Living with Queta & Humberto

I've moved out of Janette's house, and am spending the week here at Calle Blancos with Queta & Humberto... I've been here since Friday, and am really enjoying it... as much as I loved it at Janette's I was growing quite tired of my European friends... so here at Queta's I can speak only Spanish, and take in nothing but Tico and some Venezuelan culture... Just the way it should be! On Sunday we went to a birthday party, which was quite fun! The entire family was on a scheme to steal my Imperial...
The last few days I've hung out with Queta, helping around the house, watching lots of futbol, doing some painting, and learning how to cook some things... this weekend looks like another busy one! And the good thing is that I'll be spending it all with Ticos; I'll be playing a big futbol match on Thursday with Humberto & Marco... Then on Friday, going out drinking with Diego & Turu, my two Tico friends from the Museum,.. Then on Saturday we're hosting a big party here for Humberto's family... We'll be cooking Saviche & Sushi, and maybe some other things... who knows what afterwards! Hopefully by next week, I'll be off to a new place with a new project... We shall see what OTEC has in store! Until then, I just keep taking it day by day!

Museo de Arte y Diseno Contemporaneo

So for the past month now, I have worked at the Museo de Arte y Diseno Contemporaneo. It is a museum of contemporary art, located in the center of San Jose... It was just the kind of work I was looking for. I began by working with the custodians, mostly just talking about "Tico Culture"... After that for the next few weeks I worked in the offices translating Spanish into English... Everyone there was very friendly and welcoming to me; Here is a quick recap of my fellow co-workers...



First there was Marco, who works as the web designer... He is a guy I have come to know in and outside of the museum, since he is dating Annette... He is a very crazy guy, like a monkey, loves to sing and dance, and is also very artistic... He actually has a piece on display right now at the museum... He was the one I did my majority of work for... and I know I will not be seeing the last of him...

Then there was Antionette, an always energetic and bouncy little girl... She was the first one I greeted each morning to catch up and talk about whatever... She worked in the video library and also as a tour guide... She was very friendly to me...

There was Fabrescio, in charge of the custodians... He was young to have such a managerial position, and was also busy... Yet he was also very calm and "tranquillo"... I did some work with for him in the beginning, yet didn't get to talk with him as much as I would of liked...

Then there was Alex, a custodian who always liked to joke... He had such a positive energy, and was a typical "Tico"... He wanted me to join him on a worker's strike my 2nd day, and I would have had I not shown up a little late that day...

There was Diego, one of my favorite of the custodians, 27 years old... I related with him the most, since he was closest to my age... I talked with him more than anyone else, and we talked about practically everything, yet mostly about women...

There was Turu, who was also one of my favorite custodians... He was from the beaches of Guanacaste, and as calm as they came. He spoke with a different dialect than the rest, yet he was always in a good mood. I plan on going out to drink with he and Diego next week...

There was Sandra, the cleaning lady, who I believe was a Nicaraguan.. She was extremely friendly, always practicing her English with me, and offering me snacks and fruits...

There was Adrianna, the graphic artist... She was the loud one in the offices, covered in tattoos, yet also very friendly...

There was Eddy, the accountant... always extremely happy, and greeted me with a good hand shake every day... Although i hardly ever got to get more than 5 words to him, he was always shaking my hand, patting me on the back, and making me feel extremely welcome..

There was Fernando, another custodian and another typical Tico, always happy and always making me feel very welcome...

There was Jhonny, another custodian who always had a smile on his face.. I had several conversations with him in the halls, about all types of stuff...

There was Julio, the maintenance man, extremely large, yet also extremely relaxed... i hardly got to know him, yet he greeted me daily...

And many others who I saw from time to time, always very kind to me!

The MADC will always have a place in my heart... Through the art I was able to better understand the true terror of globalization and capitalism... That Latin America is a beautiful natural world full of rich culture and heritage, yet has sadly been infiltrated by the dollar... I took in so much "Tico" culture here and I intend to visit the museum several more times over the next 2 months...

Manuel Antonio

We left early Friday morning on a 3-hour bus ride to Quepos... It was me, Yvonne, and Annette, and would be my first beach experience in Costa Rica... The ride was breath-taking, through the highest of mountain ranges that were full of rolling green pastures, cows, trees, and rich nature... It was one of the most amazing sights I'd ever seen... like being on top of the world... we got to Quepos in the afternoon, got our hotel, ate lunch, and wasted no more time to catch a bus to Manuel Antonio to see the beach, it was maybe 10 minutes away. The beach in Manuel Antonio was unreal... the sand was a soft white, the water was sparkling blue, and it was the warmest ocean water I had ever felt! the sight was like something you'd see in a painting... Palm trees and mountains surrounding the water, with large rocks in the ocean... It was quite a tourist attraction to say the least! We spent the whole day Friday on the beach!














