Friday, April 17: AMAZING HOW QUICKLY GOOD NEWS CAN CHANGE THINGS
This one is out of sequence - it should be the second post, but I can't figure out how to change it. Copied below is the email I sent to my friends after I found the house I am living in.
It's now less than three weeks since I arrived here, and so much has happened. I am in the town of Grecia which is where I will be living for the foreseeable future. I rented a small apartment at a local hotel, and have been comfortably established in a sunny friendly place with bougainvilleas outside my window and a lovely swimming pool which nobody uses until mid-afternoon, leaving me free to swim, sip coffee and read in relative peace. I rented the place for a month, having been told that it would take at least that long and probably longer to find someplace to live.
I contacted the local resource guy, Jorge, and before I could even tell him what I was looking for, he said he had a place to show me. Well, I figured, the adventure begins. My needs (desires) were as follows:
2-3 bedrooms, preferably three so I could have an office as well as a guest room.
Access to high-speed internet (you can't get it just anywhere.)
Access to cable TV
Safe and secure
A garden
A view
Less than $400/mo.
He took me out to see a house next to his brother's family, and omigod it was everything I was looking for. More than 3 bedrooms, though they are mostly tiny, (room for a double bed and a tiny bit of space to walk around it - one bedroom is larger and more like what we are used to) and a big laundry room in addition that's larger than most of the bedrooms (hmmm, a workshop probably). The only compromise is that there's no yard, but there is a long narrow deck across the back of the house that looks directly out on a view to die for. Hills, mountains, coffee estates, sugar cane fields - a vista that extends for miles. I will plant some pots full of flowers, and tomatoes in season. The property behind the house just off the deck is a large piece planted with the neighbor's fruit trees - bananas, mango, peaches, papaya and a couple others I don't recognize. The house is part of a compound of four houses on one side of the street and three on the other that houses various members of one family. Couldn't possibly be more safe and secure. I've met several of them and I have a feeling that I've suddenly come into more "family" than I could ever imagine. The only drawback I can see right now will be convincing them that I need a goodly amount of "alone" time. $350/mo. I took it.
Today we are going out to meet the cable guy to tell him which rooms to string the cable to. This is a service that ordinarily can take weeks but apparently Jorge's brother has some connection with the cable company - everything in this country is about who you know and/or are related to. (I read somewhere recently that as little as 50 years ago, everybody in this small country was related to everybody else in some way or another.)
I spent the evening last night having lemonade and cookies with one of the families, speaking English with their 8 and 10 year olds, Spanish with the adults, and am already invited to join them some weekend on a trip to one of the local volcanoes.
I've met some great women - a group of local gringas who just happened to be having a little potluck lunch just after I came to town. So, I have a home, a network and a family. Must have done something right.
Amazing how quickly good news can change things.
Monday, May 4, 2009
THE GRINGAS
I have met a whole lot of incredible women here in a very short time. First, a small group that was just getting together for a potluck – I had made contact with one of them formerly through the internet. There, I met Gloria, the only single woman in that group, and we are becoming good friends. We share a sense of adventure [i.e. let’s just hop on a bus and see where it takes us]. And amazingly, her US home is in Sebastopol, my old stomping grounds in California. She set out four years ago to just travel, and has spent 3-6 months in various places all over the world. She came to Costa Rica for another short stay and has just found herself staying longer than usual – a full year now here in Grecia. She’s talking about the next jaunt, though, and already I know I am going to miss her.
Then, through Gloria, I was invited to another group called “Blooms” which is just an informal group of women that meets once a month for a potluck breakfast and a gathering with little or no purpose. There were about 20 women at this particular meeting, and they each stood up and introduced themselves and shared what they are up to in Costa Rica. An incredibly interesting bunch. Artistic endeavors, charity work [i.e. creating libraries for Costa Rican children who have, by and large,] little or no access to books), running a non-profit breed-and-release program for macaws, etc. I loved all of them, and having admitted that I have a background in event-production, I am sure I will be called on as various fund-raisers get planned. I will be visiting the macaw breeding place next week to take some pictures and talk about helping them with their website. The website and the birds are beautiful by the way. Take a look. http://www.hatchedtoflyfree.org. Be sure to check the “wallpaper” link. There are some fantastic photos to use on your computer screen.
Yesterday, Gloria and I rode with Judy (another woman from the group) and Boyd her husband, to San Jose to see an Orchid Exhibit at the National Museum. The Orchid Exhibit was small and a little bit disappointing but was accompanied by a tent full of food offerings. I had a pupusa, a soft cornmeal pancake with a bean-and-cheese filling, covered with shredded cabbage and fresh salsa – delicious! After the exhibit we walked over to the local arts-and-crafts marketplace where many of the goods were from Nicaragua, Guatemala and Indonesia. It was interesting. The vendors are real practiced with their English.
And then we stopped at the “Chinatown” area downtown (there are a lot of Chinese in Costa Rica, having been brought here originally to build railroads) and went into a store where we bought all kinds of interesting foods. I bought a packaged soup, label all in Chinese, except for a tiny phrase “Torpid and spicy beef.” I can hardly wait to try it.
A delightful day in a new place with new friends.
Then, through Gloria, I was invited to another group called “Blooms” which is just an informal group of women that meets once a month for a potluck breakfast and a gathering with little or no purpose. There were about 20 women at this particular meeting, and they each stood up and introduced themselves and shared what they are up to in Costa Rica. An incredibly interesting bunch. Artistic endeavors, charity work [i.e. creating libraries for Costa Rican children who have, by and large,] little or no access to books), running a non-profit breed-and-release program for macaws, etc. I loved all of them, and having admitted that I have a background in event-production, I am sure I will be called on as various fund-raisers get planned. I will be visiting the macaw breeding place next week to take some pictures and talk about helping them with their website. The website and the birds are beautiful by the way. Take a look. http://www.hatchedtoflyfree.org. Be sure to check the “wallpaper” link. There are some fantastic photos to use on your computer screen.
