Going home for the holidays was wonderful. I'm so glad I got to spend time with those of you that I did. And for those of you I still haven't seen in a while, let's fix that please.
I returned to CR Sunday January 9 around 10pm. My roommate, Saray, and her best friend Jose Mario came to get me from the airport. They are so great. I definitely hit the jackpot in the roommate situation.
Classes started right back up on Monday evening for me... in San Jose. Politecnico has a campus in downtown San Jose that focuses on curriculum in culinary arts, where I am teaching Monday and Wednesday nights from 6-9pm for at least 8 weeks. The "campus" is a beautiful renovated house with a few small classrooms and a lovely restaurant attached. Teachers get to eat for free at the restaurant, and it's delicious, though I have yet to take real advantage of it given that I mostly work in Heredia. Along with the food, there are a number of pros for working at the San Jose campus: I can take the train there, so my commute is super fast (30 minutes) getting there; the people I work with there are great (both the Politecnico staff and my fellow teachers); and my classes are tiny (I only have 7 people in this class).
The cons: I don't get out til 9pm, and San Jose is dangerous at that time of night; I don't always have access to technology and/or copies; it takes at least an hour to get home between walking to the bus, the bus ride itself and the taxi from downtown Heredia to my apartment; and my class is tiiiiiiiiiiny and super quiet.
Thankfully there are three of us who leave the SJO campus at the same time so that we all walk together for the majority of the walk. It tends to take about 15-20 minutes to walk from Politecnico to the closest bus to Heredia. I walk with Heidi and Delie for most of it, but I have to walk the last 4-5 blocks by myself. Thankfully we walk down the busiest street (pedestrian walkway) so there are lots of people, and often policemen, around to make the walk safe. Regardless, I'm not a big fan and am hoping that any future classes I teach in San Jose are during daylight hours only.
Thursday and Friday Kerensa and I decided to take advantage of the little time we had before the rest of our classes began the next week and get out of the city for the night. We took the 6am bus to Puerto Viejo on Thursday morning and got in at 10:30am. Yes, we took a 4.5 hour bus ride for just one night. It was long, but otherwise fine. Sadly the sun was hiding behind some clouds for the majority of the daylight we had while in Puerto Viejo, so we didn't really get to enjoy the beautiful beach as well as we would have liked, but it was lovely nonetheless. It started raining late in the afternoon while we were taking advantage of the hammocks at Rockin J's, where we stayed. Unfortunately it didn't really stop raining until after we left the next day, but it was alright.
We spent most of Thursday walking around, eating delicious food, and reading in the hammocks. The evening consisted of dinner and drinks at Rocking J's - they actually have pretty good food - and handing around with other travelers. We met a couple hilarious Canadians with whom we swapped stories until we passed out early in our tent. Kerensa and I woke up to catch the 9am bus back to San Jose/Heredia so Kerensa could go to work at 6pm that night. It was still raining when we got up on Friday, so there wasn't much incentive to staying much longer anyway. Rocking J's was pretty fabulous though, I would like to go back there again some time. The entire place is covered with mosaic artwork. Stellar. It was nice to get out of the city before all the other classes started on Monday.
We got back on Friday in time for Kerensa to make it to work (barely) that night. The next morning started my 8-week Saturday class. My Saturday class is the only class I am teaching (so far) that I have actually taught before, so I get to use a lot of my old lesson plans, thankfully. However, this class is absolutely huge. It turns out that Politecnico has so many people signed up for Saturday classes that we don't have enough space (or teachers) to accommodate them, so the class sizes for the Sat. classes are twice the size they are supposed to be. I have 21 students in this class. Now, in comparison to the 30-student classes I taught at OPRF, 21 is a great number. However, teaching 21 students who are used to having only 10 people in their class and who are at completely different proficiency levels is rough. For the most part they are a good group, but there are some students who are clearly struggling, and since I only have one four hour class with them, I can't do as much as I would like to be able to... This week is the midterm, however, so that should give me a better idea of what students are really in need of extra help.
Saturday after class, I met Kerensa and her roommate Jackie downtown San Jose to hop a bus to Palmares. Palmares is (1) a small town to the northwest of SJO, and (2) a 10 day long festival of music and general belligerence. Jackie, Kerensa and I arrived late afternoon on Saturday, and dropped our stuff off at the place we were staying. During the festival, the locals rent out their extra rooms and/or couches for ridiculously high prices, and we ended up at one of Jackie's coworker's cousin's places (I think) for $10/night. Kerensa and I shared a tiny single bed while Jackie slept on the world's smallest cot. Though, considering our alternative (taking the last bus back to San Jose and then sharing an expensive taxi to get back to Heredia) it was well worth it, even with the rooster crowing all night long.
Saturday night was the Calle 13 concert. They are a fabulous band from Puerto Rico. It was free. Beers were $2. Pretty awesome. There were, however, a ridiculous amount of people there. It was insane. At first we tried going in to the actual enclosed concert space - it took about twenty minutes to get just inside the barrier. There were so many people you could barely breathe, let alone move around. After less than five minutes, we decided we had had enough and managed to find a spot next to a tower with some breathing room. Much better. Apparently the three of us were really lucky because basically every other person we knew who went was robbed/pickpocketed. The three of us managed to hold on to everything we came with.
The concert was great, and afterward we ran into a few friends. First we saw Emerson (who I've hung out with before) & the group he was there with, and then we ran into our coworker Zach. Hilarious. The rest of the night we wandered around the festival and saw what there was to see, ate some churros and rode some rides. There is one, la Tagada, that is just ridiculous. I highly recommend looking up a video of it. It spins really fast and then bounces a whole bunch and you are guaranteed to walk away with bruises. I am still confused as to why we went on it. We also went through the haunted house, which was another hilarious adventure. Basically it is just a pitch-black maze where random people jump out at you with weapons they bang against the wall. It was a fun night.
The next day we woke up late, grabbed breakfast and headed back to the fairgrounds for some more music. The concert we went for on Sunday was Luis Enrique, who was pretty good. There were a lot less people though, so it was a bit more enjoyable in that regard. Lots of dancing and day drinking. Elvis Crespo came on later, but we had left by then since all three of us had to work the next morning. So, after the Luis Enrique concert, we grabbed our stuff and hopped the bus back to SJO & Heredia. All in all it was a great way to spend the first week back in Costa Rica. Good people and good fun, despite the bad sunburn. :)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Lesson Learned
Note to self: never run by yourself with your iPhone (which here is just my iPod) here again.
The past couple days I have been trying to get myself back in to the swing of running again. This afternoon I went out for the third day in a row of running around a track just up the street from my apartment. It's not exactly hidden, but it's not out in the open for everyone to openly gawk at and harass me. Today there were some other people around, so I wasn't totally alone.
