I´m mobile!

Yay!
I conquered the bus system. As soon as I finished my last entry I confirmed with the guy at the cybernet that there was no straight route to San Jose ' I was right in assuming I had to connect thru Alajuela or Heredia - both around a half hour away. I hopped on the first bus I saw and headed to Alajuela. Alajuela is the largest city after San Jose, though it felt pretty small to me. I fumbled and bumbled around until I discovered the bus i needed to catch only picked up from the central terminal some blocks away. Off I went, found the terminal and hopped on my 2nd bus.
Having learned my lesson about hopping off willy nilly, i rode the bus until the end of the road- San Juan´s central bus area. Its an old Coca Cola factory, near a park which has all kinds of bus ¨stations¨ around it - most not more than a dude with a clipboard. I walked forever, not wanting to pull out the old guidebook, but trying to find the Central Tourist Office in hopes of getting an actual bus schedule. Stubbornly I walked until I thought I found the office - I hadn´t, but inside the air condiioned building with 2 Ticos frantically trying to help me i was able to pull out the book and recognize I had again walked some 15 blocks out of my way. Harumph.
Armed with the intersection in my head (2 and 5, 5 and 2, 2 and 5, 5 and 2) I made it to the office - a bust , but more importantly I found what I believe to be the only public bathroom in the metropolitan area. And it was cleanish!
Made my way to Central Mercado - a Central American Farmer´s Market - becaue I read they had fresh but inexpensive food. That they did, along with lots and lots of raw meat. The smell of blood was pretty overpowering in some parts, gag. I sat down to arroz con pollo - it came out looking like chicken fried rice. Towards the end of my meal my waitress put a bowl of what looked like macaroni salad with ketchup - it was poosible. With every meal so far at home the option for lots and lots of mayo and ketchup was there. Arroz con leche, she explained, su postre. Cool, it was like rice pudding and jelly.
After lunch I made my way back to mi casa - 2 buses, 2 mid'size walks and an hour and a half later I arrived.
I was dying for a shower - i hadn´t had a chance the day before, so that means I hadn´t showered since Sunday morning in LA. I know.
A word about the bathrooms in my house - there are 2. One with a cold water shower and a toilet you have to manually turn the water on for, and the other one. Running toilet, sink (cold water only) and shower with an electric coil to heat the water. The coil is manned by a Frankenstein looking heavy duty switch - not at all intimidating...I didn´t receive a lesson on heating the water, and since I was already naked and too tired to deal with it, i figured I would wing it. You flip the switch for hot water - not a difficult concept. So I stood as near to the running cold shower as I could bear fiddling with stuff and I hit the switch. And then standing under slightly less freezing water, tried to adjust the temp...with its metal knob...a couple of times...before i realized the creepy feeling in my fingers and, yes, up my arm was me, essentially electrocuting myself. I calmly reached for my towel and flipped the switch back up as quickly as I could. Then I took the camping shower my stepmom taught me when I was little (Hi Deb!!!) - pits, crotch, feet. And I sort of wet my hair.
That evening found me studying Spanish while karen watched Spiderman 3, yeah I said it, Spiderman 3 on DVD on the family´s computer. A family friend came over and I was able to catch the majority of the fast paced conversation. Lots of making fun of Miss USA for falling during the Miss Universe pageant and talking about the neighborhood. It was interesting to hear the family´s take on different types of people who live around them- those de los estados unidos, the Guatemalens, and the Nicos, those from Nicaragua. They don´t have the animosity that is written about in guide books, but they certainly notice them. That family friend left, and then the computer monitor blew up. I mention it because it was pretty dramatic, and of course, because we are a load of girls, we screamed, then giggled. Mi señora was pretty annoyed.
After the drama another friend came by and I joined him, Gaby and Maga outside for a card game. They called it Rum but I think it was Gin. We played for a while - i realized trash talk isn´t so much in the talk as it is in your attitude - and had a blast.
By the way, I had arroz con pollo for dinner too - same thing, it looked like chicken friend rice. That must be the way here. And I found out how to eat a mango (they are evrywhere here- gutters, the road, front lawns)- when mi señora offered it I told her how I eat mango in the states (neatly, with a knife and spoon, scooping out the meat) and asked if it was the same here. Of course not and she showed me how- you grab it and bite it, eating the skin. You can either keep eating the skin or peel it off and just eat the meat around the pit. It was great!
A really big rainstorm blew in and cooled everything off. I slept like a pig with an ax thru its head (which consequently, I saw this morning the the mercado in Heredia). After breakfast, 2 sandwiches- one grilled cheese and one spinach omelette, which I actaully choked down because it was more spinach than egg and sort of good if i didn´t think about it and chased it with a bite of grilled cheese, I walked to town and caught the bus to Heredia. I like this town the best so far.
San Jose is like every other metropolitan area- over'crowded, too much traffic, dirty, blah, blah. I do want to go back and check out some of the museums though. Alajuela was fine, but didn´t seem too different. Mini San Jose, with a lot less traffic, though no real personality. Heredia has a university in town and is home to a lot of the old coffee barons. The houses are breathtaking as you ride into town.
Of course they all have stray dog syndrome - dogs listlessly lie around the city, little more than bone and matted hair. Its heartbreaking.
Hm, I´d rather not end on that note. I did some algebra last night, figuring out what everything cost in US Dollars. It was fun. My ride to Alajuela was $.24. My most expensive ride was from San Jose back to Alajuela at a whopping $.65. An hour at the internet cafe was $.58 as were each bottle of water I bought.
Yay!
B

