Costa Rica, Oh So Tico
Hola Mis Hijos, Mis Amigos and Amigas
I've completed almost one week of classes and immersion therapy in Costa Rica and it's been fun, challenging, scary and overwhelming. Guess what? Everything here is in Spanish!! Why was there even one little shred of deep down surprise about this fact? YOu mean there isn't a tiny bit of English everywhere you go? These guys aren't kidding around about the fact that their langauage is all Spanish all the time? I didn't realize I had this unconcious expectation until it surfaced. Some ofthe first few mornings I half expected to walk to school and see that they had turned all the signs around to the English side. Ha.
I got here on Monday night late, and I anticipated every possible scenario. No one would be at the airport, there would be a driver, Lora would be there , someone would be there with a sign, Brian's buddy, who runs the school and who I haven't seen in 20 years and wouldn't recognize would meet me. I even wondered what I would do if I had to take a taxi the 7 miles to Heredia, not having any idea where anything was. Did I mention there are no addresses in Costa Rica. Directions are given in 100"s of meteres from local landmarks. I thought I might have to sit on the school doorstep or sit in the aeorpurto all night.
I tried to think it all thru, and the only thing I could come up with was that if there was a guy holding a sign with my name on it, he would have to be legit. Unless I had a name like Jane Doe or incredibly bad karma and the dangerous stranger just randomly picked the name Karen McKee.
As usual, all my over-thinking was wasted energy, because when I got off the plane, in a perfectly normal looking airport, complete with Burger King and Duty Free Luxury Goods, there was a fellow in the throng with a sign that said "Karen Mckeiye"" How many of us could there be? He was also talking to Lora on his cell phone, which he handed to me. She assured me that Guiccho would take me to my host' family'"s home where Brenna and Stephi were waiting up. I did have the sense to ask Lora about how long it would take to get there, in case I needed to get suspcious or anything after 15.35 minutes.
Did I mention Guichho speaks 98% Spanish?
He mangaged to convey, and I managed to understand, that he wasn't taking me, it was his brother with the car. He had to wait for another student. So he led me down the sidewalk, carrying my suitcase, to his brother's van and loaded my luggage. My chaperones were 2 sleeply little boys about 6 and 8.
We drove to the host family house where my hostess was waiting up in her pjs and slippers, and she welcomed me as kindly as you might wish. She made me a cup of tea and made universal mother clucking noises about my journey, the hour, etc. Did I mention she spoke/speaks only Spanish?
She helped me take my suitcase to my room, and I was relieved to find I had my own room downstaris with a private bath, and even more relieved to see how clean everything was. I went upstairs, said a quick hello to las sobrinas who were sharing a room.
After talking with Stephi and Brenna for a few breathless minutes, I started back downstairs and passed the husband of the house sitting in front of his computer in a little office fashioned out of straw mats partioning off a little alcove. The only light on was his desk light, and he looked like a million other guys around the world messing around with email, etc. at the end of the day.
Even tho' i knew it wasn't excactly protocol, the only way to let anyone know where on the globe I happened to be, was to ask him if I could send me esposo a quick email to say I had arrived safely. He made reluctant getting up motions and I found my glasses, sat down and tried to send the message muy rapido. Guess what lanugage all the keyboard, instructions, pop ups, et al. speak? Even the @ sign is totally unfindable.
So of course, I have to tap very lightly on Stephi's door in order not to awaken the sleeping resident children and ask her how to find this essential communication tool.
Message sent, I tiptoed back downstairs, said Gracias, gracias, estoy mucho cansada (I memorized this on the plane) and backed slowly away, smiling as benignly as possible and went to my room and collapsed.
Maria had repeated the word "rudioso"" several times in reference to mi cuarto, and boy was she right, it's noisy.
All the houses are right on the city sidewalk behind locked
,decorative grates. My room is on the front of the house, buffered only by a small, walled in courtyard, woefully unplanted, and the unmuffled,cars, busses, motorcycles, ambulances, trucks and pedestrians whiz by at all hours of the day and night, so fast and so loud that the floor of the house shakes. I was too tired to care.
So here I am, at the end of the first week in my favorite internet store, trying to type on a balky, slightly worn out public computer keyboard that speaks mostly Spanish. Especially punctuation. So please don't edit for content or grammatico correcto.
