An Unfinished House

Hello again dear friends, as the weeks slip by and Christmas rapidly approaches I can’t help but step back and take stock of the fact that I have lived in Costa Rica now for over three months. That’s incredible – the time here h as flown by; I can vividly remember my first few days here as if they were only last week. The other day I was walking down one of the main streets in my neighborhood and I harkened back to the first time that I ventured out onto that particular street – it seemed so huge and confusing and just a little bit frightening – I remember telling myself that I would avoid this thoroughfare as much as possible. Now Quesada Duran and San Francisco (my neighborhoods) feel so small and familiar, I know the best vendors, the quickest shortcuts, many of my neighbors and the best pizza joint; funny how 3 months can change things. Even more amazingly, Language School is coming to a rapid close for the semester, 6 days of classes left – !Gracias a Dios! I’m thankful for my tim...

Greetings once again from Nepal! Remember how last week I shared with you that an ice-age had suddenly descended upon us so that now when I ste p out of my house I am bundled up like Nanook of the North? Well, winter is still here and will be for the next two months but a curious thought struck me the other day: In wintertime many Gringos head to Central American beaches to escape snow, ice and pending FBI investigations – here I am hiding out in San Jose, Costa Rica freezing my tail off…maybe I should go to the beach as well. As luck would have it our school saw fit to give us Friday off last week (they seem to give us a lot of Fridays off, not that I’m complaining). Anyways, some friends and I took advantage and gallivanted off to Jaco for a 2-day frolic on the beach. What a difference a little elevation makes! As our bus descended from the mountains the air got that unmistakable beach feel to it, salty, sticky and warm, and I began to wonder why the founders of my school didn’t have...

Hello friends, welcome back. November has arrived and I feel as though a cruel trick has been played upon me. Ask your typical, uncultured Gringo what they think the climate of Costa Rica might be at any given moment and they’ll probably respond with some paradisiacal forecast in the neighborhood of sunny, breezy and warm with a chance of laziness. Basically, most North Americans assume that Costa Rica is a year-round tropical Elysian Fields; something from the pages of Swiss Family Robinson – of course without the tree-house and ostrich races. I must admit that I was living under this same delusion prior to my arrival here, but in that I have never been accused of being self-critical, I blame the media. It’s the Medias’ fault that I packed too few sweaters and wool socks! That’s right I said sweaters and wool – it’s downright cold here. I realize that nothing is ever good enough for me (wait is that self-criticism?) but honestly, no sooner were the monsoons shut-off then the North Wi...