We survived our first week here. All in all, it has gone extremely well, although it has been extremely frustrating at times as well. The people we work with are amazing; they have been so friendly and helpful to us which has made a huge difference. The small town we live in is a completely different world than the coast where we work. The closest town on the beach is Tamarindo, which is aptly refered to as "gringo town". There are more tourists there than Ticos and prices are referred to in American dollars. Not so much our style, but at least there is a regular grocery store there where we can get food that is otherwise not seen in Costa Rica. The contrast between the tourist areas and the rest of the region is striking - oxcarts, horses, and cattle are not uncommon to see wandering around our town. However, there's no internet or cable, and apparently phone lines are hard to come by as well.
Life is certainly different down here...the attitudes, the sense of time, the pastimes, everything. Everyday we get stuck on our way to work by construction (today we counted 30+ dumptrucks lined up in a row who just dumped gravel as we tried to squeeze past - less than 2 feet away). Yesterday they just had everyone turn around and take a detour through a couple of villages and eventually through a river to get back on the regular road. A river?!? We were greatly amused and thankfully our tiny car made it through.
As far as food stories go, not much to report yet. Our fridge and oven are broken so we've been eating whatever we can make in the microwave this week. We did go out for pizza with our
coworker and her boyfriend which was delicious. Seems like we will have a diet full of rice, beans, and meat though and of course, lots of mango juice.
Tonight we're headed to a suprise party for someone we haven't met yet (que surpresa! - complete with karaoke) with our boss, so more stories to come....
Miss you,
Team Wander
P.S. The earthquake hit farther south so we did not feel anything. Thanks for your concern!
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2 comments:
Glad you guys are OK! Can't wait to hear more about diesisiete and the friends you make there. Let us know as soon as you figure out how the mail functions (or doesn't)!
I would LOVE to be your postal guinea pig! I even have the correct stamps, at the ready (would you have expected anything less? ;). Happy Tuesday!
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