JDPFu.com 2025

The first day of school and my adopted madra takes her nino to school. Sorry, no pictures of breakfast today. It consisted of a scrambled egg, rice & beans, bananas, pinapple, papiya, and some other fruit with a small cup of orange juice. She made some coffee, so I had a taste. It was similar to the instant coffee in taste.

Class was brutal. My head is overflowing with Espanol. It is just me and a woman from south Florida in the class. We’re both struggling to understand since everything is spoken in Spanish – everything. That makes it hard to understrand when you don’t have any basis to begin. Present participles – huh? Imaging trying to explain THAT when the students don’t speak the language at all.

Ok, so school is out and I don’t have any formal homework – at least I don’t think I do. Sometimes it is hard to tell whether I really understand the statement/question or assignment.

At one point, my classmate walked out in frustation. She returned 5 minutes later. I think she was concerned that I picked up a new concept quickly. It wasn’t fair to her. My Spanish tapes covered it AND I understood it. I’d read where the first 3 days were the worst.
For me, the frustrating part is that I often answer in German in my head. I expect that reflex will be turned off in the next day or so. My German isn’t that good, but somehow it is still better than my Spanish.

I attempted to upload some photos, but the school connection is shared with 30 other students. Quite the bandwidth hog. After a few uploaded, the connection was stalled. I’ll try to find an easier way to upload.

Time for lunch and I need to figure out which activities I want to do most afternoons. The Heredia visit for today was canceled for some reason. A Soda (diner), then to the grocery store to get some more toothpaste. I didn’t refill from the last trip.

BTW, I’m loving this Nokia N800.

I’m fully covered with SPF-65 and ready to head out for the morning. This afternoon, I meet my first family. They have twin 20 yr olds – a boy and a girl. I can’t wait to meet the entire family!

Ok, today I slept in until 530a after all the sleep I had last night. It sounded like another guest was on a 7am flight since they made a bunch of noise leaving. The walls were just a little too thin, if you know what I mean.

Since I missed my opportunity to get some dinner, I was famished. Breakfast was a mix of banana, pineapple, and apple pastry. Yummy.

After breakfast I decided to see the town. There’s basically two main roads with a bunch of residential streets. I walked about 7 miles [pedometer est] over 3+ hours. Even though I’d gooped on the SFP-65 sunblock, my face was fried. I’m very happy I put on a hat at the half way point or my head would be destroyed. My hair is getting thinner.

A quick lunch at a local Soda – eh – sorry I forgot the photos. Then a short siesta as I waited for my ride to the homestay familia. While waiting, I attempted to skype a few people and finalize some arrangements for the next trip – Argentina.

Google Maps Link to their home

So my family is mucho grande than expected. The paperwork showed a mother, father, and 20 year old twins. Add two more girls to that list, a 2 year old and lots of extended family. Seems they don’t live under the same roof, so they don’t count. One of the daughters with child lives across the courtyard in the back.
After explaining to them that I knew nada Espanol and getting approval to speak Ingliss for today only, we attempted to exchange family information in mostly Spanish. It was almost impossible as I used a Spanish/English dictionary to locate key works. Only 1 daughter speaks fairly fluent English, so communication was difficult on both sides. The shock of not being able to communicate even the simplest of ideas really gets you thinking how to learn quicker.

Next we went to a church parade that the entire town of San Joaquin seemed to come to. It was a reenactment of the Roman solders after Jesus rose from the dead. Photos. During and after the parade, I met more extended family. The little one is a magnet.

Next, dinner. Fried chicken and bananas at a local eatery. I have a photo of the bananas in a sauce, but sadly, the fried chicken was eaten prior to the photo. You didn’t miss anything. It looked and tasted just like fried chicken. Yummy.

It became pitch black outside by 630p. The family was holding discussions for about another hour, before everyone headed to their rooms and everything quieted down.

They are wonderful and patient with my lack of Spanish.
No internet at home and I didn’t bring a router with me. I think they have a computer, their son, Jorge, is studying computer hw maintenance and support and hopes to get employed by HP here.

Things I’ve learned.

• TP doesn’t go in the bowl.
• Bring all your own bathroom items – towels, soap, shampoo, plus the normal stuff.
• Power is the same as the USA
• oh, and most importantly, my pedometer estimated that I walked over 12 miles today. That doesn’t seem correct, but I do believe the step count. It was definitely over 7 miles.
• Tomorrow the 100% Spanish only rule begins.