While making my 5th lap around, three young boys (no older than 15) who had been sitting on the side breaking tree branches and hollering such priceless lines as "hola guapa" at me were finally leaving, but not before they tried to rob me of my iPhone.
I've always wondered how I would respond if someone attacked me, as I have been so fortunate in my life that up to today it had never happened before. I always wondered, because the truth is you never know until it actually happens and adrenaline kicks in.
Apparently I am a fighter. I kick and punch and scream at the top of my lungs. So loudly that even with my mouth covered you hear me across an overgrown soccer field. Thankfully, the only thing the boys succeeded in getting was a kick to the nuts.
The boys gave up after about 30 seconds, when the people running on the other side of the track started yelling and coming to my defense. The only reason they didn't get what they were going for was because my iPhone was in one of these under my shirt. Thanks Mom. However, the only thing I'll be using it for now is holding my keys and inhaler while exercising in broad daylight.
I did leave my inhaler there, but my lovely roommate Saray went back with me to find it. She thinks I'm brave... I think I'm lucky (not to mention stupid). I knew the boys didn't have any weapons on them because I made note of them while I was running. But they were young, relatively weak, and unorganized. The littlest one, who must have been 5 foot nothing, started running away as soon as I started fighting back. The other two just failed and ran when people started responded to my screaming.
I ended up on the ground, thankfully unhurt, and I walked (ran, actually) away with everything I had when I got there. So really I'm okay. Just shaken up and pretty angry. Both with myself for thinking I'd be fine running around by myself with my iPhone and with those boys for thinking they could get away with hurting someone.
Time to start looking in to joining a gym, I guess.
I'll post about the other (happy) things that I've been up to since I got back later. Just felt the need to write this one out while I'm still angry.
Love you all.
The past couple days I have been trying to get myself back in to the swing of running again. This afternoon I went out for the third day in a row of running around a track just up the street from my apartment. It's not exactly hidden, but it's not out in the open for everyone to openly gawk at and harass me. Today there were some other people around, so I wasn't totally alone.
While making my 5th lap around, three young boys (no older than 15) who had been sitting on the side breaking tree branches and hollering such priceless lines as "hola guapa" at me were finally leaving, but not before they tried to rob me of my iPhone.
I've always wondered how I would respond if someone attacked me, as I have been so fortunate in my life that up to today it had never happened before. I always wondered, because the truth is you never know until it actually happens and adrenaline kicks in.
Apparently I am a fighter. I kick and punch and scream at the top of my lungs. So loudly that even with my mouth covered you hear me across an overgrown soccer field. Thankfully, the only thing the boys succeeded in getting was a kick to the nuts.
The boys gave up after about 30 seconds, when the people running on the other side of the track started yelling and coming to my defense. The only reason they didn't get what they were going for was because my iPhone was in one of these under my shirt. Thanks Mom. However, the only thing I'll be using it for now is holding my keys and inhaler while exercising in broad daylight.
I did leave my inhaler there, but my lovely roommate Saray went back with me to find it. She thinks I'm brave... I think I'm lucky (not to mention stupid). I knew the boys didn't have any weapons on them because I made note of them while I was running. But they were young, relatively weak, and unorganized. The littlest one, who must have been 5 foot nothing, started running away as soon as I started fighting back. The other two just failed and ran when people started responded to my screaming.
I ended up on the ground, thankfully unhurt, and I walked (ran, actually) away with everything I had when I got there. So really I'm okay. Just shaken up and pretty angry. Both with myself for thinking I'd be fine running around by myself with my iPhone and with those boys for thinking they could get away with hurting someone.
Time to start looking in to joining a gym, I guess.
I'll post about the other (happy) things that I've been up to since I got back later. Just felt the need to write this one out while I'm still angry.
Love you all.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
December
My last couple weeks in CR before I went back to Chicago for the holidays went by in a super fast blur.
The day after I got back from Bocas (Dec. 2), Kerensa, Sara B. and I went for dinner at this fabulous vegan Asian restaurant. I forget what I had, but it was good. That was the third time I had been to that restaurant, the second time I'd eaten there. They have great tea, and delicious dumplings. Also, the owner is super nice and gives you cookies. After dinner, Kerensa and I walked around in search of churros for her, but failed to find any. It's probably a good thing though, we all know I don't need any more junk food than I already eat :)
Friday, it was back to business as usual. After class ended at 9:30pm, I just went home to bed before my 8am class on Saturday. Saturday night, however, Kerensa and I decided we needed a night out on the town together and went to check out some of the bars in Heredia. While we were enjoying the balcony space at one bar, we spotted our coworker, Zach L. on the street. He came up to join us for a little bit before he went home. Our running in to him was just a reminder that Heredia (really Costa Rica, in general) is really not very large.
We were getting close to calling it an early night when a couch-surfer friend of Kerensa's called us about going to a going away party in downtown San Jose. These lovely people came to pick us up and brought us to a fabulous hole-in-the-wall bar in barrio California. [Barrio California is an awesome looking section of SJO that is covered with beautiful graffiti.] The bar itself was full of some fun people, and a hilarious group of Costa Rican hipsters dancing their hearts out. Kerensa and I ended up making friends with a very tall blond boy from the states living in southern CR. At the end of the night, we couldn't remember his name quite right so we affectionately named him "Blondie." After hours of silly dancing to great music, we raced (literally) to catch the last bus back to Heredia, and then waited for cabs together while drunken fools stumbled out of the casino down the street. Small world: my cab driver that night lives down the street from me. Very nice man.
All in all it was a fun night, full of silly dancing and new friends.
The following Monday, Dec. 6, Kerensa and I got together at her place to make dinner together. And by make dinner together, I mean she cooked while I washed dishes. Personally, I think I got the good end of that deal. Especially since she taught me how to make patacones (fried green plantanes) and she made amazing black bean soup. Sadly, we couldn't locate any good avocado to accompany it, but it was tasty nonetheless. After eating, we took a little stroll around her neighborhood to help the digestion, and came back to some yummy Coca-Cola cake. Kerensa is not only a wonderful person, but she can cook AND bake. She's quite the package. Gentlemen, get in line.
Then, our friends Emerson and Esteban came to pick us up to take a trip up the mountain. Sadly, it was a bit cold and rainy, but it was a beautiful view nonetheless, complete with a cork tree. Neat. When we had had enough of the mountain, we went back into San Rafael and checked out a local bar with a juke box machine that also played music videos. If you haven't seen the 'California Love' and 'U Can't Touch This' music videos recently, do yourself a favor and watch them now. Amazing. Yet another great night with my Kerensa.
The rest of the week flew by pretty uneventfully until Saturday night, when Kerensa, her roommate Jackie, Emerson and I went to a couch surfer friend's birthday party in Los Yoses, just down the street from where I stayed where I first arrived in CR. Like any great party, it had an awesome theme: Rubik's Cube. Translation: You arrive wearing clothes and accessories of many different colors and switch with people throughout the night in hopes of ending the evening dressed in all one color. Brilliant. Not only is it hilarious and fun, it's a great way to break the ice, regardless of what language you're speaking. Super fun night.
