Hola todos mis companeros,
It's now October and supposedly we're moving into the rainest part of the year. Joy. Since August, we've had rain almost every day. Since mid September, that's been almost all day, every day. Today the sun came out in the morning. I watched it rise over the mountains thinking, "We haven't had a decent sunrise since July." It was a nice change. From what everyone here is telling us, this is one of the most rainy seasons in the last 20 years. Joy. That thrills me greatly.
Thankfully, last weekend we went to Isla Tortuga for the day. Translation: BEACH AND SUN. But you could still tell it was "winter". The sun wasn't as intense. But at least it was there. The humidity not even close to being as high as it was in June when we were in the same area. It was more like Kansas in May.
Then later on Saturday it was back to Escazu and "winter". Granted, our winter is like 70 degrees F, with no strong storms. Just rain, cooler and less humid. In the evenings a comforter feels good. During the day, long sleeves aren't out of the question. It's a refreshing change to January and February when it's so hot and humid.
From what everyone has told us, December is the best month. We'll see. :)
James and Jaci
Audrey took this picture of us on the porch
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Costa Rican Independance Day
Hi all,
It was an enjoyable week in the land of Doka coffee, Poas volcano and earthquakes. This week we had an earthquake. It was 5.3 on the Richter scale and located mostly on the north pacific coast. Joy. Earthquakes unsettle me more so than anything else here as they don't have easily noticeable signs. Tornados in the Midwest can be easily predicted and advance warning is common. Earthquakes, not so much.
Another important event this week was September 15th, Costa Rican's Independence Day! The week leading up to it meant decorating and preparing for celebration. On the 15th, there were parades and lots of absolutely adorable little girls and boys in traditional costume. The traditional costume is period 1820s and Spanish in origin. The independence celebrated for Costa Rica is from Spain in 1821. Costa Rica's current government formed in 1949 after a civil war. Like most Central American countries, Costa Rica's path to its current state is long and varied. But Costa Rica's birth and growth under the Spanish crown with an absence of native indigenous people, had long lasting cultural impacts; contributing to many of the cultural idiosyncrasies Costa Rica is known for today. Check out Wikipedia for all the details. It's really very interesting.
But what does Independence Day in a foreign country feel like? How should you observe it if you're not a nationalized citizen of the country? These are questions we had to answer for the first time.
Independence Day in a foreign country felt like any other day to me. I didn't feel the anticipation or strong patriotism of our US independence day. I did feel an intense respect for our host country and a desire to learn as much as possible about the day and its significance. With our son Corwin, we started learning. We looked up the Costa Rican national anthem and read the words. Corwin sings it every Monday at his school along with the US national anthem. He recognized the music and knew some of the words. We worked on translating those words to English and discussing what they meant. We talked about the importance of a stable, democracy to a country and its people. Keeping in mind our son is 8, so the higher level economic concepts of a stable government's impact on foreign investment, etc was a bit out of our discussion thread. Our discussion focused on the top line items and how they related to us. For example, a stable and democratic government meant companies would come to the country. If companies came to the country, those companies create jobs for people. If people have jobs, they can buy homes, cars, groceries and pay taxes to the government to support it. Disney "Circle of life" stuff but with an economic twist an 8 year old can understand.
All in, it was a very enjoyable day for us. We all had the day off. We watched parades on television and talked about the holiday and what it meant to us as a family. I made a pot roast. It felt like a Sunday. :)
It was an enjoyable week in the land of Doka coffee, Poas volcano and earthquakes. This week we had an earthquake. It was 5.3 on the Richter scale and located mostly on the north pacific coast. Joy. Earthquakes unsettle me more so than anything else here as they don't have easily noticeable signs. Tornados in the Midwest can be easily predicted and advance warning is common. Earthquakes, not so much.
Another important event this week was September 15th, Costa Rican's Independence Day! The week leading up to it meant decorating and preparing for celebration. On the 15th, there were parades and lots of absolutely adorable little girls and boys in traditional costume. The traditional costume is period 1820s and Spanish in origin. The independence celebrated for Costa Rica is from Spain in 1821. Costa Rica's current government formed in 1949 after a civil war. Like most Central American countries, Costa Rica's path to its current state is long and varied. But Costa Rica's birth and growth under the Spanish crown with an absence of native indigenous people, had long lasting cultural impacts; contributing to many of the cultural idiosyncrasies Costa Rica is known for today. Check out Wikipedia for all the details. It's really very interesting.
But what does Independence Day in a foreign country feel like? How should you observe it if you're not a nationalized citizen of the country? These are questions we had to answer for the first time.
Independence Day in a foreign country felt like any other day to me. I didn't feel the anticipation or strong patriotism of our US independence day. I did feel an intense respect for our host country and a desire to learn as much as possible about the day and its significance. With our son Corwin, we started learning. We looked up the Costa Rican national anthem and read the words. Corwin sings it every Monday at his school along with the US national anthem. He recognized the music and knew some of the words. We worked on translating those words to English and discussing what they meant. We talked about the importance of a stable, democracy to a country and its people. Keeping in mind our son is 8, so the higher level economic concepts of a stable government's impact on foreign investment, etc was a bit out of our discussion thread. Our discussion focused on the top line items and how they related to us. For example, a stable and democratic government meant companies would come to the country. If companies came to the country, those companies create jobs for people. If people have jobs, they can buy homes, cars, groceries and pay taxes to the government to support it. Disney "Circle of life" stuff but with an economic twist an 8 year old can understand.
All in, it was a very enjoyable day for us. We all had the day off. We watched parades on television and talked about the holiday and what it meant to us as a family. I made a pot roast. It felt like a Sunday. :)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
"Santa Luisa"
Hola all!
Wow, the month of August literally blew by us. Weeks with family. Weeks working. Starting school. Whoosh! There went August.
And finally, as promised, a post about Santa Luisa or Saint Luisa, the most wonderful person on the face of our Costa Rica planet; our most favorite engineer of the domestic arts; the MAID! :)
Here are the top 10 reasons why I think Santa Luisa should be enshrined in glory forever:
10. As a Costa Rican national, we pay her a higher salary than other less experienced or illegal immigrants. We pay her 1700 colones an hour. At the current exchange rate of 503.75 colones per the US dollar, 1700 colones is $3.37 an hour. Working from 7am to 5pm, it costs us $33.60 a day. Our housekeeper in the States who came twice a month cost us that much an HOUR.
9. Paperwork...like NO paperwork. She's self employed. Basically an independent contractor here. Means we don't have to deal with the Costa Rican government for her taxes and other deductions. Amen!
8. For 3.37 an hour, Santa Luisa does everything. No exceptions. No "I don't do windows". She simply does whatever needs to be done or we ask her to do. Clean windows, clean the gas grill, watch the kids, laundry (more about laundry here in a minute), dishes, cook, mop floors, scrub walls, change every sheet, clean every toilet. Oh, and the other day, without being told to do so, she completely organized our walk in closet from top to bottom. I was ready to call the Pope right then and there to nominate her for saint hood!
7. Spanish only! She speaks a little English but not much. This is actually a GOOD thing as it forces the kids and James to learn a little more Spanish every Wednesday.
6. Hard working...Luisa gets more done in a 10 hour day than I could get done in a week! She is never rushed. She just never stops the entire day. I'm seriously wondering if there is divine intervention involved.
5. Laundry...OMG does she DO LAUNDRY! Besides the usual wash/dry/fold, Luisa irons EVERYTHING and folds laundry just like it came from a department store. Our t-shirts have never looked better. Everything is sorted by size and neatly stacked. (I asked her not to put the kids’ clothes away so they would actually still have some type of responsibility. Gee...I know...it's tough on them.) Before James leaves the house on Wednesday mornings, Luisa insists on ironing his jeans and shirt first. No exceptions.
4. Sewing...She also mends anything which needs repairing (buttons, ripped seams) and hemmed up Corwin's school pants when they were too long. She saw them on the table with my sewing machine nearby. I intended to hem up the pants when I got home (I know...good luck with that on my schedule). When Santa Luisa put two and two together, it equaled the pants being already hemmed up perfectly by the time I got home.
3. Honest...Our relocation mobility coordinator has known Luisa for 15 years and highly recommended her. Now, I completely understand why. We can actually leave Luisa alone in the house and know not only will our $50 box of laundry detergent still be there after she leaves, but the house will be spotless and the door locked. We worry about nothing with Luisa in the house.
2. Dependable...Santa Luisa is never late. She never misses a day. The ONLY drawback is she's only available one day a week for us right now. She works for another expat family as well and only has the one day a week available for us. (sigh) Someday...3 days a week! Maybe 4!
Wow, the month of August literally blew by us. Weeks with family. Weeks working. Starting school. Whoosh! There went August.
And finally, as promised, a post about Santa Luisa or Saint Luisa, the most wonderful person on the face of our Costa Rica planet; our most favorite engineer of the domestic arts; the MAID! :)
Here are the top 10 reasons why I think Santa Luisa should be enshrined in glory forever:
10. As a Costa Rican national, we pay her a higher salary than other less experienced or illegal immigrants. We pay her 1700 colones an hour. At the current exchange rate of 503.75 colones per the US dollar, 1700 colones is $3.37 an hour. Working from 7am to 5pm, it costs us $33.60 a day. Our housekeeper in the States who came twice a month cost us that much an HOUR.
9. Paperwork...like NO paperwork. She's self employed. Basically an independent contractor here. Means we don't have to deal with the Costa Rican government for her taxes and other deductions. Amen!
8. For 3.37 an hour, Santa Luisa does everything. No exceptions. No "I don't do windows". She simply does whatever needs to be done or we ask her to do. Clean windows, clean the gas grill, watch the kids, laundry (more about laundry here in a minute), dishes, cook, mop floors, scrub walls, change every sheet, clean every toilet. Oh, and the other day, without being told to do so, she completely organized our walk in closet from top to bottom. I was ready to call the Pope right then and there to nominate her for saint hood!
7. Spanish only! She speaks a little English but not much. This is actually a GOOD thing as it forces the kids and James to learn a little more Spanish every Wednesday.
6. Hard working...Luisa gets more done in a 10 hour day than I could get done in a week! She is never rushed. She just never stops the entire day. I'm seriously wondering if there is divine intervention involved.
