Estamos Aquí

The magical pressurized flying vessel dropped us off in San José, Costa Rica two days ago. Upon our arrival, we were immediately transported to la oficina de dentistas. There were about six other American dental tourists in the waiting room. I sat there for about three hours while Jared got a mouthful of plaster to do an impression as well as digital x-rays and some other stuff. It’s unclear what things are going to cost or even if this particular dentist is interested in doing all of the work Jared needs (most of their clientele are getting much, much more expensive procedures).

Our cab ride from the dentist office to the hostel was through downtown at rush hour. It was a crazy honking mess of pedestrians, scooters, buses, taxis, and autos all scrambling and weaving in and out of one another. There aren’t really any cyclists here, and the ones that we have seen are usually on the sidewalk. It’s kinda nice to put down the bike for a while, though. There is plenty to take in at a walking pace. I wouldn’t mind getting a bike once I am more familiar with the city. It would be fun to ride around on some of the hills here.

We’re now semi-settled. We rented a room in a hostel just outside of the downtown area and close to the University of Costa Rica for $380/month which is apparently expensive but includes utilities, internet and maid service. There is a nice view from our room of the mountains to the south and a fairly busy street below. I am planning on taking cursos de español while Jared works on his teeth internet. It does seem that most people here speak at least a little English, but there are plenty of opportunities to speak Spanish. I have enjoyed walking around the city and forcing myself to engage with vendors and other people who I can use in my quest to learn the language.

Before coming here I was told/read that San José and many parts of Costa Rica are very Americanized. Yes, there is a Burger King, Subway, Hooters, T.G.I.F. Fridays (just “Fridays” here) and a KFC up the street. However, plenty of great little restaurantes abound. The typical Costa Rican (Tico) cuisine is rice and beans mixed with some kind of meat or potatoes. We just skip the meat part and mix it with potatoes, salad, and plantains, so it’s pretty veggie friendly and this dish is cheap. Yesterday, Jared and I split a plate for lunch. I think that it must have looked bad that we were splitting the food and Jared probably appears scraggly and bumlike to many. During our lunch a woman came next to me and put her hand on my shoulder. I was a little surprised as she handed me 2000 colones and said something indecipherable en español to my untrained ears. I didn’t even have time to process what was going on to thank her before she proceeded to literally run away. 2000 colones= $4, which was more than enough to pay for the cost of the meal.

This time of the year is the rainy season. It rains here everyday. Everyday. It rains very hard sometimes. Everyone carries around umbrellas. Yesterday we were stuck in the grocery store waiting for the monsoon to let up. Being in a Costa Rican grocery store is a little more interesting, but I generally can’t stand grocery stores. The bigger the grocery store, the worse off I am. I become super agitated after about 10 minutes in a grocery store, so this situation was a bit of a nightmare for me. Luckily, we sucked it up and bought an umbrella and made our escape into the sopping wet streets.

I can tell that a month here in San José is going to be plenty for us. The city is quite noisy and polluted because of all the 2 stroke motorbikes and crappy trucks and buses spewing exhaust. There must not be emissions standards whatsoever. There are also no marked street names or even addresses – Everything is approximate and somehow this works. I am looking into backpacking opportunities for us next month. There is talk of renting a motorcycle, but the bus system here is extremely cheap so we might have to opt for the non-badass approach to getting around the country.

We have WI-FI at the hostel, so Jared will be working all day and I will be able to post somewhat regularly. iHasta pronto, amigos!

<3L

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