Kerensa and I stayed the night in Los Yoses and met up with the majority of our coworkers in La Uruca bright and early the next morning. The man that owns Politecnico, Don William, invited all the teachers to come out to his property in Guanacaste - Rancho Humo - for the day as a company Christmas party. Guanacaste is a 4 hour bus ride from San Jose, but we teachers passed the time with mimosas and some early 90's hip hop. Why yes, it was only 10am when we arrived at Rancho Humo and were greeted with crates of Imperial (beer) and watermelon. Right away we all knew it was going to be a great day.
After everyone had had a beer or two, we were escorted on to a giant (12+ people) golf cart (thankfully the technology teachers were assigned the double-decker), and given a tour of the accessible part of the 2700 acre reserve, with beer, of course. Our tour was conducted in Spanish, which was good for those of us that speak Spanish, but probably a little frustrating for those that don't. The tour was beautiful and fun, complete with monkeys and lots of birds, including the endangered Jabiru Stork.
After the tour we were treated to lunch - amazing food - and then we got on a boat to do another tour before we met the bus back along the way home. The boat took us down the river (I forget the name), past the Bird Island where we were able to see thousands of birds and even some alligators. We met the bus and headed back home that same day. I got home happy, exhausted and filthy, around 8:30.
My last week in CR before the holiday break went by super fast, and was full of good times/adventures with Kerensa.
The 13th Kerensa and I headed downtown to the Contemporary Art Museum because it was free on Mondays. We met up with our friend "Blondie" for some tasty dinner at a restaurant called Cafe Mundo and then hopped the train (yes, that is correct, there is A train here in CR that goes from downtown SJO to Heredia) back to Heredia.
Tuesday night, Kerensa and I got together for another night of delicious Kerensa cooking chili (I wash the dishes in return for her fabulous culinary skills - I am totally getting the awesome end of this deal).
Wednesday, the 15th, Kerensa and I went downtown to this small, hidden bar Steinvorth. It was stellar. They have delicious food and even beer that comes from other countries. They have Duvell. Amazing. After we had had enough of the Alice in Wonderland inspired art exhibit and a couple drinks we headed back home.
Thursday morning(ish), Kerensa and I met up to head downtown SJO to have some tasty Lebanese lunch at a restaurant called Lubnan. SO delicious. We then wandered the city for the rest of the afternoon in search of Christmas presents. While it wasn't exactly the most eventful day ever, it was a really nice way to spend our day off. Just walking around and checking out the city. We later hopped the train to come back and make some tasty risotto for dinner.
Friday night, after a disastrous day at work finding out that we were not actually going to get paid again til after the holidays (so much for properly budgeting our spending), Kerensa and I decided to stay in, drink some wine, watch a movie and eat some of her tasty beer bread. Seriously, this woman is amazing in the kitchen.
Saturday was my last class of the year, just exams and giving out grades - pretty easy day. That night, my roommate Saray and I went downtown Heredia to check out the Festival de la Luz: the Christmas parade that is far too huge in San Jose the week before, and the perfect size in Heredia. It was obnoxiously cold (a whopping 55ish degrees, I'm a wuss, I know) so after a couple hours of watching all the kids go by playing their instruments and dancing, we headed back home before the lines for the taxis got too long. It was fun to see, and particularly great because I could actually see over people's heads as I am fairly tall in this country, haha.
The next morning, Saray and I went to the pool to meet up with a few of her absolutely lovely friends. Kerensa eventually came to join us, and we spent the day hanging out in the sunshine and having chicken fights in the pool. Spectacular. Then we headed to the bar across the street to eat some chifrijo and watch the championship soccer match between Heredia and Alajuela. Sadly, Heredia did not end up winning, but we put up a good fight and it was a fun experience nonetheless. It was, quite possibly, the absolute perfect way to spend my last day in CR before heading back to Chicago's horrible winter.
The next post will be more current (finally!), but before then, I just want to comment on my coworkers. Kerensa went to college with a girl I went to jr. high and high school with; my other coworker Zach went to high school with a few people I went to Cheley (camp) with; and another coworker Evan went to high school with a friend of mine from UVM (college). While I do believe that the world really is a lot smaller than we sometimes think, I also believe that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. It's been great so far, and I have a feeling it is just going to keep getting better for a while. :)
ps, happy birthday Kate!!
The day after I got back from Bocas (Dec. 2), Kerensa, Sara B. and I went for dinner at this fabulous vegan Asian restaurant. I forget what I had, but it was good. That was the third time I had been to that restaurant, the second time I'd eaten there. They have great tea, and delicious dumplings. Also, the owner is super nice and gives you cookies. After dinner, Kerensa and I walked around in search of churros for her, but failed to find any. It's probably a good thing though, we all know I don't need any more junk food than I already eat :)
Friday, it was back to business as usual. After class ended at 9:30pm, I just went home to bed before my 8am class on Saturday. Saturday night, however, Kerensa and I decided we needed a night out on the town together and went to check out some of the bars in Heredia. While we were enjoying the balcony space at one bar, we spotted our coworker, Zach L. on the street. He came up to join us for a little bit before he went home. Our running in to him was just a reminder that Heredia (really Costa Rica, in general) is really not very large.
We were getting close to calling it an early night when a couch-surfer friend of Kerensa's called us about going to a going away party in downtown San Jose. These lovely people came to pick us up and brought us to a fabulous hole-in-the-wall bar in barrio California. [Barrio California is an awesome looking section of SJO that is covered with beautiful graffiti.] The bar itself was full of some fun people, and a hilarious group of Costa Rican hipsters dancing their hearts out. Kerensa and I ended up making friends with a very tall blond boy from the states living in southern CR. At the end of the night, we couldn't remember his name quite right so we affectionately named him "Blondie." After hours of silly dancing to great music, we raced (literally) to catch the last bus back to Heredia, and then waited for cabs together while drunken fools stumbled out of the casino down the street. Small world: my cab driver that night lives down the street from me. Very nice man.
All in all it was a fun night, full of silly dancing and new friends.
The following Monday, Dec. 6, Kerensa and I got together at her place to make dinner together. And by make dinner together, I mean she cooked while I washed dishes. Personally, I think I got the good end of that deal. Especially since she taught me how to make patacones (fried green plantanes) and she made amazing black bean soup. Sadly, we couldn't locate any good avocado to accompany it, but it was tasty nonetheless. After eating, we took a little stroll around her neighborhood to help the digestion, and came back to some yummy Coca-Cola cake. Kerensa is not only a wonderful person, but she can cook AND bake. She's quite the package. Gentlemen, get in line.
