After 7 months and 15 days, a lot of doctor appointments and treatments, as well as several hospital stays , the moment that we had waited for so long arrived. We were able to return to Costa Rica.
Doch was uns hier erwartete, haetten wir uns nicht traeumen lassen. Der erste Eindruck war nicht so schlecht, denn unsere Nachbarin Celina und deren Haushaelterin hatten unsere Wohnung oberflaechlich gereinigt und Blumen aufgestellt. Als Mama jedoch einen Rundgang machte und dabei alles genau unter die Lupe nahm, traute sie ihren Augen kaum. Schimmel, Schimmel und nochmals Schimmel.
But we would have never imagined what we found here. The first impression was not too bad, as our neighbour Celina and her maid had cleaned the appartment superficially. They even put up flowers, but when Mom walked around and looked at everything very closely, she could not believe what she saw. Mold, Mold and Mold. 
1. Auf den Klamotten, was zur Folge hatte, dass alles, von Sommer- ueber Wintersachen, Plueschtieren, Taschen und Ruecksaecken, gewaschen werden musste. Da kamen locker 40 Waschmaschinenladungen zusammen.
1. On the clothes, which meant that everything (summer and winter clothes, cuddly toys, bags and backpacks) had to be washed. In total, the washing machine ran approximately 40 times.
2. Auf allen Kunstleder- und Lederoberflaechen, wodurch einige Dinge im Papierkorb landeten und alles andere gruendlich gereinigt werden musste.
2. On all leather and artificial leather surfaces, meaning that those things either landed in the garbage or had to be cleaned thoroughly.
3. Auf allen Holzoberflaechen, wie z.B. Regalen und Schraenken. Einiges konnte durch intensive Reinigung gerettet, anderes musste aus Gesundheitsgruenden entsorgt werden.
3. On all wooden surfaces, like shelfs and cupboards. Some things could be saved and others had to be disposed, as the risk factor for our health would have been to big.
An ein normales Leben war in den ersten 2 Wochen ueberhaupt nicht zu denken. Statt dessen hiess es putzen. Dabei wurde Mama tatkraeftig von Enrique unterstuetzt.
There was no way to think about a normal life during the first 2 weeks. Instead, cleaning controlled the day. Enrique actively supported his Mom by scrubbing the floor or ...
Auch bei anderen Arbeiten half Enrique seinen Eltern, denn alle wollten sich so schnell wie moeglich wieder wie zu Hause fuehlen.
... doing all kinds of other tasks, as he wanted to feel like being home as much as every other member of the family.
Doch trotz der ganzen Arbeit stellte Enrique sicher, dass der Spassfaktor nicht auf der Strecke blieb.
Enrique also made sure that it never got boring while fixing the apartment.
Am 19.09. kehrte dann endlich wieder Normalitaet ein. Enrique konnte erstmals in seinem Zimmer schlafen, ...
On the 19th of September, normality settled in. For the first time, since our return to Costa Rica, Enrique was able to sleep in his room, ...
... nachdem er sich fuer mehrere Tage mit einem "Behelfsbett" zufrieden geben musste.
... after he had used a provisional sleeping accomodation for several days.
Unsere Kira, die wir seit Januar nicht gesehen und die mindestens 5kg zugenommen hatte, kehrte am 12.09. nach Hause zurueck. Nach anfaenglichen Beruehrungsaensten, fuehlte sich Kira innerhalb kurzer Zeit wieder sauwohl in unseren 4 Waenden und musste mehrere Kuschelattacken ueber sich ergehen lassen, denn wir alle hatten sie sehr vermisst.
Kira, our dog, that we had not seen since January and which had gained at least 5 kilos, returned home on the 12th of September. After a few orientation problems in the beginning, it took her just a short amount of time to feel at home. As we had all missed her a lot, she had to endure many cuddle attacks.
Auch das Essen schmeckte Enrique wieder, nachdem er in Spanien in dieser Hinsicht sehr waehlerisch gewurden war.
After being very fussy about food in Spain, Enrique finally enjoyed his meals again.
Der geregelte Tagesablauf hielt Einzug und Dinge, wie die woechentlichen Pool-Playdates, konnten wieder wahr genommen werden.
The normal day was back in our lifes and we were able to enjoy things like going to the pool-playdates.