5. Laundry...OMG does she DO LAUNDRY! Besides the usual wash/dry/fold, Luisa irons EVERYTHING and folds laundry just like it came from a department store. Our t-shirts have never looked better. Everything is sorted by size and neatly stacked. (I asked her not to put the kids’ clothes away so they would actually still have some type of responsibility. Gee...I know...it's tough on them.) Before James leaves the house on Wednesday mornings, Luisa insists on ironing his jeans and shirt first. No exceptions.
4. Sewing...She also mends anything which needs repairing (buttons, ripped seams) and hemmed up Corwin's school pants when they were too long. She saw them on the table with my sewing machine nearby. I intended to hem up the pants when I got home (I know...good luck with that on my schedule). When Santa Luisa put two and two together, it equaled the pants being already hemmed up perfectly by the time I got home.
3. Honest...Our relocation mobility coordinator has known Luisa for 15 years and highly recommended her. Now, I completely understand why. We can actually leave Luisa alone in the house and know not only will our $50 box of laundry detergent still be there after she leaves, but the house will be spotless and the door locked. We worry about nothing with Luisa in the house.
2. Dependable...Santa Luisa is never late. She never misses a day. The ONLY drawback is she's only available one day a week for us right now. She works for another expat family as well and only has the one day a week available for us. (sigh) Someday...3 days a week! Maybe 4!1. The top reason I think Santa Luisa should be enshrined in glory forever is she does everything with a smile on her face and happiness in her voice. She is a beautiful person inside and out. She whistles while she works. She sings to the radio. :) She is always positive; energetic, outgoing. The kids love her. She is always willing to learn something new (I introduced her to my good friend the Dryel home dry cleaning process the other day!). She's a little shy. She didn't want me to take her picture here. She's a very humble person. She makes our lives better every Wednesday. I only hope, before long, it's every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. :)
Next post: Jaci's parents come to town! Pura Vida!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Hi all,
I know I promised a post on "Luisa" next. But that can wait a little longer. We're trending toward the end of July. School has been out for awhile and now is the time for vacations. As in people vacationing to Costa Rica. :) Some of those people just happened to be our family coming to Costa Rica for the first time.
My husband's parents, my inlaws, just returned from the States this weekend after spending a week with us. It was wonderful to see them. It also gave us a reason to actually do a little vacationing of our own. So off we went out into the wild, blue and green Costa Rica.
Where did we go? Based on recommendations from some of the folks I work with, we headed to Manual Antonio. Yes, it sounds like a guy's name. But it's really the location of one of the best national parks Costa Rica has to offer. Here is the link to the Wikipedia entry about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Antonio_National_Park
Finally, there is nature. Lots and lots of nature for sure. We saw grasshoppers 5 times the size of anything I've seen before. Walking stick insects which were as big as real sticks. We saw iguanas and geekos at every turn. Monkeys of 3 different species. There were sloths in 2 different varieties. We actually saw a bona fide tree frog snuggled safely in the crook of a large banana leaf. So small and so close to the same color of the leaf without the expert eyes of our guide we would have missed the little frog totally. We saw tree bats snoozing in the mid afternoon. And, we saw snakes. Joy, slithering reptiles. :) Tree boas were mostly what we saw with the one exception. One of these reptile friends we saw Monday evening right outside our hotel bulding on the path leading from the beach up to the hotel. Here is a picture of our little friend, a black reticulated boa as our nature guide said based on this picture, as he was quickly trying to escape into the underbrush. Our other reptile friends were curled up high in the tree canopy away from those pesky people.
I know I promised a post on "Luisa" next. But that can wait a little longer. We're trending toward the end of July. School has been out for awhile and now is the time for vacations. As in people vacationing to Costa Rica. :) Some of those people just happened to be our family coming to Costa Rica for the first time.
My husband's parents, my inlaws, just returned from the States this weekend after spending a week with us. It was wonderful to see them. It also gave us a reason to actually do a little vacationing of our own. So off we went out into the wild, blue and green Costa Rica.
Where did we go? Based on recommendations from some of the folks I work with, we headed to Manual Antonio. Yes, it sounds like a guy's name. But it's really the location of one of the best national parks Costa Rica has to offer. Here is the link to the Wikipedia entry about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Antonio_National_Park
We spent 3 days in Manual Antonio. 3 days of family, sun and nature. We had lots of all 3. First family. 3 full days of 6 people driving in one car in a foreign country. James drove. His dad Gerry navigated. I helped to keep the kids entertained while the Nintendo batteries were charging. Judy, James's mom, held on for her life for the bulk of the trip. The roads in Costa Rica are nothing short of an adventure. There are a lot more obstacles (cows, people, pot holes, mountains, roads which wound around the mountains with no guardrail) then one usually encounters along the average highway and biway in Missouri. But besides the joys of a road trip, having our family with us here in Costa Rica was the best. It's hard to describe the happiness of having your close family in the same room for a change instead of only by Skype. The kids missed their grand parents very much. Having them here for a week was the best vacation we could have given.
And then there's sun. We had lots, lots and lots of sun; mostly on the 2nd day. We applied sunscreen liberally, in the first 15 minutes we were on the beach. But then, forgot to do it again for the next several hours. Add the fact we're 2 miles from the sun here in Costa Rica and playing in the water, spells more than too much time without adequate sun protection. Lesson learned for sure. Although, my favorite picture was of the kids after this day of sun and sand.
Finally, there is nature. Lots and lots of nature for sure. We saw grasshoppers 5 times the size of anything I've seen before. Walking stick insects which were as big as real sticks. We saw iguanas and geekos at every turn. Monkeys of 3 different species. There were sloths in 2 different varieties. We actually saw a bona fide tree frog snuggled safely in the crook of a large banana leaf. So small and so close to the same color of the leaf without the expert eyes of our guide we would have missed the little frog totally. We saw tree bats snoozing in the mid afternoon. And, we saw snakes. Joy, slithering reptiles. :) Tree boas were mostly what we saw with the one exception. One of these reptile friends we saw Monday evening right outside our hotel bulding on the path leading from the beach up to the hotel. Here is a picture of our little friend, a black reticulated boa as our nature guide said based on this picture, as he was quickly trying to escape into the underbrush. Our other reptile friends were curled up high in the tree canopy away from those pesky people. It was a wonderful 3 days and a great week with our family. We thoroughly enjoyed having them visit us, enjoy Costa Rica and experience our day to day life here.
I think this final picture exemplifies the Pura Vida feeling we all had after enjoying our vacation.
Now, this week, MY parents visit. More family, sun and nature coming up!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
JULY 4TH 2010 - Happy Birthday USA!
Happy Birthday USA!
Today we spent our first July 4th in Costa Rica. It was a nostalgic day and very different compared to the last July 4th I spent in a foreign country.
The last 4th of July I spent in a foreign country was 20 years ago as a college student in Guadalajara Mexico. The highlight of our evening was singing the Star Spangled Banner at 10pm in the middle of a residential street with probably 15-20 other study abroad students under the influence of several Tecate beers, the "PBR" of Mexico (translation: the cheapest beer). It was quite a "chorus". (!)
This 4th of July was very different. There were still study abroad students. I saw and talked to many from Missouri and Kansas. But I wasn't in that group. I was in the "family with small children" group. Wore my KU t-shirt and Audrey had on her KU cheerleader outfit none the less. James had on a patriotic shirt with the US flag. Corwin proudly wore the t-shirt from his boy scout troup from KC. We still sang the Star Spangled Banner. But not at 10 pm at night, nor in a residential street. There was still beer involved via an all you can drink beer garden; just not Tecate and I had only one.
This 4th of July we spent the bulk of the day at the annual July 4th Picnic sponsored by the American Embassy and probaby 40 or 50 sponsors. This was the 50th year of the event. It was at a large outdoor private picnic park where for $5 US per person (and it was only for American citizens with US passports and immediate family), we had all the hotdogs, beer, soda, popcorn, kids games, picnic games, volleyball and bounce house time we could stand. But more importantly, we also saw the Stars and Stripes raised by a US Marine Corps color guard, recited the Pledge of Allegiance and then sang the Star Spangled Banner at the top of our lungs with a local outdoor live orchestra. The picture here is the flag as it was being raised on July 4th by the color guard. After the colors were raised high, the US Ambassador to Costa Rica addressed the crowd. Both with her own address and an excerpt from President Obama's July 4th proclamation.
Today we spent our first July 4th in Costa Rica. It was a nostalgic day and very different compared to the last July 4th I spent in a foreign country.
The last 4th of July I spent in a foreign country was 20 years ago as a college student in Guadalajara Mexico. The highlight of our evening was singing the Star Spangled Banner at 10pm in the middle of a residential street with probably 15-20 other study abroad students under the influence of several Tecate beers, the "PBR" of Mexico (translation: the cheapest beer). It was quite a "chorus". (!)
This 4th of July was very different. There were still study abroad students. I saw and talked to many from Missouri and Kansas. But I wasn't in that group. I was in the "family with small children" group. Wore my KU t-shirt and Audrey had on her KU cheerleader outfit none the less. James had on a patriotic shirt with the US flag. Corwin proudly wore the t-shirt from his boy scout troup from KC. We still sang the Star Spangled Banner. But not at 10 pm at night, nor in a residential street. There was still beer involved via an all you can drink beer garden; just not Tecate and I had only one.
This 4th of July we spent the bulk of the day at the annual July 4th Picnic sponsored by the American Embassy and probaby 40 or 50 sponsors. This was the 50th year of the event. It was at a large outdoor private picnic park where for $5 US per person (and it was only for American citizens with US passports and immediate family), we had all the hotdogs, beer, soda, popcorn, kids games, picnic games, volleyball and bounce house time we could stand. But more importantly, we also saw the Stars and Stripes raised by a US Marine Corps color guard, recited the Pledge of Allegiance and then sang the Star Spangled Banner at the top of our lungs with a local outdoor live orchestra. The picture here is the flag as it was being raised on July 4th by the color guard. After the colors were raised high, the US Ambassador to Costa Rica addressed the crowd. Both with her own address and an excerpt from President Obama's July 4th proclamation. It was both an incredibly wonderful event and bittersweet at the same time. Over the last month or so, the whole family has been more than a little homesick. Things which remind you of "home" can suddently and strongly trigger very intense emotions. When singing the Star Spangled Banner, it was all I could do to hold it together and not just start sobbing half way through it. We were told this would happen. I expected it in the kids. I didn't expect it in myself. It's a difficult thing to describe. It's like "the honeymoon is over". The boxes are unpacked. The car bought. The immigration process complete. The kids enrolled in school. The paths to grocery store, gas station, church, Walmart substitute and work are almost second nature. However, the language is different. The government is different. You can't buy an American flag because you can't find any. The extended family isn't a car ride away. Nothing you know like the fiber of your being is "just a car ride away" anymore. It's all a day's journey by an airplane going 700 miles per hour.
