Again with the slacking. Sorry Grandpa!
My trip home was amazing. And seriously way way way too short.
I got back to CR Sunday early afternoon, and my wonderful roommate and her girlfriend picked me up at the airport after getting through immigration without any problems. I was exhausted so I ended up just hanging out in the apartment all Sunday night instead of doing anything. Good life choice.
Monday was back to business as usual, teaching in the morning in Heredia and in the evening in San Jose. Tuesday night after tutoring, I went out with Kerensa to meet Zach L., Jonathan and Robert for drinks. We all went to Pollo Sus Amigos by la UNA after discovering that the sushi/pizza (yes, that's correct) place we wanted to go to was closed. We then got scooped up by Jose Mario and Felix who drove us both home because they are just great people.
Thursday morning was my last class with my diplomado students, and it was fun. I gave them their grades and made them watch The Princess Bride because none of them had seen it. They were skeptical, but they enjoyed it (how could you not?). Thursday night I went to play soccer with Saray, Laura, Jose Mario, Felix, Alvaro, Walter and two of Alvaro's sisters. My knee is now killing me, but it was a fun time. My roommate has started calling me RoadRunner because I apparently run a crazy amount. After, Saray, Laura, Jose Mario and I went to have a drink at Nacho's before calling it a night.
Saturday after class I went home and Saray was cooking. Shortly after I got home, Jose Mario and Felix came over for lunch. We all ate and the three of them taught me some new Spanish phrases, most of which I won't be repeating here, haha. After our food digested a little, we went out to the front of the house and played some soccer. And by we played, I mean the three of them played around while I took pictures. Eventually they busted out the hose and soaked each other while I hid. Felix and I then took a little ride on their new scooter around the neighborhood. It was a great afternoon.
Later that evening I ventured over to Jamie's new apartment (she moved on Friday) where she had been cooking for hours. Jamie comes from a very Italian family and likes to cook. This means that she makes pasta sauce from scratch and it is to die for. She also made eggplant parmesan (from scratch) and mozzarella sticks (from a box - even she has her limits). Definitely one of the best meals I have eaten in this country/in life. Zach L., Jonathan and Sara B. came to join. We spent the night drinking and playing a little Wii and having a good time. I think my favorite moment of the night was when one of the boys asked Jamie what the base for her sauce was. They just about had a heart attack when she responded with, "tomatoes." Stellar.
Sunday morning I lazily slept in. Around noon Saray, Laura, Jose Mario and I went to meet Kerensa and her boyfriend Martin to head up the mountain for a picnic. We all squeezed into Laura's car and prepared ourselves for an afternoon of good eating and a little adventure. We parked the car up Monte de la Cruz and wandered in the direction of the waterfall nearby. It turns out the waterfall is a bit of a hike. It's not far at all, but it involves a little bit of adventurous downhill rock climbing. We all ended up a little dirty and tiny bit scratched, but the journey there and back was half the fun. We stayed at the waterfall taking pictures and hanging out for a little bit and then we headed back to meet Laura at the car. Not before eating Kerensa's amazing sandwiches though. They even had apple slices in them so it reminded me of Vermont and made my heart (and tastebuds) happy. So tasty.
We decided not to go back up the way we came as it would have been pretty difficult to get up some of the rocks we came down, but try the trail that went the opposite direction. Kerensa had been that way before, so we knew we were wandering into private property and would have to figure out a way out of some fenced-in land without getting caught. Though Kerensa wasn't too happy about our decision to take that path, we went anyway, climbing over a gate and some barbed wire on the way. Once we got up off the trail and onto the private property, Jose Mario and Saray decided to be sneaky and run from tree to tree hiding from anyone who might see us. It was definitely one of the funnier things I've seen in a while. They even rolled on the ground, somersault-ish style. At first we struggled to find a feasible way out but then we saw a drain that ran under the huge fence we needed to get to the other side of. At first I thought she was joking, but Saray climbed down to check it out, and it turned out to be perfect. So we all crawled, one by one, out a drain pipe. Thankfully it was clean and dry.
We went back to meet Laura at the car. We parked next to this awesome triangular cottage looking bar (I'm kicking myself for not having taken a picture), and we decided that we had earned ourselves a beer after our little trek. Inside there was an old school juke box (just for show), an old motorcycle and a few stuffed sloths. The ambiance was pretty stellar. While we were enjoying our beers, it started pouring. We decided instead of heading to the park to play soccer as we planned, we were going to go back to Jose Mario and Felix's place instead, to interrupt Fe from studying and finish our food there.
A little later that evening Saray, Laura, Jose Mario, Felix, Gary and I headed to La Avispa, their favorite gay bar/club downtown San Jose. Apparently Sundays are the best night of the week to go to this bar. I arrived with the guys, and Saray and Laur came to meet us there after stopping at Laura's place for a change of clothes. The club itself is beautiful - there's an upstairs where you can go for some food, to sit down or hang out by the balcony to watch the people dancing below. They played a super wide variety of music and we danced the night away. After we left the club, we stopped at McDonald's for some (gross) food before calling it a night.
When we were first talking about the picnic, Kerensa warned that there was no drinking allowed at the park we were going to go to. Jose Mario immediately responded with, "we don't need alcohol to have fun." This couldn't be more true of this group of people. They are genuinely some of the most outgoing, fun, friendly and welcoming people I have ever met - they rival Cheley people in the best way possible. Not once did I feel out of place, unincluded or remotely uncomfortable. If anything, the opposite is true - they seem to go out of their way to include me. Saray and Laura are in Colombia on vacation this week, and they want to have a movie night with me on Thursday. I honestly could not be more grateful to have met these people. They are the epitome of wonderful.
Even though Saray is in Colombia til Friday, I won't be alone in the house. Kerensa is coming to stay with me for a couple days so she can get a break from her dirty roommates. It'll be nice to see her a bit more than I normally would this week.
Jamie and I are contemplating doing another day trip to the beach Friday before our schedules change with the new semester next week. She is also talking about having another dinner soon - broccoli alfredo. I'm gonna need to get my butt back to the gym if she keeps feeding me like this.
