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
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
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