So I am out on a lovely bike ride with my husband this morning...enjoying the flowers that line the road on our "through the back neighborhoods" ride to the grocery store.....not thinking about anything but how nice it is to be able to get up every morning and go for a bike ride....not realizing the weird conversation our son was having with DHL.... a delivery company like FedEx.
Bob was showing me a back way to get to the grocery store at Plaza Mayor, so we don't have to bike the busy Final de Bulevard....or pay to take the bus. There is one REALLY steep hill but other than that there is not a lot of traffic and it is a very pretty ride!
Bob and I get up to Plaza Mayor and park our bikes at the bike rack, strap them down with our cable-chain-lock thingies, and head inside to get some meat. (Not sure what meat I am going to get at this point....but it will be something good.) After a quick trip to the store, and two bags more than I planned on getting, we take our steak, pork chops, and chicken (I couldn't make up my mind in case you didn't figure that out) back to our bikes....which are now blocked in by 6 motorcycles and one sports car...strap our bags down with bungie cords, and head home.
On the way to the store we had passed an amazing church.....it was up on a hill, surrounded by huge trees that shaded it like arms, with a white wing-shaped roof and all glass walls. It was beautiful! And what was totally amazing was that the church was surrounded by terracotta colored benches, facing the church, so people could sit outside and enjoy the service. I am sooooooo going back for pictures!
Anyway...we get home and Jake tells us that DHL had just called to tell us that our package was in.
SIDEBAR: Don't delivery companies usually....oh I don't know.....deliver?
So now I have to get ready to go into San Jose to pick up the envelope which held the last of our authenticated documents for residency in Costa Rica. We figure that if we are going to make the trip into San Jose then we need to just go ahead and go to Casa Amarilla (Yes...the yellow house) which holds the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to pay for and then get finalized these papers.
Of course at this point in my blogs you know things don't move quickly where paperwork is concerned. :-)
Once in San Jose, we flag down a taxi cab, which I personally think took the long way, and head to Casa Amarilla. We go inside...take a number...sit down...and wait....for a good 25 minutes. My turn rolls around so I head to the counter and give the lady my papers. She speaks no English and just starts stamping them....then she calls someone on the phone. Luckily, it was a woman who spoke English who needed to tell me that I now needed to go to the bank, across the street and pay for everything and then bring each individual receipt back to them so they could finish.
Over to the bank I go,in the rain, where I take another number...I was number 18 and they are only on number 7...did I mention there is only one teller? So again I sit. It is finally my turn so I go to the teller, make my payments, get my receipts, and head back to the Casa Amarilla to finish my documents.
Once back at Casa Amarilla I....you guessed it.....took another number and sat down. Of course the woman that I had previously dealt with was nowhere to be found. Thankfully, and not so thankfully, she came out a few minutes later, saw me, called me to her desk, and then....wandered off for 10 minutes. :-(
Once she was back, she glued all of my receipts to the corresponding documents, stamped them, called the English speaking woman back to tell me it would be about ten minutes, then sent me back to my seat.
About 8 minutes later, the other lady who is working there grabs some papers, looks out at the crowd of people...and then at me in particular...and calls some name that sounds NOTHING like my name. She repeats it a few times, the whole while looking right at me. At this point I am listening, really intently, to see if she is calling my name....but she is not. She puts the papers back and starts to work with another customer. Two minutes later she picks those papers back up, looks at me, and says the name again.....IT'S NOT MY NAME! I wish she would stop staring at me because now everyone else is staring at me too! A man stands up and says, "Nancy? Nancy?" while looking at me and I shake my head and say "My name is not Nancy." She puts the papers back. At this point the wheels are turning in my brain as I try to remember what papers they are authenticating.
A minute later, the lady who worked with me shows up again, goes to the other woman and they both look at the papers. My lady says, "Senora," waves me towards her and then, "Por favor." I go up to the counter where the other woman is holding the papers and giving me a look. She says, "Nancy?" I said, "NO"... but I notice that they are my papers. Then I realize one of the papers is my birth certificate. I look at the lady and say, "Me llamo is Patricia....Nancy es me madre." The annoyed look on her face is now gone....since she realizes her mistake, and that I am not a total idiot who doesn't know her own name...and I am finally in possession of my papers again.
After thought: I'm guessing they are done because she sent me on my way. :-)
Jake and I then take a leasurely stroll back through San Jose towards the bus stop...in the rain....doing a little shopping as we do. Thank goodness we bought those umbrellas and I remembered to take them with us! I found a 3 foot tall vase, that I have been looking for, to put just inside the front door. I plan on getting flowers, from the market.....the really tall ones, to put in it tomorrow. I'm even thinking I may pick up a goldfish at the market to put in it too. That would be totally cool to have a fish swimming around inside of it!
So to summarize my day......The flowers were pretty.....the glass church is amazing.....we have steak for dinner...... a vase for my flowers (and possibly a goldfish).....DHL doesn't deliver.....and my name is NOT Nancy!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Where is that Stupid Bus Stop!?!?!?
I am going out on a limb here and telling all of you a secret....with the hope that you will not use it to torture me....too much! :-)
After a nice, leisurely bike ride this morning over to the local airport with my husband; where we watched several planes take off, one plane practice a few touch and go's, and what must have been one very nervous instructor giving a man a helicopter lesson....we then wound our way back through the neighborhood taking in some new streets and sights; like when we heard rushing water and stopped and found a stream with water that was kinda greyish...we think it might be runoff from peoples homes and their bath/laundry water....but that is just a theory.
I get back in time for Jake to ask to go over to the game store so he can have them put some sort of chip into his X-Box so he can play the games from over here. So over to the game store we walk....about 4 blocks from our house...and dropped off his game system.
Once we drop the X-Box off....we head back home and I am only home long enough to grab some papers I need to send to the States so my roofer can fix the stores roof in Stoystown ....don't worry, I'm getting to the bus story..... before Jake and I head into San Jose to mail them from Fed Ex.
Now one thing we have learned, in the short amount of time we have lived here, is where most of the stops are on the bus routes we take. You have to be careful not to pull the cord too soon or you are walking to your destination way before you want to. We have also learned that when you want to get off at Fed Ex you pull the cord as soon as you start to round the corner onto the street where Fed Ex is....then you pull it again when they pass the Fed Ex....then you pull it again when they pass the next bus stop....then you pull it again when they past the next bus stop...and then finally everyone is pulling the cord and standing....I'm guessing as a sign of unity against the tyrant bus driver that won't stop the bus!
Again...after several pulled cords... the bus stops, we get off, and walk the 4 blocks back to where we need to be. Once we are done doing business with Fed Ex, we start back up the street to find the ever elusive, take us back home, bus stop. Why don't we just go to the bus stop where he finally let us off...you may ask? That is a very good question, but what you don't know is that on our first trip into San Jose we realized that the bus takes a left at the light, then another left two blocks down....
Sidebar here *** Kinda sounds like a race track, doesn't it? "Hey Bubba...look he's making a left turn....and another left turn.....and another left turn" (My tribute to Jeff Dunham)....forgive me for I digress!***
...then the bus stops and everyone HAS TO GET OFF! So If I pick up the bus where he dropped us off....I get to pay 250 colones for a 3 block ride.
Now the problem is....we have to find that spot where he makes everyone get off, so we can get back on and go home.
For some reason I am convinced that I know where that bus stop is.....of course I have yet to find it once I get off the bus in San Jose! Oh....I know what you are thinking....those of you that know me well....I can find any place I need to go with just a map and some gas....and some places even while blindfolded....but I'll be darned if I can find the stupid bus stop!
I am not sure why but, everytime I am in San Jose, I feel the need to cross the road....before the light...and strike out on my own to find the MIA bus stop!!
Jake and I wandered around for well over a half hour and still, we did not find the bus stop. Oh, we tried a couple of different bus stops...unfortunately the necessary bus did not materialize. Finally, as we are walking back up another street that does not hold the bus we need, we catch a glimpse of a bus going to Pavas. While this isn't exactly the bus we are looking for, this bus will get us over by the American Embassy and the the grocery store Pali, which puts us within walking distance of our house. So we walk quickly around the corner trying to catch the bus....(you probably need to know that they don't stop long and if no one is at the stop and no one pulls the string they don't stop at all)....and are blessed with the sight of the bus parked at the bus stop. We run up there....pay our 250 colones each and settle into our seats and then .....wait for ten minutes until the bus driver decides to leave!
Don't get me wrong...I'm not complaining...I'm just happy we found a bus that will get us kinda close to our house!
The bus finally takes off and we settle in for the 20 minute ride home. As we approach the intersection where this bus will turn left and head towards the American Embassy...instead of turning right and going down our boulevard....I find myself starting to really pay attention so I will know when I need to pull the cord.
Much to my surprise the bus does not turn left and head to Pali but by some strange twist of fate....or maybe God was just done messing with me.....the bus turns right, heads up Final de Bulevard, and drops us off right in front of our house!
So the next time I go into San Jose, I will still probably turn before the light and wander around for a half hour looking for the bus stop because...mark my words.....I will find that bus stop my way!