:)
Monday, May 2, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Update
I forgot to mention something about Jaco (though, I feel like I am bound to have some ridiculous experience at that beach any time I go because it is such a ridiculous place). After Jamie and I had lunch and got in a little bit of day drinking, we relocated to a slightly more shady (literally less sunny, not sketchy) part of the beach and were quickly approached by some guys. One by one they came up asking for the use of Jamie's lighter - because clearly not one of the four of them had a lighter but they all had cigarettes... riiiiight. After they had exhausted their lighter excuse, they (individually) repeatedly offered to go a buy us drinks or some food. One of them, desperately searching for a reason to talk to us, asked us to hold on to his passport and wallet while he went swimming, and offered to watch our stuff in return. It got more and more ridiculous the longer we were there.
I think my favorite one of the day was when one of them approached us offering to take us into the water. As the afternoon went on, the tide got stronger so we didn't go as far in. They decided this meant they needed to offer their services to help us go swimming. We got a 5 minute speech about how this one guy would be happy to be our guide in the water. Seriously. At least 5 entire minutes of us politely saying no thanks over and over and over. SO ridiculous. All in all, we were probably approached at least 12 times in 2 hours. Eventually they gave up and moved on and we headed back to Heredia for business as usual.
Tuesday night only one person came to tutoring for about an hour, so I got to head home early. I arrived home to find Saray cooking for Jose Mario, Felix and Gary. It was maybe the best way to end the day ever. I wish I’d taken a picture though, because it looked like our living room was an internet café. Everyone had their computers out and was comparing and sharing pictures from the Shakira concert.
Thursday night I met Jamie at Parque los Angeles in Heredia and we hopped the bus to Hooligan’s (bar/restaurant) to meet up with a bunch of the other Politecnico teachers for what turned out to be an absolutely ridiculous night. By the time Jamie and I arrived at 8:30/9:00, the majority of our friends and coworkers were well on their way to causing serious damage to their livers. We were at Hooligan’s for an hour or so when half the crew went home to be responsible and get some sleep before they had to work the next morning. Since the rest of us didn’t, we stayed for a bit longer. After a short while, we decided to give our wallets a break and head to Zach L.’s to hang out for a bit before deciding how to continue with the rest of the night.
At Zach’s was Jamie, new Jamie (who will be referred to as blonde-Jamie from now on), Pete, Luis from Politecnico, Luis from Costa Rica and two of Luis from CR’s friends whose names I can’t remember. There wasn’t a whole lot of diversity in the names as you can see.
After everyone finished all the alcohol at Zach’s place, we ventured out to downtown Heredia to another bar. I don’t remember the name of the first place we went to, but we didn’t even make it in the door before being turned away. There was some mention of the bar we were trying to go to having a vendetta against gringos, and the bouncer took one look at blonde haired, blue eyed Jamie and turned us away. Granted, at this point everyone had had a fair amount to drink, so I’m sure that wasn’t the only reason the nine of us were turned away. Instead, we walked up the street to the uber gringo-friendly Fiesta Casino. From what I understand, Fiesta looks exactly like any other casino – full of slot machines and no sign of natural light. We all ventured upstairs to the bar area and found ourselves a place to sit and I observed the belligerence that ensued. Finally, around 3-ish I decided I’d had enough and went home, already feeling hungover.
Friday I decided I was going to make crepes for my roommate and the guys. After napping away my pounding headache I headed to the local mini-super down the street and picked up fruit and eggs. Saray, Laura and Gary came home around 6 and we hung out and ate a little bit until Walter and Alvaro came to join us. Eventually Jose Mario and Felix came and brought a friend of theirs and her 3 year old son. We played a super long game of Uno, ate some crepes and had a super great time, as always. Oh. I also tried a “tico taco” for the first time, and it was amazing. Cheese, ham, beef, some salsa of some sort (and probably some other things I can’t remember right now) wrapped in a tortilla, fried and covered with lettuce and some other kind of salsa. Deeee-lish.
Saturday after class I went to Paseo de las Flores to meet up with Kerensa for lunch. While I was waiting for her, I ran into William and Mecia, and we decided to all have lunch together. The four of us went to RostiPollo, a slightly more upscale fast-ish food place that I’d probably call the Boston Market of Costa Rica. We shared a pitcher of beer, toasted to having a week off of work, and decided to have dinner together before we all went our separate ways for the break.
Later that evening I made my way over to William and Mecia’s place in San Joaquin. They live ridiculously close to me. I’m pretty sure if there was a direct route there, it would be a 5 minute walk. But, alas, there are no such things as direct routes in CR and it is a 20 trek by bus and foot. Shortly after I arrived, Kerensa and her boyfriend Martin came and Kerensa began making her infamous pizza from scratch. Mecia whipped up some guacamole and then she and her neighbor cooked up some shrimp. I, on the other hand, brought some store bought cookies and watched. We all drank some wine and ate incredibly delicious food and enjoyed each other’s company while listening to a wide array of amazing music (everything from Boyz II Men to Bob Marley). Great great night.
All in all this past week has been wonderful despite some ridiculousness at work that I won’t get into here. I couldn’t ask for more.
Just in case you were wondering, not only did I teach my beginner English students what the word “shenanigans” means, but they have started calling each other out on shenanigans when some of them inevitably goof off. It’s amazing. I’m pretty sure I can die happy.
I'll potentially write about the flight home yesterday and being home later this week. Hope everyone is doing well!
I think my favorite one of the day was when one of them approached us offering to take us into the water. As the afternoon went on, the tide got stronger so we didn't go as far in. They decided this meant they needed to offer their services to help us go swimming. We got a 5 minute speech about how this one guy would be happy to be our guide in the water. Seriously. At least 5 entire minutes of us politely saying no thanks over and over and over. SO ridiculous. All in all, we were probably approached at least 12 times in 2 hours. Eventually they gave up and moved on and we headed back to Heredia for business as usual.
Tuesday night only one person came to tutoring for about an hour, so I got to head home early. I arrived home to find Saray cooking for Jose Mario, Felix and Gary. It was maybe the best way to end the day ever. I wish I’d taken a picture though, because it looked like our living room was an internet café. Everyone had their computers out and was comparing and sharing pictures from the Shakira concert.
