if you are a big tree, we are a small axe.

raise your hand if you knew that our very own confederate states tried their damndest to annex all of central america? according to the story i read, some georgian named william walker led the charge through the area, backed by prez buchanan shortly before our civil war, and at one point declared himself president of more than one country. turns out costa rica's national hero is another dude named juan santamaria who volunteered to storm up a hill and throw a torch into the wooden shack where the last gringos had sought refuge. he succeeded in burning the shack but was killed in the process. most interestingly to me, that story wasn't made public to the ticos (costa rican natives) until years later when costa rica was having some internal strife and general morale issues. some might say that the whole story isn't entirely true and that a mere rallying point was needed-- but that might be no different than the stories regarding most famous saviors with whom we've become acquainted over time... slightly more recently, a civil war broke out here in 1948 between one side that was viewed by the US as communist, and the opposition. because of the US post-WWII pinko paranoia, we amassed troops at the panamanian border, i dunno, just in case. the civil war victors were the non-communists, who saw no need for an army since they felt comfortable that any threat to themselves would be viewed unfavorably by the US. they therefore put funds that would've been used towards guns n stuff towards their own infrastructure and social systems. since then, costa rica has operated sans military and is known as the 'switzerland of the west.' who knew.

i arrived a couple of nights ago without a hitch. in atlanta, i was asked to switch seats on the flight so that some family could sit together. i ended up being placed between a woman who had committed her life to yoga (and all else that is pure) on my right, and another woman with advanced huntington's chorea (look it up-- it's a devastating disease that truly sucks for those who have it as well as for those who love them, but it really makes life difficult for anyone sitting next to them in a cramped space) on my left. i spent the vast majority of the trip listening to the woman on my right discuss yoga, earth/water/fire, and herbs. my favorite part was when she raved about her close friend who is a monovegan (eats only one vegan food per day--so, like, only bananas on thursday) and who lives alone, naked, in the costa rican jungle. she has been weaning herself off of food and plans to eventually survive solely on her own breath. i know. i told her that to me, the plan sounded kinda dangerous, and got ¨well, you're western trained-- you wouldn't understand¨ in return. the whole conversation was about 1/4 interesting and 3/4 entertaining. i like to think that we both learned a little from each other, all the while i was practicing my self-defense moves against the very kind woman to my left.

we arrived into san jose and i immediately stripped down basically to my undies. i left a quite chilly michigan (as i write, 4 inches of snow are on the ground in ann arbor--that's a haha) dressed in what i thought was appropriate eveningwear for a city at 3800 ft, but it was wonderfully much warmer than i'd anticipated. my house-dad robert (older. slower.) picked me up at the airport and took me to where we'll be spending the rest of the month. it's a residence where several rooms surround a small courtyard. my current room is definitely all i need, although he said he'd move ashley and me in to a larger suite when she gets here, which'll be sweet. currently, my housemates include a venezuelan dude; a canadian chick who comes often to visit her tican boyfriend; a 40-something hollywood surfer who says he's here to get dental work done (TONS of medical tourists come to costa rica), but the more i talk with him, the more i think he's just here to chill; and a cuban-turned-new-jersian mother/son pair. everyone seems super cool at our little united nations. we´re located a few short blocks from the universidad de costa rica, so the surroundings are filled with young students, which of course i find ideal.

over the last two days, i've been doing a lotta walking around the city. it's very small and easy to hit the touristy high points within a day. of course, getting a good sense of the city itself takes much longer and requires time spent in places farther from the guidebook hotspots. saturday night was awesome: i left the main drag and found a bar that was showing the final four. shortly after i walked in, a few locals hit up the jukebox with about 90 straight minutes of bob marley. imagine my smile when i heard them belting out the lyrics to 'small axe', which is certainly not one of bob's most famous songs, but happens to be among my favorites. we were all a couple of beers in at that point; of course i joined in.

throughout my previous travels, i've deduced my own third-world city trifecta that roughly dictates the level of a nation's poorness: high number of beggars, lotsa stray dogs, and a general lack of toilet paper in the public restrooms. this place doesn't seem to fit any of those criteria. while it doesn't offer much outside of the experience of a totally new country/culture, it seems to be a relatively safe, pleasant, simple city. most of the locals either hang out at the central market, or feed the birds in the central Plaza de la Cultura, which i call Plaza del Pigeon Shit. like virtually all of latin america, the jewels of the country lie far from the populated areas. i can't f*kkin wait to get out there. active volcanoes, super legit jungles with tremendously diverse wildlife, and beach communities await. hurry up ash, let's go. i miss you.

dot dot dots: fortunately for me, the coffee is delicious--not surprising, since starbucks gets 95% of theirs from here...clearly, neocolonialism has not spared the area as a KFC, taco bell, pizza hut, subway, wendy's, etc etc are everywhere. naturally, the nationwide BMI has increased proportionally to the number of these establishments. i'm far more inclined to hit up the local 'sodas' to eat some tasty tican grub consisting always of rice, black beans and plantains, plus whatever meat you wanna add (all for about $4, which is far more than i was hoping). mornings are ripe with papayas, pineapples, mangos, and bananas that were probably picked yesterday at the earliest. i don't even like papaya, and i like the papaya. ashley makes the very astute point that food is always good when it tastes like it's supposed to taste, not how costa rican papaya tastes after it's been picked unripe, sprayed, packaged, and shipped to ann arbor, michigan, for example... i've had no qualms about housing every meal as if i'd cooked it in my own michigan kitchen, partly because i've heard that those from the US don't tend to get foodborne illness here, and partly because i purchased a course of antibiotics ($12) and have tucked it away just in case... all you ladies would fit in just fine if you wear tight jeans and show off your bewbs...

next time i'll tell you about my two new friends: barry (wealthy 64yo retiree from philly who's relocated here and kicks it with his 22yo girlfriend), and miguel (humble family man and possible alcoholic who lives just outta town). they might end up contributing nicely to this trip--we shall see.

alright then,