Living in another country… the whys
I’ve often thought about living in another country in the not-too-distant future, most likely south of the border – central America, Costa Rica, maybe. There are several motivations for this – not the least of which is growing disenchantment with the US. I’m so unhappy with our politics and priorities that it just kills me to be a representative of our country and to send my taxes to support what we’re doing in the world.
I have a girlfriend who argues that in that case, one should work harder to elect the right people, so that our country does what we intend and prefer. That’s a valid argument. She says we have to take responsibility for what our country does, because it’s each and every one of our responsibilities to make sure we have a government with the right priorities.
I have a completely different instinct, and that is to vote with my feet (and my money). Ever since WWII, the military-industrial complex in the US has been growing. I can’t see it being reduced substantially anytime soon, no matter what administration is in power. And Americans in general don’t seem to share my values; I am reminded of this each election cycle. Apparently a large majority of them believe we are entitled to (or by some reckoning, are morally required to) be the world’s policemen. While there even may be some merit to the ethical arguments, I prefer to live in a country that keeps its hands off the rest of the world.
Hmm… I didn’t mean for this post to get so political :) Because that is only one of the reasons. One other is financial. I am increasingly finding it impossible to live in the US and get ahead financially in any meaningful way, while still having a reasonable standard of living. I’m not sure how I will provide for my old age, and I have this dream firmly imprinted in my mind of being able to live somewhere where I can see and hear the ocean – whether it be Puget Sound and Mt. Rainier, or the waves on the beach in Puerto Vallarta (a surprisingly nice town, as I found out this week).
I’d like to sell my house in the US, get more and more of my income streams online, and go international. My money would go a much longer way almost anywhere other than the US or Europe. I’d especially like to do conservation work in the south. I’ve tried doing it in the States, but in spite of my having all the right science degrees and experience, the big conservation organizations don’t seem to want my help, even as a volunteer (!). They want volunteers to pull weeds, plant trees, count salmon, etc., but not to do the long-range planning and data collection that I’m able and trained and willing to do.
Also, there’s the very simple reason that every time I’ve traveled in central America, South America, or Mexico I’ve loved it. This may have something to do with avoiding the big tourist traps and really seeing the places as much as is possible to do as a gringo, but it would be even easier as a resident. What’s a birder not to like about Costa Rica, for example? :) Speaking of Costa Rica, the central plateau has year-round temperatures of about 75 degrees, and is known as the garden state because of its profuse gardens, butterflies, and hummingbirds :) I could live with that!
How sweet to know that my taxes (what little there are) would be going toward improving the health care system in Costa Rica and not to the war in Iraq (oops, there’s those politics again). Yes, I’d have to learn Spanish, as well as possible to be able to work there. I don’t expect that to be difficult if I spend any significant amount of time there. Next blog… how to do it.
St. Patty’s anti-green
Wow – I have been so busy I feel cut off from my own blog – working until midnight or 1am each night, trying to finish an editing project. It’s done now, and I am just starting to relax – getting all the little things done that have been left to languish for two weeks – like grocery shopping (up next – after the blog. Does that say something about my priorities??). Times like this I feel like I’m waking up, looking around, only to realize something that everybody has already noticed but me. This time it’s St. Patrick’s Day.
Now truthfully (and hopefully I won’t offend anyone here – but hey, it IS a blog), I hate St. Patrick’s Day. It seems like one of the worst examples of American commercialism, and it seems to have no purpose to start with. I mean, why celebrate one saint out of all of them? And why celebrate some Irish tradition? We don’t have days for Chinese, Russian, Native American, Norwegian, or Japanese culture, all of which are far more integral to Seattle’s history than the Irish. OK – maybe it’s important in some East Coast cities – but so were/are the Italians, Poles, Jews, etc. right? What gives with the Irish?
How anyone can stand the little green leprechauns, clovers, hats and silly greeting cards is beyond me. And how many times can you get asked why you’re not wearing something green before you want to brain someone? So in the spirit of anti-Irish anti-commercialism, today’s blog is dedicated to all things green that are NOT Irish.