After a nice, leisurely bike ride this morning over to the local airport with my husband; where we watched several planes take off, one plane practice a few touch and go's, and what must have been one very nervous instructor giving a man a helicopter lesson....we then wound our way back through the neighborhood taking in some new streets and sights; like when we heard rushing water and stopped and found a stream with water that was kinda greyish...we think it might be runoff from peoples homes and their bath/laundry water....but that is just a theory.
I get back in time for Jake to ask to go over to the game store so he can have them put some sort of chip into his X-Box so he can play the games from over here. So over to the game store we walk....about 4 blocks from our house...and dropped off his game system.
Once we drop the X-Box off....we head back home and I am only home long enough to grab some papers I need to send to the States so my roofer can fix the stores roof in Stoystown ....don't worry, I'm getting to the bus story..... before Jake and I head into San Jose to mail them from Fed Ex.
Now one thing we have learned, in the short amount of time we have lived here, is where most of the stops are on the bus routes we take. You have to be careful not to pull the cord too soon or you are walking to your destination way before you want to. We have also learned that when you want to get off at Fed Ex you pull the cord as soon as you start to round the corner onto the street where Fed Ex is....then you pull it again when they pass the Fed Ex....then you pull it again when they pass the next bus stop....then you pull it again when they past the next bus stop...and then finally everyone is pulling the cord and standing....I'm guessing as a sign of unity against the tyrant bus driver that won't stop the bus!
Again...after several pulled cords... the bus stops, we get off, and walk the 4 blocks back to where we need to be. Once we are done doing business with Fed Ex, we start back up the street to find the ever elusive, take us back home, bus stop. Why don't we just go to the bus stop where he finally let us off...you may ask? That is a very good question, but what you don't know is that on our first trip into San Jose we realized that the bus takes a left at the light, then another left two blocks down....
Sidebar here *** Kinda sounds like a race track, doesn't it? "Hey Bubba...look he's making a left turn....and another left turn.....and another left turn" (My tribute to Jeff Dunham)....forgive me for I digress!***
...then the bus stops and everyone HAS TO GET OFF! So If I pick up the bus where he dropped us off....I get to pay 250 colones for a 3 block ride.
Now the problem is....we have to find that spot where he makes everyone get off, so we can get back on and go home.
For some reason I am convinced that I know where that bus stop is.....of course I have yet to find it once I get off the bus in San Jose! Oh....I know what you are thinking....those of you that know me well....I can find any place I need to go with just a map and some gas....and some places even while blindfolded....but I'll be darned if I can find the stupid bus stop!
I am not sure why but, everytime I am in San Jose, I feel the need to cross the road....before the light...and strike out on my own to find the MIA bus stop!!
Jake and I wandered around for well over a half hour and still, we did not find the bus stop. Oh, we tried a couple of different bus stops...unfortunately the necessary bus did not materialize. Finally, as we are walking back up another street that does not hold the bus we need, we catch a glimpse of a bus going to Pavas. While this isn't exactly the bus we are looking for, this bus will get us over by the American Embassy and the the grocery store Pali, which puts us within walking distance of our house. So we walk quickly around the corner trying to catch the bus....(you probably need to know that they don't stop long and if no one is at the stop and no one pulls the string they don't stop at all)....and are blessed with the sight of the bus parked at the bus stop. We run up there....pay our 250 colones each and settle into our seats and then .....wait for ten minutes until the bus driver decides to leave!
Don't get me wrong...I'm not complaining...I'm just happy we found a bus that will get us kinda close to our house!
The bus finally takes off and we settle in for the 20 minute ride home. As we approach the intersection where this bus will turn left and head towards the American Embassy...instead of turning right and going down our boulevard....I find myself starting to really pay attention so I will know when I need to pull the cord.
Much to my surprise the bus does not turn left and head to Pali but by some strange twist of fate....or maybe God was just done messing with me.....the bus turns right, heads up Final de Bulevard, and drops us off right in front of our house!
So the next time I go into San Jose, I will still probably turn before the light and wander around for a half hour looking for the bus stop because...mark my words.....I will find that bus stop my way!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
We Are Happy to Announce.....
We are happy to announce that the phone call has arrived and Jacob has been accepted into Lincoln High School! Not that there was ever any doubt that they would accept him, but it is nice to have it be official. They called at 3:58pm today, two minutes before they closed, to tell us the good news.
We go in next Monday, August 3rd, to fill out all of the necessary papers....a.k.a pay them their money.... and pick up his uniforms. I think they will have his schedule ready too.
Then we go back on Friday, August 6th, for the Welcome to School day. Jake is there from 9am to 12pm doing activities with other students, then we are invited to a luncheon with him at the school. It is the teachers/schools/principals way of welcoming us.
I know Jake is very excited that this part is finally behind him and that he is looking forward to going to school and meeting some new friends.
We are so proud of him.....he is such a great person! :-)
We go in next Monday, August 3rd, to fill out all of the necessary papers....a.k.a pay them their money.... and pick up his uniforms. I think they will have his schedule ready too.
Then we go back on Friday, August 6th, for the Welcome to School day. Jake is there from 9am to 12pm doing activities with other students, then we are invited to a luncheon with him at the school. It is the teachers/schools/principals way of welcoming us.
I know Jake is very excited that this part is finally behind him and that he is looking forward to going to school and meeting some new friends.
We are so proud of him.....he is such a great person! :-)
The Residency Saga Continues
After tracking down our DHL package mailed to the Costa Rican Consul in Washington Dc, and seeing that it arrived safely on the day they said it would, I put a call into the DC Consul to see what the progress was on it. After pulling us up on the screen, the very nice lady told me that they were not going to be able to cash the cashiers check we had sent them because they couldn't cash a Costa Rican cashiers check.....I did send it to a Costa Rican Consul...right?
Anyway, she told me that what they were going to do was put a seal of authentication on it that would cover what they needed to do in the States but that it would state that we needed to pay in Costa Rica the amount owed. When I get the papers, we are then to go to Casa Maria, somewhere in San Jose, pay them and they will put the final seal that we need on it. Then we can turn it over to the lawyer who will translate everything into Spanish and turn it into the Department of Immigration.
Once the Department of Immigration varifies that they have all of the required documents, and that they are now in Spanish, they will issue us a receipt. That receipt is proof of our pending residency application with the Department of Immigration. Then it is in their hand and we have to wait for them to approve, or deny, our request for residency.
I see the light at the end of the tunnel...I am just hoping I reach it before the train runs me over!
Anyway, she told me that what they were going to do was put a seal of authentication on it that would cover what they needed to do in the States but that it would state that we needed to pay in Costa Rica the amount owed. When I get the papers, we are then to go to Casa Maria, somewhere in San Jose, pay them and they will put the final seal that we need on it. Then we can turn it over to the lawyer who will translate everything into Spanish and turn it into the Department of Immigration.
Once the Department of Immigration varifies that they have all of the required documents, and that they are now in Spanish, they will issue us a receipt. That receipt is proof of our pending residency application with the Department of Immigration. Then it is in their hand and we have to wait for them to approve, or deny, our request for residency.
I see the light at the end of the tunnel...I am just hoping I reach it before the train runs me over!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Rohrmoser Costa Rica Information
Found this on line and thought you might enjoy it!
ROHRMOSER COSTA RICA
Rohrmoser is an upscale residential area in Costa Rica with expensive houses and condos, named after a German Developer who started this neighborhood that goes from the end of La Sabana park, and along the Rohrmoser Boulevard until reaching Plaza Mayor Shopping Center.
There are not big hotels in Rohrmoser but a few bed and breakfasts. Close by on the eastern side of Rohrmoser is the neighborhood of Pavas where you will find the U.S. Embassy and lots of nice restaurants, bars and shops. Some of the most popular bars in Pavas are Tragaldabas, La Kabaña Classic and Long Horns. From Rohrmoser you can even take a taxi to downtown San Jose in just five minutes, of course traffic permitting. Tobias Bolaños Airport (Pavas airport) is also very close, just a short five minute ride, from here you can fly to different destinations within Costa Rica.
Rohrmoser Costa Rica is a modern city suburb with sidewalks and boulevards instead of the usual narrow roads and streets found all over Costa Rica, this beautiful and peaceful neighborhood has many small parks and a tree-lined boulevard; Costa Rica's President and Peace Nobel Prize Mr. Oscar Arias Sánchez lives here.
The best places to go shopping in Rohrmoser are Plaza Mayor and Plaza Rohrmoser, both of them with a varied selection of shops, restaurants and a food court. Multiplaza Escazu the biggest shopping mall in Costa Rica is located at only 10 minutes from Rohrmoser.
Visit Costa Rica Hotels and find hotels in or nearby Rohrmoser and other destinations within Costa Rica.
