Friday, October 10, 2008
Tyler's article
Tyler got an "article" published in the Foreign Service Journal about his Peace Corps and diplomatic experience. If you want to read it, go here: http://www.afsa.org/fsj/oct08/fromThe.pdf and see pages 44 and 45.
Tyler's article
Tyler got an "article" published in the Foreign Service Journal about his Peace Corps and diplomatic experience. You can read it here: http://www.afsa.org/fsj/oct08/fromThe.pdf Pages 44 and 45
Tyler's Article in the Foreign Service Journal
Tyler got an "article" about his Peace Corps and diplomatic experience published in the Foreign Service Journal. You can read it here: page 44 and 45. http://www.afsa.org/fsj/oct08/fromThe.pdf
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Surfing
Let me share with you about our surfing experience. Tyler and I (but mostly Tyler) decided that while we are in Costa Rica we might as well learn how to surf. So we went to another friend this past Saturday. Side note – the friend’s name is Juanfer…short for Juan Fernando, but still funny. Nicest guy ever – Juanfer - if you read this, don’t feel bad.
We went to the closest beach to San Jose which is about two hours away. The beach is called Jaco. As a side note, just a few days after our first surf lesson, I read that this beach is contaminated. Great. The beach is dirty, I should have known better…
When we arrived, we looked out at the waves and were not intimidated by their size but rather the fact that there were manta rays jumping out of the water – not like a few “can you spot one?” but absolutely hundreds all over the place. My Wikipedia research informs me that this is practically the same as a sting ray. (Many of you may be familiar with the story about Tyler’s first surfing experience…when he caught one wave, jumped off the board onto a sting ray, and had to be carried to shore by his best friend.) Fantastic.
Anyway, by the time we had received all of our instruction and jumped on and off the board on the sand and faked surfing poses on an old beat up surfboard sitting on the sand with no ocean or waves, the manta rays had disappeared and I guess we were ready to give it a try. We all got assigned boards and went into the water with two instructors. It actually wasn’t terribly difficult to stand up – for about 5 seconds…but what was REALLY HARD was getting back out into the water. The waves were not teeny and the boards are big. So, we did this routine – spend 15 minutes getting out to the wave and then catch it, stand up for 5 seconds (or about 8 if you’re Tyler), fall off, and trudge back out again – for about an hour and a half. Needless to say, I was knackered after that. We had a little break with a snack, and then I was told we have another hour of surfing left. Yeah! Not yeah!
So I walked, dragging my feet back to my surfboard and was dreading fighting the waves again. Instead of guiding my board, I decided I would just attach it by the strap to my ankle and pull it into the water. I fully recognized that this was a bad and very unsafe idea (if you don’t know why, you’ll read in a second). I was about waist deep when I saw a big wave coming. I knew that not having a grip on my board at that time was a very bad idea, but I couldn’t get to it fast enough. The board got yanked by the wave and slammed back at me. Thankfully, it was slammed back into my thighs (where I have a little padding) and not into my face. I have a few bruises but nothing major.
So, I sulk back to the beach, having given up for the day on this new hobby of mine. The instructor comes and sits next to me and I ask him if he has another smaller, lighter board. He tells me that he gave me the smallest, lightest board he had. He also points out another girl in our class who has a board that’s (according to him) “much heavier, and much bigger.” As I look at her, I see that she is actually surfing. Good job her. Bad job woosy me. Then, to make me feel more woosy (although I know he is being nice), he asks if I want him to walk the surfboard out for me and then I can surf back in. Although tempted, I do not take up his offer to look like the woosiest person on the planet (or at least at Jaco Beach that day).
We went to the closest beach to San Jose which is about two hours away. The beach is called Jaco. As a side note, just a few days after our first surf lesson, I read that this beach is contaminated. Great. The beach is dirty, I should have known better…
When we arrived, we looked out at the waves and were not intimidated by their size but rather the fact that there were manta rays jumping out of the water – not like a few “can you spot one?” but absolutely hundreds all over the place. My Wikipedia research informs me that this is practically the same as a sting ray. (Many of you may be familiar with the story about Tyler’s first surfing experience…when he caught one wave, jumped off the board onto a sting ray, and had to be carried to shore by his best friend.) Fantastic.
