My mom, the crocodile hunter...

during our tour of Palo Verde National Park

Exciting Semana Santa Update

Well, after Nick scolded me last night for not updating my blog soon enough after my return, I figured I better put something up here! (Nick, sorry you had to actually pay attention in class instead of reading my musings and enjoying my vacation pics)

So, first up, the pictures are up on webshots under Semana Santa

Instead of writing a huge long narrative on the week and a half (hurray for mom visiting as an excuse to take an extra half-week!), I thought I'd just jot down some highlights...

Semana Santa part I: Cahuita

(Note: I LOVE CAHUITA. It has long been my favorite place in Costa Rica, and it's wonderful-ness was reaffirmed this week...It also took me back to Semana Santa two years ago with the ICADS crew...The crappy hotel in Puerto Viejo - crab in toilet - my first time biking to Punta Uva in the rain, moving up to Cahuita, Becca, Hotel National Park, watermelon, monkeys, snorkeling, the waterfall and horseback riding - and Becca singing to her horse - Coco's and Ricky's, our waiter Michael, Cacique, and then going home and Becca getting cholera...or something. Anyway, nothing could beat that week, although this certainly came close)

That said, here are the highlights:

• Being back in Cahuita, where you are almost guaranteed to have monkeys chase you
• Being chased by monkeys
• Sun! Lots of it, and only one aguacero while we ate dinner Wed. night...we had unbelievable good weather for Cahuita
• Cold showers to quitar some of that Caribbean heat!
• Seeing Michael, the waiter at Restaurant National Park, and having him recognize me and ask about everyone from Becca to my roommate, Ashley, to my Dad (Sorry, Dad, he still likes Iverson - but he remembered that you called him a thug!)
• Eating in Restaurant National Park when the confused sloth started climbing on the restaurant ceiling beams instead of a tree
• When the baby of the owner of Cabinas Palmer was making eyes at me and picking his nose and his dad, in his Caribbean accent, said "Ay, mon, that is not very sexy now!"
• Lots of monkeys
• Finding out that Chris can't swim
• Floating off Punta Cahuita, watching the waves break on the reef
• Breakfast at Sol y Mar, watching CNN en Español with great coffee, just like with Becca 2 years ago
• Dancing at Coco's bar - I even attempted Kumbia!
• Getting a direct bus back to San Jose, and having it be almost empty! (Hello, leg room!)

Semana Santa part II: Tamarindo

So, after a fantastic first half of the week, I came back from Cahuita, showered off the sweat and most of the sand, and headed to the airport, accompanied by Chris to meet my mom! Then, we got up at the crack of dawn to head to the Interbus office for a first-class ride to Tamarindo. While certainly not as buenisimo as Cahuita or Manuel Antonio - we had a lovely girls' week at the beach. Highlights follow:

• Chris waiting with me for 2 hours at the airport, then forgetting his speech to my mom welcoming her to Costa Rica
• Mom's bringing girl scout cookies, Easter candy, books, and dvds
• Interbus - comfy seats, A/C, and door to door service!
• Hotel Luna Llena - the neat painting designs all over the room, the pool, tropical breakfast, and cable TV!
• Ice cream! (Hey we had to do something to alleviate the heat!)
• Hearing howler monkeys every morning
• The beach (and two Russian lawyers trying to hit on mom and me! Yes, my mom's a hottie!)
• Tour of Palo Verde National Park - seeing scarlet macaws, feeding monkeys and holding a baby croc!
• Drinks at sunset on the beach (worth the mosquito bites, I think)
• Returning to San Jose and taking Yadira out to dinner - wine and pizza at Il Pomodoro and making plans for her to visit New Jersey (anyone need a manicure? She's fantastic!)

Semana Santa

Not only is the mean bus driver mean, but his bus is falling apart. On the plus side, he is fast - I got to work in under 1/2 an hour today...but somehow I don't think we should be palming turns, stopping short, and ignoring the control points where we're supposed to wait for 2 minutes (why are there two of them within 1/2 km? Makes no sense!)

Anyway, I somehow timed my bus stop arrival perfectly and hopped on without waiting, sweating, in line by the cemetary. Mean driver smiled as I handed him my fare, 95 colones, in 5 and 10 colones coins. 'Yes,' his smile seemed to say, 'Here's that silly gringa paying me in small and annoying coins.'