Home Costa Rica Hotels Costa Rica Tours Costa Rica Transportation Costa Rica all Inclusive Costa Rica Honeymoon Costa Rica Beaches
Costa Rica Restaurants Costa Rica Deals All inclusive Costa Rica Deals Get a Quote Links Contact Us Site map
Costa Rica Phone: (506) 2203-3898 --- Tel/Fax: (506) 2203-0889 --- U.S. phone: 1-312-212-3627
Email: info@knowaboutcostarica.com --- Skype: crpartnersdmc
Santa Ana, Costa Rica
P.O Box 254-3019
Content copyright 2010. Know About Costa Rica - Travel Experts. All rights reserved.
ROHRMOSER COSTA RICA
Rohrmoser is an upscale residential area in Costa Rica with expensive houses and condos, named after a German Developer who started this neighborhood that goes from the end of La Sabana park, and along the Rohrmoser Boulevard until reaching Plaza Mayor Shopping Center.
There are not big hotels in Rohrmoser but a few bed and breakfasts. Close by on the eastern side of Rohrmoser is the neighborhood of Pavas where you will find the U.S. Embassy and lots of nice restaurants, bars and shops. Some of the most popular bars in Pavas are Tragaldabas, La Kabaña Classic and Long Horns. From Rohrmoser you can even take a taxi to downtown San Jose in just five minutes, of course traffic permitting. Tobias Bolaños Airport (Pavas airport) is also very close, just a short five minute ride, from here you can fly to different destinations within Costa Rica.
Rohrmoser Costa Rica is a modern city suburb with sidewalks and boulevards instead of the usual narrow roads and streets found all over Costa Rica, this beautiful and peaceful neighborhood has many small parks and a tree-lined boulevard; Costa Rica's President and Peace Nobel Prize Mr. Oscar Arias Sánchez lives here.
The best places to go shopping in Rohrmoser are Plaza Mayor and Plaza Rohrmoser, both of them with a varied selection of shops, restaurants and a food court. Multiplaza Escazu the biggest shopping mall in Costa Rica is located at only 10 minutes from Rohrmoser.
Visit Costa Rica Hotels and find hotels in or nearby Rohrmoser and other destinations within Costa Rica.
Home Costa Rica Hotels Costa Rica Tours Costa Rica Transportation Costa Rica all Inclusive Costa Rica Honeymoon Costa Rica Beaches
Costa Rica Restaurants Costa Rica Deals All inclusive Costa Rica Deals Get a Quote Links Contact Us Site map
Costa Rica Phone: (506) 2203-3898 --- Tel/Fax: (506) 2203-0889 --- U.S. phone: 1-312-212-3627
Email: info@knowaboutcostarica.com --- Skype: crpartnersdmc
Santa Ana, Costa Rica
P.O Box 254-3019
Content copyright 2010. Know About Costa Rica - Travel Experts. All rights reserved.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Saturday Street Market
We got up early today so we could get things done and then bike up to the Street Market to check out the goods. We think that we will just walk next week because it is only a couple blocks away (maybe a 5-8 minute walk) and it will be much easier to maneuver around the crowded street. (See pictures on Facebook)
There is a street along side the grocery store (Pali) that has the post office on it along with the bank and several other stores. But on Saturday, they close the street off until around 2pm and all of the local vendors set up tables and sell their wares.
You can find everything from corn, to strawberries, to potatoes, to bananas, to plantains, to mamon chino (absolutely yunmmy!), to fruit slushies, to yuko, to singers. to muscians....to anything else you can think of.
I spent a lot of time asking what stuff was....Que es eso?.....and learning about different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Then I came home and looked them up in my book about Costa Rica.
We are trying to decide what we might like and what we want to try so when we go next week...we will have our list!
I think I have found that root type thing we had on our anniversary that was kinda like a potato but dryer...I think it is the yuko but I am still doing research on that!
It was so cool to be bouncing around the crowd, looking at all the bizzare looking fruit and vegetables, listening to the Spanish....and the occasional family from Houston..... and just taking in the environment. I feel truly blessed to be here!
I have to tell you about this one fruit that the Tico's call mamon chino (it is called rambuten other places) which is a to die for fruit that is in a red, hard, spiny, round shell which hides a whitish, pulpish, fruit inside that is absolutely wonderful! I had seen it every where and never asked anyone until today what it was. The vendor cur one open and handed it to me to try....to say the least...I came home with 1/2 a kilo (which is about 25 of them) for about 85 cents! Along with watermelon, cantalope, corn, strawberries, potatoes, and bread.
I can't wait to go back next week and buy some other new items after doing my research. They even sell flowers, beautiful flowers, for anywhere from $2.00 to $4.00for a nice arrangement that at the market in Pennsylvania would cost you, easily, $15.00 and up. I'm talking amazing flowers...some I have never even see before....I'll get pictures of them next week! I have a picture or two of the type of flowers in the album I posted on Facebook of the hotel we stayed in when we first moved here. Their prices are incredibly low!
Check out my pictures on Facebook under my Rohrmoser Street Market album!
There is a street along side the grocery store (Pali) that has the post office on it along with the bank and several other stores. But on Saturday, they close the street off until around 2pm and all of the local vendors set up tables and sell their wares.
You can find everything from corn, to strawberries, to potatoes, to bananas, to plantains, to mamon chino (absolutely yunmmy!), to fruit slushies, to yuko, to singers. to muscians....to anything else you can think of.
I spent a lot of time asking what stuff was....Que es eso?.....and learning about different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Then I came home and looked them up in my book about Costa Rica.
We are trying to decide what we might like and what we want to try so when we go next week...we will have our list!
I think I have found that root type thing we had on our anniversary that was kinda like a potato but dryer...I think it is the yuko but I am still doing research on that!
It was so cool to be bouncing around the crowd, looking at all the bizzare looking fruit and vegetables, listening to the Spanish....and the occasional family from Houston..... and just taking in the environment. I feel truly blessed to be here!
I have to tell you about this one fruit that the Tico's call mamon chino (it is called rambuten other places) which is a to die for fruit that is in a red, hard, spiny, round shell which hides a whitish, pulpish, fruit inside that is absolutely wonderful! I had seen it every where and never asked anyone until today what it was. The vendor cur one open and handed it to me to try....to say the least...I came home with 1/2 a kilo (which is about 25 of them) for about 85 cents! Along with watermelon, cantalope, corn, strawberries, potatoes, and bread.
I can't wait to go back next week and buy some other new items after doing my research. They even sell flowers, beautiful flowers, for anywhere from $2.00 to $4.00for a nice arrangement that at the market in Pennsylvania would cost you, easily, $15.00 and up. I'm talking amazing flowers...some I have never even see before....I'll get pictures of them next week! I have a picture or two of the type of flowers in the album I posted on Facebook of the hotel we stayed in when we first moved here. Their prices are incredibly low!
Check out my pictures on Facebook under my Rohrmoser Street Market album!
Jacob's Test Day
Well it is finally over. Jake went in for his placement testing on this past Wednesday, the 21st, and after 2 and 1/2 hours he was done. He said it was better than he thought it would be. He feels much better!
Bob and I wandered around the school, taking pictures, when Jake first went in for testing; waiting for our turn to be interviewed by the school. That was easier than I thought it would be. They just asked us questions like where we were from, what made us move to Costa Rica, how long did we planned on staying? Things like that. They were very excited that we were actually moving here and applying for residency....brownie points maybe? They also wanted to know a little bit about our jobs and about Jacob as a person; things he liked and such. Overall...not the least bit painful.
We talked to a couple of the other moms.....one was moving here from Venezuela with her two daughters....one in 8th grade and one in 6th grade....and the other mom was moving back from a year away in Columbia, her son had gone to Lincoln his whole life except this past year.
Bob and Jake started a game of life size chess (see my pictures on Facebook) while waiting to be called for testing and then finished it after his testing was done. Bob won in case you were wondering! :-)
Now we are just waiting for them to call and tell us how it went...of course during the interview the lady told us that if they weren't interested in Jake and didn't think he would do well then they would have never called him in for testing. They look at the overall student and what they can offer as far as grades, extracurricular activities, and such when they call them in for testing. She said not to worry.
Now we need to plan a trip back to the school to get his uniforms and books, and the Friday before school starts, the 6th....school starts the 9th (of August), we go in for 'Welcome to our School Day'....Jake is there from 9am to 12pm and then we join him for a luncheon at 12pm.
Things are really starting to settle in for us and we are so excited to be here!
Bob and I wandered around the school, taking pictures, when Jake first went in for testing; waiting for our turn to be interviewed by the school. That was easier than I thought it would be. They just asked us questions like where we were from, what made us move to Costa Rica, how long did we planned on staying? Things like that. They were very excited that we were actually moving here and applying for residency....brownie points maybe? They also wanted to know a little bit about our jobs and about Jacob as a person; things he liked and such. Overall...not the least bit painful.
We talked to a couple of the other moms.....one was moving here from Venezuela with her two daughters....one in 8th grade and one in 6th grade....and the other mom was moving back from a year away in Columbia, her son had gone to Lincoln his whole life except this past year.
Bob and Jake started a game of life size chess (see my pictures on Facebook) while waiting to be called for testing and then finished it after his testing was done. Bob won in case you were wondering! :-)
Now we are just waiting for them to call and tell us how it went...of course during the interview the lady told us that if they weren't interested in Jake and didn't think he would do well then they would have never called him in for testing. They look at the overall student and what they can offer as far as grades, extracurricular activities, and such when they call them in for testing. She said not to worry.