Tomorrow,
First day in a Foreign Country where They Don't Speak English
or
Whatever I say Makes Me Sound LIke An Idiot
I've completed almost one week of classes and immersion therapy in Costa Rica and it's been fun, challenging, scary and overwhelming. Guess what? Everything here is in Spanish!! Why was there even one little shred of deep down surprise about this fact? YOu mean there isn't a tiny bit of English everywhere you go? These guys aren't kidding around about the fact that their langauage is all Spanish all the time? I didn't realize I had this unconcious expectation until it surfaced. Some ofthe first few mornings I half expected to walk to school and see that they had turned all the signs around to the English side. Ha.
I got here on Monday night late, and I anticipated every possible scenario. No one would be at the airport, there would be a driver, Lora would be there , someone would be there with a sign, Brian's buddy, who runs the school and who I haven't seen in 20 years and wouldn't recognize would meet me. I even wondered what I would do if I had to take a taxi the 7 miles to Heredia, not having any idea where anything was. Did I mention there are no addresses in Costa Rica. Directions are given in 100"s of meteres from local landmarks. I thought I might have to sit on the school doorstep or sit in the aeorpurto all night.
I tried to think it all thru, and the only thing I could come up with was that if there was a guy holding a sign with my name on it, he would have to be legit. Unless I had a name like Jane Doe or incredibly bad karma and the dangerous stranger just randomly picked the name Karen McKee.
As usual, all my over-thinking was wasted energy, because when I got off the plane, in a perfectly normal looking airport, complete with Burger King and Duty Free Luxury Goods, there was a fellow in the throng with a sign that said "Karen Mckeiye"" How many of us could there be? He was also talking to Lora on his cell phone, which he handed to me. She assured me that Guiccho would take me to my host' family'"s home where Brenna and Stephi were waiting up. I did have the sense to ask Lora about how long it would take to get there, in case I needed to get suspcious or anything after 15.35 minutes.
Did I mention Guichho speaks 98% Spanish?
He mangaged to convey, and I managed to understand, that he wasn't taking me, it was his brother with the car. He had to wait for another student. So he led me down the sidewalk, carrying my suitcase, to his brother's van and loaded my luggage. My chaperones were 2 sleeply little boys about 6 and 8.
We drove to the host family house where my hostess was waiting up in her pjs and slippers, and she welcomed me as kindly as you might wish. She made me a cup of tea and made universal mother clucking noises about my journey, the hour, etc. Did I mention she spoke/speaks only Spanish?
She helped me take my suitcase to my room, and I was relieved to find I had my own room downstaris with a private bath, and even more relieved to see how clean everything was. I went upstairs, said a quick hello to las sobrinas who were sharing a room.
After talking with Stephi and Brenna for a few breathless minutes, I started back downstairs and passed the husband of the house sitting in front of his computer in a little office fashioned out of straw mats partioning off a little alcove. The only light on was his desk light, and he looked like a million other guys around the world messing around with email, etc. at the end of the day.
Even tho' i knew it wasn't excactly protocol, the only way to let anyone know where on the globe I happened to be, was to ask him if I could send me esposo a quick email to say I had arrived safely. He made reluctant getting up motions and I found my glasses, sat down and tried to send the message muy rapido. Guess what lanugage all the keyboard, instructions, pop ups, et al. speak? Even the @ sign is totally unfindable.
So of course, I have to tap very lightly on Stephi's door in order not to awaken the sleeping resident children and ask her how to find this essential communication tool.
Message sent, I tiptoed back downstairs, said Gracias, gracias, estoy mucho cansada (I memorized this on the plane) and backed slowly away, smiling as benignly as possible and went to my room and collapsed.
Maria had repeated the word "rudioso"" several times in reference to mi cuarto, and boy was she right, it's noisy.
All the houses are right on the city sidewalk behind locked
,decorative grates. My room is on the front of the house, buffered only by a small, walled in courtyard, woefully unplanted, and the unmuffled,cars, busses, motorcycles, ambulances, trucks and pedestrians whiz by at all hours of the day and night, so fast and so loud that the floor of the house shakes. I was too tired to care.
So here I am, at the end of the first week in my favorite internet store, trying to type on a balky, slightly worn out public computer keyboard that speaks mostly Spanish. Especially punctuation. So please don't edit for content or grammatico correcto.
Tomorrow,
First day in a Foreign Country where They Don't Speak English
or
Whatever I say Makes Me Sound LIke An Idiot
posted by Karen | 12:51 PM
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