I was bummed because my favorite seat in the back was taken...lots of people on the bus this morning, so I ended up sitting 5 or 6 rows back on the left...30 seconds later I discovered that I had sat in that seat before and it was actually coming un-bolted from the floor. I decided that I didn't want to bump un-gracefully up and down the whole rest of the ride, so I switched to a seat further up front - also slightly unstable, but at least not pulling off the floor at every turn and stop. As I moved, mean driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror with a bit of a smirk that seemed to say, 'That's what you get for paying your fare in small and annoying coins!'

Of course, the seat trauma was all very helpful because it turns out that the buzzers (timbre would be the technical Spanish term) on the bus weren't working. So, if I had sat in my usual seat in the back or even the bumping up and down seat, I would have hit the buzzer realized it wasn't working and had to haul arse up the aisle to the front of the bus, yelling parada!! and hoping the mean driver would brake before we got to my stop. As it was, I just sauntered up to the front, waited for him to see me in his mirror, smiled as he braked, and said gracias as I nimbly and gracefully hopped down (a big accomplishment because he always stops short, making it nearly impossible to keep your balance and your footing). I am a bus-riding goddess sometimes. I mean, really, the morning bus ride could only have been better had I been on the 'squirrel of my soul' bus.

Well, this afternoon begins that most wonderful of holiday weeks, Semana Santa. One would think that Holy Week activities would include mournful processions, lots of dark churches, and fasting...and in some places around here they do. But mostly, people head out to the beach.

Two years ago this week, I was in Cahuita with Becca, enjoying the Caribbean food, culture, music and busy snorkeling, horseback riding, and sipping pink drinks at Ricky's and Coco's. To celebrate this two year anniversary of my favorite week in Costa Rica, I'm headed back to Cahuita for a few days, starting Monday. Phase two of the party begins Thursday, when Mom comes to visit!!

Unfortunately, I am feeling very un-bloggy today, so any other deep insights and Costa Rican adventures will have to wait until after Semana Santa...

A case of the Mondays

So, I realized late Friday night that I was probably deliriously hungry when I wrote Friday's last post...hence the shout out to my tortellini.

Anyway, this weekend went the way of most Curridabat weekends, it took hours to do almost nothing...Drank a lot of cafe with Jus, read a little bit, and generally was very unproductive.

Friday, Jus, Nick, Christian, Alex, and I went to the Museo de Arte y Diseno Contemporaneo (Museum of Contemporary Art and Design) for the opening of an exhibition on art and curatorship (is that what the word is in English, mom?). The works were really amazing...a fotonovela, some video projects, performance art - two people sharpening machetes - (I heard later that the woman cut herself as part of the work...hmmm...interesting...), a really neat visual/audio piece on the meaning, purpose, and creation of art.

They were also displaying some pieces from the permanent collection, including a piece called Trucos para touristas (Tricks for tourists), which featured a dark native riding a huge lizard while two anglo, almost elizabethan figures looked on. Also, there was silencio espinozo - burlap coffee bags sown together with the shape of Costa Rica repeated all over it. Over every Costa Rica, there was a closed zipper. Then, the burlap was covered with thorns. Very cool.

The food was yummy too, although Nick and I hit the food line too late to get sushi and little chopsticks. Still, the mini tortas espanolas made up for it. Afterwards, Nick, Alex, and I stopped by Cafe Mundo for a drink (hurray, Mojito!) then home to crash from our museum fatigue.

Saturday, Jus and I went on a shopping expedition...new purse to replace the stolen H&M one. It turned into a very exciting shopping day and I went home with 2 new pairs of cute shoes from Payless (yes, I shop at Payless in Costa Rica...I can't help it!).

Then we went to Christian's soccer game - they won, which was exciting, and Jus got the last goal on video on her digital camera. Then home for a quick dinner, then off to Los Parales with Chris M. Carlitos and another friend ended up joining us, but we all went home early because Chris had a game Sunday and Terra U. was closed!

