And if You're Drinkin' Well you Know That Your My Friend and I Say I Think I'll Have Myself a Beer

Week 3: Complete! And boy what a week it was.  It all started last Tuesday night when a group of colleagues and I embarked on a guided walking tour in downtown, San Jose.  Having been told repeatedly not to walk downtown at night, I asked "Is this safe?" and the reply was, "Yes, but just in case we hired 2 cops on bikes.  It was comforting to know my safety was now in the hands of cops on bikes, who clearly failed some sort of test that condemned them to a career on a bike.  None the less, the tour was well delivered and incredibility informative, and I think I may even know more about the inception of Costa Rica than a Costa Rican would. We ended othe tour at a fantastic Asian restaurant, Coconuts, where I consumed the first tofu dish I can honestly say I enjoyed.

The rest of the week flew in anticipation of Friday's festivities.  I was determined to bring a little Irish flavor (being 0% Irish and all) to Costa Rica by celebrating St. Patty's Day in the office with a good ole' fashion happy hour.  Thanks to the help of colleagues visiting the US the week prior, we were supplied with enough tacky green St. Patty's paraphernalia to decorate the office for years to come. With the daunting task of baking Irish soda bread, green cupcakes and sugar cookies with green icing, I set off for the fancy grocery store in town armed with a shopping list that included green food coloring and a whole lot of flour and sugar.  After an hour or so, and a text from my roommate asking if I was alive, I emerged with the ingredients for a successful happy hour and a frequent buyer card that I am still not sure I agreed to. 

Now for the fun part, baking, or rather fun for some, but let me be clear baking is not my forte. Challenge accepted! Looking at the ingredients strewn about our mini-kitchen, something told hold of me and I started mixing, kneading and down right baking like I've never mixed, kneaded and baked before. Jamie (my BFF) & Liz (my Master Baker at Flour) would be proud.  But as it turns out Irish soda bread isn't as easy as the recipe for "Easy Irish Soda Bread" leads one to believe.  With the mini-kitchen a mess and my face and hands stained with green food coloring, I was determined to get a few hours of sleep before the big day!

Friday finally arrived and I could barely contain my excitement as I loaded 60+ cupcakes, 3 loafs of Irish soda bread, 4 dozen cookies and 6 tubes of frosting into our office transport van.  Upon arrival it was clear that others were excited as well thanks to the sea of green shirts that spread through the office.  Later that afternoon we transformed our office kitchen into an Irish haven with Irish flags, Celtic music and the créme de la résistance, green beer!

The party was a huge success and I ended the night in downtown San Jose in the woods with Clay listening to a band from Puerto Rico sing about getting hyper like a windshield wiper (his translation, not mine!)

Sadly the actual St. Patricks Day wasn't as exciting as the previous day.  With a plan to hit up the only Irish pub in town we set off on a crazy taxi ride downtown and by crazy I mean bumper to bumper traffic because of road work, random streets closed, taxi drivers not knowing where the bar was, said taxi drivers taking the advise of a clearly intoxicated homeless man to drive down a pedestrian only walkway to get to the other side of the closed road, but first stopping midway down to get out and take a piss, only to finally get to the bar and find out the only Irish pub was out of Guinness.  Thankfully the Jameson was flowing so the night wasn't a total wash.

Sunday also proved to be quite the adventure.  Equipped with brand new mountain bike tires on my once urban city-bike, I hit the road for the mall.  Yes, we all knew it wouldn't be long before mall withdrawals kicked in and I'd need a fix, so off I went on the 3.9 kilometer trek to Paseo de las Flores.  What I wasn't prepared for was the deathly harrowing back road that Google maps suggested I take. If I'd have had an inclinometer* i'd have been able to tell you just how steep it was, but lets just say I had to walk my bike down (in a ditch none the less) and take 2 breaks on the way up, so as not to pass out in said ditch.  


Once I saw the mall cresting over the hill I really turned it on (or more accurately I walked just as slow, but with a slight bounce in my step), only to find that Costa Rica is a little slow on joining the green transport bandwagon.  With no bike rack in sight, I had to lock my baby to a sign next to a random bank near the mall, remove the seat and pray she'd be there when I got back.  Thankfully she was, and I got my shopping fix for a while, or at the very least a few days. I smartened up and took a different way home!

Pura Vida!!! 


* An inclinometer is a tool I'm still convinced my friend Brian Pond made up! But I guess they save lives in avalanches!

Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

You'll be happy to know I arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica in one piece, and other than possibly contracting the avian bird flu from the patchouli smelling gentleman sitting next to me on the plane, who not once, but twice, turned away from his wife to sneeze directly on me, it was an uneventful flight. 

Upon arrival I was greeted by a very nice man who despite several reminders, kept referring to me as Sophia, but who was more than eager to give me a tour of the surrounding area, en Español of course.  No traffic on Sunday meant it was a short 15 minute drive to my roommates old apartment to pick up her, and her 18 suitcases before heading over to our new digs. 

Casa 20-C, home for the next 365 days!

Walking in I remembered why I had liked this place so much... all the walls are pink, including but not limited to my entire bathroom, shower, toilet, sink, floor and all! Aaaahhhhh this feels like home!

The next thing I knew it was 6:30 a.m., my alarm had been going off for 30 minutes and I was more than a little confused as to where I was.  No worries, a few smacks across the face and I remembered... holy shit, I live in Costa Rica!!!

Once in the office I was greeted by many familiar faces and I finally started to feel settled. And how could I complain with a view like this... 

The day flew by and I was back in the office shuttle bus home.  But little did I know my roommate had bigger plans for us that night, it was to be my first trip to The Walmart! Yes, folks, Walmart is the place to go down here. But had I known we'd be walking on the side of the road, across dirt and rock filled conditions, I may have chosen different footwear.  Let's just say, my heels have seen better days.  Armed with a very generous gift certificate from my family, I entered The Walmart and I could have sworn I heard chimes and harps welcoming me in! I was pretty proud of myself for navigating the store with my limited Spanish, but I did learn that atún means tuna fish! When I felt that my cart was adequately filled, I went off in search of my roommate, who, after living in Firm housing for 1 year, had filled her cart with all kinds of furniture for her new room.  The problem was, we now had to take a taxi the 2 kilometers home, but first we had to fit everything in, including ourselves.  Since the taxi driver was determined to make it work, we got in first and after he filled the trunk with bags, crammed some junk in the front passenger seat, he then piled the remaining furniture on our laps, all windows open for more room.  I tried my best to get a picture, but it was just too dark, but the look on Kanika's face as we pulled up to the house, where she was waiting out front to help us unload, was priceless.  

I was a little exhausted this week from being the IT genius that I am <<insert laughs here>>. Not only did I figure out how to set up our wireless router sans a manual and a disk drive for the instructional setup, I figured out how to video chat with my parents via gmail, I had a google hangout with Lauren, I FaceTimed with Scott and iMessaged Jamie! It was a long week to say the least.  None the less I was ready for the weekend.  First up, my Welcome to Costa Rica party!!!

No car meant I had to bum a ride from a co-worker, and after a brief 1:45 minute car ride, which included a stop at The Walmart for some libations, and another grocery store for keg cups, we arrived at the party, armed with the ingredients for a fun night.  Since I was determined to bring some US flavor to the party, I figured what better way to do that, than to introduce my new friends to a typical college party favorite.. the peppermint patty shot! Yes, that is right, I was able to find some sort of minty liquor and chocolate syrup and it was no time at all before heads were leaning back for a taste of the good stuff! 

As for Saturday, Clayton (our NAKC intern who moved down here 4 months ago as a permanent hire, and who is my new best friend!) and I made plans to check out Heredia center and the infamous produce market I've heard so much about.  Decked out in a matching pink and black spandex outfit, my brand new pink sneakers and some shades, I was ready for the walk into town to meet Clay.  Thankfully it wasn't as bad as I thought and 20 minutes later we were touring around the town.  Slightly lost, but still having fun, we stumbled through the streets of downtown Heredia, checking out banks, department stores, parks and more.  We stumbled upon the produce market in no time, and boy was it a sight to see.

Here's Clay drinking coconut milk... from a coconut!

I vowed to buy one of those granny carts, so I could come every Saturday to the market.  Not really sure of what I needed, I settled for a bag of lettuce. Now when I say "a bag", I mean your standard plastic grocery bag filled to capacity with lettuce. More lettuce than I think I can eat in one week, and I love me some salad.  And how much did this ginormous bag of lettuce cost me you ask? 500 colones.. or for those back home $1.  What?! I know! $1. I turned to Clay and said "you are kidding right?" and his response, "Syl , you are in the 3rd world!". Silly me, I laughed for a while after that one. 

This picture doesn't do it justice

I finished up my weekend relaxing by the pool in my condo complex,  reading and just enjoying the peace and quite. I figured, I have 51 more weekends to explore the country, might as well start slow. 