Summary:

1. Computer Keyboard problems
2. Flight
3. Fernando
4. Bed and Breakfast
5. Afternoon activities
6. Dinner? TBD

Ok, the computer I’m using is configured for English, but doesn’t have a US Keyboard. You’ll see that I use odd wording because some of the keys simply aren’t available. For example, the asterisk key is nowhere to be found (important for this blog), least not shift-8 or on the key that displays it. Ok, enough about that.

The flight – what can I say. I’ve never been on an airplane with more children in my life. Seems spring break and family vacations to Costa Rica are in. Most seemed spoiled too. The kids next to me lived in Raleigh, NC. When I asked about their Spanish – they’d lived in Venezuela for 3 years. The brother and sister were pleasant enough for teenagers. The last 5 minutes in was bumpy and the landing was a little rough.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention it – the airport. Warm with long lines for Immigration. I’d read in a guidebook that there would be lines. There definitely are, unless, you are a citizen of Costa Rica. No lines for them. We landed at 12:10p and I found Fernando a little before 2p. My luggage was waiting for me, already pulled from the luggage belt. They say if you are at the front of the plan – RUN for immigration to beat the lines. There was a line in the main hallway to enter the line. Turns out that line was to get to the end of the line to go into another, larger room, with an even longer line before getting to Immigration folks.

Fernando picked me up outside the airport entrance. He speaks ZERO (nada) English. That wasn’t important – he had the sign with my name on it so I got in the van with him for a 10 minute drive to the Bed and Breakfast, Santa Maria Inn. I’m only here 1 night. No crazy driving experienced or seen. Also, no charge for the drive – which was unexpected. I figure he’d waited at least 90 minutes on a holiday for me when he could have been with his family. I wish I’d snapped a photo of the madhouse at the exit with taxi drivers trying to get fairs. It was crazy and I was offered all kinds of unwanted help.

Santa Maria Inn – In Costa Rica addresses aren’t absolute. They are relative to some local landmark. The Inn is relative to the Pacific Coast Gas Station. Nice. The Inn seems nice. The razor wire all around it makes me feel secure. There is razor wire, seriously. I think this is a nice neighborhood. The home across the street has some nice trucks with alarms.

More after I get my bearings, grab some snacks and figure out what’s for dinner. There’s nothing within walking distance according to the manager. They offer a taxi service or he could order a pizza – that’s a quote.

I must have been tired. After going back to my room, I slept until 11pm. Woke up long enough to close the windows – a few mosquitoes were buzzing me. No bites. Then I watched a movie on HBO-S and went back to sleep for the night.

• Must do things? http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/costa-rica/
  • Learn Spanish
  • Zip Line / Hiking thru the Rain forest
  • River tour
  • Hang gliding over San Jose
  • Deep Sea fishing
  • Volcano tour Irazú Volcano or Poas Volcano
  • Rural Tourism??? Not very high on my list
  • Environmental tourist?
  • Teach a computer class?
  • Learn to surf
  • Lay out on a beach – tan; you can’t go on vacation and not get a little sun
  • Any local festivals or holidays upcoming (April 11th: Juan Santamaria Day, National Hero)
• Spanish is the official language; need to brush up on my Spanish
• Fly Delta for frequent flier miles, if possible (Tues-Sat)
• Where to stay (4/5 star hotel)
  • San Jose
  • elsewhere?
• Duration?
• Rent a car?
• Money Exchange Rate?
• Shots/Health Concerns – scheduled shots/boosters needed $350 worth.
  • Drink bottled water, avoid ice in all drinks
  • vaccinations – Yellow Fever, hepatitis A+B, Tetanus, typhoid, Mumps-Measles-Rubella.
  • Malaria Risk in Alajuela, Limón, Guanacaste, and Heredia provinces. No risk in Limón city (Puerto Limón).
• US State Department / Costa Rica Consolate Safety issues ** Don’t carry your passport – photocopy of Costa Rican entry stamp) Travel Suggestions
  • State Dept Travel Registration International Travel tips
    Entrance/Departure Visa fees – none for short stays; US$26 to leave
    Airport Shuttle costs?
    Power converter not needed
    Internet/WiFi in the hotels?
    Insect repellent w/ DEET
    Immunization records – Mumps, Measels
    Phrase book

Overseas telephone card?

• Important Phone numbers:
  • Bank CC cancel/replacement
  • overseas health insurance
  • family
  • in-country US embassy/consulate
  • airline
  • hotels
  • tour guide

Current temp – 27 deg C – 80 deg F
Time Zone – Central US