Where to start, where to start. Let's try the beginning. So, I would like to take you guys back to last Thursday. Last Thursday Chandra and I went to get a replacement passport so that we could get on our way. We had been told that the whole process was to only take two hours or so.
First off, very few workers in the embassy actually speak english, secondly like every other bureaucracy it was just a tad convoluted. When we finally made our way up to the window to get a new passport, the man informed us that we could only get an emergency passport provided we had a flight ticket, or some other form of proof of dates on our trip. In his words we were "vagabonds" and thus it wouldn't ruin our travel plans if we had to wait an extra two weeks.
Next on our stop I would like to take you to the next day, Friday. Chandra and I had decided to make the best of our time here in San Jose and we set off to find a climbing gym. We found this kick as little gym with some really fun routes. We were working on a particularly challenging problem when Chandra fell off of the wall and her foot landed half on and half off of the mat. It hurt really bad and she couldn't walk so we decided to go to the hospital. Luckily it wasn't broken but it was bad enough that the doctor told us that Chandra would need to be on crutches for three weeks. Meaning now, that there was no escape from San Jose.
Now, this situation may sound dire and exhausting but it isn't all bad. I've learned a lot about making the best out of a shitty situation. In the last week we have met many great people, seen beautiful parks, museums, clubs, etc. It has given me the opportunity to better know a city and a country. One week ago, I was not impressed with Costa Rica and now I am enamored with it. As silly as it sounds, I am grateful for this opportunity.
Benjamin
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Life is Always Sunny in San Jose
This is Benjamin here writing a blog from San Jose, Costa Rica. I just wanted to repeat that we are fine, no one was hurt and we have just been relaxing and practicing our spanish. Currently we are staying at a funky little hostel. It's filled with Hammocks, Australians, Murals, and the like. We wandered down to the embassy today, and but it had just closed. It turns out the U.S. embassy only likes to be useful between 8 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. It looks as though we will head down to the embassy tomorrow morning and be out of here on friday, almost a week later than intended. Ah, the joys of Latin America. On a positive note our hostel is located in the section of town where the transvestite hookers like to hang out. It's actually a pretty good part of town though. Anyway, I best be off, as I have a whole city to explore.
Que le vaya bien!
Benjamin
P.S. We are absolutely fine. In fact, I would say we are in great spirits.
Que le vaya bien!
Benjamin
P.S. We are absolutely fine. In fact, I would say we are in great spirits.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Sin Pasaporte!: Stories from a woman with no national identity)
So, for those of you closely following our blog (which is all of you, right?), you would know that based on the aforementioned schedule, we should be on beautiful Isla de Ometepe in Nicaragua right now. We should be appreciating the biodiversity that the island has to offer and appreciating the local cuisine.
For those of you who follow syntax closely, you would know that I have used the words "should be" twice now. You would also know that this means we are NOT doing any of the aforementioned things in the aforementioned place.
That's right, we are still in San Jose, Costa Rica, and I'll tell you why.
Come with me on a journey back to the morning of Saturday, June 6th, 2009. Ben, Miles, and I (henceforth known as Malichi, Max, and Chan) were in the bus terminal in San Jose, waiting to get on a 6 hour bus to Penas Blancas, the border crossing into Nicaragua. Chan had to put her bag underneath the bus for the duration of the trip, since it is the size of a toddler and she cannot set it in the bus with her. She had set her money belt in her purse briefly, and pushed the purse behind her back as she loaded the bag into the belly of the bus. The purse was evidently unzipped.
Fast forward about 5 hours. Malichi, Max, and Chan are preparing to arrive in Penas Blancas when Chan realizes that her passport, $50(US), C6,000(CR), her phone card, and her little notebook with all of her addresses are missing. All of these items were kept in her money belt. Her money belt is also missing. She comes to the conclusion that it was removed from her purse in the less than 10 seconds that it was behind her back while loading her bag under the bus.
Malichi, Max, and Chan are not allowed entry to Nicaragua. It is far too late to return to San Jose without risking further theft and/or a situation which would require them to use the "repatriation of remains" clause on their ISIC cards, so they decided to head to the nearest large enough town for the night.
Fast forward to the part where Chan speaks in first person again:
The town we stayed in was called Liberia, the hostel was Hotel Liberia. It was dirty and falling down, complete with a condescending Tico at the front desk who gladly took our money (which was way too much for what we got) and sent us up the dripping stairs to the top floor. After a sleepless night at Hotel Liberia, we did some self-promotion of the blog and then we were on our way.