Now we need to plan a trip back to the school to get his uniforms and books, and the Friday before school starts, the 6th....school starts the 9th (of August), we go in for 'Welcome to our School Day'....Jake is there from 9am to 12pm and then we join him for a luncheon at 12pm.
Things are really starting to settle in for us and we are so excited to be here!
Monday, July 19, 2010
The Giggling Mugger
I was wondering after our visit to San Jose today....what makes a mugger giggle?
Now I know that sounds like a strange question, but we experienced our first mugging (not personally mind you but 6 feet in front of us) today and it was the strangest thing because the mugger was giggling. No.....seriously.....he was giggling! I'm not even sure if it would qualify as a good mugging because he got caught a block down the road by a very short man with a heavy backpack on his back, but it was interesting none the less.
We had just finished mailing our final documents to Washington DC for authentication (Praise the Lord and Haleluiah that is finally over with......now if they just come back on time!)and had started up the road towards the park in the center of San Jose. We were being hustled and bustled back and forth with the large crowd of people when all of a sudden I see a man approach a women, coming towards me, from behind. You know that scene where a man sneeks up behind a woman and scares her? Well that is what it reminded me of because he was leaning over and giggling, like he was going to surprise her. And he did! Next thing I know, she grabs her head and yells and I see that he has her by the ears! Yes....the ears. She swats at him and after a very brief struggle....he laughs and runs off. That is when I notice that she only has one earring. Apparently this particular mugger must have lost one of the exact same pair of earrings because he only stole one of them. He was such a terrible mugger that he didn't even get both earrings!
A very short man to my left was watching the whole thing and with his heavy backpack on his back took off after the mugger. He chased him all the way to the next light....dodging in and out of traffic....hollering for someone to stop that mugger. Now this was a very long block but when they got to the light, the mugger turned left with the good samaritan close behind. Of course by now they have the attention of the police who all happened to be sitting at the corner the mugger ran too. So next thing we know there are about 4 or 5 police men chasing the mugger too.
We are still walking towards the park. As we get up to the corner, the good samaritan comes from around the corner with a policeman and they head back to where the woman who had been robbed was at. Point one for the good guy! I just hope that once the mugger gets out of jail he chooses another profession.....maybe as a juggling clown where he can laugh and giggle all he wants!
Now I know that sounds like a strange question, but we experienced our first mugging (not personally mind you but 6 feet in front of us) today and it was the strangest thing because the mugger was giggling. No.....seriously.....he was giggling! I'm not even sure if it would qualify as a good mugging because he got caught a block down the road by a very short man with a heavy backpack on his back, but it was interesting none the less.
We had just finished mailing our final documents to Washington DC for authentication (Praise the Lord and Haleluiah that is finally over with......now if they just come back on time!)and had started up the road towards the park in the center of San Jose. We were being hustled and bustled back and forth with the large crowd of people when all of a sudden I see a man approach a women, coming towards me, from behind. You know that scene where a man sneeks up behind a woman and scares her? Well that is what it reminded me of because he was leaning over and giggling, like he was going to surprise her. And he did! Next thing I know, she grabs her head and yells and I see that he has her by the ears! Yes....the ears. She swats at him and after a very brief struggle....he laughs and runs off. That is when I notice that she only has one earring. Apparently this particular mugger must have lost one of the exact same pair of earrings because he only stole one of them. He was such a terrible mugger that he didn't even get both earrings!
A very short man to my left was watching the whole thing and with his heavy backpack on his back took off after the mugger. He chased him all the way to the next light....dodging in and out of traffic....hollering for someone to stop that mugger. Now this was a very long block but when they got to the light, the mugger turned left with the good samaritan close behind. Of course by now they have the attention of the police who all happened to be sitting at the corner the mugger ran too. So next thing we know there are about 4 or 5 police men chasing the mugger too.
We are still walking towards the park. As we get up to the corner, the good samaritan comes from around the corner with a policeman and they head back to where the woman who had been robbed was at. Point one for the good guy! I just hope that once the mugger gets out of jail he chooses another profession.....maybe as a juggling clown where he can laugh and giggle all he wants!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Lazy Weekend
Okay...so I probably could have done more than I did this weekend but......didn't really feel like it!
After having a very horrible conversation with someone I considered a very dear friend, I decided to just hang out and do nothing. And by nothing, I mean read two books, both of which were great. I finished up Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich....I love her Stephanie Plum series....and then I read Water For Elephants. That is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Ironically, the person that I considered a very dear friend with whom I had the horrible conversation with, is the one who told me what a great book it was. So while I don't think I will be thanking her any time soon for our "conversation"...I will definitetly thank her for suggesting the book! Thank you!
Bob, Jake, and I just hung out around the apartment, or took long bike rides checking out the neighborhood. During one of our ventures out we found the post office which is about a block past the grocery store which is two blocks over from our apartment, and we also found out that our bank has a branch that sits across the street and down one building from the grocery store. The more we look around, the closer everything is. We love that!
It is so nice to just hang out together and lay around the house reading. Of course, starting tomorrow things get busy again.
We have to go to the post office to get the stamps we need to send the last three papers we need authenticated to Washington DC. We need the postage for the return envelope that has to have the postage on it for them to mail it back to us. Then we have to go to Fed EX to mail all the papers to Washington DC, and then we are going to go walk around San Jose. We have been wanting to visit Teatro Nacional which is the pride and join of San Jose and maybe we will even eat at Cafe del Teatro Nacional which is known for its excellent salads, snacks, desserts, and specialty coffees. (Definitely on a short list of places to take Julie when she comes to visit with her family!)
I have also been wanting to go to the Mercado Central, which is the cities best market, with over two hundred stalls that sell everything from old kitchen utensils, to sadle bags, to fresh fish, to coffee, to spices by the kilo, to religious relics. The market dates back to 1881. I may even take my camera with me to get some pictures!
I am looking forward to spending the day with my husband and my son and enjoying the local life in Costa Rica. Hopefully the business end of what we need to do won't take forever and we can enjoy the day together! I'll blog about our day tomorrow!
I hope all of my friends have a wonderful week. We will be thinking about you often!
After having a very horrible conversation with someone I considered a very dear friend, I decided to just hang out and do nothing. And by nothing, I mean read two books, both of which were great. I finished up Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich....I love her Stephanie Plum series....and then I read Water For Elephants. That is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Ironically, the person that I considered a very dear friend with whom I had the horrible conversation with, is the one who told me what a great book it was. So while I don't think I will be thanking her any time soon for our "conversation"...I will definitetly thank her for suggesting the book! Thank you!
Bob, Jake, and I just hung out around the apartment, or took long bike rides checking out the neighborhood. During one of our ventures out we found the post office which is about a block past the grocery store which is two blocks over from our apartment, and we also found out that our bank has a branch that sits across the street and down one building from the grocery store. The more we look around, the closer everything is. We love that!
It is so nice to just hang out together and lay around the house reading. Of course, starting tomorrow things get busy again.
We have to go to the post office to get the stamps we need to send the last three papers we need authenticated to Washington DC. We need the postage for the return envelope that has to have the postage on it for them to mail it back to us. Then we have to go to Fed EX to mail all the papers to Washington DC, and then we are going to go walk around San Jose. We have been wanting to visit Teatro Nacional which is the pride and join of San Jose and maybe we will even eat at Cafe del Teatro Nacional which is known for its excellent salads, snacks, desserts, and specialty coffees. (Definitely on a short list of places to take Julie when she comes to visit with her family!)
I have also been wanting to go to the Mercado Central, which is the cities best market, with over two hundred stalls that sell everything from old kitchen utensils, to sadle bags, to fresh fish, to coffee, to spices by the kilo, to religious relics. The market dates back to 1881. I may even take my camera with me to get some pictures!
I am looking forward to spending the day with my husband and my son and enjoying the local life in Costa Rica. Hopefully the business end of what we need to do won't take forever and we can enjoy the day together! I'll blog about our day tomorrow!
I hope all of my friends have a wonderful week. We will be thinking about you often!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
I've Got Nothing
I know it has been a few days since I last wrote something and you are all probably wondering what has been going on, but to tell you the truth.....I've got nothing!
Sorry...check back in a day or two and maybe I will have something.
You could check out my other blog at http://dinsmorepatti.blogspot.com
I wrote something there recently.
Sorry this is all I have....talk to you in a couple of days!
Sorry...check back in a day or two and maybe I will have something.
You could check out my other blog at http://dinsmorepatti.blogspot.com
I wrote something there recently.
Sorry this is all I have....talk to you in a couple of days!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
20th Anniversary Dinner
Well today is our 20th anniversary! Had a really nice, mellow day just laying around the house and taking a short bike ride before we decided to go out to eat. I couldn't decide if I wanted Italian or a steak so Bob said we would go to the Rohrmoser Mall and see what restaurants were there. He didn't care where we ate because they both sounded good.