Yesterday, Gloria and I rode with Judy (another woman from the group) and Boyd her husband, to San Jose to see an Orchid Exhibit at the National Museum. The Orchid Exhibit was small and a little bit disappointing but was accompanied by a tent full of food offerings. I had a pupusa, a soft cornmeal pancake with a bean-and-cheese filling, covered with shredded cabbage and fresh salsa – delicious! After the exhibit we walked over to the local arts-and-crafts marketplace where many of the goods were from Nicaragua, Guatemala and Indonesia. It was interesting. The vendors are real practiced with their English.
And then we stopped at the “Chinatown” area downtown (there are a lot of Chinese in Costa Rica, having been brought here originally to build railroads) and went into a store where we bought all kinds of interesting foods. I bought a packaged soup, label all in Chinese, except for a tiny phrase “Torpid and spicy beef.” I can hardly wait to try it.
A delightful day in a new place with new friends.
LIVING IN THE PRESENT TENSE
I have lived in my house just one week today, and most of my stuff is put away, though I could dearly use some cupboards (or less stuff!). My Spanish gets better every day though I often find myself talking in the present tense rather than trying to search my brain for other tenses. I remember often hearing foreigners in the US, saying things like “I go to the store yesterday.” That’s me! My landlords (Mario and Marlene and their two children Pollyanna,10, and Jose Pablo, 8) invite me along whenever they go on shopping trips and other excursions, and Marlene often stops by to share something she has baked or to let me know about stuff, so I get to speak Spanish a lot. Mario’s mother, Amelia, lives right next door – last night she brought me a “little” dish of a soup/stew made of squash, potatoes and meat. Enough for two meals! And delicious.
There is much to think about and write about every day, and I find myself being too “busy” to sit down at the computer and write.
My mornings are like this: I get up and put the coffee on. When it’s ready, I take it out to my deck and drink a cup slowly and listen to the birds and enjoy the view. I make breakfast and return to the deck with more coffee, food (usually a plate of mango, papaya, pineapple, etc.), a magazine, and spend a little more time out there. I come in the house and practice meditation (I am just beginning), take a shower, get dressed, sit down at my computer and check email, etc.
Nothing is hurried. Today I am meeting a friend, Gloria, in Grecia and I have to catch the bus (40 cents, 6 km) into town in 40 minutes to meet her there. [A little note: the “puebla” that I live in, San Isidro, has a church, a soccer field, one restaurant only, open Fri-Sun. a liquor store, two bars and a small grocery store). Gloria and I will sit and drink a cup of coffee or tea in Café Delicias, a small delightful place in the center of town. She’s going to show me around a little – the hardware store where they speak English and you don’t have to figure out how to communicate “screw”, her favorite travel agent, pharmacy, etc. The pharmacists here have some training in basic illnesses, and this particular guy, Gloria claims, is wonderful. She has his cell phone number and is welcome to call him any time and discuss her health issues and get advice on what to do, what to take, who to see, etc. (He is the nephew of her landlady.)
I will be looking at paint colors – I’m going to paint a couple rooms in my house. Every room is painted a very strong color – salmon, gold, slate blue, etc. – which is fine with me but the colors don’t always work with my stuff and my visual senses. For example, I just bought a set of living room furniture yesterday (first time in my life I have paid full retail price for anything over $50) and the pillows are upholstered in a “microsuede”, a synthetic) and the rust-colored microsuede is not going to sit well in my salmon-colored living room. At least I don’t think so. I’m getting used to bizarre and strong color combinations – it may work.
There is much to think about and write about every day, and I find myself being too “busy” to sit down at the computer and write.
My mornings are like this: I get up and put the coffee on. When it’s ready, I take it out to my deck and drink a cup slowly and listen to the birds and enjoy the view. I make breakfast and return to the deck with more coffee, food (usually a plate of mango, papaya, pineapple, etc.), a magazine, and spend a little more time out there. I come in the house and practice meditation (I am just beginning), take a shower, get dressed, sit down at my computer and check email, etc.
Nothing is hurried. Today I am meeting a friend, Gloria, in Grecia and I have to catch the bus (40 cents, 6 km) into town in 40 minutes to meet her there. [A little note: the “puebla” that I live in, San Isidro, has a church, a soccer field, one restaurant only, open Fri-Sun. a liquor store, two bars and a small grocery store). Gloria and I will sit and drink a cup of coffee or tea in Café Delicias, a small delightful place in the center of town. She’s going to show me around a little – the hardware store where they speak English and you don’t have to figure out how to communicate “screw”, her favorite travel agent, pharmacy, etc. The pharmacists here have some training in basic illnesses, and this particular guy, Gloria claims, is wonderful. She has his cell phone number and is welcome to call him any time and discuss her health issues and get advice on what to do, what to take, who to see, etc. (He is the nephew of her landlady.)
I will be looking at paint colors – I’m going to paint a couple rooms in my house. Every room is painted a very strong color – salmon, gold, slate blue, etc. – which is fine with me but the colors don’t always work with my stuff and my visual senses. For example, I just bought a set of living room furniture yesterday (first time in my life I have paid full retail price for anything over $50) and the pillows are upholstered in a “microsuede”, a synthetic) and the rust-colored microsuede is not going to sit well in my salmon-colored living room. At least I don’t think so. I’m getting used to bizarre and strong color combinations – it may work.
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