We hopped a bus to Brasilito, a little town on the coast where we called a hotel run by Aussies "home." Stress was eliminated by spending the next day and a half in the ocean at Playa Conchal and drinking beer on the beach (which was made of seashells). When it was dark, we wandered to a bar and then outside where we found the locals having a horse party (which I'm sure Malichi will tell you more about later). All in all, we agreed that Brasilito was a great place, and maybe it was a good thing we got sidetracked by the passport deal because it made us find somewhere beautiful in Costa Rica.
This morning, we made our (long) way back to San Jose, where we are now, relaxing in a hostel until we can make our way to the embassy tomorrow and put our foreign diplomatic bureaucracy to work. Wish us luck and that we won't have to stay too much longer!
Pura Vida! (or something)
For those of you who follow syntax closely, you would know that I have used the words "should be" twice now. You would also know that this means we are NOT doing any of the aforementioned things in the aforementioned place.
That's right, we are still in San Jose, Costa Rica, and I'll tell you why.
Come with me on a journey back to the morning of Saturday, June 6th, 2009. Ben, Miles, and I (henceforth known as Malichi, Max, and Chan) were in the bus terminal in San Jose, waiting to get on a 6 hour bus to Penas Blancas, the border crossing into Nicaragua. Chan had to put her bag underneath the bus for the duration of the trip, since it is the size of a toddler and she cannot set it in the bus with her. She had set her money belt in her purse briefly, and pushed the purse behind her back as she loaded the bag into the belly of the bus. The purse was evidently unzipped.
Fast forward about 5 hours. Malichi, Max, and Chan are preparing to arrive in Penas Blancas when Chan realizes that her passport, $50(US), C6,000(CR), her phone card, and her little notebook with all of her addresses are missing. All of these items were kept in her money belt. Her money belt is also missing. She comes to the conclusion that it was removed from her purse in the less than 10 seconds that it was behind her back while loading her bag under the bus.
Malichi, Max, and Chan are not allowed entry to Nicaragua. It is far too late to return to San Jose without risking further theft and/or a situation which would require them to use the "repatriation of remains" clause on their ISIC cards, so they decided to head to the nearest large enough town for the night.
Fast forward to the part where Chan speaks in first person again:
The town we stayed in was called Liberia, the hostel was Hotel Liberia. It was dirty and falling down, complete with a condescending Tico at the front desk who gladly took our money (which was way too much for what we got) and sent us up the dripping stairs to the top floor. After a sleepless night at Hotel Liberia, we did some self-promotion of the blog and then we were on our way.
We hopped a bus to Brasilito, a little town on the coast where we called a hotel run by Aussies "home." Stress was eliminated by spending the next day and a half in the ocean at Playa Conchal and drinking beer on the beach (which was made of seashells). When it was dark, we wandered to a bar and then outside where we found the locals having a horse party (which I'm sure Malichi will tell you more about later). All in all, we agreed that Brasilito was a great place, and maybe it was a good thing we got sidetracked by the passport deal because it made us find somewhere beautiful in Costa Rica.
This morning, we made our (long) way back to San Jose, where we are now, relaxing in a hostel until we can make our way to the embassy tomorrow and put our foreign diplomatic bureaucracy to work. Wish us luck and that we won't have to stay too much longer!
Pura Vida! (or something)
Friday, June 5, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Tito´s Life Lessons
My host dad´s name is Tito.
Tito, among other things, is a wise man who knows secrets about the world that many of us could only ever dream to know.
When I first met Tito last week (he was out of the country working until then) I think my first thought was, ¨I dig this guy.¨ He was fun and interesting and always made an effort to talk to me.
This morning he left for work in Guatemala, so my time with Tito is done. (Initially I was sad, until I overheard him talking to my host mom last night while they thought I was asleep. To paraphrase what he said in English, it was something like ¨I don´t like the girl. All she does is eat and sleep and all she says is ´Good Morning,´´Hello,´and ´Goodnight.´ I don´t like the girl.¨ To clarify, they refer to me as ´the girl.´ After hearing this, I was less sad that Tito was leaving, because if Tito doesn´t like me, I don´t like him. I thought we had something good going on, but like many Latin men I have met, he was deceptive. Back to the topic at hand...)
Though my time with him was short, Tito taught me many things about many things, and I would like to share them with you. Below is a list of topics and the lessons he taught me (all of which have been translated to English for your enjoyment):
On to current events:
As Ben said, we are free from the Institution after Friday, so we will hence to San Jose in the early hours of Saturday morning to attempt to buy tickets to Peñas Blancas, the border crossing into Nicaragua. If we succeed in crossing the border, we will hop a bus to Rivas, Nicaragua, where we will most likely stay the night. The next day, we will travel the beautiful Isla de Ometepe, an island formed of two volcanoes in the middle of Lago de Nicaragua.