The question is how to manage this incredibly strong pull to things more familiar and comforting? How do we embrace our new home in a foreign country while still keeping our home country with us in our "back pocket" so to speak? It's something we will be working through for quite some time to come I'm sure. In the next several weeks, my in laws and my parents will be traveling south to see us. We've already sent "lists" of what we want them to bring from the States. The top of the list? The first thing which came to mind? Cheeseburger Mac Hamburger Helper and a very large US flag. :) Can't find either one of those things here at all. Why Hamburger Helper? Kids love Hamburger Helper. It's not gourmet. But it's easy to make. It's "American". It's "comfort food". The flag? When you're not in the USA, you're just American. You're not from Missouri or Kansas or New York City. You're not Republican or Democrat. You're just American. You want a big honkin' flag to put up whenever the mood to display your "Americanness" reaches pitch. As such, perhaps with a little "Hamburger Helper" once in awhile, a big honkin' US flag to put up when we feel the urge coupled with the fact I can play the Star Spangled Banner on my piano keyboard while the kids learn to sing it at the top of their lungs, we'll get just the "fix" we need once in awhile to keep the USA close at hand like that comfy sweater you know you'll always have handy when it gets really cold.
Have you ever been homesick? Ever away from "home" for long periods of time? What did you do to help ease those homesick blues? Drop me a comment. Would love to hear about it.
Next post: LUISA!
God Bless the USA!
Jaci
Monday, May 31, 2010
Bogota!
Hola mis companeros,
From my last post, I promised a tale about my recent trip to Bogota
Very interesting place Bogota Bogota or Mexico City Latin America . Bogota Columbia takes security to the level of an art form aside, I really enjoyed Bogota
Let’s start with the weather. It was cooler than Costa Rica
Let’s talk the food. OMG…the food. It was great! Traditional Columbia
Then, the buildings. Where I stayed it was a more upscale but older part of town. There were high rise buildings but also many older and more traditional buildings, many of the brick with beautiful and intricate wood trims. Our hotel was one of these buildings. It reminded me of a turn of the century castle with round turrets with stained glass windows.
Now, we shift to the mountains which were all around Bogota Costa Rica Bogota , the view of those mountains and several of the buildings built along the range illustrated some of the most spectacular sunsets Bogota
Finally, the LEATHER. Again, OMG…the leather! Managed to get a little shopping in while we were in town. Well…more like A LOT. J In fact, I did all of our family Christmas shopping with the exception of the kids. It was awesome. A jacket for me, a jacket for James. Wallet for me, belt for James. Plus, wallets, belts, gloves, boots, purses and all sorts of other cool nifty things for our friends and family. The only people I didn’t shop for were the kids. At 3 and 7 they just aren’t that into Columbia
All in it was a great trip. However, I definitely noticed the difference coming back to Wednesday, May 19, 2010
You are only 7 once...
Hi all,
Two weeks ago we experienced our first Costa Rican birthday party. A little boy in Corwin’s class from school was turning 7 years old. Now, I’ve never really considered turning 7 a significant milestone in one’s life. You can’t drive yet. You can’t operate heavy machinery. You can’t smoke, drink or gamble. At age 7 you can’t even have a credit card or a job. However, for turning just 7 years of age, this was quite the event as birthday parties go.
First, there was the place. “Tesoro de la Pirata” or “The Pirate’s Treasure” is an indoor playground complete with trampoline, zip line and climbing wall among other things. It was fairly large. Had a secure parking lot. Clean and courteous staff. It was a cool place.
Second, the food. There were catered (yes I said catered) appetizers including a chocolate fountain. There was pizza for the kids. There was the custom decorated Lego topped incredible cake. No worries about leaving this soirée the least bit hungry.
Third, the décor. There were custom balloon sculptures hanging from the ceiling. Nifty center pieces on all the tables for the “Indiana Jones” themed party. Treasure chests to put gifts in when you arrived.
Fourth, face painting and the largest piñata I’ve seen yet. All the kids had faces painted with a broad range of designs. Butterflies were our daughter’s theme of choice. For Corwin, snakes. And the piñata in the shape of a Lego soldier was about the largest piñata I’ve seen. It was also full of premium candy. The imported good stuff. Our kids came home with more candy than they did for Halloween in the States.
Fifth, parting gifts. At an American party, there is almost always the ubiquitous “goodie bag” with some candy and small toys. At this party, the parting gifts were Lego kits, Indiana Jones whips (yes, the ones which are quite realistic) and satchel bags like Indiana Jones carried. Here in Costa Rica, those are not inexpensive toys. The Lego kits especially would be in the range of $20-30 US without much effort. Multiply this by the numbers (see the next paragraph) and you're not talking small change.
And finally, the numbers. In the US, parents are always uber sensitive to staying at the party and/or bringing younger siblings. Unless the invitation specifically says you can, most parents won’t bring younger siblings or stay for the duration of the party unless they think it necessary. No such social quandary here. At this party, when we inquired if it was okay if our daughter came to the party, we were met with “Of course! And there are appetizers for all the adults.” There had to be 30 kids and probably 10-12 adults. Easily a group of 40-50 people. I've been to weddings in the US with fewer people.
All in, the kids had the best time. They played for almost 2 hours, ate pizza, played more, ate cake, played more, beat up the world’s largest piñata and played more. We had to practically drag our children out of the place at 5pm (the party started at 2pm!). The food was really good. The cake was really cool. The party place very nifty, clean and secure. It was a great party. A bit over the top perhaps, but after all, you only turn 7 once. :^)
Next post…BOGOTA!
Two weeks ago we experienced our first Costa Rican birthday party. A little boy in Corwin’s class from school was turning 7 years old. Now, I’ve never really considered turning 7 a significant milestone in one’s life. You can’t drive yet. You can’t operate heavy machinery. You can’t smoke, drink or gamble. At age 7 you can’t even have a credit card or a job. However, for turning just 7 years of age, this was quite the event as birthday parties go.
First, there was the place. “Tesoro de la Pirata” or “The Pirate’s Treasure” is an indoor playground complete with trampoline, zip line and climbing wall among other things. It was fairly large. Had a secure parking lot. Clean and courteous staff. It was a cool place.
Second, the food. There were catered (yes I said catered) appetizers including a chocolate fountain. There was pizza for the kids. There was the custom decorated Lego topped incredible cake. No worries about leaving this soirée the least bit hungry.
Third, the décor. There were custom balloon sculptures hanging from the ceiling. Nifty center pieces on all the tables for the “Indiana Jones” themed party. Treasure chests to put gifts in when you arrived.
Fourth, face painting and the largest piñata I’ve seen yet. All the kids had faces painted with a broad range of designs. Butterflies were our daughter’s theme of choice. For Corwin, snakes. And the piñata in the shape of a Lego soldier was about the largest piñata I’ve seen. It was also full of premium candy. The imported good stuff. Our kids came home with more candy than they did for Halloween in the States.
Fifth, parting gifts. At an American party, there is almost always the ubiquitous “goodie bag” with some candy and small toys. At this party, the parting gifts were Lego kits, Indiana Jones whips (yes, the ones which are quite realistic) and satchel bags like Indiana Jones carried. Here in Costa Rica, those are not inexpensive toys. The Lego kits especially would be in the range of $20-30 US without much effort. Multiply this by the numbers (see the next paragraph) and you're not talking small change.
And finally, the numbers. In the US, parents are always uber sensitive to staying at the party and/or bringing younger siblings. Unless the invitation specifically says you can, most parents won’t bring younger siblings or stay for the duration of the party unless they think it necessary. No such social quandary here. At this party, when we inquired if it was okay if our daughter came to the party, we were met with “Of course! And there are appetizers for all the adults.” There had to be 30 kids and probably 10-12 adults. Easily a group of 40-50 people. I've been to weddings in the US with fewer people.
All in, the kids had the best time. They played for almost 2 hours, ate pizza, played more, ate cake, played more, beat up the world’s largest piñata and played more. We had to practically drag our children out of the place at 5pm (the party started at 2pm!). The food was really good. The cake was really cool. The party place very nifty, clean and secure. It was a great party. A bit over the top perhaps, but after all, you only turn 7 once. :^)
Next post…BOGOTA!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
We did our part for the US economy
Hi all!
April has been a very busy month in the Bennett house. We spent a very enjoyable Semana Santa (Holy Week) here in Costa Rica. Enjoyed Easter Sunday Mass all in Spanish. Finished up our unpacking and organizing. Spent an awesome weekend at the beach on the Pacific side on a whale watching tour with friends. Pulled out the big suitcases and headed north for 10 days in the US for Corwin’s first communion and our chance to provide a one family economic stimulus package for the US economy.
Whew! I’m tired just from typing all of that.
Oh…and we bought a car! Woo hoo!
Let’s start with the car. It’s a “chick car”. It’s not a fancy brand. It’s a Hyundai. It’s not a turbo. It’s a 1.6L. It’s not black. It’s a wine color (like the color of a cabernet). It’s not a 5 speed. It’s an automatic. Definitely a RARITY in Costa Rica with all of our mountains. It’s not a 4 wheel drive SUV. It’s a small hatchback with 2 doors and about a dozen airbags. I describe it as “cute”. James has other preferred adjectives. :) It gets us from point A to point B without paying off the chart rental car fees. It’s fuel efficient. This is a very good thing as gas is twice as expensive here versus the US. It’s not for long distance or rough driving. It’s just for getting me the 6 minutes on the interstate to work and back. We’re still looking on our Don Quixote quest for the “decently priced small SUV”. But at least now no more rental cars. The irony of this little car was how easy it was to buy. It was a private owner who was a retired public school ENGLISH teacher (there went the language barrier out the door). A friend of ours has a friend who was a mechanic. (easily checked out the car for a fair price). The owner’s daughter in a law was an attorney. (needed an attorney to complete the sale) We picked it up at the Nissan dealership where the owner’s daughter in law leases out her power of attorney for car transactions (avoided an hour long one way trip to Cartago to pick up the car). The whole sale took like a half hour to sign the papers, pay the transfer tax and drive away. It’s taken us longer to buy cars in the States.
