CR #2 - The journey continues...

February 27, 2007

So my eyes open at about 6:15am. I am well rested – no issues sleeping. Room a likkle warm – but it compares well to mine at home minus di fan!

So I get up and have a shower and head out to breakfast. Now – the shower – hmmm….i got hot water the nite before when Gabriela turned it on – didn’t get much this morning and the morning was MUCHO FRESCO!! How their heater works is it is attached at the shower head so u have to turn it on slowly and at that time the electricity – which I can SEE above the shower heats it as it comes out…scary – but it works. Don’t like my water and electricity so close together….but they say it is ok! Breakfast and dinner are included in my school tuition. The kids have already left for school so I eat with Gabriela and Guido. We talk about Jamaica and coffee (Gabriela loves the Ja’can coffe I brought and Guido loves the Appleton rum….the kids cant wait to use their Jamaican towels J). Guido Jnr. is an avid fan of reggae - he hums buffalo soldja around the house all day long…

Mi escuela 

So after breakfast (chopped up chicken with salsa in a sandwich – YUMMY…hot chocolate and fruits – melon & banana). Guido kisses his wife goodbye and then she walks me to school. It is a 15-20 minute walk. There is a gym on the way, muchas tiendas and casas. Todos en Heredia es central.   I am told not to walk when it is nite time – take a taxi. Noted!

WE get to school, she kisses me goodbye and to call if I need anything – a real mamita!

I go to reception and am greeted by name – clearly they are expecting me! J with a warm reception – I sign the necessary forms and am told I will be placed in class after a quick exam.

Reception area

While I wait I meet 2 girls from the states…one has been here 7 weeks and doesn’t want to leave. Laurie from Tennessee. A teacher comes to chat with me in Spanish and that is the exam. She asks where I am from; why I chose costa rica; how long am I here; how is my past and future tenses in Spanish etc. After her quick assessment – she places me in level 3 (means nothing to me) and then we go through a quick orientation of the school itself. Very much like a home – it has a lounge area for students, kitchen to cook (they also have cooking classes there), outdoor study areas etc. Then I am taken to my class upstairs. Mi maestro es Sylvia. She welcomes me to the class of 4 and I introduce myself. I jump right into conjugating verbs in the past tense. They did present tense on Monday. That’s ok – I am cool starting at this point – definitely need more practice on verb conjugations! So we go thru their homework and irregular verbs and practice speaking. The entire session is in Spanish – NO ENGLISH IS ALLOWED at school or in the home…it works though. They teach in a similar format to how I learned in high school. They don’t use the ‘vosotros’ form though.

Student Lounge Area

So we get a 15 minute break, I pay up my tuition and get on the 1 month wireless access plan. I AM SET!

Back to class – a gentleman comes by to tell us about tours. I tell him I am interested and will check him after class…gotta go explore the place!

My first class and teacher Sylvia beside me

The 4 people in my class are Americans – 2 live in FL and 1 in Texas. One lady has a brother in law that is OF COURSE Jamaican. He lives in Plantation – Andrew Livingston – name is familiar but the picture she showed wasn’t who I was thinking of….anyway…

Class ended at 12:30 and I went to see what else I could get into…The tour guy explained the MULTIPLE options and I signed up for 2 – el poas volcano y un cateratas (waterfall)… so I have jam packed day Wed and Thursday. The tours start right after class.

Betty y yo (another new student) were taken on a tour of the area around the school – Jennifer showed us restaurants and shops and internet cafes etc. There is a Caribbean restaurant I will most surely check out…we ate at a chicano restaurant as betty is from Taiwan and was craving some of her home food. She made me try una sopa MUY differente – u ready? Soup with eggs (yuk) didn’t sound very good but it never tasted too bad at all. I had fired rice and shrimp and fries… J nuff food for cheap. (less than US$5)

I got back to the school and there was a dance class about to start. I bucked up a friend from class and we decided to try it. Well – 30 minutes later I was salsaing…not very well – but trying none the less…my and this coordinated dancing – HMMM!!

So that is where I am till now..gonna hit the road before it gets dark. Looking forward to a yummy home cooked meal y habla con mi familia. I was invited to hit the local club tonite with some students so we will meet up back here at around 8:30p.

Fill you in tomorrow….Beunas noches!

February 28 2007

Hola! Es dos y media de la tarde y soy muy cansada!

As I got home last nite I start my homework. Es muchos tareas!! Mi mama tico ayudame mucho. I hit the shower and guido jnr. calls mi a taxi.