Anyway, by the time we had received all of our instruction and jumped on and off the board on the sand and faked surfing poses on an old beat up surfboard sitting on the sand with no ocean or waves, the manta rays had disappeared and I guess we were ready to give it a try. We all got assigned boards and went into the water with two instructors. It actually wasn’t terribly difficult to stand up – for about 5 seconds…but what was REALLY HARD was getting back out into the water. The waves were not teeny and the boards are big. So, we did this routine – spend 15 minutes getting out to the wave and then catch it, stand up for 5 seconds (or about 8 if you’re Tyler), fall off, and trudge back out again – for about an hour and a half. Needless to say, I was knackered after that. We had a little break with a snack, and then I was told we have another hour of surfing left. Yeah! Not yeah!
So I walked, dragging my feet back to my surfboard and was dreading fighting the waves again. Instead of guiding my board, I decided I would just attach it by the strap to my ankle and pull it into the water. I fully recognized that this was a bad and very unsafe idea (if you don’t know why, you’ll read in a second). I was about waist deep when I saw a big wave coming. I knew that not having a grip on my board at that time was a very bad idea, but I couldn’t get to it fast enough. The board got yanked by the wave and slammed back at me. Thankfully, it was slammed back into my thighs (where I have a little padding) and not into my face. I have a few bruises but nothing major.
So, I sulk back to the beach, having given up for the day on this new hobby of mine. The instructor comes and sits next to me and I ask him if he has another smaller, lighter board. He tells me that he gave me the smallest, lightest board he had. He also points out another girl in our class who has a board that’s (according to him) “much heavier, and much bigger.” As I look at her, I see that she is actually surfing. Good job her. Bad job woosy me. Then, to make me feel more woosy (although I know he is being nice), he asks if I want him to walk the surfboard out for me and then I can surf back in. Although tempted, I do not take up his offer to look like the woosiest person on the planet (or at least at Jaco Beach that day).
Monday, September 15, 2008
I got a job.
If I have to make that a title of a blog post for every place we move I might go crazy.
Anyway, if you've been reading the blog, you know that I was doing consulting in Kosovo this summer. At the same time I was applying for, interviewing for, and negotiating for a job with the Embassy here in Costa Rica.
The process was long and arduous, but it finally worked out and I started a job two weeks ago. I work four days a week (less than I wanted) and I am working in the Economic section. This means that I am keeping an eye on the economic situation here. Some particular areas I'll be working on are: training for Costa Rican business and government having to do with trade, real estate, tourism, aviation (airlines/airports), corporate social responsibility, and little bit with the transportation sector.
The job will be very different for me and a good challenge. I work with two other people in the Economic section but, obviously, with a lot of other people at the Embassy in general.
Anyway, if you've been reading the blog, you know that I was doing consulting in Kosovo this summer. At the same time I was applying for, interviewing for, and negotiating for a job with the Embassy here in Costa Rica.
The process was long and arduous, but it finally worked out and I started a job two weeks ago. I work four days a week (less than I wanted) and I am working in the Economic section. This means that I am keeping an eye on the economic situation here. Some particular areas I'll be working on are: training for Costa Rican business and government having to do with trade, real estate, tourism, aviation (airlines/airports), corporate social responsibility, and little bit with the transportation sector.
The job will be very different for me and a good challenge. I work with two other people in the Economic section but, obviously, with a lot of other people at the Embassy in general.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Prizren, Kosovo
Yes, it's true. Once again I am back in Kosovo - for the third time. I'm certainly not complaining. I really like working here and exploring and trying to understand the country.
The first time I was here I was just trying to figure everything out. The second time I was here it was for a short time (about a week) and I worked every day from 8 AM to 10 PM to try to get a proposal finished before I left. This is my first trip where I have felt like I had time to be a tourist. (At least for today...I anticipate the rest of my time here to be quite busy.)