¡bueno!

I made it!
Landed yesterday and Costa Rica is green, green, green. Kermit Green.
Immigration took forever. Shuffle, shuffle, stop, but down the heavy backpack. Pick up the heavy backpack, shuffle, shuffle, stop. and repeat for an hour.
Wonder of wonders i found my checked bag immediately, breezed through customs, and found my driver immediately.
Talk about slamming into Spanish gear without using a clutch. I was able to con my driver into thinking i was completely bilingual until he asked a question I couldn´t find my words for. Regardless, i was able to carry on and understand our conversation pretty well.
My family lives not in Santa Barbara, which is a tiny town most people havent heard of, they live in a teeny suburb of that. Teeny.
I met mi señora and her oldest daughter Gabrielle. We made conversation for a painful 20 minutes before lunch. Mi señora explained lunch would have been ready when i arrived, but they had no water all morning. Okay.
Lunch was so good - vegetable soup, meat, black beans and rice, salad and fruit water that i forget what its called, but tastes amazing. I also met mi señor. He is the strong but silent type to say the least. After lunch I begged to help in the kitchen - they refused so i tried to study spanish for a while, but couldn´t keep my eyes open and quickly settled in for a nap.
I have my own room. Its big enough for 2 beds, a single and a double and a small table. The house itself is over a small grocery store and big enough for the family. Its hard to describe, but its just like grandpa´s house in the Valley - so at least my mom and dad know what I´m talking about. Its lower middle class, lots of stuff everywhere, but comfortable.
After my extremely long nap, I took a walk. Mi señora explained how to get to town - not Santa Barbara, but some other smaller closer town plaza. I found it, and kept walking to another slightly bigger town. There are no names as far as I can tell. On my way home, obviously I got lost. Because it´s not my first day in a new place unless I lose myself on a discovery walk. I probably walked at least a mile out of my way. I knew my wrong turn and was able to backtrack and find my way home easily enough.
I returned home slightly frantic because I was sure I was missing dinner - it was pretty dark because of all the clouds and I knew I had been gone far longer than the hour i had promised. Nope, I was still able to study for an hour (i´ve taken to REALLY studying my spanish now, since nobody in my family speaks any english), and finally after begging again Gaby and mi señora let me help in the kitchen. i got the 5 year old task of helping with the topping to a chicken pot pie, but then Gaby taught me how to make empanadas. I asked if the filling was fruit or vegetable and they answered mas o menos (sort of)...okay. My empanadas turned out AWESOME! And so cute - they are basically a turnover filled with whatever you want.
Dinner was some of the chicken pot pie - Gaby made a huge meal for this men´s group meeting up the street. Its basically an AA meeting, but they don´t call it that they call it Grupo. Its all men, they give their testimonials, and celebrate their sobriety. Mi señora was quick to explain her husband had never had a drug problem, but enjoyed attending Grupo anyway. Anyway, we had some of the huge feast Gaby had prepared - chicken pot pie, salad, and that AWESOME fruit water thing. I have to figure out what its called.