Thursday night I met Jamie at Parque los Angeles in Heredia and we hopped the bus to Hooligan’s (bar/restaurant) to meet up with a bunch of the other Politecnico teachers for what turned out to be an absolutely ridiculous night. By the time Jamie and I arrived at 8:30/9:00, the majority of our friends and coworkers were well on their way to causing serious damage to their livers. We were at Hooligan’s for an hour or so when half the crew went home to be responsible and get some sleep before they had to work the next morning. Since the rest of us didn’t, we stayed for a bit longer. After a short while, we decided to give our wallets a break and head to Zach L.’s to hang out for a bit before deciding how to continue with the rest of the night.
At Zach’s was Jamie, new Jamie (who will be referred to as blonde-Jamie from now on), Pete, Luis from Politecnico, Luis from Costa Rica and two of Luis from CR’s friends whose names I can’t remember. There wasn’t a whole lot of diversity in the names as you can see.
After everyone finished all the alcohol at Zach’s place, we ventured out to downtown Heredia to another bar. I don’t remember the name of the first place we went to, but we didn’t even make it in the door before being turned away. There was some mention of the bar we were trying to go to having a vendetta against gringos, and the bouncer took one look at blonde haired, blue eyed Jamie and turned us away. Granted, at this point everyone had had a fair amount to drink, so I’m sure that wasn’t the only reason the nine of us were turned away. Instead, we walked up the street to the uber gringo-friendly Fiesta Casino. From what I understand, Fiesta looks exactly like any other casino – full of slot machines and no sign of natural light. We all ventured upstairs to the bar area and found ourselves a place to sit and I observed the belligerence that ensued. Finally, around 3-ish I decided I’d had enough and went home, already feeling hungover.
Friday I decided I was going to make crepes for my roommate and the guys. After napping away my pounding headache I headed to the local mini-super down the street and picked up fruit and eggs. Saray, Laura and Gary came home around 6 and we hung out and ate a little bit until Walter and Alvaro came to join us. Eventually Jose Mario and Felix came and brought a friend of theirs and her 3 year old son. We played a super long game of Uno, ate some crepes and had a super great time, as always. Oh. I also tried a “tico taco” for the first time, and it was amazing. Cheese, ham, beef, some salsa of some sort (and probably some other things I can’t remember right now) wrapped in a tortilla, fried and covered with lettuce and some other kind of salsa. Deeee-lish.
Saturday after class I went to Paseo de las Flores to meet up with Kerensa for lunch. While I was waiting for her, I ran into William and Mecia, and we decided to all have lunch together. The four of us went to RostiPollo, a slightly more upscale fast-ish food place that I’d probably call the Boston Market of Costa Rica. We shared a pitcher of beer, toasted to having a week off of work, and decided to have dinner together before we all went our separate ways for the break.
Later that evening I made my way over to William and Mecia’s place in San Joaquin. They live ridiculously close to me. I’m pretty sure if there was a direct route there, it would be a 5 minute walk. But, alas, there are no such things as direct routes in CR and it is a 20 trek by bus and foot. Shortly after I arrived, Kerensa and her boyfriend Martin came and Kerensa began making her infamous pizza from scratch. Mecia whipped up some guacamole and then she and her neighbor cooked up some shrimp. I, on the other hand, brought some store bought cookies and watched. We all drank some wine and ate incredibly delicious food and enjoyed each other’s company while listening to a wide array of amazing music (everything from Boyz II Men to Bob Marley). Great great night.
All in all this past week has been wonderful despite some ridiculousness at work that I won’t get into here. I couldn’t ask for more.
Just in case you were wondering, not only did I teach my beginner English students what the word “shenanigans” means, but they have started calling each other out on shenanigans when some of them inevitably goof off. It’s amazing. I’m pretty sure I can die happy.
I'll potentially write about the flight home yesterday and being home later this week. Hope everyone is doing well!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Good Times, Great People
I'm way behind.
Whoops. So sorry!
Dad came to visit and it was great. He got in Wednesday night and I met him after my night class to have some food and a couple beers. He rented and car and picked me up from Politecnico on Thursday. Color me impressed. Not only did he drive stick without stalling once, he managed to drive around the craziness that is Costa Rica and its highways.
Thursday night we drove up to La Fortuna to see the Arenal volcano. It was dark and rainy when we got in, so we didn't get to see the volcano until Friday morning. Instead, we had dinner, a couple beers and went to bed. Friday morning we got up and booked a tour. In the morning we did a zip line tour and in the afternoon/evening we did a "hike" (short walk) near the volcano and then went to the hot springs. That night we had dinner at a Peruvian place in town, and it was pretty great. La Fortuna is definitely worth the trip, though it was more expensive than I could have afforded on my own.
Saturday morning we tried to book a last second "canyoning" tour (canyoning is essentially repelling down waterfalls, supposed to be very cool), but given our time constraints we weren't able to go, and instead spent the entire day trying to get from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio. Note about CR: roads are not well labeled in this country, if they are at all. While we didn't necessarily get ourselves lost (we knew where we were), we just couldn't find the turn(s) we were supposed to take. It was a long day of driving. Once we finally got to our hotel, we parked the car and didn't look at it again til the morning. Instead, we sat and drank and ate and watched college basketball. And by watch college basketball, I mean we watched our brackets go down the drain. At least I did.
Sunday morning we got up, had breakfast and went to the beach, where we sat and did absolutely nothing all day. It was fabulous. Manuel Antonio was just beautiful. We decided not to go into the park itself because we were feeling lazy. The beach just outside the park was lovely, and I hear the ones inside the park are even more so, so I will have to make it back there some day.
Monday we woke up, had breakfast and hit the road. We got back in what felt like record time (especially after Saturday's ridiculousness) and used the extra time to buy me some groceries. I had to work Monday night and Tuesday morning, but Tuesday afternoon Dad and I went to Britt Cafe to do their coffee tour. I think I liked the Doka Cafe tour better, because Britt had some stuff under construction so we couldn't see any of the machinery, only the coffee plants, really.