We drove our new “cute little car” to Easter Sunday Mass at San Rafael. It was 430 in the afternoon. It was packed standing room only. The Mass was all in Spanish. But we were able to follow along well enough. We were dressed up. No one else really was. So we stuck out more than usual. Everyone wanted to touch Audrey’s hair since it’s blond and feels like spun silk. But I actually understood a good part of the homily. Holy Week is, outside of Christmas, one of the most sacred religious holidays in Costa Rica. This is a country which is like 80% Catholic. There were parades downtown. Specials on TV (all of the classic movies ran on TV). Many people went to the beach for the week (to the tune of 60% of the country). We went out to Rosti Pollo, our favorite restaurant. Look up Rosti Pollo on the web and you’ll understand. It’s all “roasted chicken” and it’s great. I had Thursday and Friday off work. We spent the time together as a family at home. Worked on the house and just enjoyed being together.
The weekend after Easter Sunday, we took our first foray outside the city on a whale watching tour to the Pacific. Whales come to the Pacific side of Costa Rica to calf in March and April. Along with friends of ours (Joel, Lisa and Elena) from Chicago, we jumped in the bus with everyone and headed for the beach! We had a great time. Learned a few things about the coast. Saw dolphins swimming in the wild. Didn’t see any whales (a rarity evidently) but the dolphins more than made up for it. We saw them swimming wild and free. We saw mothers with babies. Our son went snorkeling in the ocean for the first time. The food was the best. The humidity was OFF the chart. We were definitely in the tropics. Everyone enjoyed the beach, the sand, the sun and even a little shopping along the way. Check out Jim's Facebook page for an awesome dolphin video a friend of ours on the tour took from the boat.
Then, three days after coming back, we pulled out the big suitcases. We packed one of them about half full and headed north to the land of St Patrick’s Church, Target and MicroCenter for almost 2 weeks of time with friends, family and doing our part to help the US economy. We had a wonderful trip. We spent quality time with our family including my 90 year old grandmother. We shared pictures from our ocean weekend. The kids played with friends and charmed their grandparents. We enjoyed evenings with friends at familiar places. We laughed, told stories, shared successes and planned for future “good times” in both Kansas City and Costa Rica. Coming back last weekend, we filled up all 5 of those very large suitcases with all of our US bounty and headed back home.
However, while getting through Costa Rica Immigration was almost a non event, Customs would be a different story with 5 very full large suitcases of recently purchased US export products including some significant electronics. The solution? Act like a tourist. Essentially we bullied our way through Costa Rican Customs. When we arrived at Customs, we just started throwing suitcases on the xray machine belt. We didn’t even hand our declaration form to the customs agent. He was busy trying to keep up with the bags on the belt. The only thing which caught their attention was the DVD box in which James had brought a very used and very not working desktop computer. When the agent asked about it, I replied with my best “rude American tourist” voice, “It’s a used computer not a DVD player. It’s for parts and it DOESN’T work. Do you want me to open the box?” Considering it was 9pm at night, we had small children, a lot of bags and with my tone of voice implied, the customs agent wisely said, “No” and let us go in our merry way. I think he realized all of us would be there a lot longer into the night if they opened any one of those 8 pieces of luggage. LOL!
This week is now the week of “unpacking”, reclaiming the house and getting back to our routine. I think it won’t be so difficult with a glass of the MacCallan scotch which made it’s way through Customs, while wearing the new Nikes from other suitcase, mopping with the Swifter mop and staying in touch with our friends and family on our new Nokia N900 cell phone which traveled the distance in its box in the bottom of my back pack. Wish me luck!
April has been a very busy month in the Bennett house. We spent a very enjoyable Semana Santa (Holy Week) here in Costa Rica. Enjoyed Easter Sunday Mass all in Spanish. Finished up our unpacking and organizing. Spent an awesome weekend at the beach on the Pacific side on a whale watching tour with friends. Pulled out the big suitcases and headed north for 10 days in the US for Corwin’s first communion and our chance to provide a one family economic stimulus package for the US economy.
Whew! I’m tired just from typing all of that.
Oh…and we bought a car! Woo hoo!
Let’s start with the car. It’s a “chick car”. It’s not a fancy brand. It’s a Hyundai. It’s not a turbo. It’s a 1.6L. It’s not black. It’s a wine color (like the color of a cabernet). It’s not a 5 speed. It’s an automatic. Definitely a RARITY in Costa Rica with all of our mountains. It’s not a 4 wheel drive SUV. It’s a small hatchback with 2 doors and about a dozen airbags. I describe it as “cute”. James has other preferred adjectives. :) It gets us from point A to point B without paying off the chart rental car fees. It’s fuel efficient. This is a very good thing as gas is twice as expensive here versus the US. It’s not for long distance or rough driving. It’s just for getting me the 6 minutes on the interstate to work and back. We’re still looking on our Don Quixote quest for the “decently priced small SUV”. But at least now no more rental cars. The irony of this little car was how easy it was to buy. It was a private owner who was a retired public school ENGLISH teacher (there went the language barrier out the door). A friend of ours has a friend who was a mechanic. (easily checked out the car for a fair price). The owner’s daughter in a law was an attorney. (needed an attorney to complete the sale) We picked it up at the Nissan dealership where the owner’s daughter in law leases out her power of attorney for car transactions (avoided an hour long one way trip to Cartago to pick up the car). The whole sale took like a half hour to sign the papers, pay the transfer tax and drive away. It’s taken us longer to buy cars in the States.
We drove our new “cute little car” to Easter Sunday Mass at San Rafael. It was 430 in the afternoon. It was packed standing room only. The Mass was all in Spanish. But we were able to follow along well enough. We were dressed up. No one else really was. So we stuck out more than usual. Everyone wanted to touch Audrey’s hair since it’s blond and feels like spun silk. But I actually understood a good part of the homily. Holy Week is, outside of Christmas, one of the most sacred religious holidays in Costa Rica. This is a country which is like 80% Catholic. There were parades downtown. Specials on TV (all of the classic movies ran on TV). Many people went to the beach for the week (to the tune of 60% of the country). We went out to Rosti Pollo, our favorite restaurant. Look up Rosti Pollo on the web and you’ll understand. It’s all “roasted chicken” and it’s great. I had Thursday and Friday off work. We spent the time together as a family at home. Worked on the house and just enjoyed being together.
The weekend after Easter Sunday, we took our first foray outside the city on a whale watching tour to the Pacific. Whales come to the Pacific side of Costa Rica to calf in March and April. Along with friends of ours (Joel, Lisa and Elena) from Chicago, we jumped in the bus with everyone and headed for the beach! We had a great time. Learned a few things about the coast. Saw dolphins swimming in the wild. Didn’t see any whales (a rarity evidently) but the dolphins more than made up for it. We saw them swimming wild and free. We saw mothers with babies. Our son went snorkeling in the ocean for the first time. The food was the best. The humidity was OFF the chart. We were definitely in the tropics. Everyone enjoyed the beach, the sand, the sun and even a little shopping along the way. Check out Jim's Facebook page for an awesome dolphin video a friend of ours on the tour took from the boat.
Then, three days after coming back, we pulled out the big suitcases. We packed one of them about half full and headed north to the land of St Patrick’s Church, Target and MicroCenter for almost 2 weeks of time with friends, family and doing our part to help the US economy. We had a wonderful trip. We spent quality time with our family including my 90 year old grandmother. We shared pictures from our ocean weekend. The kids played with friends and charmed their grandparents. We enjoyed evenings with friends at familiar places. We laughed, told stories, shared successes and planned for future “good times” in both Kansas City and Costa Rica. Coming back last weekend, we filled up all 5 of those very large suitcases with all of our US bounty and headed back home.
However, while getting through Costa Rica Immigration was almost a non event, Customs would be a different story with 5 very full large suitcases of recently purchased US export products including some significant electronics. The solution? Act like a tourist. Essentially we bullied our way through Costa Rican Customs. When we arrived at Customs, we just started throwing suitcases on the xray machine belt. We didn’t even hand our declaration form to the customs agent. He was busy trying to keep up with the bags on the belt. The only thing which caught their attention was the DVD box in which James had brought a very used and very not working desktop computer. When the agent asked about it, I replied with my best “rude American tourist” voice, “It’s a used computer not a DVD player. It’s for parts and it DOESN’T work. Do you want me to open the box?” Considering it was 9pm at night, we had small children, a lot of bags and with my tone of voice implied, the customs agent wisely said, “No” and let us go in our merry way. I think he realized all of us would be there a lot longer into the night if they opened any one of those 8 pieces of luggage. LOL!
This week is now the week of “unpacking”, reclaiming the house and getting back to our routine. I think it won’t be so difficult with a glass of the MacCallan scotch which made it’s way through Customs, while wearing the new Nikes from other suitcase, mopping with the Swifter mop and staying in touch with our friends and family on our new Nokia N900 cell phone which traveled the distance in its box in the bottom of my back pack. Wish me luck!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Car Shopping
Hi all,
It’s another week or well, closer to 10 days later in the land of “Pura Vida” and rainforests. This was “car shopping week”. After this week, I now remember exactly why I really dislike shopping for cars regardless of the country of origin.
First and foremost, all cars in Costa Rica are imported. Second, Costa Rica has a very robust healthcare and educational system (just ask Rush Limbaugh!). This all adds up to third, very high import taxes making cars almost twice as expensive in Costa Rica as they are in the United States. This brings me to the fourth thing. We wanted to buy a decent small SUV made in this decade under less than $15,000. Most of our Tico and Tica friends laughed almost uncontrollably at this thought.
After many days of going to many dealers, we discovered our quest to buy a car has a lot in common with Don Quixote. (ack!)