Then, our friends Emerson and Esteban came to pick us up to take a trip up the mountain. Sadly, it was a bit cold and rainy, but it was a beautiful view nonetheless, complete with a cork tree. Neat. When we had had enough of the mountain, we went back into San Rafael and checked out a local bar with a juke box machine that also played music videos. If you haven't seen the 'California Love' and 'U Can't Touch This' music videos recently, do yourself a favor and watch them now. Amazing. Yet another great night with my Kerensa.
The rest of the week flew by pretty uneventfully until Saturday night, when Kerensa, her roommate Jackie, Emerson and I went to a couch surfer friend's birthday party in Los Yoses, just down the street from where I stayed where I first arrived in CR. Like any great party, it had an awesome theme: Rubik's Cube. Translation: You arrive wearing clothes and accessories of many different colors and switch with people throughout the night in hopes of ending the evening dressed in all one color. Brilliant. Not only is it hilarious and fun, it's a great way to break the ice, regardless of what language you're speaking. Super fun night.
Kerensa and I stayed the night in Los Yoses and met up with the majority of our coworkers in La Uruca bright and early the next morning. The man that owns Politecnico, Don William, invited all the teachers to come out to his property in Guanacaste - Rancho Humo - for the day as a company Christmas party. Guanacaste is a 4 hour bus ride from San Jose, but we teachers passed the time with mimosas and some early 90's hip hop. Why yes, it was only 10am when we arrived at Rancho Humo and were greeted with crates of Imperial (beer) and watermelon. Right away we all knew it was going to be a great day.
After everyone had had a beer or two, we were escorted on to a giant (12+ people) golf cart (thankfully the technology teachers were assigned the double-decker), and given a tour of the accessible part of the 2700 acre reserve, with beer, of course. Our tour was conducted in Spanish, which was good for those of us that speak Spanish, but probably a little frustrating for those that don't. The tour was beautiful and fun, complete with monkeys and lots of birds, including the endangered Jabiru Stork.
After the tour we were treated to lunch - amazing food - and then we got on a boat to do another tour before we met the bus back along the way home. The boat took us down the river (I forget the name), past the Bird Island where we were able to see thousands of birds and even some alligators. We met the bus and headed back home that same day. I got home happy, exhausted and filthy, around 8:30.
My last week in CR before the holiday break went by super fast, and was full of good times/adventures with Kerensa.
The 13th Kerensa and I headed downtown to the Contemporary Art Museum because it was free on Mondays. We met up with our friend "Blondie" for some tasty dinner at a restaurant called Cafe Mundo and then hopped the train (yes, that is correct, there is A train here in CR that goes from downtown SJO to Heredia) back to Heredia.
Tuesday night, Kerensa and I got together for another night of delicious Kerensa cooking chili (I wash the dishes in return for her fabulous culinary skills - I am totally getting the awesome end of this deal).
Wednesday, the 15th, Kerensa and I went downtown to this small, hidden bar Steinvorth. It was stellar. They have delicious food and even beer that comes from other countries. They have Duvell. Amazing. After we had had enough of the Alice in Wonderland inspired art exhibit and a couple drinks we headed back home.
Thursday morning(ish), Kerensa and I met up to head downtown SJO to have some tasty Lebanese lunch at a restaurant called Lubnan. SO delicious. We then wandered the city for the rest of the afternoon in search of Christmas presents. While it wasn't exactly the most eventful day ever, it was a really nice way to spend our day off. Just walking around and checking out the city. We later hopped the train to come back and make some tasty risotto for dinner.
Friday night, after a disastrous day at work finding out that we were not actually going to get paid again til after the holidays (so much for properly budgeting our spending), Kerensa and I decided to stay in, drink some wine, watch a movie and eat some of her tasty beer bread. Seriously, this woman is amazing in the kitchen.
Saturday was my last class of the year, just exams and giving out grades - pretty easy day. That night, my roommate Saray and I went downtown Heredia to check out the Festival de la Luz: the Christmas parade that is far too huge in San Jose the week before, and the perfect size in Heredia. It was obnoxiously cold (a whopping 55ish degrees, I'm a wuss, I know) so after a couple hours of watching all the kids go by playing their instruments and dancing, we headed back home before the lines for the taxis got too long. It was fun to see, and particularly great because I could actually see over people's heads as I am fairly tall in this country, haha.
The next morning, Saray and I went to the pool to meet up with a few of her absolutely lovely friends. Kerensa eventually came to join us, and we spent the day hanging out in the sunshine and having chicken fights in the pool. Spectacular. Then we headed to the bar across the street to eat some chifrijo and watch the championship soccer match between Heredia and Alajuela. Sadly, Heredia did not end up winning, but we put up a good fight and it was a fun experience nonetheless. It was, quite possibly, the absolute perfect way to spend my last day in CR before heading back to Chicago's horrible winter.
The next post will be more current (finally!), but before then, I just want to comment on my coworkers. Kerensa went to college with a girl I went to jr. high and high school with; my other coworker Zach went to high school with a few people I went to Cheley (camp) with; and another coworker Evan went to high school with a friend of mine from UVM (college). While I do believe that the world really is a lot smaller than we sometimes think, I also believe that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. It's been great so far, and I have a feeling it is just going to keep getting better for a while. :)
ps, happy birthday Kate!!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Bocas del Toro
Internet's back! It was out for a couple days, so my apologies for the delay...
So, every 90 days my (tourist) visa expires and I have to leave the country for 72 hours. While this is rather obnoxious and expensive, I do love a good excuse to travel. Since my arrival in Costa Rica, I've heard all sorts of lovely things about Bocas del Toro, a bunch of islands (archipelago, if you will) off the northeast coast of Panama. Basically, it's paradise.
Sunday, Nov. 28, I flew out of the itty bitty Pavas airport (yes, I went the more expensive but significantly faster route via plane - so worth it) directly into the airport on Isla Colon, the main island of Bocas del Toro. There were something like 12 people on a tiny plane that was loud and cold and had big windows to look out of. I am currently kicking myself for not having taken any pictures.
Anyway, I arrived, stumbled upon a cheap place to stay (hostel Heike), put on a bathing suit and headed for the beach. The one thing I dislike about Bocas? For the most part, you stay and eat and drink on Isla Colon, but to get to a beach, you have to take a water taxi to another island. Lame, but water taxis cost $2, so it's not really that bad. So, I grabbed a water taxi and went to a beach. Watched the waves, spied on some crabs, took some pictures, it was a gorgeous day.
I came back to the main island when the sun was starting to set and as I was walking to my hostel to shower/change, I ran in to one of the California boys I met while in Monteverde. While Bocas isn't exactly big and it's easy to run into people there, Kevin is a giant (6'7" or something ridiculous) and sticks out in Central America like a sore thumb, so it's not all that crazy that I found this kid. What was crazy was his leg - apparently he had gotten bitten or scratched or something and his leg was swollen like crazy and bright red/purple. It was also his birthday.