We meet up and head out to un baro se llama ‘Tipico Latino’. Apparently it is good on a Tuesday nite. It costs colones 1000mil to get in – about U$2. Mi papa tico me dijo tartar la cerveza ‘Imperial’. About 15 of us end up there. The locals are out in full force and BWOY DEM CAN DANCE!! Salsa, merengue y un otro que looks like dem jumping up and down as dem dance – very exciting…I grab a beer and observe…I do a one dance and that is good enough for me! J need lots of practice…. I head home in a taxi around 11pm. Any men thinking of visiting here will be very happy with the local ‘chicas’ J…

Salsa'ING - Tico Style!

I realize when I get home that my license is no longer in my possession. I was warned about pick pockets but was very aware at the club tonite. Stress! One nite and mi loss something ALREADY! Not happy…these things don’t happen to rita rowe…Anyway – out of my control, so I hit the sack quickly and pray it will appear!

Me levante a las 7:30 de la manana y mi mama tienes desayuno en la mesa…what a woman love cook man!! Fantastico! Hizo empanadas con queso y mi favorita fruta – pina!

I head out on my walk to school…i am a few minutes late for class – but no worries…we work on present progressive tense y la palabra ‘por’.

We were supposed to go to the volcano tour today but there are too many clouds and we wouldn’t be able to see anything. The other option didn’t excite me so I went and had lunch with una otra estudiante de Seattle - Mindy. I found a Caribbean restaurant and buck up some JA’canISH cooks. I have rice and peas and brown stew chicken….YUM!! asked about local clubs that play reggae…will have to check them out.

There is an option to go the beach campus at ‘Samara’ so I sign up for that. It is 5 hours away on bus. I will share a room with Mindy. It is very relaxed and all on the beach so really looking forward to it. It is even HOTTER than Heredia and no internet at school…but will go explore a new spot! Mindy is a kidney doctor that has practiced for 20 years and wants a change now so she decided to travel for 6mths – 1yr to determine what is next for her…

So I noticed at home every time I leave my bedroom or bathroom door open, some one goes behind me and closes it and turns off the light. at least for the first 2 days…I had to get used to it of course but wanted to know Y?? turns out it is for the mosquitoes….imagine me in the lock up room – no fan, no ventilation PLUS mosquitoes….

Most people here have guessed my age to be 21-24….HEAD SWELL U SEE!! Dem frighten when mi tell dem my age! Majority are mid twenties here and younger, but a few range b/w 30 – 60.

Anoche hay un intercambio de los estudiantes. For those students learning Spanish and english to practice with each other.

Mi papa tiene un carro pero no manejo porque they drive like mad people here and the gas is too expensive so he walks to work and the mama rides a scotter to cart the kids around… i hope to get a ride off of it!

Well it is 8:30p and I am back home. Had a fantastic dinner – lawd, dis woman gwe mek mi gordita! Lots of carbs…good ting I am at least walking every where I go!

The exchange with the english students was very good – they speak only english – we speak only spanish. Los Ticos (local CRcans) come to the school to learn english to get jobs, they want to travel, speak more languages etc. There are 2 here that love and know about reggae and Jamaica like you would not believe. They asking me about beanie and buju and sizzla and skalites and vegas and sean paul and general degree – mi couldn’t beleive– dem all a sing di song dem to me! So I break out my i-tunes library and dem go fi tear down di school….hahah! so – we plan to go to a club later that plays reggae and hip hop. Let’s see… me voy a cansar y despues toma un taxi.

Tomorrow is the waterfall tour! Will send pics via Snapfish soon…love to all – more lata.

OK – so I found a little energy to update u tonite. It is midnight and I just got back home. I went to meet up with los ticos a las diez. They were finishing up a drink in un baro por la escuela. Un tico has a car and he took me and another girl (from GA) to the ja’can club. IT name 2cos (play on ticos)..also known as champs. It is in plaza heredia. So apparently there is a good DJ there tonite – DJ cole. Well as we get out of the car – dancehall is blaring from the club…I AM IN MY ACKEE!!! Well – they play very current music and the ladies there are hot like FIRE!! Men – again – if u single and have a plane fare money – COME TO CR!!! Las chicas son CALIENTE!! So ladies get free cuba libres o vodka y OJ hasta 11 de la noche. I am a scotch drinker, pero anoche bebe la cuba libre, so does Hanna. Our host, Allan, he drinks un Imperial. Well – the place starts to fill up, a mix of folks but mostly dark skinned folks. Some are singing along to the songs and doing the latest dances. I am having a good time grooving and watching di ride. It is a likkle rub a dub spot – nothing fancy AT ALL. Small, dark and perfect for a frowsy rub up!! J

I school allan on the beanie and bounty history, he is very aware of bounty and loves beanie….So we jam till about 11:30p and depart. We have school in the morning so we decide to leave…

Allan has invited himself to Jamaica and I have made him my local host..Puerto Viejo es un lugar cerca de muchos jamicaquenos. I will probably tag along with him next weekend….cheaper than the school tour to same location.

Anyway  - time to sleep. Gotta get up early and finish my homework!

Buenas noches!