El Último Fin de Semana Aquí

It is amazing how quickly time has flown here.  Right now, we are in the middle of our last full weekend and have only four more days of class left.  I had originally planned to go to the Pacific Coast this weekend to visit someone from our church in Dallas.  She and her husband have retired here and asked if I could bring down some things for an orphanage she works with.  I was going to bring her a suitcase full of items and see what the Pacific Coast had to offer.  Unfortunately, our plans had to change last minute due to unforeseen circumstances.  While I would have liked to travel this weekend, this gave me a lot more time to work on my final project for my Métodos de Enseñanza class.  However, being the consumate procrastinator, I have spent the last two days going to the movies, shopping, seeing more of downtown San José, and writing in my blog!

Since my last entry was of full of photos, I thought I’d give you a rundown of some of the cultural highlights from my experiences here. 

1.  You canNOT flush the toilet paper here.  Delightful? Yes, I know, but you get over it and move on with life.  Their septic system just can’t handle it.

2.  You CAN, however, drink the water if you are not in outlying areas, most of the time.  It’s a good idea to ask, but within San José, you’re pretty much good to go.  In fact, I think it tastes better than our tap water at home.

3.  The water supply comes mainly from runoff from the mountains.  This means the water is exceptionally cold.  Great for drinking, not so much for showering.  In order to get hot water, the showers—in homes at least—have electricity running in the shower head when the water is turned on.  Haven’t gotten zapped yet!

4.  Like many Latin American countries, the driving is…interesting, to say the least.  Most drivers follow road signs (although red lights and stop signs are optional on Sunday mornings in cabs, apparently.)  They drive fast and close, and motorcycles zip between lanes that have the width of an eyelash.  I learned to drive in New York City and would never try driving here.  Period.

5.  Please know that pedestrians NEVER have the right of way here.  If you’re in the middle of the street when the car has the right to go, you will not fare well, unless your goal was to get a VIP ticket for the Inside-Of-a-Costa Rican-Hospital tour. 

6.  Pharmacies are amazing, wonderful, magical places, and a lot of them are open 24/7.  You go in, consult with a doctor, and they give you drugs that in the U.S. you would have to get a script for after spending an absurd amount of time in your doctor’s office.  You would also have to sign over your firstborn child to pay for both the visit and the prescription.  Here, however, everything is reasonable, and you can have a medical consult, get the script and be done in 10-15 minutes. I know this because I got a raging head cold with the bonus cough of death.  My question is, why do we not do this in the U.S.?  (Getting off my soapbox in 3...2...1...)

OK, “6” is a weird number to end on, but I think it’s probably quite enough for now.  Besides, my final project is calling my name and telling me my time to procrastinate is over.  Tomorrow--Symphonic Jazz Concert at the Teatro Nacional with Ernie Watts!

¡Que les vaya bien!