That night we went back to Quepos to have some dinner and some drinks... Stina and Marco also met up with us that night. The next morning we had some breakfest, and were once again on our way to Manuel Antonio. We spent the day in the park, trying to find monkeys. The park wasn't anything special, and although we saw many iguanas, we only got to see one monkey. Yet the beach inside the park was incredible. Me, Annette, and Marco swam very deep out to some rocks. It was the deepest out I'd ever been in an ocean... The sight was incredible... We spent the entire day relaxing on the beach... We saw an amazing sunset with some tequila sunrises. Later that night, we had dinner at a nice seafood place in Manuel Antonio... then came back to Quepos for some drinking... It was a very memorable weekend, yet it was also a little too expensive! I'm going to have to take it easy for the next few weeks... Phase 2 of Costa Rica is about to begin very soon! More on that later!















-more pics to come soon on Facebook!

Big Weekend Coming Up

They finally got me busy here at the museum... This entire week I´ve been putting my bilinagual skills to use, and have been translating pamphlets and websites into English... This is exactly what I wanted to do and it is perfect practice to better my Spanish. Everyone here is also very friendly...

This weekend is going to be a busy one with the Europeans... First after work today, I´ll be going with Anette to catch a bus to San Gabriel, which is about an hour from San Jose. We´ll be visiting Yvonne, and taking in more of the countryside... After that we have a big night planned at a dance club in San Jose... should be fun!

Then for the weekend, we´re going to leave early on Friday to catch a bus to Quepos near Manuel Antonio... I´m really looking forward to this to finally see my first beach in Costa Rica... I hear it´s amazing, and I´ll be taking lots of pictures! We´ll stay there until Sunday evening...

I´ll have a good post with pictures and all, ready by Monday!

Semana Santa at the Finca

Just spent the past 4 days, celebrating Holy Week at a farm in Limon... It was an amazing week with Queta and Humberto´s family, and I was able to take in more culture in those 4 days, than I had the first 2 weeks in San Jose... The location was very remote, beyond the mountains, and through a rain forrest, far away from the commerical life here in San Jose... It was everything I wanted... There was about maybe 30 of us staying in this cabin, located in the middle of a beautiful tropical range... Surronded by palm trees, lakes, and mountains, everyday made for an amazing sight. The land belongs to Humberto´s father, Don Humberto, a man I have an immense amount of respect for... He must be at least in his mid 60s, yet has the energy of a child... There was lots of futbol, good food, swimming, volleyball, board games, music, good drinks, Casica, all types of birds, gallo-pinto every day for breakfest, lots of Coffee, Pilsen, cows, good conversations, Imperial, range shooting, some cute Tican girls, and an entertaining game of Shirrades... Everyone accepted me as if I were family, and it will be an Easter week that I will never forget!

Finally... Some Costa Rica Pics

Costa Rica Backpacker´s Hostel...


This is where I stayed for my first two nights... Although it was not fun at all sharing a room with 8 people, the outdoor setting made up for it... Palm trees, hammocks, a nice pool, a lounge, free coffee, music playing, friendly people, and several hot babes!






Jaenette´s Entry Way

The house is a typical latin style house... Bars in the front and three locked doors to get in... The house is very colorful inside, and surronded with many plants and animals... it´s like living in a green house or something... it´s very comfortable, and I´m glad I decided to leave the Hostels to come live here... I´ve also decided to stay another 2 weeks with her after I come back from the ¨Finca¨.











Center Park of Guadalupe

I live in this small suburb about 10 minutes away from San Jose... Janette´s house is about 125 meters away from this Park, that is always full of pigeons, hobos, skateboarders, and people selling things... It´s definetely not the safest of places, and I would not want to get lost here at night...
Yet it still isn´t a bad town, and I think I´ve already become quite familiar with it for the most part...




The Panaderia

Words cannot explain the amazing smells of these Panaderias, that are on practically every corner... Although I have yet to indulge into one of these pastries, this picture still captures the essence of the city...









Typical View of the Streets

Most of San Jose is pure commerical... the sidewalks are full of people selling things, and practically every building is either a store or a bar... it´s definetely not a clean city to say the least! Yet the people here are still very friendly... the beer of choice is Imperial or Pilsen... I´ve yet to decide which I like better...