Kevin and I walked down the street and found the rest of the crew I was to spend my short time in Panama with: Kevin & Mike (from California), Keegs (short for Kieran, from England), and Tamara & Amy (from Canada). That night, we all went out for drinks to celebrate Kevin's birthday before he took off to Panama City to get his leg checked out at the Johns Hopkins hospital there. It was a ridiculous evening of debauchery, complete with the boys taking poorly poured beer bongs and tequila suicides.
The next morning (Monday Dec. 29) Kevin left for Panama City and the rest of the five of us went out for a boat tour around the islands. Unfortunately the tour took off late because of some morning rain, but it was a pretty great day nonetheless. It started with a stop in dolphin bay, where we got to see, you guessed it, dolphins. Dolphins are pretty neat, so that was cool. Then there was some snorkeling, which is always a good time. Especially when you do it where there are so many beautiful, colorful fish to see. It was awesome. If it weren't for the salt water in my eyes/contacts, I could be happy snorkeling all day every day. We then stopped at a place for lunch before moving on to a beach. Sadly, by the time we got to the beach it was pretty overcast. It was, however, warm with a nice breeze so it was still worth the trip. When it started raining, we all went back to the main island to clean up and get ready for the night.
That night, the five of us + one other guy from the tour went over to the local Indian restaurant (Om Cafe) for dinner. They didn't accept cards, and the only ATM on the island was out of money, so the girls had to go to the tiny grocery story down the street and pay a ridiculous amount of money so they could get cash for dinner. Quite the expensive process. But it was SO worth it. Om Cafe was fabulous. The woman who owns it is Canadian, but her family's Indian, so all the food is made from her family's recipes. She, and her food, were awesome.
The next day (Tuesday, Dec. 30) Tamara and Amy headed out to get to their farming thing back in CR, and Mike and Keegs and I were stuck inside for the day due to rain. Sadly, it didn't really stop raining for the rest of the time we were all there, but we had a good time anyway, not to mention we saved a bunch of money by not spending it on boat tours and such. The day consisted of some walking around when it wasn't pouring, lots of reading and lounging around. That night we made friends with some fun people in the hostel and spent the night drinking and talking.
Keegs took off early Wednesday morning, while Mike and I slept in. It was still raining when I finally got out of bed, and didn't stop at all before I left. After doing nothing in the morning, Mike and I grabbed lunch and he walked with me to the airport. Yes, you can walk to the airport. My flight took off super late, so I ended up not getting back in time for my night class like I had planned, but Kerensa saved me and covered.
One thing I do love about traveling, especially when you travel alone, is you meet lots of great people. I had a great time in Bocas. Though I could have asked for better weather, I couldn't have asked for better company.
So, every 90 days my (tourist) visa expires and I have to leave the country for 72 hours. While this is rather obnoxious and expensive, I do love a good excuse to travel. Since my arrival in Costa Rica, I've heard all sorts of lovely things about Bocas del Toro, a bunch of islands (archipelago, if you will) off the northeast coast of Panama. Basically, it's paradise.
Sunday, Nov. 28, I flew out of the itty bitty Pavas airport (yes, I went the more expensive but significantly faster route via plane - so worth it) directly into the airport on Isla Colon, the main island of Bocas del Toro. There were something like 12 people on a tiny plane that was loud and cold and had big windows to look out of. I am currently kicking myself for not having taken any pictures.
Anyway, I arrived, stumbled upon a cheap place to stay (hostel Heike), put on a bathing suit and headed for the beach. The one thing I dislike about Bocas? For the most part, you stay and eat and drink on Isla Colon, but to get to a beach, you have to take a water taxi to another island. Lame, but water taxis cost $2, so it's not really that bad. So, I grabbed a water taxi and went to a beach. Watched the waves, spied on some crabs, took some pictures, it was a gorgeous day.
I came back to the main island when the sun was starting to set and as I was walking to my hostel to shower/change, I ran in to one of the California boys I met while in Monteverde. While Bocas isn't exactly big and it's easy to run into people there, Kevin is a giant (6'7" or something ridiculous) and sticks out in Central America like a sore thumb, so it's not all that crazy that I found this kid. What was crazy was his leg - apparently he had gotten bitten or scratched or something and his leg was swollen like crazy and bright red/purple. It was also his birthday.
Kevin and I walked down the street and found the rest of the crew I was to spend my short time in Panama with: Kevin & Mike (from California), Keegs (short for Kieran, from England), and Tamara & Amy (from Canada). That night, we all went out for drinks to celebrate Kevin's birthday before he took off to Panama City to get his leg checked out at the Johns Hopkins hospital there. It was a ridiculous evening of debauchery, complete with the boys taking poorly poured beer bongs and tequila suicides.
The next morning (Monday Dec. 29) Kevin left for Panama City and the rest of the five of us went out for a boat tour around the islands. Unfortunately the tour took off late because of some morning rain, but it was a pretty great day nonetheless. It started with a stop in dolphin bay, where we got to see, you guessed it, dolphins. Dolphins are pretty neat, so that was cool. Then there was some snorkeling, which is always a good time. Especially when you do it where there are so many beautiful, colorful fish to see. It was awesome. If it weren't for the salt water in my eyes/contacts, I could be happy snorkeling all day every day. We then stopped at a place for lunch before moving on to a beach. Sadly, by the time we got to the beach it was pretty overcast. It was, however, warm with a nice breeze so it was still worth the trip. When it started raining, we all went back to the main island to clean up and get ready for the night.
That night, the five of us + one other guy from the tour went over to the local Indian restaurant (Om Cafe) for dinner. They didn't accept cards, and the only ATM on the island was out of money, so the girls had to go to the tiny grocery story down the street and pay a ridiculous amount of money so they could get cash for dinner. Quite the expensive process. But it was SO worth it. Om Cafe was fabulous. The woman who owns it is Canadian, but her family's Indian, so all the food is made from her family's recipes. She, and her food, were awesome.
The next day (Tuesday, Dec. 30) Tamara and Amy headed out to get to their farming thing back in CR, and Mike and Keegs and I were stuck inside for the day due to rain. Sadly, it didn't really stop raining for the rest of the time we were all there, but we had a good time anyway, not to mention we saved a bunch of money by not spending it on boat tours and such. The day consisted of some walking around when it wasn't pouring, lots of reading and lounging around. That night we made friends with some fun people in the hostel and spent the night drinking and talking.
Keegs took off early Wednesday morning, while Mike and I slept in. It was still raining when I finally got out of bed, and didn't stop at all before I left. After doing nothing in the morning, Mike and I grabbed lunch and he walked with me to the airport. Yes, you can walk to the airport. My flight took off super late, so I ended up not getting back in time for my night class like I had planned, but Kerensa saved me and covered.