Pura Vida!*


Love,
Sylvia

*Pura vida means pure life down here, something I think I can get used to!!!

Leaving on a Jet Plane...Don't Know When I'll be Back Again

On the eve of my departure, as I sit on the bed of my childhood bedroom, I can't help but think back 11+ years ago as I sat in this same spot the night before I left for college, with many of the same questions.  Will I fit in? Will I make friends? Will I get homesick? And well, since I can confidently say that one turned out pretty cool (#bestdecisionever), I am sure this too will be okay, in fact it may even be the "opportunity of a lifetime", a phrase many people seem to be throwing around.

Now let's get down to business.  This is my very first blog, so you will have to excuse me if it takes me a while to get the hang of it.  I do however want to make a few promises to my readers, all 2 of them.  I, Sylvia Weinstock, hereby promise to try and make you laugh, I promise to include as many photos as possible, and I promise to try and post on a weekly basis, sometimes more, but hopefully not less. And finally, I promise to keep you updated on the adventures of a JAP from Long Island, living in Costa Rica, who plans to make the most of her "opportunity of a lifetime". 

As long as I am setting the stage, might as well tell you about some personal goals I have while I am on this adventure.  *Side note: If you haven't noticed yet, I refer to this move as "the adventure", something I will continue to do, so you are just going to have to deal with it.  

• Goal 1- Learn Spanish.  When I found out I would be moving to Costa Rica, where they speak Spanish, I had a flashback to myself in 7th grade, when I had to choose between the only 2 languages offered at my school, Spanish and French, and I secretly cursed myself for choosing French.  A lot of good that has done me, sure, I've incorporated the word "sans" into my everyday speech, mostly when referring to going commando, but anyone could have done that.  No, I should have been smarter about that decision and not chosen French because the boy I had a crush on was taking French.  Idiot!
• Goal 2- Learn to surf.  Now this may be difficult as I do not trust any body of water that isn't the Long Island Sound.  Why you ask? <pause for dramatic effect> Spring Break...2004.  Those lucky enough to have been with me on our senior trip will remember a time when I was innocently flocking in the water off the island of Nassau, Bahamas, and I was accosted by a jellyfish.  But this wasn't any jellyfish, this was the biggest, baddest jellyfish in all the world.  I'm kidding of course, actually, I never saw the damn thing, but that night when I was getting down off the mechanical bull (hey! it was spring break!) I noticed my legs were purple and swollen, not a good look! And after a psychedelic cocktail of booze and benedryl, a weird trip to a Bahamian hospital, and a shot in a place I'd rather not say, I was told I'd been been infected by jellyfish larva, yes...larva. It was beyond gross and it caused me to have to be carried around everywhere and to sit at every bar with my legs ups, not an ideal way to spend spring break. And to this day, I still need to self-medicate before going in the open water.
• Goal 3- Explore the country and get exposure to a new culture.  No funny story here, but I am sure this will lead to many comedic episodes, many at the expense of my new roommate.  Yes folks, for the first time in a long time, I will have a roommate, the lovely Ms. Smriti Sharma.  Full bio to come later.

Now, as I prepare to say good-bye to my friends and family, sadly the one I will miss the most is my dog Stanley. Stan has known something has been up for weeks, especially when I started packing up my condo and cleaning everything in sight. And he wasn't too happy when the movers came to take all my stuff, in fact that night we had a conversation (yes, I have conversations with Stanley in my head, I imagine his voice to be that of an old man who has smoked 2 packs a day for years), and it went something like this:

       Stan: "Hey, bitch, what's with all the packing?"
       Me: "Well Stan, I'm going to be living in Costa Rica for a year"
       Stan: "And what about me? Do I get to go?"
       Me: "Sorry buddy, I tried, I really did, but I just don't think it's a good idea for you to come with me, but you are going to go stay with Grandma and Grandpa"
       Stan: "You suck"
       Me: "You don't mean that"
       Stan: "Oh yes I do, oh and by the way, I just peed in the hallway"

So don't feel bad for Stan, he's living out a pampered life of doggy bliss with my parents, where a treat is given to each dog who comes in through the doggy door, I'm just worried about him packing on the lbs and forgetting who I am. 

Well that is it for now.  My adventure is set to commence at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning and remember if you are ever up for vacation to paradise, give me a ring, we have an extra bedroom!!

Until the next post, adios amigos (Look, I'm learning already)!

XoXo
Sylvia