So I took the opportunity to go to Prizren. Prizren is about two hours from the capital of Prishtina and in the southwest part of Kosovo. It is considered the cultural capital and I could understand why after spending about 30 minutes there. The first thing I did (after I found a strategically placed tourist map) was hike up to the ruins of an old castle that overlook the entire town. On the way up I saw some barbed wire on either side of the path I was walking on and big signs saying "Entry prohibited, use of weapons is authorized." Yikes. Should I keep walking? Do they mean the path that I am on right now or just the areas on the sides of it... So I decided to proceed, since nothing was blocking my way, and try to look really stupid, innocent, and harmless. I walked up about two more minutes and saw a beautiful Serbian Orthodox church surrounded by barbed wire. The path split off in three directions at that point, one way to the church (with big signs saying Entry Prohibited, use of weapons is authorized) one way to two big doors that said KFOR and Entry Prohibited, use of weapons is authorized and one way that were stairs up. No other signs. You can imagine which way I decided to go. But, the path was steep, the day was insanely hot, and I was dripping. I decided to sit on the steps and have a drink of water.
Conveniently enough, just as I was sitting down, up rolls a jeep that had come up the path behind me with two German soldiers in it. (I know this because the license plate had the German flag on it as did the arms of the soldiers' uniforms.) I hope this is not the time when they think use of weapons is authorized and I don't know how to say anything else in German except for alveeterzain (I know that is the wrong way to spell it) which I learned from the "So long, Farewell" song on Sound of Music.
Luckily for me, the soldiers get out of the car and #1 says "hello." Good sign. People do not say hello to the person they want to draw their weapon on. A little yelling and shouting later (in German) some other soldiers trounce out of the Serbian Orthodox church in plastic sandals and uniforms to help these guys unload some stuff from the truck.
Although I could guess the answer, I thought maybe my sweaty good looks and wedding ring would convince the soldiers to have a look at the church even though it didn't appear to be allowed. I asked #1 and he very gently let me down by telling me that the chief doesn't allow it. I checked with him that the stairs were the way to the castle and he told me yes and off I went.
Strange encounter #2: As I was walking up, I saw a guy walking towards me. Since I was alone on the path and was still within shouting distance of the German KFOR I decided to stop and pretend to admire the view while this guy passed. Using my excellent Albanian (the language of Kosovo predominantly) I said Hello (merdita...in case you're interested in learning). He responded and then I promptly said "I speak English" (in English.) He didn't unfortunately and he suggested "italiano", I shook my head and suggested "espanol", he shook his head, I suggested "bulgarski"...obviously that didn't work either. We "chatted" as much as two people can chat who don't speak each other's language, but the common words in Italian and Spanish plus his knowledge of a few words of English had us talking for about 15 minutes. I bid him farewell (didn't think to use alveetersain that time) and went on up.
The views from the ruins of the castle were amazing and that's when I really understood why they call Prizren the cultural capital. From what I could see, in the center of town there were seven Serbian Orthodox Churches and 17 Mosques. That's insane. Even in Istanbul I don't recall there being so many. Unfortunately, when I descended the mountain and began really exploring the town I was disappointed to find that nearly all of the churches and mosques were completely closed. During the war in Kosovo, the Serbs bombed many of the mosques and the Albanians bombed many of the churches. Some are completely ruined and others are empty shells or have walls that are falling down that make them dangerous to enter. So I admired many of them from the outside.
Quickly about my bus ride...in Bulgaria I took buses everywhere and they were generally comfortable (not always, but mostly). Sometimes they had air conditioning, sometimes not. Sometimes they had heat, sometimes not. The buses I took to and from Prizren were not super fancy, but they were 1) air conditioned - since it was about 90 today, that was important, 2) cheap - 3 Euros or about 5 bucks each way, and 3) had good service - they served little snacks and drinks at no extra charge - on the way there I got a piece of chocolate and on the way back I got a little cookie and a coke. Tell you what, that's much better than the service on most airlines these days.