Our first “windmill” was “car salesman deal with a lot of expats, surely they speak some English.” Ummmm….that would be a NO. So far, in all of the dealerships we’ve visited, one car salesman spoke English. Great…nothing like talking about cars (anyone know the Spanish word for “shock absorber” or “console”?) and the large numbers which are invariably involved ($15,750 or $29,999) in Spanish. Did you notice none of those price examples were UNDER $15,000?
That brings me to our second “windmill”, finding a decent small SUV under $15,000 made in this decade. That has proved to be a bit of a challenge. Most cars since 2003 will be at least $13,000 and over $15,000 if they fall into the “decent small SUV” category from what we’ve found. As a result, we’re delving heavily into the 2000-2003 model years. Most of these cars will run under $15,000. But finding a “decent” meaning “mechanically sound and including an interior which doesn’t resemble a war zone” is a quest we still have yet to complete.
We shall continue valiantly forward since our rental car is costing us a small fortune each month. We have several dealerships to go and a trove of cars for sale by private individuals. We were fortunately referred to a very trustworthy and competent mechanic who we enlist for about $20 a car to thoroughly check out any final candidate. We’ll find a car. The challenge will be finding a car made in the last decade in this decade. Wish us luck! Once we find this “diamond in the rough”, I’ll post a picture with all the details. Stay tuned!
It’s another week or well, closer to 10 days later in the land of “Pura Vida” and rainforests. This was “car shopping week”. After this week, I now remember exactly why I really dislike shopping for cars regardless of the country of origin.
First and foremost, all cars in Costa Rica are imported. Second, Costa Rica has a very robust healthcare and educational system (just ask Rush Limbaugh!). This all adds up to third, very high import taxes making cars almost twice as expensive in Costa Rica as they are in the United States. This brings me to the fourth thing. We wanted to buy a decent small SUV made in this decade under less than $15,000. Most of our Tico and Tica friends laughed almost uncontrollably at this thought.
After many days of going to many dealers, we discovered our quest to buy a car has a lot in common with Don Quixote. (ack!)
Our first “windmill” was “car salesman deal with a lot of expats, surely they speak some English.” Ummmm….that would be a NO. So far, in all of the dealerships we’ve visited, one car salesman spoke English. Great…nothing like talking about cars (anyone know the Spanish word for “shock absorber” or “console”?) and the large numbers which are invariably involved ($15,750 or $29,999) in Spanish. Did you notice none of those price examples were UNDER $15,000?
That brings me to our second “windmill”, finding a decent small SUV under $15,000 made in this decade. That has proved to be a bit of a challenge. Most cars since 2003 will be at least $13,000 and over $15,000 if they fall into the “decent small SUV” category from what we’ve found. As a result, we’re delving heavily into the 2000-2003 model years. Most of these cars will run under $15,000. But finding a “decent” meaning “mechanically sound and including an interior which doesn’t resemble a war zone” is a quest we still have yet to complete.
We shall continue valiantly forward since our rental car is costing us a small fortune each month. We have several dealerships to go and a trove of cars for sale by private individuals. We were fortunately referred to a very trustworthy and competent mechanic who we enlist for about $20 a car to thoroughly check out any final candidate. We’ll find a car. The challenge will be finding a car made in the last decade in this decade. Wish us luck! Once we find this “diamond in the rough”, I’ll post a picture with all the details. Stay tuned!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Christmas in March!!
Hi all,
My apologies for not posting for awhile. But I have a very good reason. Our ocean shipment arrived and it's like Christmas in March!
After over a month with rental furniture, we now have our own things. Nothing makes anywhere feel like home when you're sleeping in your own bed at night.
On the day our things arrived, naturally it rained all day. As such we weren't able to get started until almost 11am. But we got started regardless. For the remainder of the day, we checked off each box or item by #, directed the movers where to put it; in Spanish usually, got some great practice at numbers. After the better part of a day, our house looked like a war zone. Imagine taking the contents of your entire house, boxing it all up, and then putting it in a house 2/3 of the size; all in the space of an afternoon. For the better part of the last 2 weeks, we have spent most of our spare time literally "getting organized". At this point, we're about 2/3 done. The 3rd level where all of our computer stuff and the office will be is in a state of progress. Audrey's room is done. Corwin's room is almost done. The second level TV room is about 3/4 done. Master bedroom is about 2/3. Living room is about half. We have half the room which still has boxes to be unpacked. Kitchen is done. Back utility room is a "catch all" right now. :) We'll do that last. The dining room is done and looks very similar to our dining room at our house in the states.
Last weekend we had a "marido" (Spanish for handyman) come and spend the better part of the day working on various and assorted things. Electrical wiring needed to be updated. Dryer vent snaked out (it was full of water from all the rain). As it runs UNDER the house when there is a lot of rain, it fills up. Also had him hang our bigger pictures. The walls are all concrete. As such, it takes a hammer drill to put a hole in the wall. But after all of that, our house is actually looking quasi organized. Scary!
I think the thing I was the happiest to see was the one item marked "articulos varios" in our shipment. I've included a picture of the rental version of this item in this blog. So with the picture of the small, old and very inefficient Atlas stove on your screen, imagine a very different picture of the "articulos varios" or our brand new, GE profile, stainless steel, ceramic top stove! It was the item I was the happiest to see. And exactly why it was marked "articulos varios" or "various articles" will forever remain a mystery. The best part was NOW we could actually cook without having to guess how hot the oven was or waiting a half an hour for the burners to heat up hot enough to make the simplest of things. The other day I made apple pies for a potluck at the office in this brand new piece of appliance bliss. I was able to cook 3 pies at the same time in the abundant and accurately temperatured oven. One pie I kept at home. 2 I took to the office. All disappeared in record time.
Once it cools down a bit, I think I'll make some applesauce with my new stainless steel friend. To the person, in my office, no one has actually had apple sauce or apple butter. As apples don't grow natively here people don't eat them a lot. My new quest will be to try and find apples which are even half as good as the ones in my parents’ apple orchard on their farm in Kansas. Once I do, me and our wonderful new stove will have a "Martha Stewart Moment" and can applesauce. Woo Hoo! :)
My apologies for not posting for awhile. But I have a very good reason. Our ocean shipment arrived and it's like Christmas in March!
After over a month with rental furniture, we now have our own things. Nothing makes anywhere feel like home when you're sleeping in your own bed at night.
On the day our things arrived, naturally it rained all day. As such we weren't able to get started until almost 11am. But we got started regardless. For the remainder of the day, we checked off each box or item by #, directed the movers where to put it; in Spanish usually, got some great practice at numbers. After the better part of a day, our house looked like a war zone. Imagine taking the contents of your entire house, boxing it all up, and then putting it in a house 2/3 of the size; all in the space of an afternoon. For the better part of the last 2 weeks, we have spent most of our spare time literally "getting organized". At this point, we're about 2/3 done. The 3rd level where all of our computer stuff and the office will be is in a state of progress. Audrey's room is done. Corwin's room is almost done. The second level TV room is about 3/4 done. Master bedroom is about 2/3. Living room is about half. We have half the room which still has boxes to be unpacked. Kitchen is done. Back utility room is a "catch all" right now. :) We'll do that last. The dining room is done and looks very similar to our dining room at our house in the states.
Last weekend we had a "marido" (Spanish for handyman) come and spend the better part of the day working on various and assorted things. Electrical wiring needed to be updated. Dryer vent snaked out (it was full of water from all the rain). As it runs UNDER the house when there is a lot of rain, it fills up. Also had him hang our bigger pictures. The walls are all concrete. As such, it takes a hammer drill to put a hole in the wall. But after all of that, our house is actually looking quasi organized. Scary!
Once it cools down a bit, I think I'll make some applesauce with my new stainless steel friend. To the person, in my office, no one has actually had apple sauce or apple butter. As apples don't grow natively here people don't eat them a lot. My new quest will be to try and find apples which are even half as good as the ones in my parents’ apple orchard on their farm in Kansas. Once I do, me and our wonderful new stove will have a "Martha Stewart Moment" and can applesauce. Woo Hoo! :)
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Top 10 Things Americans must get used to in Costa Rica...
Hola mis companeros!
It's soon to be Friday again. The week has absolutely flown by. In fact, a whole MONTH has flown by. Exactly a month ago tomorrow we landed on the ground at the airport with 5 suitcases, 3 carry ons, 1 briefcase, 1 backpack, 2 kids and 2 crazy adults. Hmmm...that also means my rental car is due back Saturday. Remember the "dude...a Nissan Tida isn't going to work..." post? LOL! See my very first post for a refresher on the dynamics of a Nissan Tida versus 5 suitcases, 3 carry ons, 1 briefcase, 1 backpack, 2 kids and 2 adults. :)
Now the real topic of my post tonight. After spending a month in Costa Rica, we have seen only a sliver of the country. However, based on what we have seen, I have more than enough fodder to put my own "Top 10" right up there with Dave. Here goes...
"The Top 10 Things Americans must get used to in Costa Rica"
10. No noise ordinances. It's 9pm on a week night. My neighbor outside our gated community has decided to run his power saw, repeatedly. Naturally, his house is about 20 feet from ours, literally right across the street. The power saw siren song while effective at resolving my neighbor's home improvement dilemma, does not help me get a good nights sleep. Oh, the neighbor directly next door to us is also remodeling. So nice to hear him banging away on his walls at 9pm. It's like a cacophony of home improvement.
9. Extremely good and reasonably priced health care. Another expat I know recently took a trip to the ER at the newest and nicest private hospital in San Jose (CIMA). He thought he might have broken his ankle. X-rays, doctor's review, medication later, without insurance, he spent a whopping $100. He has the x-rays to prove it.
8. Absolutely no street signs. This is where I recommend every expat buy a GPS if you are even thinking of driving anywhere in Costa Rica. Now, don't get me wrong. The streets have names. But no SIGNS. My GPS tells me specifically which street I'm driving on. But only the GPS knows and it's not sharing.
7. In accordance with #8, no normal street addresses. Without street signs, what do you think would be a standard mailing address? Well, something which of course involves landmarks. All addresses here are "200 meters east of the Church of the Sacred Blood, Right of the Spoon restaurant". Yes, it's specific. But hope like the dickens the Church of the Sacred Blood never falls down in an earthquake or the Spoon restaurant never goes out of business. Your address is forever etched in stone even if those landmarks disappeared 50 years ago.
