cOsTa RiCa!

So what did you picture when you heard I was moving to Costa Rica for a month? Me sitting on a white sand beach, tropical drink (complete with an umbrella) in hand? Luxurious, all-inclusive resort on the ocean? If this is what you pictured, you were waaaay off. Ha!
(side note: because I have had trouble finding a wi-fi connection and/or good internet cafés, I am of course behind in my blogging. This chronological update -- from memory and excerpts from my personal journal -- will have to do.)

Here goes the adventure so far….

Saturday, June 6
Stepping off the plane is Liberia (Liberia Aeropuerto, Costa Rica) was my first realization that I would be sweating non-stop for the next few weeks. Daily temperatures are in the upper 90s, and there’s some intense humidity going on. We’re close to the Equator here as well (Costa Rica is located between Nicaragua and Panama – geography tidbit for the day).

The hour-drive from Liberia to Nicoya was interesting with a driver who spoke very very little Enlgish. After arriving in Nicoya, mi amiga Gina and I checked into our hotel – Hotel Marianela. The owner of the hotel does not speak English. Gina was assigned to room 4, and I to room 3. The rooms are small and remind me of church camp, minus the bunk beds (each room actually has three single beds). There is A/C (until the power goes out – which does happen) and a small 13” TV (I’ve already watched parts of Friends and Harry Potter in Spanish). The biggest problem: bugs. They seem to be everywhere in my room. Ants and spiders mostly, with the occasional grasshopper. The second biggest problem is the fact that I’ll be taking cold showers. Prior to my registration for this program, someone failed to mention that Costa Ricans don’t believe in hot water.

Saturday evening Gina and I explored the town briefly and found the “Main Street” of Nicoya (approximately a ten-minute walk from our accommodations). We discovered that the businesses in Nicoya, including the large grocery store (Supermercado), don’t have air-conditioning. Nicoya is definitely not a touristy place. It’s located approximately 40 km from the nearest beach, and most of the locals know zero English. The town makes for a lousy vacation spot, but it’s an ideal place for immersion in order to learn the Spanish language. Bingo!

Sunday, June 7
Gina and I saw a Methodist Church as we were exploring the town. I said hello to the pastor and tried to tell him that I was a member of a Methodist Church in the U.S…“Soy metodista de los estados unidos.” I think he understood, because he invited us in for the 9:30 worship service. Three hours. THREE HOURS of church… IN SPANISH! And NO air conditioning. It was crazy. Lots of tambourines. People dancing all over the place and singing. Two girls came and sat with us, sharing their Bibles so we could follow along with the scripture readings. The pastor even introduced us to the congregation (in Spanish, of course)… He said something about “welcoming our sisters, Gina & Ashley, visiting from the USA and how our God is the same across the borders of countries.. It was neat. Dios es bueno – God is good.

We ate lunch at El Soda Condor (Sodas here are little cafes). I ate Pinto con Pollo (rice/bean mixture with chicken) and I had the most delicious drink: agua con pina. It’s just water, pineapple and sugar in a blender. Mi favorita.

Monday, June 8
Primero dia de clase. First day of class!
I am the only student in my class and mi profesora es Agnes. She’s from Costa Rica and she’s very nice. I’m going to be reviewing my basic Spanish skills for a few days and then moving on to some new lessons. I’m excited to see how much I can pick up in three weeks of classes.

I got to practice my Spanish today when I went to ask the Hotel manager for a towel. “Necesito una toalla, por favor.” (I need a towel, please.) He hesitated and I pointed to the shelf containing towels. He nodded and gave me one. Later I found out from one of the other American students that while “toalla” does mean “towel” in Spanish, it actually means something different in Costa Rica. Apparently, I really said to my hotel manager: “I need a feminine sanitary napkin, please.” No wonder he hesitated! Hahahaha. Awkward.

Gina and I decided to attend a Spinning class that we found in town (aerobic bike workout). If you’ve ever done one of these classes before, you know how intense they can be… imagine doing it with no air conditioning in 95-degree weather, and with a teacher yelling instructions in Spanish! The rest of the class was laughing at us most of the time because we couldn’t understand the instructor. Ha. We had fun.

…..

Tonight I found a scorpion in my room – HOLY FLIPPIN COW! This is like something from Indiana Jones. I can’t believe it. I was complaining about bugs, but a SCORPION?! What is going on?! I need to get a different hotel – problem is, this is supposedly one of the nicest in Nicoya. What now?
I went to get the owner but there was some other guy working. I tried to say in Spanish, “Come here, please!” … I showed him the scorpion and he ran to get a broom and pillow case. He first tried to scoot the scorpion into a pillow case but it ran up the curtains. He started hitting it with a broom and my curtain rod broke and the curtains fell. He ended up killing the scorpion, but my room was left somewhat destructed. I packed up my stuff and moved to Gina’s room. During the moving process I managed to rip my big luggage bag on wheels – to the point where it won’t make it home, so I’ll have to buy a new one for the trip home.

Tuesday, 7 de Junio
Class day numero two. Immediately after class, Gina and I walked to the bus stop and took the hour ride to Samara Beach. I honestly don’t know how the bus made it.. I would date it back to the early 60s. The ride was curvy and bumpy and sweaty. Samara was nice, but sort of dead (It’s actually winter down here – slow season). We explored Samara and walked the beach, but only for a couple hours because we had to catch the last bus back to Nicoya.

May – November is considered “wet season” in Costa Rica. It rains at least once a day, though it’s usually not for more than an hour or two. Gina doesn’t own an umbrella yet. We’re usually so gross (sweaty; dirty from the streets) that the rain is welcomed. I’ve actually been taking two cold showers a day here. Weeee!

Tuesday night Gina and I attended a Latin dance class at the school from 7-9 p.m. It was us, five other students, and a teacher from our school. We learned the tango, salsa, meringue, and one other that starts with a “c”. It was so much fun.

10 de Junio, Miercoles
It’s almost 8 a.m. and I’m at school, waiting for classes to start. I’m going to try to visit a nearby pottery village today or tomorrow. Perhaps a beach this weekend.
That’s all for now!
Adios!

My program: www.spanishcostarica.com