When we got to the mall there was a BBQ place that served steaks and ribs so we decided to eat there. The chicken was caliente (hot) so Jacob passed and ordered what he called the best steak he has ever had! Bob and I decided to share a 2 person mixed platter (and brought half of it home it was sooooooo big)......
Side bar:.....Angie, you will love that place!
......which included BBG ribs, chicken, seasoned pieces of steak and some sort of teriyaki steak strips, along with corn on the cob, coleslaw, some sort of vinegar banana shaped thing, and some other type of root plant that was to die for!
Jacob had a salad with his steak that was really good even though it had a bit of a bite to it because of the dressing and a baked potato with.......are you ready for this and it was actually delicious......tartar sauce on it. You heard me right....tartar sauce.....delicious!!!
Then the waiter brought us all icecream (again...Angie you will love their icecream too) that was a combination of the best vanilla I've ever had (not really a vanilla girl and the container I've already bought here was not that good)and raspberry. Yum Yum!!
And then to top the evening off, when the waiter heard we had been married for 20 years, and after he told Bob he deserved a shot of tequilla for being married so long (wait....he didn't offer me one for being married so long.....hmmmmm....maybe he was saying it in a congratulatory way?) he actually came out with two shots of tequilla....one for Bob and one for me.
Okay....I have to admit that it has been YEARS since I did a shot of anything, and I wasn't sure how it would go but.....It was the best shot of tequilla I have ever had! Remember that strange baked potato and tartar sauce combination I just told you about? (And no.....there was no tartar sauce in the tequilla....silly you!) Well the tequilla shot had tequilla on the bottom, then some sort of coffee liquer in the middle and then a whipped cream layer on top. I don't like coffee but WOW! That shot was fantastic....and I only had one so stop staring at me so strange! LOL
Again it was a wonderful anniversary and I look forward to.....hmmmmm....how old is Bob? I look forward to 50 more years together! :-)
When we got to the mall there was a BBQ place that served steaks and ribs so we decided to eat there. The chicken was caliente (hot) so Jacob passed and ordered what he called the best steak he has ever had! Bob and I decided to share a 2 person mixed platter (and brought half of it home it was sooooooo big)......
Side bar:.....Angie, you will love that place!
......which included BBG ribs, chicken, seasoned pieces of steak and some sort of teriyaki steak strips, along with corn on the cob, coleslaw, some sort of vinegar banana shaped thing, and some other type of root plant that was to die for!
Jacob had a salad with his steak that was really good even though it had a bit of a bite to it because of the dressing and a baked potato with.......are you ready for this and it was actually delicious......tartar sauce on it. You heard me right....tartar sauce.....delicious!!!
Then the waiter brought us all icecream (again...Angie you will love their icecream too) that was a combination of the best vanilla I've ever had (not really a vanilla girl and the container I've already bought here was not that good)and raspberry. Yum Yum!!
And then to top the evening off, when the waiter heard we had been married for 20 years, and after he told Bob he deserved a shot of tequilla for being married so long (wait....he didn't offer me one for being married so long.....hmmmmm....maybe he was saying it in a congratulatory way?) he actually came out with two shots of tequilla....one for Bob and one for me.
Okay....I have to admit that it has been YEARS since I did a shot of anything, and I wasn't sure how it would go but.....It was the best shot of tequilla I have ever had! Remember that strange baked potato and tartar sauce combination I just told you about? (And no.....there was no tartar sauce in the tequilla....silly you!) Well the tequilla shot had tequilla on the bottom, then some sort of coffee liquer in the middle and then a whipped cream layer on top. I don't like coffee but WOW! That shot was fantastic....and I only had one so stop staring at me so strange! LOL
Again it was a wonderful anniversary and I look forward to.....hmmmmm....how old is Bob? I look forward to 50 more years together! :-)
Monday, July 12, 2010
Finding Our Way Around
Had a very interesting day today. Woke up and went to Plaza Mayor to open a bank account at the branch in the mall. It takes so long to do any banking here. I thought it was just a fluke that it took us so long to exchange money in San Jose at the bank but apparently it really does take a while to do any banking.
You go into the bank, after the guard has run a wand over you, and take a number... then wait. There are several different things you can do at the bank and you get a number based on what you want to do. What you have to do determines which window you end up at. So we took our number and waited. We finally had our chance to open a bank account but found out we didn't have all of the correct papers. Luckily, Allan told us to go get the last paper and he would take us as soon as we got back so we didn't have to wait in the line again. That was so nice of them. We still managed to spend a couple hours over all trying to open two accounts.
We intended to open two accounts but somehow or the other ended up opening three. Apparently you can open an account in either dollars or colones. Our first account was opened in dollars. Now even if you open it up in dollars you can still get colones. Keeping up with this so far? So when we go to open the second account....for Jacob.....he said it could be in both dollars and colones. We said that sounded great. What he meant to say,which we found out after he opened the accounts, yes that is plural, is that he could have an account in dollars and an account in colones....so now Jacob has two accounts that do the same thing except one is in dollars and one is in colones. I was too tired at this point to try to get it back to one account so we just left it the way it was.
Then we went home and tried to call the movie theater....Bob had gone to the pulperia to get a paper so we could see when and where Eclipse was playing....but once I finally got through it was all in Spanish. We gave up and just went ahead and caught a taxi to the Cinemark in Escazu. It turned out that the cinema is actually in a HUGE mall. When we got there, we had to wait in a really long line, but fortunately, the line moved quickly. Once we got to the purchasing register I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is 5.00 for an adult ticket and $3.50for a student ticket. Not only that but you actually pick your seats so once you get inside....your seat is empty and waiting for you. That was soooooo cool!
Eclipse was....of course....fantastic! I feel much better now that I have seen it and I'm sure all of my friends are happy too now that I will quit saying, "I haven't seen it....no spoiler alerts!"
Each day brings a new adventure and makes it that much easier for us to get around. Can't wait to show off Costa Rica to my friends once they start to visit. Talk to all of you soon!
You go into the bank, after the guard has run a wand over you, and take a number... then wait. There are several different things you can do at the bank and you get a number based on what you want to do. What you have to do determines which window you end up at. So we took our number and waited. We finally had our chance to open a bank account but found out we didn't have all of the correct papers. Luckily, Allan told us to go get the last paper and he would take us as soon as we got back so we didn't have to wait in the line again. That was so nice of them. We still managed to spend a couple hours over all trying to open two accounts.
We intended to open two accounts but somehow or the other ended up opening three. Apparently you can open an account in either dollars or colones. Our first account was opened in dollars. Now even if you open it up in dollars you can still get colones. Keeping up with this so far? So when we go to open the second account....for Jacob.....he said it could be in both dollars and colones. We said that sounded great. What he meant to say,which we found out after he opened the accounts, yes that is plural, is that he could have an account in dollars and an account in colones....so now Jacob has two accounts that do the same thing except one is in dollars and one is in colones. I was too tired at this point to try to get it back to one account so we just left it the way it was.
Then we went home and tried to call the movie theater....Bob had gone to the pulperia to get a paper so we could see when and where Eclipse was playing....but once I finally got through it was all in Spanish. We gave up and just went ahead and caught a taxi to the Cinemark in Escazu. It turned out that the cinema is actually in a HUGE mall. When we got there, we had to wait in a really long line, but fortunately, the line moved quickly. Once we got to the purchasing register I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is 5.00 for an adult ticket and $3.50for a student ticket. Not only that but you actually pick your seats so once you get inside....your seat is empty and waiting for you. That was soooooo cool!
Eclipse was....of course....fantastic! I feel much better now that I have seen it and I'm sure all of my friends are happy too now that I will quit saying, "I haven't seen it....no spoiler alerts!"
Each day brings a new adventure and makes it that much easier for us to get around. Can't wait to show off Costa Rica to my friends once they start to visit. Talk to all of you soon!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Around The Neighborhood
After getting settled, we started to check out the neighborhood. The first thing we found was a pulperia...corner store....that was run by a very nice man who speaks Spanish, Chinese, and English. Of course we didn't realize this the first time we went in and I used Spanish to communicate. We found out the 2nd time we went in when he asked if we wanted him to speak in Spanish or English....we, of course, opted for English. Then he asked if we were European and when I said no he asked if we were from the States. I told him yes but then explained that we had just moved here from the States and told him where we lived. He welcomed us to the neighborhood. Then he asked me what the word in English was for the bag I had brought in for our groceries...I told him....bag. He repeated it and said, "So you open your mouth wide to say "a" part of bag....hmmmmm I guess we do. He said it was same word for Europeans too.
The next day, we went over to the main street...one more block over from our house.... looking for a bicycle shop...ciclo....pronounced see klo.... and spent quite a few minutes approaching people and saying, "Donde es ciclo?". We finally found it. The man who owned it was very helpful and had almost everything we needed. It was great for me because he spoke no English and our whole conversation was in Spanish. Great way for me to practice! We thanked him and left then thought....maybe he had bikes for sale so we went back to look for one for Jacob. He did have them so Jake picked out the one he liked and we paid the man 60,000 colones, which comes out to about $110.00. We found out once we went into town to find the one missing part he didn't have just how cheap that was. The cheapest bike we could find in town was 130,000 colones and the cheapest helmut was 39,500 colones...Jake paid 8,950 colones for his helmet at that mans place.