The first time I was here I was just trying to figure everything out. The second time I was here it was for a short time (about a week) and I worked every day from 8 AM to 10 PM to try to get a proposal finished before I left. This is my first trip where I have felt like I had time to be a tourist. (At least for today...I anticipate the rest of my time here to be quite busy.)
So I took the opportunity to go to Prizren. Prizren is about two hours from the capital of Prishtina and in the southwest part of Kosovo. It is considered the cultural capital and I could understand why after spending about 30 minutes there. The first thing I did (after I found a strategically placed tourist map) was hike up to the ruins of an old castle that overlook the entire town. On the way up I saw some barbed wire on either side of the path I was walking on and big signs saying "Entry prohibited, use of weapons is authorized." Yikes. Should I keep walking? Do they mean the path that I am on right now or just the areas on the sides of it... So I decided to proceed, since nothing was blocking my way, and try to look really stupid, innocent, and harmless. I walked up about two more minutes and saw a beautiful Serbian Orthodox church surrounded by barbed wire. The path split off in three directions at that point, one way to the church (with big signs saying Entry Prohibited, use of weapons is authorized) one way to two big doors that said KFOR and Entry Prohibited, use of weapons is authorized and one way that were stairs up. No other signs. You can imagine which way I decided to go. But, the path was steep, the day was insanely hot, and I was dripping. I decided to sit on the steps and have a drink of water.
Conveniently enough, just as I was sitting down, up rolls a jeep that had come up the path behind me with two German soldiers in it. (I know this because the license plate had the German flag on it as did the arms of the soldiers' uniforms.) I hope this is not the time when they think use of weapons is authorized and I don't know how to say anything else in German except for alveeterzain (I know that is the wrong way to spell it) which I learned from the "So long, Farewell" song on Sound of Music.
Luckily for me, the soldiers get out of the car and #1 says "hello." Good sign. People do not say hello to the person they want to draw their weapon on. A little yelling and shouting later (in German) some other soldiers trounce out of the Serbian Orthodox church in plastic sandals and uniforms to help these guys unload some stuff from the truck.
Although I could guess the answer, I thought maybe my sweaty good looks and wedding ring would convince the soldiers to have a look at the church even though it didn't appear to be allowed. I asked #1 and he very gently let me down by telling me that the chief doesn't allow it. I checked with him that the stairs were the way to the castle and he told me yes and off I went.
Strange encounter #2: As I was walking up, I saw a guy walking towards me. Since I was alone on the path and was still within shouting distance of the German KFOR I decided to stop and pretend to admire the view while this guy passed. Using my excellent Albanian (the language of Kosovo predominantly) I said Hello (merdita...in case you're interested in learning). He responded and then I promptly said "I speak English" (in English.) He didn't unfortunately and he suggested "italiano", I shook my head and suggested "espanol", he shook his head, I suggested "bulgarski"...obviously that didn't work either. We "chatted" as much as two people can chat who don't speak each other's language, but the common words in Italian and Spanish plus his knowledge of a few words of English had us talking for about 15 minutes. I bid him farewell (didn't think to use alveetersain that time) and went on up.
The views from the ruins of the castle were amazing and that's when I really understood why they call Prizren the cultural capital. From what I could see, in the center of town there were seven Serbian Orthodox Churches and 17 Mosques. That's insane. Even in Istanbul I don't recall there being so many. Unfortunately, when I descended the mountain and began really exploring the town I was disappointed to find that nearly all of the churches and mosques were completely closed. During the war in Kosovo, the Serbs bombed many of the mosques and the Albanians bombed many of the churches. Some are completely ruined and others are empty shells or have walls that are falling down that make them dangerous to enter. So I admired many of them from the outside.