One thing I do love about traveling, especially when you travel alone, is you meet lots of great people. I had a great time in Bocas. Though I could have asked for better weather, I couldn't have asked for better company.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
More about November
So I got back from Monteverde Tuesday morning and did pretty much nothing that afternoon. Maybe I did some laundry? Who knows.
I worked the rest of the week, and it was pretty uneventful. However, Thursday did begin a bit of a change at work: my boss, Bernal, managed to get some paid planning time out of the owner. He divided up the staff in to four groups one for each level of English classes we teach - A1, A2, B1 & B2) and assigned a "team leader" to each group. I, for some crazy reason, was assigned as the team leader for the A1 team. Anyway, our goal was to develop some activities and resources for us teachers to be able to use when we are planning our classes, as well as write a standardized midterm exam. We met for the first time that Thursday, and got off to a pretty good start. Not great, but things got better quick and it ended up going really well.
That Saturday night I was going to meet up with my Californian friends, but it didn't work out so we met at the farmer's market (la feria) in San Rafael de Heredia the next day, which happens to be where my friend Kerensa lives. After the boys left, Kerensa and I wandered around the market for a little while until it started pouring. Kerensa left the next morning to do her visa run in Nicaragua, and I relaxed the rest of the weekend to plan classes and get ready for my mom coming to visit again. :)
Mom arrived Wednesday afternoon, and unfortunately I was in school all day and didn't get to see her until after classes ended at 9:30. The next morning we woke up late-ish, and had breakfast at the hotel. We then went back to my apartment to drop off what she lugged down here for me, and so that I could pack up some things for the next few days. We then hopped the bus to go over to InBioParque (where I went with Will when he came to visit). Apparently they don't get many English speaking visitors because the guide definitely remembered me. We ended the day with some chicken breast and cheese and crackers. Not exactly the most authentic Thanksgiving dinner, but it was tasty nonetheless. Regardless, it was a good Thanksgiving, and my mom seemed to enjoy it, so I was happy.
Friday during the day Mom and I woke up early to do another tour. This time we went to Braulio Carrillo park to check out the rainforest tram. The van picked us up and took us to the park, where we stopped at a hanging bridge along the way. I love hanging bridges, they are pretty awesome. Our guide then took us to watch a video and then to breakfast. There was enough food to feed a small country. It was delicious. We then rode the aerial tram to the top and got off and hiked around a little and then came back down for another mini hike and then even more food. The whole thing was pretty great. The views were beautiful and our guide was great. My mom was particularly happy to get to see a whole bunch of birds whose names I can't remember but I am sure she can tell you.
Friday night and Saturday morning I had to work, but after class on Saturday my mom and I decided to go see Harry Potter. Cultural, I know. The show we wanted to see was sold out, so we had dinner at this great Peruvian restaurant in the mall. I had the chicken stuffed with something and wrapped in bacon. Me choose the only thing on the menu with bacon on it? Shocking, I know. After dinner we ran over to get in line for the movie. Thankfully they have options of seeing the movie dubbed or with subtitles. Unfortunately it seems as though most of the people who choose to see the movie with subtitles do so so that they can talk the whole time. Kind of a bummer, but loved the movie anyway.
Saturday night I said bye to my mom and headed back to my apartment. She had an early flight (7am) and the hotel insisted on taking her to the airport 2 and a half hours early. Therefore, I opted to go home and sleep in before I took off to Panama later that afternoon (which I will leave for another entry).
While I wish I had gotten to spend more time with her (stupid job...), I'm glad my mom came. She's great. If you don't know her, you should.
I worked the rest of the week, and it was pretty uneventful. However, Thursday did begin a bit of a change at work: my boss, Bernal, managed to get some paid planning time out of the owner. He divided up the staff in to four groups one for each level of English classes we teach - A1, A2, B1 & B2) and assigned a "team leader" to each group. I, for some crazy reason, was assigned as the team leader for the A1 team. Anyway, our goal was to develop some activities and resources for us teachers to be able to use when we are planning our classes, as well as write a standardized midterm exam. We met for the first time that Thursday, and got off to a pretty good start. Not great, but things got better quick and it ended up going really well.
That Saturday night I was going to meet up with my Californian friends, but it didn't work out so we met at the farmer's market (la feria) in San Rafael de Heredia the next day, which happens to be where my friend Kerensa lives. After the boys left, Kerensa and I wandered around the market for a little while until it started pouring. Kerensa left the next morning to do her visa run in Nicaragua, and I relaxed the rest of the weekend to plan classes and get ready for my mom coming to visit again. :)
Mom arrived Wednesday afternoon, and unfortunately I was in school all day and didn't get to see her until after classes ended at 9:30. The next morning we woke up late-ish, and had breakfast at the hotel. We then went back to my apartment to drop off what she lugged down here for me, and so that I could pack up some things for the next few days. We then hopped the bus to go over to InBioParque (where I went with Will when he came to visit). Apparently they don't get many English speaking visitors because the guide definitely remembered me. We ended the day with some chicken breast and cheese and crackers. Not exactly the most authentic Thanksgiving dinner, but it was tasty nonetheless. Regardless, it was a good Thanksgiving, and my mom seemed to enjoy it, so I was happy.
Friday during the day Mom and I woke up early to do another tour. This time we went to Braulio Carrillo park to check out the rainforest tram. The van picked us up and took us to the park, where we stopped at a hanging bridge along the way. I love hanging bridges, they are pretty awesome. Our guide then took us to watch a video and then to breakfast. There was enough food to feed a small country. It was delicious. We then rode the aerial tram to the top and got off and hiked around a little and then came back down for another mini hike and then even more food. The whole thing was pretty great. The views were beautiful and our guide was great. My mom was particularly happy to get to see a whole bunch of birds whose names I can't remember but I am sure she can tell you.
Friday night and Saturday morning I had to work, but after class on Saturday my mom and I decided to go see Harry Potter. Cultural, I know. The show we wanted to see was sold out, so we had dinner at this great Peruvian restaurant in the mall. I had the chicken stuffed with something and wrapped in bacon. Me choose the only thing on the menu with bacon on it? Shocking, I know. After dinner we ran over to get in line for the movie. Thankfully they have options of seeing the movie dubbed or with subtitles. Unfortunately it seems as though most of the people who choose to see the movie with subtitles do so so that they can talk the whole time. Kind of a bummer, but loved the movie anyway.
Saturday night I said bye to my mom and headed back to my apartment. She had an early flight (7am) and the hotel insisted on taking her to the airport 2 and a half hours early. Therefore, I opted to go home and sleep in before I took off to Panama later that afternoon (which I will leave for another entry).
While I wish I had gotten to spend more time with her (stupid job...), I'm glad my mom came. She's great. If you don't know her, you should.
Monteverde
I am, obviously, extremely far behind, and will be covering the last two months in smaller installments, instead of trying to write (and make you read) one big one. Sorry for being a slacker, I'll try to get better.
