my first post! I left seattle at about midnight, got into san jose, CR at about noon, and got about 3 hours of sleep in between. the flights were smooth and i was comfortable enough with how everything was going, but that feeling was promptly gone upon landing here. firstly there weren't any signs for where to go to get our luggage so everyone was just standing around outside the gate looking left and right (our only options) and having no idea what to do. eventually someone went right and that got us to customs. that was fine and easy, and then i got my bag, and then tried to get money but the atm was broken. so then i got directions to the bus stop but to get there i had to get through the gauntlet of taxi drivers one of whom told me it was too dangerous to walk from the bus to my hostel so that was uplifting. i went to another atm first and accidentally got more american dollars but then successfully got some colones. at the bus stop, i told one of the guys where i wanted to go, and he said hed tell me what bus to get on. and so i waited as about ten similar looking buses all of which seemed to say san jose passed by, until one stopped and he told me it was the one i wanted. so i got on and there was throw up on the first seat i went to so i chose another one. about ten minutes in it started absolutely pouring outside, and i had from my estimation at least a 20 minute walk ahead of me. which reminds me! when i checked my bag i thought i'd hafta pay extra because it was so freakin heavy but it was only 48.5 pounds (the limit is 50) so that was lucky. in any case, after a while i realized i had no idea where i was supposed to get off so i asked the guy next to me and he said he was getting off there too so he'd show me. he also said i should take a taxi since it was raining so hard which seemed pretty reasonable. so we got off, i got in the taxi, got to the hostel, may have exeedingly overtipped the taxi driver I'm not really sure, and then i was in the hostel! after that it was all gravy, i got my room and it was all as i expected it to be. they have signs everywhere here with rules on them, the last of which is always "and be tranquilo!" the night was uneventful as i fell asleep at about 7 since i was so tired. it was also still raining. i didnt meet anyone too amazing here, tho it has its diversity down. the 4 people i talked to were from italy, holland, and norway. two were from norway. so now after a breakfast of pancakes i am about to leave for the bus out of here and i have no idea how its gonna go and very little confidence that it will be smoothly. but here goes! talk soon.
love, gus
5 comments:
Sounds like you did great! got where you needed to go, and found people to help you when you got stuck. Might have been worth packing that blue poncho after all :-)
What an opportunity, to be the first to comment, awwright! Great writing there lad, I'm happy to see that this vicarious blog journey is gonna be great fun. We will all greatly enjoy all your travel suffering, so just remember, in the midst of it, that it's going to a very good cause! You can just picture all your many recipients laughing away. I'm sure you'll get into the spirit of it too . . . . Uncle Mark
PS don't forget to scrupulously obey all rules of capitalization, punctuation, and grammar in general. Thank you very much.
Aww, beaten to the punch by a nanohair. . .
damn. well it sounds like your in for a real adventure of a life time. my best advice would be to learn the native language and to keep ur passport taped to your inner thigh at all times. but sorry i didnt pick up your phone call, ive had a really hectic first couple of weeks here at college. but i just wanted to let you know ur in my thoughts and i even created a google account in order to post this. Katie says hi!
I remember in Nicaragua, every afternoon, the whole neighborhood gathered around one small TV in the "hotel del Pueblo" to watch the Mexican soap operas. I couldn't understand it either, except that the heroes and heroines were always extraordinarily wealthy (and also all white, unlike their brown servants).
I also had a tarantula experience- one crawling just above my head. Big and hairy (not my head, the tarantula).
It sounds like you're doing fantastically. You've travelled successfully by bus, survived cold showers, and, most importantly, you've made your hosts laugh- always a good thing. I made my hosts laugh by being the worst dancer in all of Nicaragua. Maybe in your free time you could volunteer to teach English somewhere--that would also help you learn Spanish. And can't you find people to shoot hoops with?
So- felicitaciones por todo que has hecho en los últimos días. Te mando un abrazo muy fuerte.
Keep the news coming. I'll think of you when I take my hot showers.
Suerte. UGLY
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