Advertisement
Published: February 14th 2009
En Route to the Airport
Here’s Wayne driving me to the airport at 6:30 Sunday morning. (Is that love or what?!?!)It was time to “make lemonade out of my lemons” so to speak. As most of you know, I was laid off in December from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since I left Samara, Costa Rica back in 2006, I’ve been itching to go back so.. .here I am! Welcome to Jolynn’s Costa Rica Blog, Episode 3!
On this, my third trip to Playa Samara, Costa Rica, I hold some bitter-sweet feelings. It’s the first time I’ve come, having someone special in my life back at home. But, after a few tears with Wayne at the airport and promises to email and call frequently, I broke myself away and headed south on Sunday.
I decided to save some dinero (that’s always a good thing when one is unemployed!) and rent a car to get myself from the airport in Liberia to my final destination, Playa Samara. A taxi ride would have cost me around $100 so I opted for a $40 Corolla and a little adventure. I was a little nervous considering I’d never driven in Costa Rica before and you tend to take your life into your own hands on what they refer to as “roads”. I made the
Questionable Bridges!
Here is what I've come to name "chicken bridges". They are wide enough for only one car so you just play chicken to see who gets to cross first. 2-hour trip without incident, despite a few questionable bridges and a little cell phone withdrawal. I was very happy I didn’t know about the earthquake they had last month and that the winds that day were actually so strong they blew over an 18-wheeler on my same stretch of road!
I arrived in Playa Samara and was greeted by the always-friendly staff at my school Intercultura. I found my way to my homestay family’s house, which turns out to be quite a good distance from my school. Now that my car is returned, I’ll be burning some decent calories walking and/or biking to town/school, about 20 minutes each way on foot (No, Wayne not uphill both ways!).
I was pleased to find my little cabina was very private, set apart from the house with its own bathroom. It’s nice to re-learn about myself that I CAN live simply. I can sleep with only a sheet, drink without crushed ice, and shower without hot water (quickly). And my spiritual life has taken a turn for the better because each time I flush I say a little prayer that the toilet contents actually go down! Notice the trashcan beside the
toilet—no TP allowed! My Tica Mama, Xinia, is very sweet and a fabulous cook. Her teenaged daughter, her 24-yr old son and his friends keep us quite entertained. There is a student from Switzerland, Selina, living inside the main house. She is a beginner with her Spanish so it’s fun to play teacher at mealtimes.
My classes started off well, but I was bummed to know I’d have to repeat some levels because I’ve been out of practice. But I’m in small class with a lady who translates for a living at the UN so that must say something about my proficiency, right? The two of us have a nice symbiotic relationship because she has trouble speaking and I have trouble hearing/comprehending Spanish. I’m definitely in the right place, because it’s been very challenging. The test for the ending of this course took me 3 hours because I had to write two compositions and read an article on complex subjects like the social services benefits and unemployment rates in Costa Rica.
Today, I’m missing my Valentine. To compensate for my homesickness, I took a kayak trip over to the island and went snorkeling. I got to hold a
My Host Family's Humble Home
It's amazing how happy a family can be with so much less than what we "need" in the US. . puffer fish which was really cool. I got my first sunburn today too—shouldn’t have used Coppertone #8 instead of #4! But come on….when am I ever gonna get PTH’s in February?!?!?!
Write me a message if you have a chance. It's like getting mail at camp when I was a kid!
Ciao for now!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.063s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 7; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0363s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Hillary
non-member comment
Congratulations!
Hi Jolynn - I'm so glad to hear you are back in Costa Rica! Have a fabulous time. But this go around, watch out for the peeing monkeys in the trees!!