard that the school here was not very serious in comparison to Salamanca (which had us worried considering how much time was wasted there). I’m happy to report otherwise: The atmosphere is very casual but the focus in on substance. I love the informality of dress and attitude (the director and teachers wear old jeans and t-shirts or tank tops) combined with quality/substance (teachers are well-prepared and don’t allow un-interested students to distract interested students from learning, the directors are very responsive to questions or needs that arise, etc). People in general are also more laid-back and friendlier (more like Latin America than the rest of Spain) and yet things are organized and well-run (which is not as common in Latin America). This value system (serious substance, informal appearance) fits perfectly with my own.

Tom continues with more than full-time studies (his online university classes plus Spanish) and I guess our biggest news is that we are looking into staying abroad until next summer. At the rate Tom is going, if all classes are offered when they should be, he could complete his degree in July 2006, so we have made that our goal. That means we’ll be settling in Austin next summer. (We’re thinking to get an apartment in the summer but move into a duplex with a yard in the fall, after Tom’s been employed long enough to qualify. We will likely eventually build a house by the lake but probably not for at least 5 years.)

Here in Tenerife, I’m going to teach English (private students) to bring in some money. I’m also investigating volunteer opportunities in Spain now that I’m feeling better. A while back I saw a newspaper article lamenting the need for volunteers in the prison’s women’s modules and I may end up teaching EFL in a prison. I also saw a flyer for an animal-rescue network (the flyer was in German, the second most-widely spoken language here, but I knew what it was from photos and a German student translated it for me), so I’ve got some interesting options to explore.

Physically we are doing much better, though we still have bad days (yesterday for example). However, my headaches are almost back to pre-accident level and my neck is much better. (I was already dealing with headaches and some other health problems in the months before the accident, but the accident aggravated existing problems and created new ones.) I am now able to stay through the 4-hour classes most days. (In Salamanca our apartment was practically across the street and I was able to lie down every day during break, which I needed, but that’s not possible here.) Tom’s hip (from the accident) flares up periodically but overall he is also better and we are very thankful for improved health.

We have some trips in the works – a week at L’Abri in Holland this fall (we had planned on spending time in the original Swiss L’Abri but it was booked solid), heading over to Morocco this fall (the Canary Islands are off the coast of Morocco), and a trip to Israel after Christmas. Although not yet planned, we want to stop off in Thailand again and also plan a trip to Oaxaca (probably take Lucy to Mexico City or Puebla again) before back to Austin. We’ve been racking up the frequent flyer miles and will be cashing those in!

I’ve enjoyed reading this summer and would highly recommend these books if you’re looking for some good reads: Peace Child by Don Richardson, Eternity in their Hearts by Don Richardson, The Man Who Listens to Horses by Monty Roberts, and How Shall We Then Live by Francis Schaeffer. I’ve got a few more English books in my stack and then I’m going to try to only read in Spanish.

We are enjoying an incredible year and only rarely get home-sick, but we do miss our friends and family, and it means a lot to receive letters or e-mail. Thanks to those who have kept in touch!

¶ 12:22 PM

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Early Anniversary at the Eiffel Tower Photos