Hola,
I am in Costa Rica for a month and figured I might as well post my weekly trip reports that I'm sending to family and friends. They're a little condensed for mass viewing but feel free to ask me questions.
Some things I purposely didn't include, like my spanish and surfing teachers, more about the town, etc because I wanted to spread it out between 4 trip reports for my family/friends but go ahead and ask me questions and I'll try to respond.
FWIW, I am 25, and have been playing poker professionally for a year and a half. Pretty burnt out, the main reason I decided to take a trip.
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Pura Vida!
The term, used in greetings, good byes, and everyday conversation is a staple of Costa Rica. It means “pure life,” but can be interpreted as “the good life,” “it’s all good,” or “good living.” It’s a philosophy that Costa Ricans have as they approach their day to day life, living much more in tune with the Earth and ocean than Americans, with our concrete paved land and hectic day-to-day schedules.
It’s part of what attracted me to Costa Rica, along with it’s affordability and it’s openness to Americans. Many Americans reside here, and many locals speak English as a second language. That’s why I decided on impulse to book a trip down here and take a “learning vacation.” Part surfing camp, part Spanish school, I felt like getting away from the States and trying something new, while learning a vital language if I plan to start a small business in California. Getting better at surfing would be pretty cool, also.
I also get to meet new friends, like this little guy (well, he’s actually by far the biggest frog I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s about the size of my Spanish-to-English travel book.) who showed up by my toilet:
I landed in San Jose on October 14th. Located in the heart of Costa Rica, San Jose is known for being a little dirty and not worth much of a visit; it is more about branching out and visiting the coastal or tropical areas of Costa Rica. I quickly left on a shuttle for the closest beach town near San Jose called Jaco (it’s pronounced Haco, gringos!), where the school is located.
However, I’m also in the rain forest. Which means… a lot of rain. It’s literally rained more my first week here than it will in Los Angeles for an entire year. It’s not nearly as bad as it sounds, since the temperature averages around 70 for this time of year and the rain is not cold.
There’s also a ton of wildlife just roaming around. Here’s my Iguana buddy who was outside of the school the other day:
He was on the road and when me and a couple other students approached him to take a picture, he quickly ran off and up a tree. I was disappointed at first at missing the shot, but he reappeared on top of a building, in a more masculine pose which he held while we took as many pictures as we wanted. It must be his more photogenic side.
The school is beautifully designed and acts as a small motel. There’s capacity for about 15 students and, while they come and go within the weeks, we’re at about 11 students right now. They come from a variety of backgrounds and I get to learn more about other cultures while educating them about my own.
There’s “the guys,” which has come to consist of me, and 5 other Americans. Ranging in ages from 18 to 34, we’re all pretty similar. We’re all here to party, surf some waves, and maybe learn a thing or two.
There was a French-Canadian couple from Montreal named Isabel and Frederic that spent the first week here, but just left today. They were extremely friendly and were a blast to hang out with. There have also been four European women here, all representing a different country.
There was also an out-going Wisconsin blonde named Meghan who spent her last week out of 4 weeks this past week. She seemed to have an amazing time down here, perhaps a life-changing one. She’s considering taking a chance and trying to make a living down here in Jaco and escape the boredom and dullness of everyday life in Wisconsin. She seemed to make a lot of local friends, has multiple jobs lined up and I think she should go for it.
We took a kayak trip last Wednesday. We kayaked to a small beach north of Jaco, which a cool 20-foot waterfall and interesting rock formations. Our tour guides managed to grab a puffer fish in shallow water and show him to us. It was certainty one of the most bizarre living things I’ve ever seen; it puffed up to the size of a balloon and looked like a cartoon character. Eventually, when let go, it deflated to the size of a regular fish. Absolutely bizarre.
(didn't have my camera for that so I grabbed a pic off the web to show what it looked like)
I haven’t used a phone or watched TV in my entire first week, except for two baseball playoff games that I enjoyed with fellow American students down here. I don’t miss the technology at all. Same goes for the internet; I check up on the world and my e-mail for about 20 minutes, but often find myself bored and wanting to do something more productive. Amazingly, I haven’t had one drop of caffeine while down here and feel more energy than I ever have before.
The same can’t be said for beer, of course. The easy-going lifestyle and cheap beer leads to mucho fiestas, but that’s it for now. I have much more to talk about, from the nightlife, to our stern yet hilarious Spanish teacher, to my progress in Surfing and Spanish. Thanks to all who have read this far, it is really exciting to leave the States and experience a new culture.