Tuesday night we had dinner and hung out, went to bed early. Wednesday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and said goodbye. I'm really glad that I got some time off so I could actually spend time with my dad, he's great. I really have been blessed with amazing parents. They are incredibly kind, generous and pretty damn smart. I could go on, but this blog is supposed to be about me ;)
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The rest of the week went by as per usual, until Saturday morning, when I managed to turn my alarm off in my sleep. For those of you know have ever tried to wake me up in the morning, you know that this is really not all that surprising. You would think that I would have learned to keep my alarm clock on the other side of the room and out of my immediate reach by now. I woke up and ran out the house, slammed the door behind me, and stopped short at the front gate. I had brilliantly left my keys on my bed on the other side of my locked front door. I was locked out of my apartment but inside the gate. Literally caged in. And late for work. Disaster.
After failing to be able to break in to my apartment makes me feel even safer), I was forced to call in reinforcements. Johanna, who is in charge of the high school program at Politecnico and basically does everything for everyone turned her car around while she was heading in the opposite direction of where I was supposed to be, and went to cover my class until I could get there. I then called my roommate who stayed in San Pedro (on the complete other side of San Jose) on Friday night to come let me out of the house. With nothing to do but wait, I sat down on our conveniently placed futon (it's outside since it's broken). I eventually made it to school, where my students just laughed at me. Not surprisingly, it happens to everyone here, so everyone (including my boss) was very understanding. I can guarantee I won't be running out of the house without my keys again. lol
Saturday night Kerensa and I went out to a Spanish tapas bar/restaurant called La Choza, across from the gym. It was fantastic. We shared some delicious tapas and wine and watched the inaugural soccer game between CR and China at the new national stadium on TV.
Sunday started out lazy, I watched some TV and laid around doing nothing until Saray got home from work. Shortly after that, all the boys (Jose Mario, Felix, Alvaro, Walter & Gary) came over for some coffee, and we spent the afternoon making empanadas - amazing. After stuffing our faces, we decided to go play soccer at a place nearby. We did a 3 on 3 game, switching up the teams anytime anyone needed a break. It was so so so much fun, we've decided to make it a regular thing. I know I've said it before, but I am so grateful that I stumbled upon these people. They are so welcoming and so much fun and I absolutely adore them. What a great Sunday.
The next Thursday night (March 31) after I subbed and Kerensa had her normal class, we went out for a couple drinks and some delicious garlic bread. Saturday after class Sara B. and I went out for lunch while waiting for Kerensa to meet up with us. We all went out with the intention of getting pedicures and manicures, but it didn't exactly go as we had planned. Sara got her manicure, but Kerensa and I got tired of waiting after a couple hours and we decided to go grab some food/drinks instead. Though the day didn't go as we anticipated, it was still nice to just sit and enjoy some good conversation with some great people.
Saturday night I met up with my coworker friend Jamie and a couple of her friends at Pollo Sus Amigos (yes, the bar is called Chicken Your Friends) in Heredia. Sara and her boyfriend came for a while, too. It ended up being a much later night that I had anticipated, especially given how tired I was from working so much that week, but it was a fun night. I hadn't hung out with Jamie before, and she and I had a great time joking and drinking. I'm definitely glad she was added to the Politecnico staff.
Sunday we (the same crew as the week before) all played soccer together and had a blast. It's really nice to be The next Thursday night (April 7) Jamie and I met up and went to Bar Cardero for a bit since we both have Fridays off this quarter. Friday night I stayed in and did some baking and cleaning, nothing major, but nice and relaxing. Saturday night after our classes Jamie and I went out for a couple drinks and some food.
Sunday we (Saray, Laura, Jose Mario, Felix, Gary, Walter, Alvaro, Jamie and I) went to the Shakira concert at the new stadium! We went down early to Felix's office, which is around the corner from the stadium, to have some birthday cake and hang out a little before the concert started. Instead of an opening act, Shakira had a DJ... who wasn't very good. We waited what felt like forever for Shakira to finally come on, and right after she started the electricity went haywire and there was no sound. Bless her heart, she and her band kept going til the end of the song before they left the stage so that someone could fix whatever the problem was.
We waited another 15-ish minutes before Shakira came back on. Overall, it was a super fun experience and I am so glad I went. Shakira is a great performer, and obviously loves singing and dancing for, and with, her fans (she brought some girls up on stage to dance with her). My only complaint, really, is that she wasn't on for all that long. She was on stage for about an hour and a half total, which is pretty disappointing for someone who has been making music for as long as she has, and therefore has more than enough music to fill a longer time slot. Regardless, it was a ton of fun, particularly because of the wonderful company, and cool to see the new stadium. Now if only I could get to a game there...
Monday (yesterday) we had a day off of work so Jamie and I headed to the beach for the day. Sadly, the only beach that you can really do in a day is Jaco, which we have both been to, and isn't exactly the nicest beach in this country. As you may remember, it is full of tourists and drugs and prostitutes and over-priced everything. However, it has a beach with sand and ocean and sunshine and is super easy to get to, so I'm not complaining. It was a really great day. We grabbed the 6:00am bus there and the 6:00pm bus back, got plenty of sunshine, good food, and got to play in the ocean and get a little tan. It was so nice to have a day off and get out of the city.
Okay, this entry has gone on for too long already. I'll write more again soon. In the meanwhile, I'm counting down the days til I get to go home (Chicago) for a week (4.5!). I hope I get to see those of you who will be around. Love and hugs.
Whoops. So sorry!
Dad came to visit and it was great. He got in Wednesday night and I met him after my night class to have some food and a couple beers. He rented and car and picked me up from Politecnico on Thursday. Color me impressed. Not only did he drive stick without stalling once, he managed to drive around the craziness that is Costa Rica and its highways.
Thursday night we drove up to La Fortuna to see the Arenal volcano. It was dark and rainy when we got in, so we didn't get to see the volcano until Friday morning. Instead, we had dinner, a couple beers and went to bed. Friday morning we got up and booked a tour. In the morning we did a zip line tour and in the afternoon/evening we did a "hike" (short walk) near the volcano and then went to the hot springs. That night we had dinner at a Peruvian place in town, and it was pretty great. La Fortuna is definitely worth the trip, though it was more expensive than I could have afforded on my own.
