So a few things to know about living in Costa Rica.
One is that the cities are crowded with low storied dwellings that seem to spread in all horizontal directions. Every house atleast has some small interior patio or back yard for drying clothes, air circulation, and light. The floors are covered in the most colorful tiles. Most houses do not have a central water heater, so usually the only part of the house that has hot water is for the shower. And this is an individual electric heater attached to the top of the shower head which you must turn on right before you turn
on the water of course. You cannot use a lot of pressure so that the water can hang out in this little tank to heat up. The scariest part about Juaquin’s is that when you first start running the water the thing flashes and jumps sending out sparks of light and crackling noises. It makes you wonder how safe it really is to go under the shower head, but apparently this is normal for most Tico showers.
Tico is the local term for people from Costa Rica. Everyone has been just wonderfully sweet and generous when I meet them. I especially got a lot of help when I went to the Market on my own one morning. The hardest part for me in spanish is getting all the numbers right. I had fun at the market, it has been very satisfying to shop and cook for my new roommates. The other night I made veggie burgers which had this incredible sleeping affect on everyone. Apparently they were just too heavy and knocked us all out. But they were sure good.
Getting around is not too bad, as long as you know where you are going, or know how to describe where you want to go. Ticos have a way with not knowing addresses, or not needing them. They get around by describing landmarks. Like you say I want to go to the Museum located in the ministry of culture next to Spain park. Very different then getting into a taxi and saying the corner of 10th Ave and 16th Street Please. The busses are only 50 cents. But man do they stink. Most of the pollution here is from the
black soot being burped out of the busses. They tend to be hot, sticky, stinky and I always feel nauseous after I get off.
The sidewalks are narrow and uneven, with deep ditches along the curb for water flow during the rainy season. The concrete is a mess, and lets say the NYC definitely takes the cake for better sidewalk and pot hole maintenance.
So here are just a few of my observances of the city life here. I hope to have more of the beaches and mountains in the future. Take care and have a good weekend, I hope the sun shines and the rain abaits. We plan to have a July 4th party here for us two gringas on Wed before Erin goes back to CA.
Take care, and miss you,
Michele