6. Earthquakes. Joy. Now if you're from California, this really doesn't count. So if you're from California, your #6 is getting used to the sun coming up EVERY morning at 5AM. Forget sleeping in until noon. Unless you're living in a cave or a drug induced coma, it's not going to happen. You'll be up like a dart by 6am since it feels like it's 10am. If you're not from California, your #6 is earthquakes. I'm originally from the upper Midwest where there are scads of tornadoes and snow. But no earthquakes. Our first week in country, there was an earthquake at 5.0 on the Richter scale in an area of Costa Rica far away from where we live. I felt the earthquake. My full coffee cup wiggled. I felt the earth move. Okay, the only time I want to feel the earth move is well...when...well, you know. Not LITERALLY feel the earth move while having my morning coffee!
5. Extremely excellent chicken. Seriously, KFC here is stinkin' good. Trust me on this.
4. Extremely SMALL cars. Remember the Nissan Tida?!
3. Colons, the local Costa Rican currency. Generally the colon fluctuates somewhere between 500 to 600 to the 1 US dollar. When shopping, you have to get used to seeing price tags in the 1000s and even 100,000s of colons. And don't even get me started about having to know numbers in SPANISH at those levels. It makes my head hurt just thinking about it.
2. "Gringo pricing". This is why you need good friends in Costa Rica who are natively from here and speak flawless Spanish. If I call about something, as my Spanish is not flawless, I'm immediately tagged as not from Costa Rica and American. This automatically doubles or triples the price of anything. It's like an unofficial tax. However, if one of my Tico friends makes the call after me, incredibly there is a massive and immediate sale. The price has miraculously fallen to never before heard of levels. Never before heard by Americans that is...!
And the #1 Thing Americans have to get used to in Costa Rica is...
1. BUS STOPS, pedestrians, professional cyclists, back hoes and a few cars on the interstate (known as the AutoPista). Seriously, there is no posted minimum speed for most of the AutoPista. Anywhere a group of people gather becomes a bus stop in the right lane if there isn't room to pull over (which for a bus the size of a Greyhound is the usual situation). Pedestrians literally walk across the interstate all the time. Cyclists (and based on their gear some of them are VERY good cyclists) ride their expensive or not so expensive bikes on the side of the road while cars go by at 60 mph or more. Construction equipment is also evidently not banned from the Pista. The other day on my way home from work, there was a huge long line of cars going like 20 mph. I'm thinking "what on earth...?" and it turns out to be a back hoe driving on the interstate. Now in the US, the back hoe would be put on a tractor trailer truck and trucked at 60-70 mph on the interstate to wherever it needs to go. Not here by golly. Just drive that sucker up the ramp and save yourself the trouble. As a result, I no longer drive in the right hand lane of the interstate unless I have to. I'm petrified I'm going to be gawking at a cyclist, dodging a pedestrian, cussing at heavy machinery and plow right into the back of a bus.
So there you have it. Jaci's Top 10. Dave Letterman...eat your heart out! :)
It's soon to be Friday again. The week has absolutely flown by. In fact, a whole MONTH has flown by. Exactly a month ago tomorrow we landed on the ground at the airport with 5 suitcases, 3 carry ons, 1 briefcase, 1 backpack, 2 kids and 2 crazy adults. Hmmm...that also means my rental car is due back Saturday. Remember the "dude...a Nissan Tida isn't going to work..." post? LOL! See my very first post for a refresher on the dynamics of a Nissan Tida versus 5 suitcases, 3 carry ons, 1 briefcase, 1 backpack, 2 kids and 2 adults. :)
Now the real topic of my post tonight. After spending a month in Costa Rica, we have seen only a sliver of the country. However, based on what we have seen, I have more than enough fodder to put my own "Top 10" right up there with Dave. Here goes...
"The Top 10 Things Americans must get used to in Costa Rica"
10. No noise ordinances. It's 9pm on a week night. My neighbor outside our gated community has decided to run his power saw, repeatedly. Naturally, his house is about 20 feet from ours, literally right across the street. The power saw siren song while effective at resolving my neighbor's home improvement dilemma, does not help me get a good nights sleep. Oh, the neighbor directly next door to us is also remodeling. So nice to hear him banging away on his walls at 9pm. It's like a cacophony of home improvement.
9. Extremely good and reasonably priced health care. Another expat I know recently took a trip to the ER at the newest and nicest private hospital in San Jose (CIMA). He thought he might have broken his ankle. X-rays, doctor's review, medication later, without insurance, he spent a whopping $100. He has the x-rays to prove it.
8. Absolutely no street signs. This is where I recommend every expat buy a GPS if you are even thinking of driving anywhere in Costa Rica. Now, don't get me wrong. The streets have names. But no SIGNS. My GPS tells me specifically which street I'm driving on. But only the GPS knows and it's not sharing.
7. In accordance with #8, no normal street addresses. Without street signs, what do you think would be a standard mailing address? Well, something which of course involves landmarks. All addresses here are "200 meters east of the Church of the Sacred Blood, Right of the Spoon restaurant". Yes, it's specific. But hope like the dickens the Church of the Sacred Blood never falls down in an earthquake or the Spoon restaurant never goes out of business. Your address is forever etched in stone even if those landmarks disappeared 50 years ago.
6. Earthquakes. Joy. Now if you're from California, this really doesn't count. So if you're from California, your #6 is getting used to the sun coming up EVERY morning at 5AM. Forget sleeping in until noon. Unless you're living in a cave or a drug induced coma, it's not going to happen. You'll be up like a dart by 6am since it feels like it's 10am. If you're not from California, your #6 is earthquakes. I'm originally from the upper Midwest where there are scads of tornadoes and snow. But no earthquakes. Our first week in country, there was an earthquake at 5.0 on the Richter scale in an area of Costa Rica far away from where we live. I felt the earthquake. My full coffee cup wiggled. I felt the earth move. Okay, the only time I want to feel the earth move is well...when...well, you know. Not LITERALLY feel the earth move while having my morning coffee!
5. Extremely excellent chicken. Seriously, KFC here is stinkin' good. Trust me on this.
4. Extremely SMALL cars. Remember the Nissan Tida?!
3. Colons, the local Costa Rican currency. Generally the colon fluctuates somewhere between 500 to 600 to the 1 US dollar. When shopping, you have to get used to seeing price tags in the 1000s and even 100,000s of colons. And don't even get me started about having to know numbers in SPANISH at those levels. It makes my head hurt just thinking about it.
2. "Gringo pricing". This is why you need good friends in Costa Rica who are natively from here and speak flawless Spanish. If I call about something, as my Spanish is not flawless, I'm immediately tagged as not from Costa Rica and American. This automatically doubles or triples the price of anything. It's like an unofficial tax. However, if one of my Tico friends makes the call after me, incredibly there is a massive and immediate sale. The price has miraculously fallen to never before heard of levels. Never before heard by Americans that is...!
And the #1 Thing Americans have to get used to in Costa Rica is...
1. BUS STOPS, pedestrians, professional cyclists, back hoes and a few cars on the interstate (known as the AutoPista). Seriously, there is no posted minimum speed for most of the AutoPista. Anywhere a group of people gather becomes a bus stop in the right lane if there isn't room to pull over (which for a bus the size of a Greyhound is the usual situation). Pedestrians literally walk across the interstate all the time. Cyclists (and based on their gear some of them are VERY good cyclists) ride their expensive or not so expensive bikes on the side of the road while cars go by at 60 mph or more. Construction equipment is also evidently not banned from the Pista. The other day on my way home from work, there was a huge long line of cars going like 20 mph. I'm thinking "what on earth...?" and it turns out to be a back hoe driving on the interstate. Now in the US, the back hoe would be put on a tractor trailer truck and trucked at 60-70 mph on the interstate to wherever it needs to go. Not here by golly. Just drive that sucker up the ramp and save yourself the trouble. As a result, I no longer drive in the right hand lane of the interstate unless I have to. I'm petrified I'm going to be gawking at a cyclist, dodging a pedestrian, cussing at heavy machinery and plow right into the back of a bus.
So there you have it. Jaci's Top 10. Dave Letterman...eat your heart out! :)
Friday, February 12, 2010
What does "Tico" mean?
Hi all,
It's a Friday night and I'm grateful the week has come to a blissful and quiet end. In reviewing my blog and comments from other people, I have realized the word "Tico" is not universally known outside Costa Rica. Inquiring minds want to know. What is a "Tico"? What does it mean?
Here's the skinny on the word "Tico".
According to Wikipedia, the word "Tico" is a colloquial term, an ethononym, for a native of Costa Rica. The plural form is Ticos. Costa Ricans are usually referred to as Ticos by themselves and persons of other Spanish-speaking countries, instead of using the more-formal "costarricense". Some dictionaries show the formal name as "costarriquenses" and also "costarriqueños"; however the latter is seldom used in practice in the modern Spanish Language.
This word, "Tico" or the feminine version "Tica" are used for anything which refers to Costa Rica. There is even an excellent restaurant called Tiquicia, which means "Costa Rica" just like "Tico" means "Costa Rican". This particular restaurant is way up in the mountains of the central valley in Escazu. Folkloric dancing, candle lighting, and the spectacular view, makes this restaurant one of your best options to try well prepared traditional meals. I went there back in early December with several of my new coworkers. The food was incredible and the view gives a vista of all the surrounding bedroom communities of San Jose. At night, it's not only windy but breath taking.
So now inquiring minds know what "Tico" means according to most people.
To me, the words "Tico" or "Tica" or "Tiquicia" mean everything wonderful about Costa Rica. The beautiful mountains, coasts, clear water, crisp fresh air, bright sunshine (which always comes up at 5AM in the friggin' morning!) and most importantly the people. While certainly no one can claim all of the people in any one country are honest and helpful. In Costa Rica, we have encountered almost exclusively the most helpful, honest and friendliest of people. Many of the people I work with, our neighbors, friends of friends, have willingly and proactively offered us assistance and advice. Helped us avoid cultural "faux pas", find the best places to shop (more about the store "Pequeno Mundo" in another post), refer qualified professionals (lawyers, car mechanics, beauticians, spas, vacation spots, etc) and go out of their way to help us with our "Tiquicia" transition.