So, the weekend after Jaco, Nov. 14-16, I made a last second decision to take advantage of my long weekend while I still had it and head out to Monteverde to see some cloud forest goodness. I packed my things Saturday night and woke up early to catch the bus in San Jose. There are two buses that run daily to Monteverde - one at 6:30am and another at 2:30pm. It's a 4 hour ride, so I got in at about 10:30 - plenty of time to wander around during the day and see some of what Monteverde is all about. SO worth it. I dropped my stuff, grabbed some food and headed off to La Selvatura park, where I spent hours (until almost sunset) wandering around their 8 hanging bridges. I opted out of doing the zipline canopy tour there - I figure I'll get that next time around, when I have someone to do it with - but loved getting to see some birds, flowers, a tarantula, and the raccoon of Costa Rica. I forget what it was called (coatil?), but it was funny looking.
When I got back I wandered over to the grocery store to grab some food for the rest of the trip and made some friends while I was cooking. I met two guys from California who were traveling from Honduras down to Panama, and who were on their way to Heredia after Monteverde and were potentially going to be in Bocas del Toro when I was thinking of doing my visa run. Turns out we got along real well and planned to meet up in Heredia and Bocas. Fairly uneventful aside from that, but it was a fun night.
I woke up early on Monday to catch the 6:15 bus over to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve entrance, where a group of us waited for the park to open. While waiting, I met a couple of guys who were going to be taking a birding tour. Inspired by them, when I bought my entrance ticket for the park, I signed up for a tour as well. It turned out to be a bit more expensive than I wanted, but it was well worth the money. Because I had a tourguide, I got to see a quetzal. Awesome. After the tour ended, I wandered around the park and ran into the two birders that I met in the morning. The three of us then wandered around the park together until it closed. It was nice to have some company, especially people who were good at spotting birds.
That night I decided to take the night tour my two California friends recommended. Everyone doing the tour piled into a big van and we promptly got in to an accident. Literally, we had just pulled away from the curb when the driver backed in to the van behind us. Ridiculous.
So, a half hour later, we finally got in to a different van and went on the night tour. It was pretty neat. I got to see a sloth, raccoon, snake, a mother tarantula and its babies, and a whole bunch of different kinds of insects. It was great.
All in all, Monteverde has been one of the cooler things I have done/seen since coming to this country. I highly recommend you all go there some time. I plan on going back. Though I have a few other stops to make first...
So, the weekend after Jaco, Nov. 14-16, I made a last second decision to take advantage of my long weekend while I still had it and head out to Monteverde to see some cloud forest goodness. I packed my things Saturday night and woke up early to catch the bus in San Jose. There are two buses that run daily to Monteverde - one at 6:30am and another at 2:30pm. It's a 4 hour ride, so I got in at about 10:30 - plenty of time to wander around during the day and see some of what Monteverde is all about. SO worth it. I dropped my stuff, grabbed some food and headed off to La Selvatura park, where I spent hours (until almost sunset) wandering around their 8 hanging bridges. I opted out of doing the zipline canopy tour there - I figure I'll get that next time around, when I have someone to do it with - but loved getting to see some birds, flowers, a tarantula, and the raccoon of Costa Rica. I forget what it was called (coatil?), but it was funny looking.
When I got back I wandered over to the grocery store to grab some food for the rest of the trip and made some friends while I was cooking. I met two guys from California who were traveling from Honduras down to Panama, and who were on their way to Heredia after Monteverde and were potentially going to be in Bocas del Toro when I was thinking of doing my visa run. Turns out we got along real well and planned to meet up in Heredia and Bocas. Fairly uneventful aside from that, but it was a fun night.
I woke up early on Monday to catch the 6:15 bus over to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve entrance, where a group of us waited for the park to open. While waiting, I met a couple of guys who were going to be taking a birding tour. Inspired by them, when I bought my entrance ticket for the park, I signed up for a tour as well. It turned out to be a bit more expensive than I wanted, but it was well worth the money. Because I had a tourguide, I got to see a quetzal. Awesome. After the tour ended, I wandered around the park and ran into the two birders that I met in the morning. The three of us then wandered around the park together until it closed. It was nice to have some company, especially people who were good at spotting birds.
That night I decided to take the night tour my two California friends recommended. Everyone doing the tour piled into a big van and we promptly got in to an accident. Literally, we had just pulled away from the curb when the driver backed in to the van behind us. Ridiculous.
So, a half hour later, we finally got in to a different van and went on the night tour. It was pretty neat. I got to see a sloth, raccoon, snake, a mother tarantula and its babies, and a whole bunch of different kinds of insects. It was great.
All in all, Monteverde has been one of the cooler things I have done/seen since coming to this country. I highly recommend you all go there some time. I plan on going back. Though I have a few other stops to make first...
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Halloween and Jaco
Not toooooo much has happened since the last post, but it's been a little while, so I figured I should get to writing...
Will left Wed. (10/27) while I was at work. It was definitely nice to have such good company for a bit, though I wish I hadn't been so sick while he was here. Speaking of, my cold/flu has since dissipated. Mostly. Being sick sucks. Being sick in a new country sucks more. Thank goodness that's over.
That weekend, mostly better, I went out with some friends from work for Halloween. I came up with a costume last second and went as Quailman, from the old Nickelodeon TV show, Doug. While almost no one here understood, it was funny nonetheless, not to mention comfortable. Halloween was a fun night, though, and it was good spending time with people I work with. We all met at one apartment and then went to Rumba, a bar that seemed to me to be in the middle of nowhere as I had no idea where we were. It was fun though, and the bar put on quite the show for Halloween.
The highlights included: the DJ was dressed as Elmo; a couple dressed as the Smurfs (or los Pitufos) won best costume; there was a Michael Jackson Thriller dance; a Brazilian drumline carnival thing... I stayed out too late. But it was fun.
The week of November 1 marked the last week of my TESOL classes. The three of us were scheduled to take the TKT test on Friday but we decided to take it on Thursday instead, cutting the number of times we had to commute out to Escazu short by a day, which was a really great change. Overall the classes were fine. I definitely learned some useful tips for teaching ESL, and am grateful Politecnico paid for half the class.
Last week also began all the rain. Due to the elections and disasters in other parts of the world, including Haiti, I know this didn't receive much coverage in the US, but it was a huge deal here. It poured and poured for about 4 days straight here last week, causing major flooding and landslides killing more than 20 people, closing many of the roads, and, ironically, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without water.
The president declared Thursday a day of national emergency, and Friday and Saturday were days of mourning. Check out www.ticotimes.net if you want to read a little local coverage in English.