I have started collecting post cards, so those of you who have given me your addresses will be receiving something eventually, depending from which country I decide to send you a post card. If you still want one, email me your address at ChanPott@gmail.com, and I will add it to my list.
I miss each and every one of you in very quantifiable and (in some cases) tangible ways. I hope you are all well and that you are now living your lives while keeping in mind the lessons my Costa Rican family has provided.
Hasta Luego!
Tito, among other things, is a wise man who knows secrets about the world that many of us could only ever dream to know.
When I first met Tito last week (he was out of the country working until then) I think my first thought was, ¨I dig this guy.¨ He was fun and interesting and always made an effort to talk to me.
This morning he left for work in Guatemala, so my time with Tito is done. (Initially I was sad, until I overheard him talking to my host mom last night while they thought I was asleep. To paraphrase what he said in English, it was something like ¨I don´t like the girl. All she does is eat and sleep and all she says is ´Good Morning,´´Hello,´and ´Goodnight.´ I don´t like the girl.¨ To clarify, they refer to me as ´the girl.´ After hearing this, I was less sad that Tito was leaving, because if Tito doesn´t like me, I don´t like him. I thought we had something good going on, but like many Latin men I have met, he was deceptive. Back to the topic at hand...)
Though my time with him was short, Tito taught me many things about many things, and I would like to share them with you. Below is a list of topics and the lessons he taught me (all of which have been translated to English for your enjoyment):
- America´s Next Top Model: This is a show where girls stop eating and compete to see who can be the prettiest, but they are all actually ugly.
- Penguins: They live in very cold climates. Penguins could not survive in Costa Rica.
- This fruit in my hand: Es una naranja. En inglés, ¨orange.¨
- Rodeos: They have rodeos in Texas. They are only in Texas. We may think we have rodeos in Wyoming, but they only happen in Texas.
- Chinese food:This food is very healthy because they use a lot of vegetables
- Black people and white women:These are the only people in the United States that are obese.
- Obese people: They are obese because they eat McDonald´s instead of Chinese food.
- E!: This is the best channel on television.
- Keeping Up With the Kardashians: This is the best show on the best channel on television.
- Kloe Kardashian: This is the girl on the best show on the best channel on television that should eat more Chinese food and less McDonald´s.
- Nicaraguans: All of these people carry guns in the sleeves of their coats.
- Guatemalans: This people will cook your pet dogs if you aren´t careful.
- A shot of Anis: This will cure your cold.
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: This show is a competition where you answer questions. If you get the questions right, they give you money. You can win 25,000,000 Colones ($50,000). The host might be a gay.
On to current events:
As Ben said, we are free from the Institution after Friday, so we will hence to San Jose in the early hours of Saturday morning to attempt to buy tickets to Peñas Blancas, the border crossing into Nicaragua. If we succeed in crossing the border, we will hop a bus to Rivas, Nicaragua, where we will most likely stay the night. The next day, we will travel the beautiful Isla de Ometepe, an island formed of two volcanoes in the middle of Lago de Nicaragua.
I have started collecting post cards, so those of you who have given me your addresses will be receiving something eventually, depending from which country I decide to send you a post card. If you still want one, email me your address at ChanPott@gmail.com, and I will add it to my list.
I miss each and every one of you in very quantifiable and (in some cases) tangible ways. I hope you are all well and that you are now living your lives while keeping in mind the lessons my Costa Rican family has provided.
Hasta Luego!
How to Identify an Intruder, and Other Useful Information.
Hello People of the Internet,
It's been just over two weeks since we made our descent into Costa Rica, meaning we have just one more week until we are freed from the institution-I mean institute, and left to our own devices. We are quite bored with Costa Rica and have decided not to spend any extra time here, and come Saturday we will be thrusting on to Lake Nicaragua.
This weekend, Chandra, a few of our friends and I took a trip to the questionable beach town of Jaco. Before boarding the bus we were told by all of our host parents and teachers that it was a nefarious place filled with booze, hookers, and drugs. Basically a seedier Las Vegas but with a beach.
We weren't disappointed. Upon arrival, having grown tired of beans and rice, we made for the most Americanized restaurant we could find. Ironically enough, it was a Mexican food joint. It was here that we laid eyes upon our first ex-pat. He was
sitting with two young Costa Rican girls who were thumbing through the latest Victoria’s secret catalogues, pointing to the 'outfits' he found most enjoyable.
