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Published: September 16th 2007
OK, I know after you read the next few sentences you might think I’m making this stuff up, but here goes. When we got off the bus from Playa Flamingo to Alajuela it was raining. Nothing unusual as it seems to rain every afternoon there. However, as we get out of the taxi at Vida Tropical I’m thinking to myself, “Man, is it ever cold.” As we drag our bags in Owen looks at me and says, “Dad, I’m freezing.” I agree and Nataghia looks at both of us like we’re crazy. Once we settle back into our room at Vida Tropical, we got the fish room this time and to the delight of the boys it has a functioning television. I went online to listen to the game and my accuweather update pops up and says it is 24 degrees Celsius. I know that is not cold but considering the fact that we left Playa Flamingo in 44 degree weather I’d say that is a big swing.
With our impending move to Esparza ahead of us we spent Monday shopping and banking. Grrr….our ATM card did not work one morning in Playa Flamingo. When we requested money it would
read error and we tried three times. Well guess what, our account shows we got the money every time. We had to contact our account manager in Saskatoon and she told us it will be a while before it gets sorted out, but inevitably it usually does. On our shopping excursion we bought Owen a pair of black shoes, CAT, four new pillows, bath and face towels, some slacks for me all for about $70. Owen and I had to get the new duds for the private school. I will be wearing pants and a collared shirt to work everyday! I think I’ll be buying a few handkerchiefs for wiping my brow.
We decided to rent a car to haul our things to Esparza as we wanted to be able to look around once we arrived. We arrived Tuesday around four and we were disappointed to hear that the house 100 meters from the school that we thought we had was given up to someone else. The school administrator began calling around and was unsuccessful at finding us anything else to look at so we went to look for a hotel and grab some supper. It sounds simple but
the cabanas in town didn’t have any rooms with enough beds and the hotel was full. We decided to drive to Puntarenas which is about 32 KM away and on the coast. We looked in the Lonely Planet and found out that Puntarenas is known for fishing, fighting, and prostitution. We tried to get a room at one of the nicer hotels but they wanted $80 for the night and we weren’t really going to be there longer than 10 or so hours so we decided to grab a bite at a soda and head back to Esparza. We were all very hungry, tired and frustrated by the end of it all and the disappointment of not getting the house knocked us for a loop. There were a few tears and some weird irrational behavior, such as Ben opening the car door while we were driving. However, after we ate some unbelievably good shrimp and chicken tacos we all felt much better. Having appropriate blood sugar levels really does wonders for a person.
We ate on the road back to Esparza and decided to drive through and look for a hotel we had spotted on the way to Esparza. Duh, the hotel was right across from a really nice looking restaurant but we had to drive to Puntarenas and have a meltdown prior to settling in at a reasonably priced and clean room five minutes East of Esparza. Yes, it was just off the main highway between the East and West coast at the bottom of a hill where the trucks use their engine retarder brakes to make their way around the curve. It smelled a little like burning tires from the copious amount of traffic that use this route. When we were waiting to turn left to cross the road into the driveway there was a line-up of trucks and other vehicles about three kilometers long. Yes, there are some nice truck drivers out there. One truck stopped and let us cross. Whew! After securing the room and getting everyone settled in I headed back into Esparza to stash our six suitcases at the home of Adriana’s, the school administrator and part owner, parents. I stopped at the Mega Super to pick up some breakfast bars as we were heading to the school the next day for the 7:30 start time. I know it sounds early but given the lifestyle here 7:30 is appropriate. We are in bed every night by nine and are up between five and five thirty.
Our first day at school…well, what can I say? Our plan was to observe Wednesday morning and to begin teaching on Thursday. The day started with an assembly. It is the Independence Day of Costa Rica on Saturday and the school is having a spirit week to celebrate the event. So off to the front of the school we went to listen to some speeches given by the teachers on citizenship. The students stood in lines and listened for about 45 minutes. The sun was glaring and the teachers went on and on. It was obviously difficult for the Kinder and Prepa students, ages four to five, as well for those in grades one through seven to stand still. There were some teachers doing their best to keep them in line standing still and quiet. Perhaps they could have involved the students or made the event about a half hour shorter and they wouldn’t have had to drill the kids every few minutes! Of course we didn’t catch most of the message but we got the main idea. I think the students had it figured out too…no need for the marathon lecture.
The rest of the day was spent trying to figure out the routine and pester Adriana about a house and/or accommodations for the night. It was nice to get a room where we did the previous night but I was returning the car that afternoon and we weren’t thrilled with the idea of staying out in the sticks. Well let me say that this was not a good day to see a routine. The school seemed completely out of control and it was explained to us that the assemblies, room decorating contests, and band preparation for the big parade on Saturday were the priorities for the week. I tried to get a schedule of courses and times I would be teaching them as did Nataghia as she has been hired to teach English to the Kinder and Prepa students. No schedule, no house viewing were forthcoming so I took the vehicle back to Alajuela with the chance of catching a ride back to Esparza with Shirley, we stayed at her house on our first visit to Esparza, who was in San Jose taking care of some school and personal business. I made the drive to Alajuela in one hour and five minutes. About half the time it takes by bus. Of course I had to drive like a complete maniac to achieve this feat but it was all for naught as Shirley was already on her way back to Esparza. Another bus ride for me but actually it wasn’t so bad. I wasn’t hauling my backpack, snorkel gear, and two kids and their stuff. It was just me and my briefcase with my laptop and some reading material and it was rather relaxing. I was back at the school three and half hours after I left and was happy to hear that Adriana had found an apartment to look at. It turned out to be the same kind of place we stayed at in Playa Flamingo and we signed up for a week. It isn’t ideal for a two and a half month or longer stay but for $80 for the week it was some where to stay.
I think I’ll give you more details on the rest of the week on our next installment as it seems like we are living in double time. One week is like two weeks worth of experiences. I know things are close to settling down and we are starting to feel close to having a “normal” existence. Hopefully our next installment will be all about how we got a nice place and are all settled in. But in the meantime…we have to deal with how we are going to make lunch in our ill equipped kitchen. Pura Vida?
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krista
non-member comment
No Worries
Think of it this way - it makes for more interesting stories to tell us! Always a bright side! Have fun kids and remember that the journey is part of the adventure. Aloha!