First, let’s start with a tour of the garden. Here are my roses which are leafing out against my express orders ;) since I have not even had time to prune them!!
A lovely red currant against the moss-covered stump…
A salmonberry, which does not even have its leaves, but which is already trying to entice a hummingbird :)
The Indian Plum behind the salmonberry…
The pond, peeking out behind the white flowering currant – yes, the pond is a bit greener than it should be… time to do some yardwork!
Moving to the inside of the house, a few green things that give me comfort… the teapot on the stove which I just like the look of, even if I don’t drink tea all that often
The comfy couch which the cat loves and I like to snooze in, with my lovely green chenille blankie :)
OK, I cheated a little on this one :) The candle does smell wonderful, kind of a fresh linen/leafy scent. But the cat makes me happy, and she’s definitely not green! Closest thing to a leprechaun around here, but far, far improved :)
Signs of Spring
One of the interesting things about a home that’s relatively new to you is seeing what comes up in the garden that you didn’t plant :) And when you have a forest behind your house, there are always new discoveries to make. The daffodils and other little bulbs are pushing their way up through the leaves, and this heather has been blooming for almost a month now (!) ever since we got just a little bit of warm weather.
Here’s something I did plant – a flowering currant which is just starting to leaf out beautifully (never mind all the dry leaves I STILL haven’t raked up yet!)
And really my favorite sign of spring, other than the birds singing, is the flowering of this native plant, the Osoberry, or Indian Plum. It flowers before it leafs out, and you can see the little leaves sprouting at the top of each flower. One sex has green flowers and the other white, and I can never remember which is which. It flowers way before any of the other stick-like vegetation out back (dogwoods, salmonberry, etc.) so it’s a very welcome sight in the spring.
Reaching the end of life with grace
More photos from Hawaii… this is my friend Rick and his aunt Dorothy, 99 years old and much of the reason we were in Hawaii. Rick is managing her affairs as she approaches the end of her life, and there is a lot to do just now.
Aside from all that paperwork and occasional trips to the beach, maybe one of the most interesting parts of the trip was our talks with Dorothy. She’s in assisted living now, a really nice place on the windward side of Oahu, basically a little house with only eight residents, looks brand-new with live-in care. She’s lost much of her short-term memory and really isn’t sure how she got there, though she can reason it out – she hasn’t lost any of her smarts or personality.
She was really glad to see us, Rick especially, as she always seems to remember who he is. Mostly she was just happy to have someone to ask questions of and get straight answers, even if she couldn’t always remember the answers from one conversation to the next – although it may not be through conventional memory, I had the strong feeling that on some level, she was gaining a sense of calm from the discussion. We spent most of the first visit explaining how she got there and why she was there, what was happening to her condo in Honolulu, what her physical and mental health were like, and where she would be living from then on.
On the second visit, she seemed to have progressed from those issues to end-of-life issues. She told us many times that she didn’t expect to be here long, and she was ready to go. When Rick asked her how she felt about that, she said it felt natural, that she didn’t feel any anxiety or fear about it. Her main concern was being buried on the family farm in Oregon, together with the rest of the family and with her family name displayed. She enjoyed being out in nature and in the sun, as one of the few things now that were really worth spending time doing. Both of us were struck by how important this was, as she lives in the moment now, to make sure that as many of her moments that are left are spent outside enjoying nature and beautiful surroundings.
She knows her life is not what it used to be and doesn’t see much purpose in remaining, but it seems she’s taking that in stride – since it is what it is, she’s ready to accept it. There was a grace and naturalness to her thoughts that I appreciated. I hope very much that I can be of that calm and natural state of mind when I approach the end of my life, with grace and acceptance. I hope it comes easily to her, quietly in her sleep, when she chooses to move on. There’s a lot to admire about this woman’s life, not least exemplified by its ending.
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