After booking our hostel it seemed as only two of us were really up for going out. We quickly made friends with two Dutch travelers, a German student, and a French surf bum, and headed to the club. It was like a U.N. meeting, except in a club and surrounded by ex-pats and hookers. We were tired so we retired to our hostel pretty early. All and all, I would saw our trip to Jaco was pretty tame.
Every week my host-parents and I have been going to weekly 'community watch' meetings, where I have learned how to identify an intruder, what details to give the cops, and the basic workings of criminal law system. Apparently these meetings have happened every Monday for four months. My host-father, having faithfully attended every meeting, is getting some sort of community watch diploma, and tonight we are attending his graduation. I'm pretty psyched as I have been told there will be free food.
I'd best be off as I have class soon, but,
Peace, Love and Good Skin,
Benjamin
It's been just over two weeks since we made our descent into Costa Rica, meaning we have just one more week until we are freed from the institution-I mean institute, and left to our own devices. We are quite bored with Costa Rica and have decided not to spend any extra time here, and come Saturday we will be thrusting on to Lake Nicaragua.
This weekend, Chandra, a few of our friends and I took a trip to the questionable beach town of Jaco. Before boarding the bus we were told by all of our host parents and teachers that it was a nefarious place filled with booze, hookers, and drugs. Basically a seedier Las Vegas but with a beach.
We weren't disappointed. Upon arrival, having grown tired of beans and rice, we made for the most Americanized restaurant we could find. Ironically enough, it was a Mexican food joint. It was here that we laid eyes upon our first ex-pat. He was
sitting with two young Costa Rican girls who were thumbing through the latest Victoria’s secret catalogues, pointing to the 'outfits' he found most enjoyable.
After booking our hostel it seemed as only two of us were really up for going out. We quickly made friends with two Dutch travelers, a German student, and a French surf bum, and headed to the club. It was like a U.N. meeting, except in a club and surrounded by ex-pats and hookers. We were tired so we retired to our hostel pretty early. All and all, I would saw our trip to Jaco was pretty tame.
Every week my host-parents and I have been going to weekly 'community watch' meetings, where I have learned how to identify an intruder, what details to give the cops, and the basic workings of criminal law system. Apparently these meetings have happened every Monday for four months. My host-father, having faithfully attended every meeting, is getting some sort of community watch diploma, and tonight we are attending his graduation. I'm pretty psyched as I have been told there will be free food.
I'd best be off as I have class soon, but,
Peace, Love and Good Skin,
Benjamin
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Welcome to the menagerie in my shower.
Hola a todos!
We´re still here in rainy Costa Rica.
Not a whole lot has really happened since we last updated. We realized that we live in the boondocks, and not in an actual recognizable city. (By recognizable, I mean that when you get on a bus, the name of Carillos isn´t in the window that tells you where you are going. You have to get on the bus that goes to the nearest largest city and hop off early.) Here are the things that people like to do in the Boondocks called Carillos Bajo:
´Es tan corto el amore y es tan largo el olvido.´ Neruda
We´re still here in rainy Costa Rica.
Not a whole lot has really happened since we last updated. We realized that we live in the boondocks, and not in an actual recognizable city. (By recognizable, I mean that when you get on a bus, the name of Carillos isn´t in the window that tells you where you are going. You have to get on the bus that goes to the nearest largest city and hop off early.) Here are the things that people like to do in the Boondocks called Carillos Bajo:
- Taxistas like to say ´Hey baby! I love you!´when you walk past them.
- Guard dogs like to kill cats and leave their corpses in the yard as a warning to other cats.
- Host dads named Tito like to drive semi truck cabs that have pictures of American eagles in front of confederate flags on the door.
- EVERYONE (including us and some of our teachers and bus drivers) like to sing karaoke at the Pavo Real bar (which means Peacock in Spanish).
- If you eat all of the food you normally eat plus a bowl of diet cereal, it will help you to not get fat.
- If you have a headache, take at least three different pills to cure it, even if the pills aren´t meant for headaches.
- Dogs who have fleas are healthier because it causes them to have stronger immune systems.
- If you wear sandals, you WILL get sick.
- It´s good to have bugs in the house because it teaches us that we need to learn to share our space will all of God´s living creatures.
- It´s good to have lizards in the house because they eat the bugs.
´Es tan corto el amore y es tan largo el olvido.´ Neruda
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)