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Published: April 12th 2009
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Posted by John
It has been so long since we have posted. Megan and I have just been caught up with teaching and the day-to-day aspects of living here. We have adjusted quite well. It feels now almost like living anywhere else really. We work, pay bills, grocery shop, clean house and all of the other things we would be doing in the States. Now we just have to do them in another language. Needless to say, Megan pretty much has the language thing in the bag. I, on the other hand am still in the dumb gringo category stumbling along using lots of gestures and communicating in verbs and nouns almost exclusively. Ticos (or Costa Ricans) are extremely helpful if not just a little bit fast with their Spanish tips. I am lucky if I can even grasp a word or two from each sentence they speak. Time will make this easier. Classes on the other hand are going well and becoming easier by the week. The planning stage of the teaching has decreased significantly and our routine has settled into a nice, comfortable pace. We both have a mix of group and private one-on-one classes and enjoy both
equally. The students here are outstanding and really cannot be compared to students in the States. They are all so very eager to learn and we all have a great time learning together. Not a day goes by that I am not surprised by an insight or curious perspective that they open my eyes to. Our classes are usually a combination of high school and college students as well as adults coming in for class after work and as tired as I always expect them to be, they surprise me with their energy.
Last month, Megan and I went to Panama for our first visa run. Costa Rica only allows 90 days on each visa stamp when you arrive in the country so after your 90 days, you must leave the country for a supposed minimum of 72 hours before returning to Costa Rica. This could be seen as a bit of an inconvenience but is usually taken as a chance for a three-day vacation every three months. The school we work for actually helps subsidize our border runs with a travel stipend to help defer costs, which is nice. Most local expatriates either head to Nicaragua or Panama for
Bus stop, Puerto Viejo
Megan waiting for the bus a long weekend and spend their time seeing the sites at one those two locales. Both countries have tourist cities just over their respective borders that happen to fit the bill as places to pass a few days until your return to C.R. The trip to Panama was, let’s just say, interesting. It had been raining a lot on the southern Caribbean coast where C.R. and Panama meet so most of the rivers were flowing heavily and some of the roads had been washed out just a few days before. Along the bus ride, the terrain and views continued to evolve. We started out in the Central valley of Costa Rica with temperate weather and a clear sunny day. As we head out, we cross over some of the cloud forest jungle before descending towards the coastal savannah. The dense cloud forest is so incredibly green and lush. I have never seen anything so thick with more shades of green than the eye could absorb. Everything that stays in one place long enough is covered in one kind of moss or fern. It is no wonder people flock here for the rainforest tours. As we continue down in elevation, the
terrain dries out and the vegetation thins. Villages start to pop up and the fruit plantations start to become more prevalent. There were banana fields as far as the eye could see. There is no doubt we have all had bananas from this area of the world. Once we arrive at the border, everybody gets out of the bus and you have to walk across to Panama. It is amazing how the definition of a “border” and the idea of customs changes from country to country. When leaving or entering the countries in this neck of the world, you need a stamp to leave one country, another to enter the next, and then a third for the actual visa. Of course, you aren’t supposed to actually enter Panama (or Costa Rica for that matter) unless you can show proof that you will be leaving eventually and not become a burden to the economy. Therefore, you must walk ahead into the country you don’t yet have a visa for and purchase a bus ticket for your departure (thus another line). This is done on our way back into Costa Rica as well but by then we are seasoned pros. Once in
Bocas street scene
View from the balcony of the hostel. country, we are directed towards a ride that will take us to the 45 minute, speedboat, ferry ride that takes us to Bocas. Exhilarating to say the least. Bocas del Toro is a series of islands just off the coast of Panama. We stayed on the main island of Bocas and fell into a nice hippie hostel and shared a room with a couple of other travelers. We lounged our three days roaming the area eating plenty of Caribbean influenced foods and partaking of the local Panamanian beers. We also went diving again and were very surprised at the density of the coral in the area. We trekked through jungle to a couple of local deserted beaches enjoyed the solitude for a while. After all was said and done, we really just had a nice down time vacation away from Heredia for a while. It is nice to get away and be reminded again that the journey itself is the fun part. After our required three day absence, we reversed all of the above mentioned travel details and made our way back home to begin another week at school. This area of the world is very beautiful and we are
local diggs
shots from the bus slowly adjusting to our own idea of comfort-ability in its unique ways. The invite still stands for all interested in seeing this part of the world. The spare bedroom is waiting…
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