With all the rain came the cold. For Costa Rica standards, it was really freakin cold here last week, so I decided to take advantage of my long weekend and try to get some sunshine. Sunday morning, my friend/coworker Sara and I hopped the bus to Jaco, on the Pacific side of the country. The bus ride was about 2-2.5 hours and we arrived and found a place to stay without a problem. Due to all the rain, there weren't too many people in Jaco this weekend, which was pretty nice. Jaco is the closest beach to San Jose, so it gets a lot of traffic, both from tourists and Ticos. Many Ticos, however, have strong anti-Jaco feelings and I can easily see why.
While the beach is nice, the town of Jaco is being built up and taken over by tourists and ex-pats looking to make a living off of said tourists. Regardless, it was empty enough that Sara and I had a great time. We did a whole lot of nothing, laying on the beach, eating and drinking, and sleeping. Monday (yesterday), Sara and I went over to Playa Hermosa, which is about a $7 cab ride from Jaco. Hermosa was full of surfers, a boy who couldn't have been more than 19 hitting on Sara and me, and lots of big, strong waves that were too much to swim in. Due to the floodings and all the rain, the water at the beaches was a little more brown than blue, but lovely nonetheless.
One note about Jaco: with the rise in tourism, there has followed a rise in drug and prostitution problems as well. Last night, while Sara and I were asleep, some drunk older (40s?) American men stumbled back to the hotel around 2am. They woke us up with their general drunken behavior: being loud, slamming doors, breaking bottles, etc. However, I did notice one Spanish speaking woman with them. As it turns out, after listening to what was going on a little, it became clear that much of the noise being made was coming from one man in particular, who was trying to trying to understand exactly what (how long) it was he had paid the woman for.... Classy.
Eventually they all quieted down and I was able to fall back asleep for the rest of the night. Despite this craziness, the hotel was good - clean, cheap and otherwise quiet - and our trip to Jaco was a success. We managed to miss all the rain, and were blessed with mostly blue skies and perfectly warm (not too hot) days/nights. It was a perfect weekend getaway. Furthermore, there are delicious smoothies available almost everywhere.
I head back to work and reality tomorrow, but am already planning my next get away. Literally. I have to do a border run to renew my visa by the end of the month. Given the situation with Costa Rica and Nicaragua fighting over where the borders lie (if you don't know anything about it look it up and keep in mind that CR doesn't have an army of any kind so there will be no actual fighting), I'm figuring I will be heading down to Panama to do that just to avoid any potential problems trying to come back in to CR. If anyone wants to meet me in Bocas del Toro for a long weekend let me know!
Other than my visa run, I'm looking forward to my mom returning for another visit in a couple weeks. :)
Love.
Will left Wed. (10/27) while I was at work. It was definitely nice to have such good company for a bit, though I wish I hadn't been so sick while he was here. Speaking of, my cold/flu has since dissipated. Mostly. Being sick sucks. Being sick in a new country sucks more. Thank goodness that's over.
That weekend, mostly better, I went out with some friends from work for Halloween. I came up with a costume last second and went as Quailman, from the old Nickelodeon TV show, Doug. While almost no one here understood, it was funny nonetheless, not to mention comfortable. Halloween was a fun night, though, and it was good spending time with people I work with. We all met at one apartment and then went to Rumba, a bar that seemed to me to be in the middle of nowhere as I had no idea where we were. It was fun though, and the bar put on quite the show for Halloween.
The highlights included: the DJ was dressed as Elmo; a couple dressed as the Smurfs (or los Pitufos) won best costume; there was a Michael Jackson Thriller dance; a Brazilian drumline carnival thing... I stayed out too late. But it was fun.
The week of November 1 marked the last week of my TESOL classes. The three of us were scheduled to take the TKT test on Friday but we decided to take it on Thursday instead, cutting the number of times we had to commute out to Escazu short by a day, which was a really great change. Overall the classes were fine. I definitely learned some useful tips for teaching ESL, and am grateful Politecnico paid for half the class.
Last week also began all the rain. Due to the elections and disasters in other parts of the world, including Haiti, I know this didn't receive much coverage in the US, but it was a huge deal here. It poured and poured for about 4 days straight here last week, causing major flooding and landslides killing more than 20 people, closing many of the roads, and, ironically, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without water.
The president declared Thursday a day of national emergency, and Friday and Saturday were days of mourning. Check out www.ticotimes.net if you want to read a little local coverage in English.
With all the rain came the cold. For Costa Rica standards, it was really freakin cold here last week, so I decided to take advantage of my long weekend and try to get some sunshine. Sunday morning, my friend/coworker Sara and I hopped the bus to Jaco, on the Pacific side of the country. The bus ride was about 2-2.5 hours and we arrived and found a place to stay without a problem. Due to all the rain, there weren't too many people in Jaco this weekend, which was pretty nice. Jaco is the closest beach to San Jose, so it gets a lot of traffic, both from tourists and Ticos. Many Ticos, however, have strong anti-Jaco feelings and I can easily see why.
While the beach is nice, the town of Jaco is being built up and taken over by tourists and ex-pats looking to make a living off of said tourists. Regardless, it was empty enough that Sara and I had a great time. We did a whole lot of nothing, laying on the beach, eating and drinking, and sleeping. Monday (yesterday), Sara and I went over to Playa Hermosa, which is about a $7 cab ride from Jaco. Hermosa was full of surfers, a boy who couldn't have been more than 19 hitting on Sara and me, and lots of big, strong waves that were too much to swim in. Due to the floodings and all the rain, the water at the beaches was a little more brown than blue, but lovely nonetheless.
One note about Jaco: with the rise in tourism, there has followed a rise in drug and prostitution problems as well. Last night, while Sara and I were asleep, some drunk older (40s?) American men stumbled back to the hotel around 2am. They woke us up with their general drunken behavior: being loud, slamming doors, breaking bottles, etc. However, I did notice one Spanish speaking woman with them. As it turns out, after listening to what was going on a little, it became clear that much of the noise being made was coming from one man in particular, who was trying to trying to understand exactly what (how long) it was he had paid the woman for.... Classy.
Eventually they all quieted down and I was able to fall back asleep for the rest of the night. Despite this craziness, the hotel was good - clean, cheap and otherwise quiet - and our trip to Jaco was a success. We managed to miss all the rain, and were blessed with mostly blue skies and perfectly warm (not too hot) days/nights. It was a perfect weekend getaway. Furthermore, there are delicious smoothies available almost everywhere.
I head back to work and reality tomorrow, but am already planning my next get away. Literally. I have to do a border run to renew my visa by the end of the month. Given the situation with Costa Rica and Nicaragua fighting over where the borders lie (if you don't know anything about it look it up and keep in mind that CR doesn't have an army of any kind so there will be no actual fighting), I'm figuring I will be heading down to Panama to do that just to avoid any potential problems trying to come back in to CR. If anyone wants to meet me in Bocas del Toro for a long weekend let me know!
Other than my visa run, I'm looking forward to my mom returning for another visit in a couple weeks. :)
Love.
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