If someone called me a "Tica" today, it would be one of the most sincere compliments I know. :)
It's a Friday night and I'm grateful the week has come to a blissful and quiet end. In reviewing my blog and comments from other people, I have realized the word "Tico" is not universally known outside Costa Rica. Inquiring minds want to know. What is a "Tico"? What does it mean?
Here's the skinny on the word "Tico".
According to Wikipedia, the word "Tico" is a colloquial term, an ethononym, for a native of Costa Rica. The plural form is Ticos. Costa Ricans are usually referred to as Ticos by themselves and persons of other Spanish-speaking countries, instead of using the more-formal "costarricense". Some dictionaries show the formal name as "costarriquenses" and also "costarriqueños"; however the latter is seldom used in practice in the modern Spanish Language.
This word, "Tico" or the feminine version "Tica" are used for anything which refers to Costa Rica. There is even an excellent restaurant called Tiquicia, which means "Costa Rica" just like "Tico" means "Costa Rican". This particular restaurant is way up in the mountains of the central valley in Escazu. Folkloric dancing, candle lighting, and the spectacular view, makes this restaurant one of your best options to try well prepared traditional meals. I went there back in early December with several of my new coworkers. The food was incredible and the view gives a vista of all the surrounding bedroom communities of San Jose. At night, it's not only windy but breath taking.
So now inquiring minds know what "Tico" means according to most people.
To me, the words "Tico" or "Tica" or "Tiquicia" mean everything wonderful about Costa Rica. The beautiful mountains, coasts, clear water, crisp fresh air, bright sunshine (which always comes up at 5AM in the friggin' morning!) and most importantly the people. While certainly no one can claim all of the people in any one country are honest and helpful. In Costa Rica, we have encountered almost exclusively the most helpful, honest and friendliest of people. Many of the people I work with, our neighbors, friends of friends, have willingly and proactively offered us assistance and advice. Helped us avoid cultural "faux pas", find the best places to shop (more about the store "Pequeno Mundo" in another post), refer qualified professionals (lawyers, car mechanics, beauticians, spas, vacation spots, etc) and go out of their way to help us with our "Tiquicia" transition.
If someone called me a "Tica" today, it would be one of the most sincere compliments I know. :)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Getting our "Licencia de Conducir"
Hi all,
One of the joys of moving to a new city, state or country is getting all of those essential documents lined up. In Costa Rica, the first experience we've had with this was to get our Costa Rican "licencia de conducir" or the ever necessary "drivers license".
As in the United States, getting a drivers license can be a profound exercise of bureaucratic manic depressive minutia. In Costa Rica, the exercise is taken to the level of art form. I'm convinced waiting in line is a spectator sport in Costa Rica. Here was our experience.
First, getting into the parking lot. As the parking lot is too small to accommodate everyone on a daily basis who needs to get or renew a license, there is a security guard who has you wait in your car at the entrance until someone else leaves. (Line #1) On the morning we arrived (approximately at 10am on a Thursday) there were about 5 cars in front of us. "A really short line..." according to our mobility coordinator. About 15 minutes later, we get into the parking lot and park.
Second, everyone must be granted entry into the building by a dynamic duo of security guards. (Line #2) Evidently only those requiring a new or renewal license may enter. However, our coordinator requested entry with us as she was our support through the process. Spent about 10 minutes haggling with one of the guards whose intense and burning desire for Hilda (our coordinator ) to "respect his authority" was evidently at a peak that day. Hilda graciously got us to the next line and then went to wait outside at the point where we would exit. Remember this guy. He comes back into the picture later.
Third, the next line was for us to have someone inspect our passports and copies of our current US drivers licenses for accuracy. The "inspector" had to be ready for retirement about 15 years ago and probably couldn't tell a fake US passport if her life depended on it. She slowly and systemically wrote the passport # and info by hand, manually, into a log book, initialed the photo copies of our documents, asked about the kids, (who were with us and bored already) and sent us to the next line.
Fourth, the next line as it turns out started where Hilda was waiting for us to exit. As such, she had been waiting in line for us while we were going through the last line. This helped us greatly in getting through to the second person in the process, "the data entry clerk". When we stopped at her station, her role was to enter the data from our passports and "certified" copies into some type of software application. Basically she typed our info into a form. "Typed" being a stretch. Her extremely long fake nails were rather prohibitive for touch typing. A definite drawback in a country where most addresses are a direction (i.e. 100 meters south of the Church of the Sacred Heart, then 200 meters east). For both James and I, this was a good 20 minutes of time. The result of which was entry into a database and a hand written receipt to pay for our licenses (again, long fake nails do not promote efficient hand writing either). But we had our tickets to the NEXT line.
However, the most festive part and fodder for months of future buercratic debate was when the "inspector" noticed we seemed to get through the second line rather quickly, too quickly in her experienced opinion. As such, she questioned the "data entry clerk" who promptly told her she didn't know and went back to her one key typing. This did not satisfy "the inspector". She was convinced we jumped the queue and it was her civic duty to ensure we waited our turn. She summoned the security guard (the same guard from the entry). After some intense negotiations with Hilda and very stern "ugly American how dare you question me" looks from me, the "inspector" determined we had merely worked the system (Gasp! We followed all the rules but managed to get through faster than the average Gringos! Sacrilege!) We did not wait the mandatory eternity in yet ANOTHER line. The end result of the entire exchange was since we did not jump the queue or anger any of the other people waiting in line who saw Hilda dutifully wait, we simply went on to the next part of the process and left our fuming "inspector" and security guard with something to gripe about during their next hard earned lunch 2 hour.
After this exchange, we went downstairs to the main area where pictures were taken and the actual, "licencia de conducir" procured. As a side note, Hilda said she's now probably banned for entering the building for at least a couple of months or until a different security guard works the building. Heaven forbid someone actually figures out the system and enlists help doing it.
Line #4. We pay. Our licenses cost about $11 a pop. I took both of the hand written receipts and cash (no checks, no credit cards) to a bank teller window after waiting behind only 1 other person. 5 minutes later, paid receipts in line we were ready for the last stretch of our marathon to legal driving freedom. This was easily the most efficient part of the process.
Finally, line #5. Our "licencia" was within our grasp. Upon entering the area we discover the system has changed since Hilda was there the last time (like 2 months ago!). Usually there is a separate line for foreigners. Not this time. Now we're all one big hodgepodge of a line. Joy. After some questioning of the current inhabitants of the line ("inhabitants" since they are probably there long enough to register it as a new home address), we discover as foreigners we are supposed to just butt in line at a specific point which they point out. Okay...earlier, butting in line was almost high treason. But now, in this DIFFERENT line, it's what we're supposed to do. Okay, my head hurts. I need a map, a work flow document, fish bone diagram, something which makes sense to my process driven object oriented brain. We dutifully join the queue and about 10 minutes later, it's picture time. I go first. Hand over the mountain of paperwork I've accumulated from the previous 3 lines to a "picture person", smile and sign as instructed. James goes to the booth next to mine and begins to do the same thing with a different "picture person". But "Holy Mixed up documents Batman!" Our "data entry one key at a time clerk" from upstairs mixed up our passport #s! Crap with a Capital C! She put mine on Jim's and his on mine. We tremble in fright. Will we have to start completely over? Will the "respect my authority" security guard refuse to let Hilda out of the parking lot? Will the "inspector" suddenly decree our documents fake and deport us? Will Corwin's Nintendo run out of power with who knows how many lines to spare? Will Audrey's ever effective charm suddenly stop working on all the civil servants in the building?
Thankfully and quite unexpectedly, no. Whew! There was actually someone logical somewhere in this entire process. The "picture person" from the booth James went to actually LOOKED at the documents he handed her. Quite the novel concept. But even MORE amazing, was the fact it was easily and quickly fixed. This patron saint of all civil servants somehow miracously and simply switched the numbers to the correct person, took our pictures, had each of us sign as needed and "Viola!" After 5 different lines and about 3 hours of excitement, we had our golden tickets, "licencia de conducir". Our first official documents of Costa Rica!
As a side note, those of you who actually read this entire post (I made it long to give you the true experience of something long, boring and tedious like this entire process was) may be asking, Why all the lines? Why couldn't they make the parking lot bigger? Why couldn't the documents be inspected, scanned, receipt printed, cost paid and picture taken by the same ONE person? Well it comes down to the concept of "time and space". In Costa Rica, there is NO concept of time and space. Your time and your space are not a concept anyone really considers. More about that in a future post. I need to go. Quite suddenly after recounting this experience I feel a sudden urge to double check the passport # listed on my "licencia de conducir" just to make sure I'm not dreaming and won't suddenly wake up in some line somewhere waiting for someone to do something I can't understand either in Spanish, English or concept. :)
One of the joys of moving to a new city, state or country is getting all of those essential documents lined up. In Costa Rica, the first experience we've had with this was to get our Costa Rican "licencia de conducir" or the ever necessary "drivers license".
As in the United States, getting a drivers license can be a profound exercise of bureaucratic manic depressive minutia. In Costa Rica, the exercise is taken to the level of art form. I'm convinced waiting in line is a spectator sport in Costa Rica. Here was our experience.
First, getting into the parking lot. As the parking lot is too small to accommodate everyone on a daily basis who needs to get or renew a license, there is a security guard who has you wait in your car at the entrance until someone else leaves. (Line #1) On the morning we arrived (approximately at 10am on a Thursday) there were about 5 cars in front of us. "A really short line..." according to our mobility coordinator. About 15 minutes later, we get into the parking lot and park.
Second, everyone must be granted entry into the building by a dynamic duo of security guards. (Line #2) Evidently only those requiring a new or renewal license may enter. However, our coordinator requested entry with us as she was our support through the process. Spent about 10 minutes haggling with one of the guards whose intense and burning desire for Hilda (our coordinator ) to "respect his authority" was evidently at a peak that day. Hilda graciously got us to the next line and then went to wait outside at the point where we would exit. Remember this guy. He comes back into the picture later.
Third, the next line was for us to have someone inspect our passports and copies of our current US drivers licenses for accuracy. The "inspector" had to be ready for retirement about 15 years ago and probably couldn't tell a fake US passport if her life depended on it. She slowly and systemically wrote the passport # and info by hand, manually, into a log book, initialed the photo copies of our documents, asked about the kids, (who were with us and bored already) and sent us to the next line.
