Fish out of water..errr wait, bird IN water.....
Trip Start
Apr 04, 2005
1
5
43
Trip End
Jul 18, 2005
San Joaquin de Flores,
Costa Rica
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Hola! Day 1 of school completed. I wish I would have invested a little more time, or actually, any at all, in learning Spanish before my departure. I am at an internet cafe in bustling dt San Joaquin (wakeen). I can{t get the apostrophe or the question mark to work on this blasted keyboard. Operator error I am sure! So sorry about that.
Today I learned, or let me re-phrase that, was exposed to, some of the basics. alphabet, #{s, pronouns, pronombres interrogatives and personales, days, months, and common sayings in Spanish. Also the introduction to the school. The campus is the most beautiful and well kept place I have seen so far. I am in school from 8 until 3, with an hour for lunch, so my brain is a little mushy right now. No thanks to the loco gatos(cats) that decided to get after it outside my window last night. The factory next door to my homestay has this repetitive machinery cycle that goes all night, every 10 seconds. CLANK, Hissssssss. CLANK, Hissssssss. I am hoping to eventually stop hearing it- like those women in the grocery store that no longer hear their terror children screaming and fighting in the aisles..
Anyway, good to know in case you didn{t, but you aren{t supposed to flush and TP down the toilet here. You wipe your butt then put it in a little overfilled garbage can next to the toilet... Yes, it is true. And, yes, it smells. They said you get used to it but I don{t know how long it takes to get used to the smell of other peoples bung. Sorry to be crude but really, it{s not pretty. You don{t see anyone heading to the can with a newspaper, that{s for sure. Thank God I have my own bathroom at my homestay! I think part of the problem is the half ply toilet paper, which causes you to have to use more to get the job done, hence the overflowing garbage. A high quality Charmin could be the solution here. ok, sorry. enough poop talk.
I am headed off to the supermarcado to buy some paper and postcards. The school has mail service so I can get mail there. If you want the address shoot me an email. It takes awhile but they will forward it to me if I have already moved to another campus. I will be at this location for another week and a half, then off to Monteverde and the Cloud Forest. 2 weeks after that I will be gleefully burying my feet in the sand at Flamingo Beach! That will be so cool.
It rained so hard today I couldn{t believe it. Then they told us that it gets mucho grande!! But it quit after only 30 minutes or so. Until I started walking home, then I understood what my teacher meant by the comment' oh, dis es nutting...
Drivers here have no respect for pedestrians. I guess it didn{t matter that I got splashed so much because I was already soaked. And the rain cleaned off most of the mud, anyway.. One guy on a bike almost hit me then cursed at me, like I should have jumped into a pothole so big it should have had a boat launch. The drivers here swerve at the last minute to avoid these mondo potholes going what would be considered freeway speeds in the states. A day in the life, I guess. So I will be listening behind me and watching in front of me at all times! No I'Pod for me! And to think, my biggest fear was getting attacked by a shark or kidnapped, not getting struck by a loco local in his beater car! Oh yeah, all of the cars are trashed due, in my opinion, to their uncontrolled road rage. And it is not just one, it is EVERYONE!! I don{t think I have seen one car with 2 head or taillights since I got here. Even my host families Suzuki Sidekick is missing the entire front bumper and a headlight! I read about the drivers before I came but truly, it is something to behold. And you guys think I am a crazy driver!!!
Anyway, I have a ton of homework so hasta manana! !Vaya con Dios!