Saturday morning we tried to book a last second "canyoning" tour (canyoning is essentially repelling down waterfalls, supposed to be very cool), but given our time constraints we weren't able to go, and instead spent the entire day trying to get from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio. Note about CR: roads are not well labeled in this country, if they are at all. While we didn't necessarily get ourselves lost (we knew where we were), we just couldn't find the turn(s) we were supposed to take. It was a long day of driving. Once we finally got to our hotel, we parked the car and didn't look at it again til the morning. Instead, we sat and drank and ate and watched college basketball. And by watch college basketball, I mean we watched our brackets go down the drain. At least I did.
Sunday morning we got up, had breakfast and went to the beach, where we sat and did absolutely nothing all day. It was fabulous. Manuel Antonio was just beautiful. We decided not to go into the park itself because we were feeling lazy. The beach just outside the park was lovely, and I hear the ones inside the park are even more so, so I will have to make it back there some day.
Monday we woke up, had breakfast and hit the road. We got back in what felt like record time (especially after Saturday's ridiculousness) and used the extra time to buy me some groceries. I had to work Monday night and Tuesday morning, but Tuesday afternoon Dad and I went to Britt Cafe to do their coffee tour. I think I liked the Doka Cafe tour better, because Britt had some stuff under construction so we couldn't see any of the machinery, only the coffee plants, really.
Tuesday night we had dinner and hung out, went to bed early. Wednesday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and said goodbye. I'm really glad that I got some time off so I could actually spend time with my dad, he's great. I really have been blessed with amazing parents. They are incredibly kind, generous and pretty damn smart. I could go on, but this blog is supposed to be about me ;)
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The rest of the week went by as per usual, until Saturday morning, when I managed to turn my alarm off in my sleep. For those of you know have ever tried to wake me up in the morning, you know that this is really not all that surprising. You would think that I would have learned to keep my alarm clock on the other side of the room and out of my immediate reach by now. I woke up and ran out the house, slammed the door behind me, and stopped short at the front gate. I had brilliantly left my keys on my bed on the other side of my locked front door. I was locked out of my apartment but inside the gate. Literally caged in. And late for work. Disaster.
After failing to be able to break in to my apartment makes me feel even safer), I was forced to call in reinforcements. Johanna, who is in charge of the high school program at Politecnico and basically does everything for everyone turned her car around while she was heading in the opposite direction of where I was supposed to be, and went to cover my class until I could get there. I then called my roommate who stayed in San Pedro (on the complete other side of San Jose) on Friday night to come let me out of the house. With nothing to do but wait, I sat down on our conveniently placed futon (it's outside since it's broken). I eventually made it to school, where my students just laughed at me. Not surprisingly, it happens to everyone here, so everyone (including my boss) was very understanding. I can guarantee I won't be running out of the house without my keys again. lol
Saturday night Kerensa and I went out to a Spanish tapas bar/restaurant called La Choza, across from the gym. It was fantastic. We shared some delicious tapas and wine and watched the inaugural soccer game between CR and China at the new national stadium on TV.
Sunday started out lazy, I watched some TV and laid around doing nothing until Saray got home from work. Shortly after that, all the boys (Jose Mario, Felix, Alvaro, Walter & Gary) came over for some coffee, and we spent the afternoon making empanadas - amazing. After stuffing our faces, we decided to go play soccer at a place nearby. We did a 3 on 3 game, switching up the teams anytime anyone needed a break. It was so so so much fun, we've decided to make it a regular thing. I know I've said it before, but I am so grateful that I stumbled upon these people. They are so welcoming and so much fun and I absolutely adore them. What a great Sunday.
The next Thursday night (March 31) after I subbed and Kerensa had her normal class, we went out for a couple drinks and some delicious garlic bread. Saturday after class Sara B. and I went out for lunch while waiting for Kerensa to meet up with us. We all went out with the intention of getting pedicures and manicures, but it didn't exactly go as we had planned. Sara got her manicure, but Kerensa and I got tired of waiting after a couple hours and we decided to go grab some food/drinks instead. Though the day didn't go as we anticipated, it was still nice to just sit and enjoy some good conversation with some great people.
Saturday night I met up with my coworker friend Jamie and a couple of her friends at Pollo Sus Amigos (yes, the bar is called Chicken Your Friends) in Heredia. Sara and her boyfriend came for a while, too. It ended up being a much later night that I had anticipated, especially given how tired I was from working so much that week, but it was a fun night. I hadn't hung out with Jamie before, and she and I had a great time joking and drinking. I'm definitely glad she was added to the Politecnico staff.
Sunday we (the same crew as the week before) all played soccer together and had a blast. It's really nice to be The next Thursday night (April 7) Jamie and I met up and went to Bar Cardero for a bit since we both have Fridays off this quarter. Friday night I stayed in and did some baking and cleaning, nothing major, but nice and relaxing. Saturday night after our classes Jamie and I went out for a couple drinks and some food.
Sunday we (Saray, Laura, Jose Mario, Felix, Gary, Walter, Alvaro, Jamie and I) went to the Shakira concert at the new stadium! We went down early to Felix's office, which is around the corner from the stadium, to have some birthday cake and hang out a little before the concert started. Instead of an opening act, Shakira had a DJ... who wasn't very good. We waited what felt like forever for Shakira to finally come on, and right after she started the electricity went haywire and there was no sound. Bless her heart, she and her band kept going til the end of the song before they left the stage so that someone could fix whatever the problem was.
We waited another 15-ish minutes before Shakira came back on. Overall, it was a super fun experience and I am so glad I went. Shakira is a great performer, and obviously loves singing and dancing for, and with, her fans (she brought some girls up on stage to dance with her). My only complaint, really, is that she wasn't on for all that long. She was on stage for about an hour and a half total, which is pretty disappointing for someone who has been making music for as long as she has, and therefore has more than enough music to fill a longer time slot. Regardless, it was a ton of fun, particularly because of the wonderful company, and cool to see the new stadium. Now if only I could get to a game there...
