mark and julio, two of our roommates
well, i solved the minor birthday conundrum by changing my flight to last thursday. once the idea crossed my mind (prompted by a legitimate blizzard and me nearly eating sh*t, ie wiping out, for the first time all winter in APRIL), i could not think of a gift that would be better than myself. and so, after orchestrating the surprise with the appropriate people and going a little crazy getting all our affairs in order that much sooner, i set out on my adventure thursday morning.
while i prefer traveling with david for the company, i find that things somehow tend to run more smoothly when i travel at the airport alone, without my engagement ring, and wearing a tanktop. not sure why. "oh, i cant check in for an international flight here? are you sure you cant make an exception?" "really? my bag is 15 pounds over the weight limit? are you sure?" overall, a smooth day of travel without any lines or extra fees. i realize some may find that offensive, or that im merely perpetuating a cycle of female sexualization in our culture, but i have decided that if men are going to stare anyway, i might as well use it to my advantage instead of just feeling violated. everybody wins.
i did not have the exciting neighbors that david did on his planes, but i find (and i know my sph peers do as well) that if anyone discovers i am a nutritionist, they suddenly become very interested in engaging me in some sort of discourse, ranging from defensive to curious to demanding. my wearing a tanktop appears to have no effect on the level of interest...americans just have a lot of issues regarding food. my first plane neighbor saw me reading a nutrition related book (ahhhh, yes, i'm finally on vacation) and without any provocation on my part, began battering herself for eating peanut mms in front of me. fortunately, i was able to reassure her that peanut m&ms are a perfectly acceptable breakfast, and in turn, she deemed me the "best nutritionist ever." everbody wins.
after 14 hours of travel, i landed in san jose, and clutching the confirmation of my airport pickup for that date and time, attempted to find my taxi (which was not there...a mystery that may never be solved). of course, when the 500 taxi drivers saw a gringa with a monster pack searching desperately for a ride they descended upon me. i initially ignored all of them, including the gentleman who eventually convinced me that he was not scamming me by offering to let me use his cell phone. my armor tends to go up when i travel in developing countries, but thus far, it seems the only thing i need to be vigilant about in costa rica is not getting too fired up on the amazing mangos. mango juice gives me a horrible rash on my face, but it's so difficult not to smother my face with a juicy one, of which there are plenty here.
i digress. this virtual stranger let me call my program director, then sat with me the rest of the night making calls back and forth until i was safely in a taxi without ever suggesting i owe him anything in return. i was wearing a sweater at this point, by the way (i find there is really no need to tone up the assets in latin american countries). i had heard ticos (costa ricans) were very hospitable, but my expectations were immediately exceeded the moment i got here.
i was (albeit one hour late) greeted by the most gregarious pre teen i might ever meet, a 12 year old named andres who´s father drives a cab and hosts volunteers for my program. we spent the thirty minute ride from san jose to san pedro discussing festivities for la semana santa, or holy week, which just ended yesterday with the resurrection of christ. initially i thought it would be awesome to be here for easter weekend since it´s a hugely important holiday to this very catholic country, but in reality, everything shuts down, the busses have abnormal hours, and people seem to just hang out with their families.
andres was much anticipating easter sunday, when he would get to chill with his 70 (that is a quote) first cousins and dine on various seafood heavy delicacies (of course, because meat is forbidden). andres pointed out only one thing on the drive, the street in san pedro where all the college students apprently go to get sloshed. always hyper aware of what foreigners think of americans, i wondered what this 12 year old must imagine americans are interested in when they visit his home town... of course, it's possible that some folks who are underage in the states might desire to take advantage of the 18 year old drinking age here in costa rica, and considering the flight attendant on my connection asked if i was 16 yet (i was seated in an exit row), i hope his assumption was based largely on my presumed age and not the precedent that volunteers before me have set.
after a very successful birthday surprise in which our entire commune participated (our roommates bought david a cake and set us up in a double room),
the last few days have been filled with numerous semi failed attempts at completing some adventures, partially because of the spotty bus schedules during holy week, and partially because we've had to come face to face with some of my unfortunate higher maintenance travel issues (namely, motion and altitude sickness). david's been very empathetic--let's hope that lasts.
on both friday and saturday we took a bus to a nearby town cartago (david mentioned it previously) with the intention of it being merely a pit stop en route to a more desirable destination. friday we were foiled by the bus schedule, and saturday, in an attempt to scale the irazu volcano, we visited cartago again, only to find the closest we could get to the volcano was 17 km. feeling very motivated, we tagged along with our new friend juan carlos (somebody we asked for directions--seriously, ticos are hella nice) and set off on our adventure. while we imagined we'd return from the volcano agotados (worn out), we didn't anticipate that i'd get winded simply by squatting to pee on meter 10 of a 34 KILOmeter walk. and so, we hung our heads in defeat shortly thereafter, seeking solace in an awesome mountainside 80s bar to drown our sorrows in cerveza.
of course, when in a totally foreign country, it's not difficult to find redemption in defeat. because cartago is home to the big basilica, we witnessed many fascinating easter celebratory performances. and, naturalist that he is, david also spent some time documenting pidgeon interactions in a plaza there, which he now calls "pigeon bar." he enjoyed watching the male pidgeons puff up and approach (harass) the females, who ignored the males and quickly scurried off with a female friend, presumably to talk about it in the bathroom. and while we didn't get far on our volcanic hike, the scenery was absolutely spectacular...next time we will remember to bring not just the card reader and usb drive, but also the cameras (digust) so we can try and load some pictures...
great little things i've observed about costa rica thus far include, first and foremost, the unparalleled kindness of the people. every person we talk to, ask for directions, what have you, goes out of their way to be ultra nice and accommodating. i have also appreciated the potable water (i sing in the shower), eating to my heart's content without any (knock on wood) negative ramifications, and the abundant and diverse selection of *cheap* fruit (a bag of six perfectly ripe mangos for $1). unfortunately, cheapness of food stops there.
it's also been pretty neat speaking another language with david, rusty as my spanish is. we're doing about half and half right now, which is not so bad considering how easy it is just to speak english as a default. luckily, my formal spanish lessons will start in an hour actually, and i also indulged in a long-desired guilty pleasure before i left--buying "twilight" in spanish, "el crepusculo," so i can pass off my toting it around as a language enhancing activity rather than just an advertisement that my maturity level is on par with that of an 11 year old girl (hey, there's a reason david and i fit so well...).
as this has grown quite lengthy enough, we'll leave tales of our food experimentation and more for next time...hasta luego!
No comments:
Post a Comment