SIDEBAR: We have a bus stop right at the end of our street which takes us all the way into San Jose or just up to the mall....Plaza Mayor....where we can get groceries, shop, or watch a movie. Won't be seeing any movies there anytime soon because they are showing two movies and both of them are in Spanish. For those of you that are quick at making the jump to where this is heading.....we have not seen Eclipse yet! Of course it didn't come out here until July 8th, but we REALLY need to find an English theater!!
Bob, Jake, and I then left the bike shop by our house and walked a really long distance...in the rain...to find the missing piece. The next place didn't have it but he called the last place for us and found out they did. We were not interested in walking any farther so we flagged a taxi down....it's still raining....and Jake's bike wouldn't fit in so he road all the way back to the apartment while we went to the other bike shop. I was a little nervous until we got back to the house and made sure Jake made it home okay. I wasn't sure he would find his way back because this was a new route we had taken but he did fine!
The next day, Bob and I went for a ride around the neighborhood...Jake didn't want to go because he hadn't taken a shower and didn't look good....lol....so we went alone. We found a private airstrip by our house and a really nice park. There were a bunch of people and kids there playing soccer. We made it home just in time before the rain started! Had a great time biking and realize that we will be doing a lot of that here.
We have met both of the neighbors on our side of the apartment building. The man next door to us, upstairs, is Don who is originally from Canada but came here from Florida. He has been trying to become a resident for 6 years and has given up and thinks he will be returning to the States soon. We met the man below our apartment one day when we all left the apartment building at the same time. His name is Pablo and he is a web designer who works with sports teams in Costa Rica and who is also a painter. We were talking about places to go to buy stuff for the house...kinda like a Walmart type store...and he is the one who told us about Hyper Mas....pronounced eeper moss.... and he walked us to the bus stop, flagged a taxi, told the driver where we wanted to go (I have learned how to do that too....":Quiero ir Hyper Mas en Ezcasu, por favor!"), shook all of our hands, held my door until I was in the cab, wished us well and said he would have us over for coffee before shutting my door.
We went to Hyper Mas and it is a lot like a Walmart except for one big difference....unlike Walmart where you can NEVER find someone to help you, and if by some fluke you do they have no idea where things are.....you will find at least one employee in EVERY AISLE....I kid you not...and in some aisles you will find 2 or 3 or more all waiting to help you find things. They do this in the grocery stores too...it is both weird and refreshing!
Today, Bob went bike riding while I went to the store on the bus. Again, no shower for Jake yet so he couldn't go and I didn't want to wait for him to get his shower. Bob went back to the park and watched a soccer game and made it home just as the skies opened up....it rained for over 6 hours today (It is the rainy season here right now). I came back with three bags of groceries and NO trash bags....I am having the hardest time finding those darn things.
Tomorrow, we are going to bike over to the main street and look at PALI, which is another grocery store, to see if they have trash bags. Of course we will have to do that early because...1.) It rains every day between 12 and 1pm and
2.) The World Cup is tomorrow at noon...The Netherlands vs. Spain and the octopus has picked Spain to win. He hasn't been wrong yet....he has picked every winner of the World Cup, this year, to date!
I hope that gives you a feel for our neighborhood. I've posted pictures on Facebook of our apartment and our neighborhood....Check them out!
The next day, we went over to the main street...one more block over from our house.... looking for a bicycle shop...ciclo....pronounced see klo.... and spent quite a few minutes approaching people and saying, "Donde es ciclo?". We finally found it. The man who owned it was very helpful and had almost everything we needed. It was great for me because he spoke no English and our whole conversation was in Spanish. Great way for me to practice! We thanked him and left then thought....maybe he had bikes for sale so we went back to look for one for Jacob. He did have them so Jake picked out the one he liked and we paid the man 60,000 colones, which comes out to about $110.00. We found out once we went into town to find the one missing part he didn't have just how cheap that was. The cheapest bike we could find in town was 130,000 colones and the cheapest helmut was 39,500 colones...Jake paid 8,950 colones for his helmet at that mans place.
SIDEBAR: We have a bus stop right at the end of our street which takes us all the way into San Jose or just up to the mall....Plaza Mayor....where we can get groceries, shop, or watch a movie. Won't be seeing any movies there anytime soon because they are showing two movies and both of them are in Spanish. For those of you that are quick at making the jump to where this is heading.....we have not seen Eclipse yet! Of course it didn't come out here until July 8th, but we REALLY need to find an English theater!!
Bob, Jake, and I then left the bike shop by our house and walked a really long distance...in the rain...to find the missing piece. The next place didn't have it but he called the last place for us and found out they did. We were not interested in walking any farther so we flagged a taxi down....it's still raining....and Jake's bike wouldn't fit in so he road all the way back to the apartment while we went to the other bike shop. I was a little nervous until we got back to the house and made sure Jake made it home okay. I wasn't sure he would find his way back because this was a new route we had taken but he did fine!
The next day, Bob and I went for a ride around the neighborhood...Jake didn't want to go because he hadn't taken a shower and didn't look good....lol....so we went alone. We found a private airstrip by our house and a really nice park. There were a bunch of people and kids there playing soccer. We made it home just in time before the rain started! Had a great time biking and realize that we will be doing a lot of that here.
We have met both of the neighbors on our side of the apartment building. The man next door to us, upstairs, is Don who is originally from Canada but came here from Florida. He has been trying to become a resident for 6 years and has given up and thinks he will be returning to the States soon. We met the man below our apartment one day when we all left the apartment building at the same time. His name is Pablo and he is a web designer who works with sports teams in Costa Rica and who is also a painter. We were talking about places to go to buy stuff for the house...kinda like a Walmart type store...and he is the one who told us about Hyper Mas....pronounced eeper moss.... and he walked us to the bus stop, flagged a taxi, told the driver where we wanted to go (I have learned how to do that too....":Quiero ir Hyper Mas en Ezcasu, por favor!"), shook all of our hands, held my door until I was in the cab, wished us well and said he would have us over for coffee before shutting my door.
We went to Hyper Mas and it is a lot like a Walmart except for one big difference....unlike Walmart where you can NEVER find someone to help you, and if by some fluke you do they have no idea where things are.....you will find at least one employee in EVERY AISLE....I kid you not...and in some aisles you will find 2 or 3 or more all waiting to help you find things. They do this in the grocery stores too...it is both weird and refreshing!
Today, Bob went bike riding while I went to the store on the bus. Again, no shower for Jake yet so he couldn't go and I didn't want to wait for him to get his shower. Bob went back to the park and watched a soccer game and made it home just as the skies opened up....it rained for over 6 hours today (It is the rainy season here right now). I came back with three bags of groceries and NO trash bags....I am having the hardest time finding those darn things.
Tomorrow, we are going to bike over to the main street and look at PALI, which is another grocery store, to see if they have trash bags. Of course we will have to do that early because...1.) It rains every day between 12 and 1pm and
2.) The World Cup is tomorrow at noon...The Netherlands vs. Spain and the octopus has picked Spain to win. He hasn't been wrong yet....he has picked every winner of the World Cup, this year, to date!
I hope that gives you a feel for our neighborhood. I've posted pictures on Facebook of our apartment and our neighborhood....Check them out!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Our Not So Easy Move
After a very dramatic exit from the hotel....think.....driver didn't show up to take us but sent someone in his place (after we called him when he was over a half hour late)who arrived in a taxi....not a taxi van but a 4 seater taxi to take us to our new apartment....did I mention we brought 15 pieces of luggage with us? I did? Well I told the driver that too but apparently he though he could fit all 15 pieces into his little 4 seater.....NOT!
We finally more or less twisted the arm of the hotel to let us use the supposedly "FREE" shuttle (which conveniently was never working the whole time we were there)to get all of our bags to our new apartment and it cost us $20.00 to do so! By twisted I mean my husband started to load the van with our stuff while the taxi driver with the 4 seater just stood there looking confused. Seriously people....we were checking out a day early...which means they had our money for the next day but we weren't going to be there so they could actually rent it out and make double the money.... (I should point out that while all of this was happening, my husband was on his 2nd day without tobacco, yes they can thank me at any time that I actually kept him from killing them).
Anyhoo....we get to our apartment in our very quiet neighborhood and settle in to unpack. The first night we were here I actually got all of the bags empty. Of course there were no hangers so I more or less stuck the clothes on the top shelves of the closets to wait for the stores to open the next day so I could get hangers.
SIDEBAR: Do any of you actually know how many hangers it takes to hang up all our your clothes when you have no hangers at all? Well do you? I'll sit here and wait while you do the math or go run and count all of the clothes in your closet.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Back so soon? Well it took us......and rememeber this is for all three of us....after we took SEVERAL boxes of clothes to the Salvation Army, and by several I mean about 12........160 hangers!