Monday (yesterday) we had a day off of work so Jamie and I headed to the beach for the day. Sadly, the only beach that you can really do in a day is Jaco, which we have both been to, and isn't exactly the nicest beach in this country. As you may remember, it is full of tourists and drugs and prostitutes and over-priced everything. However, it has a beach with sand and ocean and sunshine and is super easy to get to, so I'm not complaining. It was a really great day. We grabbed the 6:00am bus there and the 6:00pm bus back, got plenty of sunshine, good food, and got to play in the ocean and get a little tan. It was so nice to have a day off and get out of the city.
Okay, this entry has gone on for too long already. I'll write more again soon. In the meanwhile, I'm counting down the days til I get to go home (Chicago) for a week (4.5!). I hope I get to see those of you who will be around. Love and hugs.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Weekend
I love technology. It makes life so so much easier. Going without it makes you really appreciate how much easier life is with it.
Our washing machine is currently broken. As you may remember, our machine is separated into two compartments, neither one has a rinse cycle. The wash cycle is currently working, but the spin (dry) is not. Therefore, after washing all my clothes in the first compartment, I not only had to rinse each item by hand, but wring as much water out of it as well before hanging it on the line to dry. I'm tired. And I am looking forward to having an automatic, functioning washer and dryer again some day.
In other news, the Bank of America classes are starting on Tuesday. I will be teaching Wednesdays and Thursdays 12-3. I am currently feeling incredibly intimidated by this whole thing. I have only a vague idea of what I'm supposed to be teaching. As of right now I'm feeling like I'm in over my head. I'm sure it will be fine, it's just going to be an intense 6 weeks.
Thursday morning I taught, and then we went to Bank of America in the afternoon to meet with the managers there to talk to them and find out what they are expecting of us. Essentially they have "hired" a group of people to come work their call centers there, but their English isn't where it needs to be. Sooooo we are going to teach them for 27 hours a week for the next 6 weeks to get them from a B1 to a B2 level (the levels are according to the Common European Framework). I have only taught A1s and A2s, so this should be interesting.
Friday I went into work to help put together the books for the BoA class. I had originally intended to be there from 9am to maybe 2pm at the latest. I ended up staying until after 5. We weren't even done. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done for the class before it starts. Hopefully we can pull it together.
After work on Friday Sara, Kerensa and I went to this great little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant in downtown Heredia. I'm pretty sure it's just a restaurant in someone's backyard. Regardless, it's owned/operated by a couple Italians, so it's delicious. And reasonably priced.
After dinner Kerensa and I came back to my apartment to watch a couple episodes of Flight of the Conchords (thank you cousins Molly and Jim) and drink a little Flor de Cana before going to bed before Saturday morning class.
Saturday after class I went to the gym and ran into Luis who works the front desk at the San Jose campus for the night classes. He's pretty great. It looks like I may have another friend to work out with sometimes at the gym.
After a good run/workout I went to the furniture store that's in front of my bus stop to find out what their schedule was on Sunday. Because they are closed on Sundays, I ended up buying a bed right then. The mattress I bought was on sale and since I paid in cash they delivered to my apartment (and therefore gave me a ride home) for free. It was definitely a good deal. Not to mention they were super nice and helpful and weren't trying to rip me off being Gringa and all.
Somehow I managed to resist the urge to take a nap in my brand new bed and met up with Kerensa to head downtown San Jose to see Sonambulo instead. Sonambulo is a local CR jam band, with members from all over the place. Kerensa tells me their lead singer is Cuban, I think. Regardless, there was a art/culture/music festival going on all week in SJO, and Sonambulo was part of their Saturday night line up in Parque Nacional. This may have been the best people watching experience that I have had since coming to CR. The crowd was full of Costa Rican hippies. Meaning, the dancing was half hippie, half Latino salsa/bachata/etc., depending on what the band was playing. Hilarious. It was like UVM in Costa Rica. Loved it.
Kerensa, her new boyfriend Martin and I headed back to Heredia when the concert wound down. The guy who sat down next to me on the bus wore a Sox hat. Made my heart happy. It was nice to see an MLB hat that not only wasn't the Yankees, but a Chicago team as well. By the time I got home, I was exhausted, and super excited to sleep in my new big comfy bed.
Dad comes to visit on Wednesday! It's kind of a big deal. I'm real excited.
Just in case you were wondering, I did teach my students what a "gold digger" is yesterday. We also had to discuss why you shouldn't call someone "easy," but "easy-going." Ahhh the finer points of the English language.
Our washing machine is currently broken. As you may remember, our machine is separated into two compartments, neither one has a rinse cycle. The wash cycle is currently working, but the spin (dry) is not. Therefore, after washing all my clothes in the first compartment, I not only had to rinse each item by hand, but wring as much water out of it as well before hanging it on the line to dry. I'm tired. And I am looking forward to having an automatic, functioning washer and dryer again some day.
In other news, the Bank of America classes are starting on Tuesday. I will be teaching Wednesdays and Thursdays 12-3. I am currently feeling incredibly intimidated by this whole thing. I have only a vague idea of what I'm supposed to be teaching. As of right now I'm feeling like I'm in over my head. I'm sure it will be fine, it's just going to be an intense 6 weeks.
Thursday morning I taught, and then we went to Bank of America in the afternoon to meet with the managers there to talk to them and find out what they are expecting of us. Essentially they have "hired" a group of people to come work their call centers there, but their English isn't where it needs to be. Sooooo we are going to teach them for 27 hours a week for the next 6 weeks to get them from a B1 to a B2 level (the levels are according to the Common European Framework). I have only taught A1s and A2s, so this should be interesting.
Friday I went into work to help put together the books for the BoA class. I had originally intended to be there from 9am to maybe 2pm at the latest. I ended up staying until after 5. We weren't even done. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done for the class before it starts. Hopefully we can pull it together.
After work on Friday Sara, Kerensa and I went to this great little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant in downtown Heredia. I'm pretty sure it's just a restaurant in someone's backyard. Regardless, it's owned/operated by a couple Italians, so it's delicious. And reasonably priced.