Bar Mi Taberna

This bar is only a few minutes from our house, and me and my European friends have become regulars... The bar is half outdoors/half indoors, and is always playing good music, like our favorite song, ¨Me Gusta¨... the servers are very friendly to us!







Mountain Majesties

If you can manage to get away from all the craze of the city, you realize that you are surronded by amazing mountains in all directions! I´ve yet to even get out of San Jose, yet will be this week with my cousin. We´re driving out to the countryside, a place in Limon they call the ¨Finca¨... I´ve also decided that I want to dedicate the entire month of May to doing some outdoors project...





Queta´s Neighborhood in Calle Blancos

It´s a very colorful neighborhood, in which I helped Queta and Humberto move into about a week ago... Very hilly, and full of people in the streets... There is also a great view of the National Stadium where the Costa Rica futbol team plays... The other day there was a fire in the neighborhood, and it rained ash for days...







Pared Maracucho

This is a wall inside Queta & Humberto´s house dedicated to Venezuela... We have a very similiar settup in our house at Keikionga... Just had to take a pic of this!












Downtown San Jose

This is very close to the Central Avenia, that is full of people. It was quite a sight to see today, as people walked up and down this center avenue, surronded by stores and restaurants... It went on for several blocks through the city, and I wanted to take many more pictures, yet I had to be careful with my camera... I will get more though!






Avenida Central

This is about where I began my jounrey into the chaos of Avenida Central... Beyond this point there are no cars allowed, only a large walkway that is surronded by stores on both sides, full of people in the middle... I promise I will eventually get a picture of this incredible sight!!

My European Friends

So since I´ve gotten to Jeanette´s house, I´ve met many European girls. Needless to say, they´ve been my partners in crime these past few days, and we´ve had various adventures through the streets of Guadalupe, San Jose, San Pedro, and Moravia.

The Germans are the dominating force around Jeanette´s house, well ever since I got there! First there is Anne, a blond determined girl, dating a local Tico. I hardly have gotten a chance to talk to her much, since she is always on the run. Never still for more than 5 minutes.

Then there was Mario, who left the day after I got there. He was friendly showed me to the bank, and gave me 50 colones. He seemed like he would have been fun to hang around with; i was told he was quite the partier...

Then there was Anna and Anoshka; the two worked as a pair... Very giggly and very cute! On the first day I got there, they showed me around the city, showed me to the ATM, and showed me to the Internet Cafes... They were very helpful in giving me advice... On the first night I went out with them and a group of others to see ¨Gran Torino¨... They left for Panama last weekend...

Mona was an extremely tall German, the first of which I shared a taxi with! Although she did not live at Jeanette´s house, she was quite the regular... always eating some kind of dulceria... she was friendly, yet also left for Panama.

My favorite and closest of all the Germans, was Yvonne, who just left today. She was a chubby cute girl, always smiling and extremely friendly. Yvonne had a very playful since of humor, always laughing and always happy! She has joined me on practically every adventure since I´ve been here... from the movies, to the Jazz Club, to the Taberna, to the dance clubs, to the Habana Sushi Bar, and various others... she´ll be here for another 10 months, and somehow i know that I´ll be seeing her again!

Of the Norweigens, I first got to know Ingved, a cute yet somewhat uptight girl. I talked quite a bit with her, and she joined us at the mall and the Jazz club. She was always an easy girl to talk to, and always very interested in me... Yet she left to who knows where, and i haven´t seen her in over a week...

Then there was Yanne, whom I also became very close with. She is the epitome of a classy artsy girl, very snobbish, yet very interesting. The thing I loved most about Yanne, was that she was extremely feminine and knowledgable! She had a great sense of art and politics.. Although she was not the most attractive of girls, she did have a cute face. She had a terrible attitude, and was always difficult, yet she was always our leader those first few nights... She knew San Jose better than anybody, and although she could hardly speak any Spanish, she always knew how to get things done. Although she had alot of downfalls, I still had mad respect for Yanne, and do hope we stay in touch...

Finally there is Anette, a crazy red-haired, Norweigen girl, of which I am currently living with. Anette is hands down the most wild of all the Europeans I have met. She is a party animal, with a serious case of manic depression... Not the kind of girl you want to get angry... She´s joined us on many adventures, and is my partner in crime when it comes to drinking! I´ve told her that we will take Salsa classes together, and hang out more, yet as of now I´m not too sure... She´s a very complicated girl, and although she has a nice body, her personality is quite a turn off...

All in all, I´ve enjoyed my time with these European girls, yet think it is time to get away from them... Of course I will still keep in touch with them, yet the truth is I´d rather be hanging out more with Ticos...