Yes, that's right...Terra is closed. Rumor has it it should be open again tonight, bt who knows....The storied flying around are about the health board...but I think that one's a lie unless they're talking about the girls bathroom...and about legal problems with the security guys...that I believe, having seen them kick people out before. Anyway, it should all be resolved by tonight, but hey, isn't that what they said about Cielo...and it NEVER reopened!

So, Sunday Jus, Christian, and I went to Chris M.'s game. Sadly, they lost 3-0 to Nicoya (Chorotega)...whose fans were insane. There was a woman next to us who didn't stop screaming the whole game. They all wore green and red and sang and screamed and that's nothing compared to first division games or national games.

After, I stayed with the guys to watch the juvenil league play. Then, we went and hung out in front of William and Gaby's super...right near my old house. I suddenly realized that I was sitting there with all the guys I used to curse under my breath when I wanted to go into the Super on a Sunday...the ones who make comments and serenade girls who walk by... very strange to be on the other side of that - to be sitting with all of them, being nice and respectful and funny and offering me their chinese food.

I'm feeling like this week I'm probably going to get no work done. Everyone in the entire country (well, practically) goes on vacation Friday for Holy Week. We're all just sort of biding time till vacation. I for one am harta of all my work. I just want to run away to the beach before the rainy season comes back! Plus, my mom comes to visit at the end of Semana Santa and we're heading to Tamarindo for a girls' week. Ahhhh! I want vacation now!!!!!!

Hurray for thefacebook.com

I couldn't let the weekend start on such a negative note...so i thought i would just add my little thanks to thefacebook.com....

the place where i can stalk people i went to college and high school with anonymously from the internet....and where they stalk me. Today's favorite addition to my facebook family? Adam Stroever! Thanks for facebooking me, man.

Also, many thanks to Bagelmen's for a fantastic breakfast, Jen for always brightening my day, Nick for puppy training advice to send to my mom, and me for having leftover tortellini for lunch!

Happy weekend, all!

Another Friday

So, the Tico Times in their colorful use of the English language has decided to call this weeks bank holdup and hostage situation a massacre. A picture shows terrified tourists fleeing Monteverde...

Not that the failed bank robbery (which resulted in 9 dead and 17 injured) isn't terrible. 'Cause it is. The suspects, all except one were killed during the 24 hours that the bank was held, were young men suspected of at least 4 other violent robberies on supermarkets and restaurants. And, to add fuel to the fire, they're Nicaraguans. Other information is mostly sketchy - including the list of those killed, how many attackers there were in the first place, etc. Evidently, the shooting started with the attackers shooting at the bank door as they approached (evidently, they didn't care about the stealth or surprise). At some point the bank guard shot back, killing two of the assailants. People around here, as we all walked around, eyes glued to the morbid images on TV, made comments like, 'yeah, they better kill all the attackers, so as not to encourage more bank robberies.'

I think the whole country is kind of in shock over it all...I know I was...and scared too because I need to go to the bank today!

But then, Jen S. told me about the shooting of a judge in his courtroom in Atlanta Friday. Plus, there's all this about the Lefkow killings, the FBI corruption sting in my very own Monmouth County, NJ, the report that retired NY cops were Mafia hitmen, and the host of other violent crimes going on in the States...

So, perhaps the only difference between violent crime like the bank robbery here and violence at home is that here it's truly shocking. Not shocking in a omigoodness! kind of way, but shocking in a the-entire-country-is-in-denial-about-our-deteriorating-human-security-and-so-we're-going-to-pretend-to-be-shocked-by-violence way.

bagels, mermaids, and the name Christopher

So, after my traumatic week, I felt I deserved a treat, so I headed to Bagelmen's. I knew as soon as I walked in that it would be a good day. My favorite manager was working and waved to me while he finished helping another customer. Then, Carlitos (the hair-net guy) was there and said hi, asked how I was. He was leaving work, so it was weird to see him without a hair net. He got a haircut and it looks nice. Anyway, I threw them all off by asking for a dozen bagels (why not share my treat with the whole apartment?) instead of garlic bagel or garlic cream cheese. (Carlitos' comment is generally, you like garlic, don't you?).