After dinner Kerensa and I came back to my apartment to watch a couple episodes of Flight of the Conchords (thank you cousins Molly and Jim) and drink a little Flor de Cana before going to bed before Saturday morning class.
Saturday after class I went to the gym and ran into Luis who works the front desk at the San Jose campus for the night classes. He's pretty great. It looks like I may have another friend to work out with sometimes at the gym.
After a good run/workout I went to the furniture store that's in front of my bus stop to find out what their schedule was on Sunday. Because they are closed on Sundays, I ended up buying a bed right then. The mattress I bought was on sale and since I paid in cash they delivered to my apartment (and therefore gave me a ride home) for free. It was definitely a good deal. Not to mention they were super nice and helpful and weren't trying to rip me off being Gringa and all.
Somehow I managed to resist the urge to take a nap in my brand new bed and met up with Kerensa to head downtown San Jose to see Sonambulo instead. Sonambulo is a local CR jam band, with members from all over the place. Kerensa tells me their lead singer is Cuban, I think. Regardless, there was a art/culture/music festival going on all week in SJO, and Sonambulo was part of their Saturday night line up in Parque Nacional. This may have been the best people watching experience that I have had since coming to CR. The crowd was full of Costa Rican hippies. Meaning, the dancing was half hippie, half Latino salsa/bachata/etc., depending on what the band was playing. Hilarious. It was like UVM in Costa Rica. Loved it.
Kerensa, her new boyfriend Martin and I headed back to Heredia when the concert wound down. The guy who sat down next to me on the bus wore a Sox hat. Made my heart happy. It was nice to see an MLB hat that not only wasn't the Yankees, but a Chicago team as well. By the time I got home, I was exhausted, and super excited to sleep in my new big comfy bed.
Dad comes to visit on Wednesday! It's kind of a big deal. I'm real excited.
Just in case you were wondering, I did teach my students what a "gold digger" is yesterday. We also had to discuss why you shouldn't call someone "easy," but "easy-going." Ahhh the finer points of the English language.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Blushing.
So after class tonight I walked into the office to return the computer and everything and Johanna, the coordinator for the high school program/co-coordinator for the English program at Politecnico itself told me that one of my students came to class on Monday just to check out the program and wasn't sure that she was going to enroll.
Apparently after class on Monday she called Politecnico and told them that she was so happy with the class and especially with me as a teacher ("super bueniiiiiiissssssima" is what Johanna told me she said) that she is now enrolled and plans on telling everyone she knows to come to Politecnico.
Pretty awesome feeling. :)
Apparently after class on Monday she called Politecnico and told them that she was so happy with the class and especially with me as a teacher ("super bueniiiiiiissssssima" is what Johanna told me she said) that she is now enrolled and plans on telling everyone she knows to come to Politecnico.
Pretty awesome feeling. :)
Productivity
Saturday night I met up with some people from work to celebrate on of our coworkers, Delie, leaving. Though I am sad to see her go - she is a wonderful person and teacher, full of great ideas and always willing to share - I am excited for her. She will definitely be missed. We met at a bar named Kbana in Heredia and had a few drinks and watched some amazing music videos from the 80s and early 90s - hilarious. It was a great night, complete with a ride home from my roommate and Jose Mario.
Sunday I was supposed to go to Cartago with Kerensa and her new boyfriend, but I overslept, tired from Saturday night. Instead I spent the day walking around, cleaning the apartment and grocery shopping. It's probably a good thing I didn't go. I was fairly productive and still have yet to catch that cold that everyone has here. Sleeping in does a body good.
Monday was back to business as usual, class in the morning, gym in the afternoon and class in San Jose at night. I have a new group for my SJO class. I'm reteaching the same lessons, which is awesome, but I have a big group (13-15 students) who seem like they are going to be a good group. I've definitely got some talkers and most of them seem to have a good base, which is a good sign. We also got money for cab fare from the SJO campus to our bus stops, which will save us some time/anxiety walking late at night.
Yesterday I had class in the morning, which started off slow, but it ended up alright after I had some coffee during the break. I love my Diplomado (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday morning group) class - they are really laid back and don't seem to care much when I'm not totally on top of my game. They bring a really good energy to the classroom and are generally good students. I decided not to go to the gym during my break in between class and tutoring at night in order to get some much needed grading and planning done. It was definitely a good decision as far as my classes go, but I feel like I'm a lazy bum when I don't work out. I'll get back to a normal work out schedule soon.
Last night was a bit of a mess at school. A bunch of new Instituto classes were starting, so I didn't have a room to have tutoring, and there were placement tests going on in the conference room which is the fall back location. Luckily, no one came for tutoring, but if this keeps happening they are going to cancel the session and I will be short 3 hours. Yikes. Here's hoping people show up next week!
Tonight I have class in San Jose again, and tomorrow afternoon (after my morning Diplomado class) we are heading to Bank of America to work out the details for the classes that are starting next week. They will be 6 hour classes, which is going to be brutal, but there is a possibility that we will break them up into two 3 hour blocks a couple days a week. We'll see.
My dad is coming to visit a week from today! I managed to find someone to cover my Saturday class (even though we are super understaffed) so he and I can actually do something outside of the city while he's here. Yay!
Furthermore, they are officially making me full time! The request has been put in, so I should be working full time within about a week.
I booked a flight home for my brother Dave's wedding in June. I somehow managed to find a flight for $380. Amazing. So far it's been a good day.
Sunday I was supposed to go to Cartago with Kerensa and her new boyfriend, but I overslept, tired from Saturday night. Instead I spent the day walking around, cleaning the apartment and grocery shopping. It's probably a good thing I didn't go. I was fairly productive and still have yet to catch that cold that everyone has here. Sleeping in does a body good.
Monday was back to business as usual, class in the morning, gym in the afternoon and class in San Jose at night. I have a new group for my SJO class. I'm reteaching the same lessons, which is awesome, but I have a big group (13-15 students) who seem like they are going to be a good group. I've definitely got some talkers and most of them seem to have a good base, which is a good sign. We also got money for cab fare from the SJO campus to our bus stops, which will save us some time/anxiety walking late at night.