Throughout the afternoon and evening I was introduced to the rest of the children as they cam ehome from school and work. Karen is 13 and understands the most english. She´s a little tomboy, and a doll at helping explain to her mother what I´m saying in my Spanglish. Magaly is 19 and works as a teacher for 1 and 2 year olds. She is the bromista - the joker - very funny, smart ass, that even I understand. She wants to learn english, as does Gaby, so we are promising to help each other. The girls were all excited to find out I teach dance and yoga since they love to dance and have never done yoga. They are anxious to take a class of mine - i explained i brought my iPod and speakers just for that purpose so we´re going to throw together a class, maybe this afternoon. They all want 6 packs - I understood that much.
Christian is the only son and 22. I didn´t get to talk to him too much because by the time he got home we were all watching the Miss Universe pageant. I got a big kick out of it - Mario Lopez was one of the hosts and Maga kept saying, "Hola Maaariooo" to the TV. I got to explain I had a friend (Hi Mer!) who had worked with him - I tried to plod through explaining pilots and television series but it was all lost on them. What they got was I knew someone who knew him.
Next sleep - it was as good as I could ask for in a strange balmy country. I woke up extremely early and was pleased when mi señora let me wash dishes for her. She was a little dismayed because i´m on vacation, but i tried to explain its what i do. I can´t sit around while someone else is working hard. She relented. I fianlly got around to eating breakfast - rice and beans, egg, and toast. I tried to eat the egg, really i did - but I couldn´t choke down more than a few bites. It was the combination of my lifelong haterd of eggs, plus the morning show had laproscopic video footage of a vaginal exam playing. I´m serious. All the while, women phoned in and asked the gynocologist being interviewed about different "problems" they were experiencing. Between that and the eggs, my appetite was pretty small.
Walked to Santa Barbara, finally got to change money, buy some water (no water in my family - im half shriveled) and juice and walk around until the cybernet opened. Now I´m off to try and figure out the bus system. If I can I want to get all the way to San Jose (la la, la la, la la, la la la).
Love to all!

T-minus 1 day

I just figured out how to blog. Its embarrassingly easy. Now I'm faced with the chore of being interesting so I won't be embarrassed to tell people to check this to see how I'm doing. Also, having a blog makes me feel like a cheesedick. (Sorry Mama and Daddy.)

So I leave for Costa Rica tomorrow. I don't really have a plan. Well, my version of not having a plan, which is I've planned where I'll be by the week but not by the day. This is the schedule:
Weeks 1-2 - In Santa Barbara with my homestay family, hopefully learning Spanish, volunteering, and not being terribly uncomfortable living in somebody else's home. I'm a bit of a vagabond in real life anyway, but I usually am inconveniencing close friends, not total strangers.
Week 3 - In the Montazuma/Mal Pais area. I want to find a small, tiny, miniscule, itsy closet with electricity and a toilet to rent for the week. See I have low expectations, so hopefully I'll find SOMETHING. Anything. Not really into hotel living.
Week 4 - Leslie and Stella fly out and meet me in Dominical for Surf Camp. I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
Week 5 - Either keep surfing in Dominical, go back to Montezuma to surf, hike, volcano hop, see more monkeys, whatever until I go home July 1...

Everybody keeps asking me if I'm excited - well, yeah, of course. But it's different than the way you would think. This trip feels so natural and normal, like going to school or work, that I can't get worked up like I did when I went to Hawaii or Europe for the first time. I'm sure I'll lose my cool when I see my first monkey though. I can't WAIT to see monkeys!!!!!!!!