The bagels were precisely what I needed. I bumped into Nick on my way home and we picked up extra cream cheese. I think that without Bagelmen's my Costa Rican experience would not be as rich or rewarding. I can always count on the staff's friendliness, the bagel's freshness (toasted too!), and the yummy goodness of cream cheese (which I think might be better than in the States).

Saturday, I met up with Ariel, yes like the little mermaid. We went to his friend's house for lunch. So, turns out he's the presenter for a Reggaeton program on national TV. I'm friends with someone who's practically famous!! Just wish I had a TV so I could say I've seen him on TV. The weird part of the day was that both he and his friend Leo are Panamanian...meaning I spent an entire afternoon without hearing the words mae, guevon, or pura vida. Very refreshing. Of course, the accents were difficult to understand and they do have Panamanian slang which was even harder to follow...but still.

I finally had a whole conversation with Chris, the guy who looks like Stacey's old host brother -Sergio. Nice guy, plays soccer, works at Yamuni (a department store), which explains why he's always well-dressed. Anyway, it got me to thinking why every guy I meet in this country is named Christopher (with the exception of Ariel, who has the same name as the Disney mermaid). Which then made me think about how none of the Ticos I know can say my name. And so it bugs me when Ticos ask me how to say my name in Spanish.

Look, if I have to say names like Jose Antonio, Alvaro, Natalia, Heiner, Yadira, Jose Pablo, and Manrique (Who names their child Manrique?), then they have to say Caitlin - not Katy, not Catalina. It's far more amusing when Kathleen's here because they say our names exactly the same way. Katlyn, Kalyn, or something like that. Very confusing. It's strangest when you discover that someone you've known 4 months or longer doesn't actually know how to say your name.

(which is not the same as only knowing someone by his or her nickname - which is my big downfall - chileno, guru, makako, huesos..who are they really?)

I will even make an effort to say Christopher with a Costa Rican accent (Krees to faer...or something), if people will please just call me by my name (or something close)

Crime and Costa Rica

Well, after a combined total of 10 months, I finally became victim of a crime (one worse than being overcharged for yogurt at the pulperia. I was walking with Janiere not far from the U. Latina, on our way to la Villa for a pitcher when this guy who had been walking in front of us stopped and turned off to the side. That should have been our first clue.

A few second later he was barreling down on me, grabbing my arm, and yanking my bag. I fought back a bit, but realizing that it was me and petite Janiere (who had $200 and her ATM card in her bag) I ended up just sort of giving up as he broke the strap off my arm.

So, I lost my cellphone and a little bit of money and I am now officially initiated into Costa Rican life. Once my friends found out I was ok, they all added, "yeah, well that always happens."

On the one hand, it makes me feel better that this is not unusual, that I wasn't specifically targeted any more than anyone else (although I am sure pur speaking English made us more of a target). Further, while crime is high, violent crime is not...and I'm fairly certain he didn't have a weapon...other than his hands which left pretty blakc and blue marks all over my arm.

On the other hand, it makes me really mad. Not just that I was grabbed and my stuff taken - but how incredibly helpless I felt. Yeah, my stuff's gone, I lost 30 phone numbers, and he broke my H&M purse. I didn't even bother to report it though, and I could probably buy my own cellphone back today in a pawn shop in San Jose. The police can't really do anything about it - nor do they even pretend that they're going to try.

This seems pretty stupid for a country that wants to be a tourist destination. Almost the only tourists I know who didn't like Costa Rica had been robbed - pickpocketed, had luggage stolen, ripped off by a driver or something like that. But sometimes Costa Ricans are so busy talking about the Costa Rican exception (ie peaceful, democratic, tropical paradise) that they don't bother to see that with the deterioration in social services and investment in human capital Costa Rica is stumbling into the same human security issues as the rest of Central America. Good for you - you haven't had a war since 1948...but you still have hungy people, poverty, unemployment, lack of education, poor infrastructure, and deteriorating health coverage.

Now all of this is fairly understandable in a country like El Salvador or Nicaragua which suffered military conflict and US intervention for decades before finally trying to put together a democracy. It would be ridiculous to expect them to just jump up, dismantle their culture of violence, and pow! create a working democracy with levels of high human security, social security coverage, and education.

But Costa Rica, my little tropical paradise, what's your excuse?