Fourth, the next line as it turns out started where Hilda was waiting for us to exit. As such, she had been waiting in line for us while we were going through the last line. This helped us greatly in getting through to the second person in the process, "the data entry clerk". When we stopped at her station, her role was to enter the data from our passports and "certified" copies into some type of software application. Basically she typed our info into a form. "Typed" being a stretch. Her extremely long fake nails were rather prohibitive for touch typing. A definite drawback in a country where most addresses are a direction (i.e. 100 meters south of the Church of the Sacred Heart, then 200 meters east). For both James and I, this was a good 20 minutes of time. The result of which was entry into a database and a hand written receipt to pay for our licenses (again, long fake nails do not promote efficient hand writing either). But we had our tickets to the NEXT line.
However, the most festive part and fodder for months of future buercratic debate was when the "inspector" noticed we seemed to get through the second line rather quickly, too quickly in her experienced opinion. As such, she questioned the "data entry clerk" who promptly told her she didn't know and went back to her one key typing. This did not satisfy "the inspector". She was convinced we jumped the queue and it was her civic duty to ensure we waited our turn. She summoned the security guard (the same guard from the entry). After some intense negotiations with Hilda and very stern "ugly American how dare you question me" looks from me, the "inspector" determined we had merely worked the system (Gasp! We followed all the rules but managed to get through faster than the average Gringos! Sacrilege!) We did not wait the mandatory eternity in yet ANOTHER line. The end result of the entire exchange was since we did not jump the queue or anger any of the other people waiting in line who saw Hilda dutifully wait, we simply went on to the next part of the process and left our fuming "inspector" and security guard with something to gripe about during their next hard earned lunch 2 hour.
After this exchange, we went downstairs to the main area where pictures were taken and the actual, "licencia de conducir" procured. As a side note, Hilda said she's now probably banned for entering the building for at least a couple of months or until a different security guard works the building. Heaven forbid someone actually figures out the system and enlists help doing it.
Line #4. We pay. Our licenses cost about $11 a pop. I took both of the hand written receipts and cash (no checks, no credit cards) to a bank teller window after waiting behind only 1 other person. 5 minutes later, paid receipts in line we were ready for the last stretch of our marathon to legal driving freedom. This was easily the most efficient part of the process.
Finally, line #5. Our "licencia" was within our grasp. Upon entering the area we discover the system has changed since Hilda was there the last time (like 2 months ago!). Usually there is a separate line for foreigners. Not this time. Now we're all one big hodgepodge of a line. Joy. After some questioning of the current inhabitants of the line ("inhabitants" since they are probably there long enough to register it as a new home address), we discover as foreigners we are supposed to just butt in line at a specific point which they point out. Okay...earlier, butting in line was almost high treason. But now, in this DIFFERENT line, it's what we're supposed to do. Okay, my head hurts. I need a map, a work flow document, fish bone diagram, something which makes sense to my process driven object oriented brain. We dutifully join the queue and about 10 minutes later, it's picture time. I go first. Hand over the mountain of paperwork I've accumulated from the previous 3 lines to a "picture person", smile and sign as instructed. James goes to the booth next to mine and begins to do the same thing with a different "picture person". But "Holy Mixed up documents Batman!" Our "data entry one key at a time clerk" from upstairs mixed up our passport #s! Crap with a Capital C! She put mine on Jim's and his on mine. We tremble in fright. Will we have to start completely over? Will the "respect my authority" security guard refuse to let Hilda out of the parking lot? Will the "inspector" suddenly decree our documents fake and deport us? Will Corwin's Nintendo run out of power with who knows how many lines to spare? Will Audrey's ever effective charm suddenly stop working on all the civil servants in the building?
Thankfully and quite unexpectedly, no. Whew! There was actually someone logical somewhere in this entire process. The "picture person" from the booth James went to actually LOOKED at the documents he handed her. Quite the novel concept. But even MORE amazing, was the fact it was easily and quickly fixed. This patron saint of all civil servants somehow miracously and simply switched the numbers to the correct person, took our pictures, had each of us sign as needed and "Viola!" After 5 different lines and about 3 hours of excitement, we had our golden tickets, "licencia de conducir". Our first official documents of Costa Rica!
As a side note, those of you who actually read this entire post (I made it long to give you the true experience of something long, boring and tedious like this entire process was) may be asking, Why all the lines? Why couldn't they make the parking lot bigger? Why couldn't the documents be inspected, scanned, receipt printed, cost paid and picture taken by the same ONE person? Well it comes down to the concept of "time and space". In Costa Rica, there is NO concept of time and space. Your time and your space are not a concept anyone really considers. More about that in a future post. I need to go. Quite suddenly after recounting this experience I feel a sudden urge to double check the passport # listed on my "licencia de conducir" just to make sure I'm not dreaming and won't suddenly wake up in some line somewhere waiting for someone to do something I can't understand either in Spanish, English or concept. :)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Our "little friend"
Hi all,
The other evening James and I met a new "little friend". This little friend was about 3 inches long, dark brown, with a curled up tail. We were a bit surprised to find this "little friend" in our dining room in the mid evening (around 8pm). Upon meeting this new "little friend" James promptly scooped him up in a glass and placed him high up on a shelf. While our "little friend" may not be able to get out of his glass (or at least we hope it was a "him" as a "her" would be worse!) we would prefer the kids not play with him. He really didn't see to be very friendly. After meeting this "little friend" and doing a few quick google searches on his background and personal references, we decided perhaps some chemical coercion from the local exterminator would be best in convincing any other "little friends" who may be lurking in the shadows, to perhaps move on to other more hospitable surroundings. Our "little friend" has subsequently been sent to "little friend" heaven as we preferred he not reveal his egress into our house to any other "little friends".
Who was this "little friend" you may ask?
Was he a spider? Nope.
Was he a cockroach? Nope.
Was he a snake? Nope.
He was a SCORPION!!
The exterminator comes at 2pm this Thursday. Or at least I think he will considering the conversation was all in Spanish and from his cell phone. For all I know I gave him directions to the local pub. (!)
The other evening James and I met a new "little friend". This little friend was about 3 inches long, dark brown, with a curled up tail. We were a bit surprised to find this "little friend" in our dining room in the mid evening (around 8pm). Upon meeting this new "little friend" James promptly scooped him up in a glass and placed him high up on a shelf. While our "little friend" may not be able to get out of his glass (or at least we hope it was a "him" as a "her" would be worse!) we would prefer the kids not play with him. He really didn't see to be very friendly. After meeting this "little friend" and doing a few quick google searches on his background and personal references, we decided perhaps some chemical coercion from the local exterminator would be best in convincing any other "little friends" who may be lurking in the shadows, to perhaps move on to other more hospitable surroundings. Our "little friend" has subsequently been sent to "little friend" heaven as we preferred he not reveal his egress into our house to any other "little friends".
Who was this "little friend" you may ask?
Was he a spider? Nope.
Was he a cockroach? Nope.
Was he a snake? Nope.
He was a SCORPION!!
The exterminator comes at 2pm this Thursday. Or at least I think he will considering the conversation was all in Spanish and from his cell phone. For all I know I gave him directions to the local pub. (!)
Monday, February 1, 2010
Tico Farmers Market
Yesterday VERY early in the morning (630am) I went with another expat and his mother in law to an incredible Costa Rican farmers market in Santa Ana (just north of Escazu where we live). This market is held every Sunday and is about 2-3 blocks in length packed with stalls on both sides of the street. The selection was incredible and the prices unheard of inexpensive. For the equivalent of $20, I bought 8 ears of sweet corn, medium clump of romaine lettuce, bunch of radishes, 3 large mangos, 3 pounds of bananas, a pound of strawberries, (but wait! There's more!)...a pound of green beans, 2 cucumbers, carrots, cantelope, a pound of small potatoes, 2 large tomatoes and a large bunch of rosemary. Basically enough fruits and vegatables for the better part of a week for a family of 4. I filled a large carry bag and still had a smaller bag on my arm full too. The weather was a little chilly as the wind was blowing. It was probably 60-65 degrees but sunny. I think this will now be our early morning Sunday habit. :)
Saturday, January 30, 2010
In our new place
We have now spent our first "official" week in Costa Rica and what a week it was! We did our part to support the Costa Rican economy (a couple trips to the grocery store and Walmart equivalent took care of that!) and unpacked all the suitcases. The picture here is James adding some new plants in the backyard. (Oh what a lovely electric fence there in the back ground) We have rental furniture and everything right now in the house. (yuck!) But it's better than being in a hotel for the next month or having nothing until our shipments arrive.
I'm at the office daily now and getting settled into a routine. James and the kids are getting into their routine of going to the pool and the playground every day. :) Corwin has his second test at his new school on Monday to determine which grade he will start in there. Audrey will start her Montessori right after Corwin goes to school. Then what will James do with his time? Clean house? Laundry? Nahhh...I'm thinking Playstation 3 and WII will be the distraction of choice. LOL!
Tonight, we're getting a sitter and going out for a very nice dinner at a very nice French resturant up in the mountains here. Our sitter is the 16 year old daughter of the other expat collegue of mine who also moved here. I think she is going to be our new "best friend". :)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
We made it!
As my first blog post, I'm starting with the fact we made it to another country with 2 kids under the age of 10, with 5 VERY LARGE checked backs about 1 pound away from the weight limit, 3 carry ons, which certainly had to be close to the size limit, plus a briefcase, a backpack and our sanity somehow miracously intact.
A significant component of that was due to the fact all of our flights were blissfully on time and we crashed in a 5 star hotel the night we arrived in Costa Rica (THANK YOU corporate relo package!).
After we crashed for the night in 5 star down comforters and threadcount sheets unheard of in a 3rd world country, we proceeded downstairs at the ripe early hour of 11am to pick up our rental car and meet our new mobility coordinator. Here we discovered the first gem of Costa Rica: compact cars.
Here's the picture: A Nissan Tiida and 5 large suitcases, 3 carry ons, 1 briefcase, 1 backpack, 2 adults and 2 kids. Ummm...NOT! A half hour and several bent corporate travel policy rules later, we rolled away in a Mitsubishi Montero. I'm like, a Nissan Tiida? really? I asked the rental car dude to look at the luggage cart where all of our luggage was and asked him if everything would fit. Needless to say, he agreed perhaps a Nissan Tiida wasn't the best option.
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