Then there were all of the books and DVD's to unload....all of our "bathroom essentials" and whatever else we managed to squeeze into those (not to be over 50 lbs each) 15 pieces of luggage we brought with us. Actually there were only 13 pieces because 2 pieces were boxes that held our bikes.
It is nice that the apartment not only came furnished with living room, dining room, and bedroom furniture, but they also had rugs, dishes, silverware, pots, pans, towels, washer, dryer, microwave, blender, and coffepot. All we had to do was go get some groceries. Of course I wish I had looked at the bags first and realized we needed hangers but such is life!
And that is just day one....wait until I blog about the 4 days since then. I can tell you that things got better from that first day and I can't wait to blog about it. For now though....this blog will have to tide you over. I am still adjusting to the time change so I am very tired.
More tomorrow....keep a look out!
We finally more or less twisted the arm of the hotel to let us use the supposedly "FREE" shuttle (which conveniently was never working the whole time we were there)to get all of our bags to our new apartment and it cost us $20.00 to do so! By twisted I mean my husband started to load the van with our stuff while the taxi driver with the 4 seater just stood there looking confused. Seriously people....we were checking out a day early...which means they had our money for the next day but we weren't going to be there so they could actually rent it out and make double the money.... (I should point out that while all of this was happening, my husband was on his 2nd day without tobacco, yes they can thank me at any time that I actually kept him from killing them).
Anyhoo....we get to our apartment in our very quiet neighborhood and settle in to unpack. The first night we were here I actually got all of the bags empty. Of course there were no hangers so I more or less stuck the clothes on the top shelves of the closets to wait for the stores to open the next day so I could get hangers.
SIDEBAR: Do any of you actually know how many hangers it takes to hang up all our your clothes when you have no hangers at all? Well do you? I'll sit here and wait while you do the math or go run and count all of the clothes in your closet.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Back so soon? Well it took us......and rememeber this is for all three of us....after we took SEVERAL boxes of clothes to the Salvation Army, and by several I mean about 12........160 hangers!
Then there were all of the books and DVD's to unload....all of our "bathroom essentials" and whatever else we managed to squeeze into those (not to be over 50 lbs each) 15 pieces of luggage we brought with us. Actually there were only 13 pieces because 2 pieces were boxes that held our bikes.
It is nice that the apartment not only came furnished with living room, dining room, and bedroom furniture, but they also had rugs, dishes, silverware, pots, pans, towels, washer, dryer, microwave, blender, and coffepot. All we had to do was go get some groceries. Of course I wish I had looked at the bags first and realized we needed hangers but such is life!
And that is just day one....wait until I blog about the 4 days since then. I can tell you that things got better from that first day and I can't wait to blog about it. For now though....this blog will have to tide you over. I am still adjusting to the time change so I am very tired.
More tomorrow....keep a look out!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Our House Hunting Excursion
Well, we started the day with 4 places lined up to look at, but ended up losing one because even though I had typed in "Places for rent in San Jose".....Tambor is NOT in San Jose but out at the beaches!
We found a really nice place in Rohrmoser (pronounced Ro Mo Sayer....o's are long o's) which is close to the American embassy (about three blocks) and close to the Presidents house (about two blocks) and even more importantly is that it is close to the mall and the center of town....Rorhmoser....not San Jose.
It is a two bedroom two and a half bathroom apartment on the second floor that is furnished. It is gated and has a security guard twenty four hours a day. It is in a cul de sac off one of the main roads and is very quiet. We walk right to the end of our road and catch a bus right there. Very convenient. We are also within walking distance of the new stadium. We are provided with a covered parking space which is enclosed in the gates right below our apartment....now all we need is a car. We will instead be placing our bikes there for now.
We looked at two apartments and Jacob really liked the bigger apartment so that is the one we went for. We move there the morning of the 6th so those of you that were concerned with our living arrangements, you can stop taking the anxiety medicine...we have stable housing! LOL!
We then went back into San Jose to catch a bus back to our hotel in El llano which is up a VERY steep hill and were frozen by the time we got back because it had been cool all day and it had rained. We got turned around in San Jose and we were making our way back to the bus stop...which was in a different place than the bus stop where we got off....and were headed down a street when a very nice young man told us it was not safe to go down the street we were headed towards. He started to walk with us and actually went all 7 blocks with us and made sure we got in the right line for the bus we needed. The people here are soooo nice.
We finally made it back to the hotel bus stop...a little frozen but non the worse for wear.... and we stopped at a little store for drinks and M&M's before we went back to the hotel. We ran into the man who brought us to the hotel from the airport and he is going to take us (and all of our luggage) to our new apartment on Tuesday. We are soooo excited!
Now we are off to bed so we can relaxe tomorrow and just enjoy our time here. Now that the housing situation is settled we can just sit back and relax until Tuesday. Maybe we will find a theater and watch "Eclipse". Can't wait to see that movie so..... "NO SPOILERS....PLEASE!" LOL!
We found a really nice place in Rohrmoser (pronounced Ro Mo Sayer....o's are long o's) which is close to the American embassy (about three blocks) and close to the Presidents house (about two blocks) and even more importantly is that it is close to the mall and the center of town....Rorhmoser....not San Jose.
It is a two bedroom two and a half bathroom apartment on the second floor that is furnished. It is gated and has a security guard twenty four hours a day. It is in a cul de sac off one of the main roads and is very quiet. We walk right to the end of our road and catch a bus right there. Very convenient. We are also within walking distance of the new stadium. We are provided with a covered parking space which is enclosed in the gates right below our apartment....now all we need is a car. We will instead be placing our bikes there for now.
We looked at two apartments and Jacob really liked the bigger apartment so that is the one we went for. We move there the morning of the 6th so those of you that were concerned with our living arrangements, you can stop taking the anxiety medicine...we have stable housing! LOL!
We then went back into San Jose to catch a bus back to our hotel in El llano which is up a VERY steep hill and were frozen by the time we got back because it had been cool all day and it had rained. We got turned around in San Jose and we were making our way back to the bus stop...which was in a different place than the bus stop where we got off....and were headed down a street when a very nice young man told us it was not safe to go down the street we were headed towards. He started to walk with us and actually went all 7 blocks with us and made sure we got in the right line for the bus we needed. The people here are soooo nice.
We finally made it back to the hotel bus stop...a little frozen but non the worse for wear.... and we stopped at a little store for drinks and M&M's before we went back to the hotel. We ran into the man who brought us to the hotel from the airport and he is going to take us (and all of our luggage) to our new apartment on Tuesday. We are soooo excited!
Now we are off to bed so we can relaxe tomorrow and just enjoy our time here. Now that the housing situation is settled we can just sit back and relax until Tuesday. Maybe we will find a theater and watch "Eclipse". Can't wait to see that movie so..... "NO SPOILERS....PLEASE!" LOL!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Leaving for our Flight To Costa Rica and the Flight Itself
The journey to Costa Rica was interesting, but then again...when is our lives ever not interrupted by something "interesting"?
Tuesday, after finally finishing the house and packing...(more or less on the finishing part of the house)....we loaded our 15 bags into a mini van, along with 6 people, and started the long journey to Washington DC to catch our plane (which was actually not leaving until Wednesday).
Of course, getting into the van to leave was easier said than done. Not only did we have to say goodbye to some very dear friends in our front yard, but we also had to convince Scooby Doo (our cat...not the cartoon character)that it was important for him to come out from under the porch so one of Jacob's best friends, Isaiah, could take him home with him. (Yes, Scooby did not make the trip with us...:-( but $700-$800 is a lot to spend to get your cat to Costa Rica with no guarantee they will give him to you when you arrive.) Apparently, Scooby figured out what was going on because not only did he sleep in the carrier several times before our trip to make sure we didn't leave without him, but after we returned the carrier, he slept in the suitcase.
When we were ready to leave Scooby ran under the porch and Jacob had to crawl under the porch to drag him out. Then when Jacob went to hand him over to Isaiah he actually clung to Jacob and pushed Isaiah away with his paws, the whole while meowing what I swear sounded like "Nooooo!" It was very sad to watch! Then when Isaiah finally got ahold of the cat and went to crawl in the van, Scooby tried to jump out the driver's door, but Isaiah caught him by the foot. :-( We talked to Isaiah the night we arrived in Costa Rica and he said Scooby was very depressed.
We arrived at the airport around 6:00pm or so and after Angie, Tim, and Julie helped us get everything inside the airport we had the hard task of saying goodbye to them. (I still blame Julie and Angie for making me so sad when they left). That was such a sad thing to go through...saying goodbye to good friends.
Then we spent the night in the airport...notice I said spent the night without any mention of sleeping....and waited around until we could check our baggage in at
4:30am. After we checked our 7 suitcases and 2 bikes, we headed to security with our 6 pieces of carry-ons. (3 duffle bags and 3 personal bags...the personal held camera's, computers, and personal papers). As we waited to go through the metal detector...barefoot. by the way..I got pegged as a random security check...lucky me!:-(....and Bob got tagged for a security check because his metal knee beeped (which the doctor swore wouldn't happen). So both Bob and I are now being wanded and inspected while Jacob is trying to collect all of our carry on luggage as it comes through the x-ray machine. After retrieving my sandals from the security guy, I went over to help Bob and Jake put our carry-ons on the little metal roller cart we had purchased to help wheel our carry-ons around in time to have a security person tell me that our last bag was now tagged for inspection....so off we go to the counter so they could inspect it with a wand. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Do you think they had this planned when they saw us arrive at the airport with 15 pieces of luggage and a one-way ticket out of the country?...I'm thinking the same thing.
