Come here now please!

Hola!

It's been a busy couple of days. On Wednesday, I didn't go to work. Natalie, Amy and I ran errands with Patri.

We waited forever for the bus, Zapote Pista, to show up. Sometimes the buses come every five minutes; sometimes you wait for almost an hour. Patri has started speaking bits and pieces of English. Her favorite (and only) phrase is, "Come here now please!" When she speaks, you can't help but laugh. She tries so hard.

We went to the bank and then to a big store that I swear was Costco under a different name. The two are probably owned by the same company, because they were so similar. We walked around and got lunch in the store. After lunch, Patri bought a frozen caramel cappuccino. She didn't like it for whatever reason, and after a few minutes, she asked three kids sitting at a table next to us if they wanted her drink. They took it without hesitation. That's how Costa Rica is - you don't have to worry about a stranger trying to kidnap you by offering you a treat.

We went to the mall, where Patri bought a pair of orange earrings to match her new shirt. Tican women dress up when they leave the house. Patri was shocked when we wanted to wear our gym shorts and sneakers anywhere but the gym. We also went to a store called El Rey. I think it was a dollar store.

After our productive shopping, I took a little nap and went to the gym. A new group of students from a study abroad program just arrived, so the gym was packed. I don't know what it is, but for some reason, I don't like that more gringos are here. No one in my program does. Maybe we feel some sense of ownership? I can't quite figure it out. We're acting territorial.

Wednesday day, we headed downtown for another guest speaker. I loved this week's speaker. His name is Mohit, Mo for short, and he has lived the coolest life. His father worked for the World Bank, so Mo was born in Greece, lived in Paris for four years, then in Bengali for four years, then Switzerland, Singapore and Japan. He went to Stanford University for undergrad, where he majored in industrial engineering. A few years after working as a consultant in a consulting firm, he went on a roadtrip with an old friend from Geneva and had a realization that he didn't love what he was doing. He decided to go to graduate school (at Harvard, no less) for international education. He went to Ecuador and taught physics in schools, and eventually he made it to Costa Rica to work for the University of Peace. University of Peace, which is almost as corny as University of Dreams, is a newer school that was created solely for graduate work in peace and conflict studies. Costa Rica offered to start it in their country because Costa Rica is the only country without a military.

Mohit is so cool. He speaks English, Bengali, French and Spanish. He used to speak Japanese but he lost it. He married a Brazilian woman, and they had to decide what language to use with their children (the kids get English from their parents, Spanish from their babysitter, both in school, and eventually will be taught Portuguese). He talked to us about conflict and different perspectives. I was fascinated; the conversation became very philosophical. I had so many questions; he gave us a little card about the university and told us to call him any time for a tour of the campus. We all want to go. His work sounds awesome.

One of the things I like about working for Summa is that the articles they write are surprisingly relevant and on point. For example, my sister Karen has a lot of cousins and friends who work in customer support centers for companies like Hewlett Packard. They are trained to speak English with a New York accent or a Southern accent so that the caller doesn't know they are talking to someone in Latin America. The Ticans that do this well end up getting paid extremely well. The other day at work, I edited an article studying customer support centers in Central America and how they are affecting both the United States' and Central America's economies.

I'm also working on an article about public transportation. The World Economic Forum recently issued the 2009 rankings of ground public transportation all over the world. Panama came in second to last on a global level. Honduras was the best out of all of Central America, but it was still in the 60s somewhere. We groan every day about the lack of organization in the bus system here. I like studying and writing about issues that actually impact the readers.

After working on that article and meeting David and Amy for lunch yesterday, I came home and went to the gym (in the pouring rain). Our group was supposed to have a cultural event last night, but the live band canceled. The back-up plan was bowling. So cultural, right?

It turned out to be a lot of fun. A little boy bowling with his family next to our lanes bumped into my on accident and screamed "Sorry!" at the top of his lungs. I laughed and thought, he speaks English? His mom told me he goes to a bilingual school and that she speaks English. I told him that if he wanted to practice, he had a whole group of gringos right here. Some students here are fortunate enough to go to bilingual schools. They have a huge advantage in the working world in Costa Rica if they do.

There was a group of old men in their own league on the other side of our lanes that were insanely good. They got mad and cursed if they got anything less than a strike. One of them was asking me tons of questions. What were we doing here? Where are we from? Where do we live? He told me I speak Spanish well! Ticans are curious about foreigners. They aren't rude at all; they just want to learn about us.

After bowling, we went to dinner at Cafe Mundo. This was my second time here. I went the first time for Susie's birthday at work. It was so good. Natalie and I shared pechuga de pollo a la parilla with vegetables. I haven't had a lean piece of chicken like that in so long. It wasn't salted at all. I miss healthy food.

Amy, Natalie and David went out last night, but I wasn't up for it. They gave me a hard time, but I was exhausted. Natalie just told me that when they came home last night, Patri heard them in the kitchen and came downstairs furious. She yelled at them for making noise and for leaving the lights on. Apparently, their electricity bill was ridiculous this month. Patri won't stop unplugging things (like my computer, so it dies) all over the house. She's been turning the hot water off during the day. I don't understand why she can afford to buy a new pair of earrings at the mall but can't cover her monthly payments. Natalie told Joaquin at dinner that we don't usually get a lot of protein at home because Patri is cooking for so many people (there are nine of us total). Joaquin said our family is getting enough money from the three of us that we should be able to eat whatever we want. It all sounds a little suspicious to me. All I know is that I miss unsalty food and vegetables. I never thought I would say that...

This weekend, I am going to Jaco Beach. It is supposed to be lovely but extremely touristy. Amy, Natalie and I are starting to hate tourists. We want to fit in with the locals. Somehow, I don't think I'll blend in anytime soon.

I'm off to eat breakfast, go to the gym and pack!

Pura Vida,
Lauren