Yesterday I had class in the morning, which started off slow, but it ended up alright after I had some coffee during the break. I love my Diplomado (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday morning group) class - they are really laid back and don't seem to care much when I'm not totally on top of my game. They bring a really good energy to the classroom and are generally good students. I decided not to go to the gym during my break in between class and tutoring at night in order to get some much needed grading and planning done. It was definitely a good decision as far as my classes go, but I feel like I'm a lazy bum when I don't work out. I'll get back to a normal work out schedule soon.
Last night was a bit of a mess at school. A bunch of new Instituto classes were starting, so I didn't have a room to have tutoring, and there were placement tests going on in the conference room which is the fall back location. Luckily, no one came for tutoring, but if this keeps happening they are going to cancel the session and I will be short 3 hours. Yikes. Here's hoping people show up next week!
Tonight I have class in San Jose again, and tomorrow afternoon (after my morning Diplomado class) we are heading to Bank of America to work out the details for the classes that are starting next week. They will be 6 hour classes, which is going to be brutal, but there is a possibility that we will break them up into two 3 hour blocks a couple days a week. We'll see.
My dad is coming to visit a week from today! I managed to find someone to cover my Saturday class (even though we are super understaffed) so he and I can actually do something outside of the city while he's here. Yay!
Furthermore, they are officially making me full time! The request has been put in, so I should be working full time within about a week.
I booked a flight home for my brother Dave's wedding in June. I somehow managed to find a flight for $380. Amazing. So far it's been a good day.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Moving and Skype and Such
We are all moved in!
The apartment is great, I'm super happy here already. It's so much nicer than the old place.
Thursday night I went and met up with Zach L. from work. He had a friend visiting for the week/end. After hanging out at their apartment for a little while, after getting the run down on why Zach is in love with Snookie from the Jersey Shore and Hugh Grant (because why wouldn't you be?), we went over to the Bulevar bar in downtown Heredia. Zach manages to make friends, meaning that he strikes up conversations with perfect strangers, everywhere he goes. While it isn't exactly the best way to remain anonymous as foreigners, it certainly makes for an entertaining evening.
Friday I accomplished almost nothing, aside from going to the gym and packing up the majority of my things. Okay, I guess that's slightly more productive than I thought, but it certainly didn't feel like it at the time.
Saturday morning I taught, and after class I ran home to help move. Saray, Laura, two movers and I moved everything from our apartment on the third floor in a relatively short amount of time. We got to the apartment and Jose Mario, Felix, Gary and Alvaro came to help move everything in to the new place, set it all up and help us clean. Seriously, have I mentioned how great these people are? Because they are just wonderful. Because of their help, the move was pretty easy considering how much stuff we have. Thankfully the rain held off until we had all of our stuff inside. We all hung out for a while and got all the big things situated. Saturday night I unpacked and worked on getting the apartment slightly more settled and crashed early.
Since then, life has been relatively uneventful. Sunday I ran some errands, most importantly figuring out the bus by my house (every 15 minutes until 10:30pm - awesome: no more taxis after class!). Monday I bought a bookcase in between my classes, Tuesday I renewed my gym membership, and Wednesday Kerensa and I went mattress shopping before I had to be at class for final oral exams. We found reasonably priced mattresses in downtown Heredia and then wandered around San Jose for a while. It was a great afternoon with one of my favorites. Our schedules are such that we haven't as much time to hang out recently, so it was great to spend Wednesday hang out with her.
Wednesday night after class I came home and got to skype with my mom [happy birthday Mom!]. This afternoon, after class and the gym, I came home and hung out with the dog (who so far is a sweetheart and super well-behaved), skyped with my dad who is coming to visit (!!!) and then my brother/Kelly/Lily. All in all a great couple of days.
I will take some pictures of the new place tomorrow and post them on Facebook, since I still can't seem to get the picture feature to work on the blog.
Happy Thursday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc9xq-TVyHI
The apartment is great, I'm super happy here already. It's so much nicer than the old place.
Thursday night I went and met up with Zach L. from work. He had a friend visiting for the week/end. After hanging out at their apartment for a little while, after getting the run down on why Zach is in love with Snookie from the Jersey Shore and Hugh Grant (because why wouldn't you be?), we went over to the Bulevar bar in downtown Heredia. Zach manages to make friends, meaning that he strikes up conversations with perfect strangers, everywhere he goes. While it isn't exactly the best way to remain anonymous as foreigners, it certainly makes for an entertaining evening.
Friday I accomplished almost nothing, aside from going to the gym and packing up the majority of my things. Okay, I guess that's slightly more productive than I thought, but it certainly didn't feel like it at the time.
Saturday morning I taught, and after class I ran home to help move. Saray, Laura, two movers and I moved everything from our apartment on the third floor in a relatively short amount of time. We got to the apartment and Jose Mario, Felix, Gary and Alvaro came to help move everything in to the new place, set it all up and help us clean. Seriously, have I mentioned how great these people are? Because they are just wonderful. Because of their help, the move was pretty easy considering how much stuff we have. Thankfully the rain held off until we had all of our stuff inside. We all hung out for a while and got all the big things situated. Saturday night I unpacked and worked on getting the apartment slightly more settled and crashed early.
Since then, life has been relatively uneventful. Sunday I ran some errands, most importantly figuring out the bus by my house (every 15 minutes until 10:30pm - awesome: no more taxis after class!). Monday I bought a bookcase in between my classes, Tuesday I renewed my gym membership, and Wednesday Kerensa and I went mattress shopping before I had to be at class for final oral exams. We found reasonably priced mattresses in downtown Heredia and then wandered around San Jose for a while. It was a great afternoon with one of my favorites. Our schedules are such that we haven't as much time to hang out recently, so it was great to spend Wednesday hang out with her.
Wednesday night after class I came home and got to skype with my mom [happy birthday Mom!]. This afternoon, after class and the gym, I came home and hung out with the dog (who so far is a sweetheart and super well-behaved), skyped with my dad who is coming to visit (!!!) and then my brother/Kelly/Lily. All in all a great couple of days.
I will take some pictures of the new place tomorrow and post them on Facebook, since I still can't seem to get the picture feature to work on the blog.
Happy Thursday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc9xq-TVyHI
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