That was when our luck seemed to change. As we were getting ready to board the plane in Washington DC, the man checking us through the gate looked at our 6 baqs of carry-ons with a funny face so I explained that my husband had just had knee surgery so I was using the roller cart to make it easier on him. That was when the guy turned to the computer and told me he would check our 3 carry-ons in to be put under the plane all the way to Costa Rica at no charge. 3 bags down...3 to go.
After our plane arrived in Houston, we took a monorail type airport tram/train thing to the section we needed to catch our flight to Costa Rica with only enough time to order something to eat and sit down for 5 minutes before they started to board. That flight was uneventful too and after we arrived in Costa Rica, we waited for everyone else to exit before we did. (1. Because Bob's knee was pretty stiff and 2. Because we were the next to last row of seats on the plane.) As we approached the door to exit, the flight attendant asked Bob if he needed a wheel chair (Bob was using his cane at this point), to which Bob said no thank you. Then he turned to exit the plane and was greeted by a man with a wheelchair who offered him a ride, which he again politley declined.
We then headed to Customs so we could clear it before going to get our luggage. As we rounded the corner, we found a long Customs line but a lady who worked there came up to Bob and pointed to the handicapped lane and said, "Expresso, Senor, Expresso" and shooed us into that line. Gotta love that cane!!
We finally made it to baggage claim and found all of our luggage already off the spinner thing and actually stacked almost all together in one spot. Things were definitely looking up from the security check 8 hours before in Washington DC. As we started to put our luggage onto several carts for the long haul through the final check and outside, airport workers came by so I asked where we would find the shuttle from oure hotel. He sent another worker out to get a great big cart so we wouldn't be dragging 5 little ones around while he pulled out his cell phone and called the hotel for us. Then he, and the other worker, loaded all of our bags and bikes onto the large cart and wheeled it over to the last check point where they had to unloaded all of our bags onto another xray machine before walking around to the other side to put them back on the big cart. They then wheeled everything outside and found our drive, wheeled everything across the street into the parking garage to the drivers van, and then helped load evything into the van. Yes things had definitely gotten better!
After a 20 minute drive we were at our hotel and the driver was unloading our stuff with two helpers from the hotel. This is where it looked like our luck was turning bad again but......that story is for another time!
Tuesday, after finally finishing the house and packing...(more or less on the finishing part of the house)....we loaded our 15 bags into a mini van, along with 6 people, and started the long journey to Washington DC to catch our plane (which was actually not leaving until Wednesday).
Of course, getting into the van to leave was easier said than done. Not only did we have to say goodbye to some very dear friends in our front yard, but we also had to convince Scooby Doo (our cat...not the cartoon character)that it was important for him to come out from under the porch so one of Jacob's best friends, Isaiah, could take him home with him. (Yes, Scooby did not make the trip with us...:-( but $700-$800 is a lot to spend to get your cat to Costa Rica with no guarantee they will give him to you when you arrive.) Apparently, Scooby figured out what was going on because not only did he sleep in the carrier several times before our trip to make sure we didn't leave without him, but after we returned the carrier, he slept in the suitcase.
When we were ready to leave Scooby ran under the porch and Jacob had to crawl under the porch to drag him out. Then when Jacob went to hand him over to Isaiah he actually clung to Jacob and pushed Isaiah away with his paws, the whole while meowing what I swear sounded like "Nooooo!" It was very sad to watch! Then when Isaiah finally got ahold of the cat and went to crawl in the van, Scooby tried to jump out the driver's door, but Isaiah caught him by the foot. :-( We talked to Isaiah the night we arrived in Costa Rica and he said Scooby was very depressed.
We arrived at the airport around 6:00pm or so and after Angie, Tim, and Julie helped us get everything inside the airport we had the hard task of saying goodbye to them. (I still blame Julie and Angie for making me so sad when they left). That was such a sad thing to go through...saying goodbye to good friends.
Then we spent the night in the airport...notice I said spent the night without any mention of sleeping....and waited around until we could check our baggage in at
4:30am. After we checked our 7 suitcases and 2 bikes, we headed to security with our 6 pieces of carry-ons. (3 duffle bags and 3 personal bags...the personal held camera's, computers, and personal papers). As we waited to go through the metal detector...barefoot. by the way..I got pegged as a random security check...lucky me!:-(....and Bob got tagged for a security check because his metal knee beeped (which the doctor swore wouldn't happen). So both Bob and I are now being wanded and inspected while Jacob is trying to collect all of our carry on luggage as it comes through the x-ray machine. After retrieving my sandals from the security guy, I went over to help Bob and Jake put our carry-ons on the little metal roller cart we had purchased to help wheel our carry-ons around in time to have a security person tell me that our last bag was now tagged for inspection....so off we go to the counter so they could inspect it with a wand. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Do you think they had this planned when they saw us arrive at the airport with 15 pieces of luggage and a one-way ticket out of the country?...I'm thinking the same thing.
That was when our luck seemed to change. As we were getting ready to board the plane in Washington DC, the man checking us through the gate looked at our 6 baqs of carry-ons with a funny face so I explained that my husband had just had knee surgery so I was using the roller cart to make it easier on him. That was when the guy turned to the computer and told me he would check our 3 carry-ons in to be put under the plane all the way to Costa Rica at no charge. 3 bags down...3 to go.
After our plane arrived in Houston, we took a monorail type airport tram/train thing to the section we needed to catch our flight to Costa Rica with only enough time to order something to eat and sit down for 5 minutes before they started to board. That flight was uneventful too and after we arrived in Costa Rica, we waited for everyone else to exit before we did. (1. Because Bob's knee was pretty stiff and 2. Because we were the next to last row of seats on the plane.) As we approached the door to exit, the flight attendant asked Bob if he needed a wheel chair (Bob was using his cane at this point), to which Bob said no thank you. Then he turned to exit the plane and was greeted by a man with a wheelchair who offered him a ride, which he again politley declined.
We then headed to Customs so we could clear it before going to get our luggage. As we rounded the corner, we found a long Customs line but a lady who worked there came up to Bob and pointed to the handicapped lane and said, "Expresso, Senor, Expresso" and shooed us into that line. Gotta love that cane!!
We finally made it to baggage claim and found all of our luggage already off the spinner thing and actually stacked almost all together in one spot. Things were definitely looking up from the security check 8 hours before in Washington DC. As we started to put our luggage onto several carts for the long haul through the final check and outside, airport workers came by so I asked where we would find the shuttle from oure hotel. He sent another worker out to get a great big cart so we wouldn't be dragging 5 little ones around while he pulled out his cell phone and called the hotel for us. Then he, and the other worker, loaded all of our bags and bikes onto the large cart and wheeled it over to the last check point where they had to unloaded all of our bags onto another xray machine before walking around to the other side to put them back on the big cart. They then wheeled everything outside and found our drive, wheeled everything across the street into the parking garage to the drivers van, and then helped load evything into the van. Yes things had definitely gotten better!
After a 20 minute drive we were at our hotel and the driver was unloading our stuff with two helpers from the hotel. This is where it looked like our luck was turning bad again but......that story is for another time!
We Have Arrived
Well, it is official....we are now in Costa Rica! I thought it would never happen, those last few days we were in Pennsylvania. Between the last minute packing/throwing away/pulling out my hair and painting/sweeping/mopping stages, I was ready to just drag everything that was left in the house out into the front yard and set it on fire!
Just so you don't worry...I didn't. However, all of my friends that were there helping us get ready to move were wishing that I would....LOL!
I need to stop right here and thank all of them....Angie, Julie, Isaiah, Josh, and Rebecca....for taking time to help us. It was greatly appreciated!!
Standing in the kitchen, looking at the empty rooms, was one of the saddest moments of this journey. Of course, getting in the car and saying goodbye to our friends, then going into the airport and saying goodbye to our other friends, made the moment in the kitchen pale in comparison!
We are going to miss all of our friends in the states a great deal and we hope that you will keep up with us through facebook and my blog.
Take Care and we love you!
Just so you don't worry...I didn't. However, all of my friends that were there helping us get ready to move were wishing that I would....LOL!
I need to stop right here and thank all of them....Angie, Julie, Isaiah, Josh, and Rebecca....for taking time to help us. It was greatly appreciated!!
Standing in the kitchen, looking at the empty rooms, was one of the saddest moments of this journey. Of course, getting in the car and saying goodbye to our friends, then going into the airport and saying goodbye to our other friends, made the moment in the kitchen pale in comparison!
We are going to miss all of our friends in the states a great deal and we hope that you will keep up with us through facebook and my blog.
Take Care and we love you!
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