October 12, 2005 Welcome to my website. I’m Maggie Kuhn Jacobus, Gypsy Journalist, a globe-roaming writer currently in the midst of settling into a new life in Costa Rica. This blog is primarily about that odyssey, but from time-to-time will include other travels, travails, trivialities and triumphs. To go straight to the most recent blog entries, go up to the top of this page and click on “blog.” Otherwise, read on to get the background on this whole escapade! I recommend you do read the background, so you get the context. As a professional journalist, I write mostly about holistic health and natural wellness. To see some of my published articles, go to www.maggiejacobus.com A WORD ABOUT CHRONOLOGY/HOW TO NAVIGATE THIS SITE At the top of each page is the navigation bar. You have the option of reading my “blog” (my personal diary), viewing movies, pictures or other stuff I might post here. The blog goes (backwards in time--sort of like Merlin) starting with the most recent entry. If you want to follow the chronology (and I highly recommend it, as later entries build off earlier ones) go to the “archives section” on the blog page and scroll to the bottom. If you are so intrigued about our life and want to come live it for a week or bring a group for a retreat experience, check out our website at www.activatedlife.com To contact me or send me a note, you can e-mail me at mjacobus@execpc.com . Please put "Costa Rica" in the subject line so I don't delete you!! OK, enough administration. Let’s begin… Let me set the stage by telling you The Story of How We Got Here... Above--The night before we left, standing next to Lake Michigan outside out home On September 27, 2005 my husband, Steve, and I, along with our three boys—Ryan (10), Michael (8) and William (7)—left our beautiful home and secure, solid, suburban life in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, USA to have An Experience, to undertake An Adventure, to Learn First-Hand About the World, as individuals and as a family. Think Under The Tuscan Sun meets Swiss Family Robinson. My intention is to share with you (from my perspective) an honest account of this experience--the good, the bad and the muddy--and to bring you along with us on this crazy expedition. So grab your mud boots and pith helmut, your bug spray and anti-venom syringe and let's get this adventure started... WHAT THE BLEEP ARE YOU DOING?!?! When we announced to family and friends, colleagues and acquaintances that we were undertaking this major lifestyle change, there were a few different camps of response: --The “You guys are out of your minds!!, You’re crazy!!, What’s wrong with you?? What’s wrong with Milwaukee?? How can you do this to your kids???” group; --The“Wow, you’re brave, I could never do it but I think it's cool that YOU are” contingent; --The “Wow, you’re brave, I’ve been thinking about doing something like this and now that you are making the leap I’m depressed/feel inadequate that I’m not/haven’t” crowd; --The “Wow, you’re brave, I’ve been thinking about doing something like this and now that you are making the leap it’s given me the inspiration to do what I’ve always dreamed of doing,” folks; and --The “Hey, that’s fantastic, can I come for an extended stay?!?!?” delegation The common denominator with all these camps was the request to live vicariously through our adventure. This website is that peephole into our world. There were many questions, all of them the same, regardless of which camp was asking. So I'll just run through them here to dispense with that so we can move on with the fun. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q. Where are you? A. Nosara, Costa Rica. We're on the Pacific Coast, in a house on a foothill, overlooking the tropical forest and the ocean.  This is the view from our balcony. We're in a very rural, traditional Costa Rican town, versus a tourist destination, as we're looking for an authentic living experience, not an extended vacation. 
Q. Where is Costa Rica? A. It's in Central America, just below Nicaragua and just above Panama Q. Is it safe?? A. Costa Rica has been dubbed "The Switzerland of Central America" for its non-confrontational, peaceful, amiable manner. It has no standing army. There has not been a war on her soil for over half a century. The government is a stable democracy, the economy is sound, the violent crime rate is extremely low. No one really has issues with Costa Rica (although the US may have some, as CR is currently refusing to sign CAFTA). Q. Why did you move? A. To have an intense experience together as a family. Our goals are to learn together about nature and the earth; to become fluent in Spanish; to experience the world first-hand; to open our eyes and hearts to new cultures and different ways of living in order to become citizens of the world; to live as human BEINGS, rather than human DOINGS. Talk about family bonding--try class II-IV rafting together! Q. How long are you gone? A. We don't know. A year at least. Q. What about education for the kids? (this is a hot-button question) A. Horror of horrors! (according to lots of people who’ve provided unsolicited advice...)The kids are attending the local, Spanish-speaking, Tico (the name Costa Ricans call themselves) school. We are supplementing with home schooling. Ryan and Vanessa, home school tutor, in the home classroom. Q. Do you and/or the kids speak Spanish?!? A. No! That's why we're in a Spanish speaking country! It would have been a lot easier to go to France, because I took 8 years of French, or back to Japan, because Steve and I both speak Japanese, or to an English-speaking country, because, well, we speak English. But EASY and ADVENTURE don't go together. Plus, it's estimated that more than half the U.S. will be Spanish speaking within 20 years. I'd like to be able, and for my kids to be able, to communicate with that half of the country. OK, the truth about me wanting to learn Spanish is so that when I call information in the States I can press "numero dos" "por Espanol." I've always wanted to do that. Q. What are you doing for jobs?? (people usually want to be certain we are toiling away) A. I'm continuing to do my freelance journalism writing as well as drafting a series of children's books and pursuing other various writing-related projects. Steve is developing several business opportunities here. But folks, I hate to tell ya, working like dogs is not our primary focus here. We've made a LIFESTYLE change, a pro-active choice to approach things differently. Our Numero Uno priority (gotta throw in some Spanish now and then) is the kids and being together as a family. That's one reason we're living in a developing country versus, say, Paris. We can afford to be here without working 12-hour a day jobs. This is what I mean by lifestyle change: This is our idea of a coffee break... So now you know a bit of the background. To experience more of our adventure, check out the Blog section by clicking on “blog” at the top of this page. Come along with Gypsy Journalist on her Costa Rican Adventure!! PURA VIDA!! http://www.maggiejacobus.comhttp://www.activatedlife.com/mailto:mjacobus@execpc.comshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2
Gypsy Journalist’s Adventure in Costa Rica