An Unfinished House

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...

Hola dear friends, what a week it has been, an emotional rollercoaster of sorts – in a good way though. I have a lot to talk about so I won’t waste space with idle chatter (that’s the efficient German in me, not the relationship-oriented Latin), but I did want to take a moment and wish you the Happiest of Holiday s. That’s right, just like in the U.S. the Christmas frenzy hath commenced; some stores have been decked out in full yuletide ornamentation since mid-October and I’ve heard rumor that Santa Claus has setup shop in some of the larger department stores in town. I was walking through my neighborhood the other day and happened to notice that some families have already erected Christmas Trees; good grief – it’s not even mid-November yet. The locals tell me that it is only going to get more intense, by the time December rolls around the revelry should be at a fevered pitch; apparently San Jose is going to be one big party at Christmas-time. It should be interesting to watch – I’ll k...