Quickly about my bus ride...in Bulgaria I took buses everywhere and they were generally comfortable (not always, but mostly). Sometimes they had air conditioning, sometimes not. Sometimes they had heat, sometimes not. The buses I took to and from Prizren were not super fancy, but they were 1) air conditioned - since it was about 90 today, that was important, 2) cheap - 3 Euros or about 5 bucks each way, and 3) had good service - they served little snacks and drinks at no extra charge - on the way there I got a piece of chocolate and on the way back I got a little cookie and a coke. Tell you what, that's much better than the service on most airlines these days.
Monday, August 4, 2008
A Few Pictures from Mexico
We were in Mexico with Tyler's parents last week and had a wonderful time. I'm posting some pictures here. We visited Chichen Itza - one of the new seven wonders of the world. Here is a Mayan temple that we saw there.
We also went to a town called Rio Lagartos to see flamingos in their natural habitat. This picture isn't great but wild animals don't really want to be photographed up close!
Then we went to Isla Holbox and went swimming with whale sharks We swam with this one in the picture who is a 20 year old "baby." She was about 35 feet long. We swam with her without cages or anything...she whacked me with her fin on accident!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Pictures from Kosovo
So first of all, I want to show you some pictures to demonstrate how much Kosovo loves the United States. This is a picture of some posters that have been plastered on a wall for "The Association Friends of USA." You can see that there are pics of Condi Rice, Dick Cheney, Laura Bush, and some other famous political Americans.
The next three pics are of a Bar and Disco called Hillary. I tried to take a picture of the inside where they have big photos of Bill and Hillary.
This is Bill Clinton Boulevard which is one of the main streets in Prishtina.
Okay, now we are off the topic of loving America. The next couple of pictures are of a castle in Novo Brdo (about 45 minutes from the capital of Prishtina) that was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's super old (13th century) and not very well preserved but still was interesting and up on a hill with beautiful views.
This is a picture of the monastery I wrote about yesterday. Sorry it's a little dark.
The next three pics are of a Bar and Disco called Hillary. I tried to take a picture of the inside where they have big photos of Bill and Hillary.
This is Bill Clinton Boulevard which is one of the main streets in Prishtina.Okay, now we are off the topic of loving America. The next couple of pictures are of a castle in Novo Brdo (about 45 minutes from the capital of Prishtina) that was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's super old (13th century) and not very well preserved but still was interesting and up on a hill with beautiful views.
This is a picture of the monastery I wrote about yesterday. Sorry it's a little dark.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Back in Kosovo
For those of you who don't know, I'm back in Kosovo now, but only for a week. I came back to help with another proposal. This time I'm crazy busy and working so much I don't have time to see much or think about much outside of work. But I did get the chance to visit a monastery (will post picks of this soon). The monastery is Serbian Orthodox (Christian). Most Kosovars are Muslim. During the conflict, the Serbs (Christians) burned down the Albanians' mosques and vice versa. 73 churches and mosques were destroyed during the fighting. It's sad because Kosovo lost a lot of its rich cultural history and potential for tourism because of this.
Anyway, at the monastery they were selling some souvenir items and one of them was a book with a title something like "The Churches that were Burned Down by the Albanians during the Conflict." Yeah. It was a little intense. In the book they had a picture of every church when it was complete and then after it was bombed. There were pictures of bloodied people who were either dead or seriously injured. Most shocking was the fact that for each church they had a description of what happened to it and then the flag of the country's forces that was occupying the area at the time. So there were Italian, British, American, Irish, all sorts of flags and sentences like this "The American KFOR forces allowed the Albanians to burn this church." Or "After the British KFOR arrived in town x they stood by while Albanians torched the church." They even went so far as to show pictures of soldiers in churches (they appeared to just be looking around.)
This monastery survived because it was located in a predominantly Serbian town and the citizens protected it. Now it has Swedish KFOR there protecting it.
Alright, that's it...I will be heading back to Costa Rica on Tuesday and will try to post some pictures this week.
Anyway, at the monastery they were selling some souvenir items and one of them was a book with a title something like "The Churches that were Burned Down by the Albanians during the Conflict." Yeah. It was a little intense. In the book they had a picture of every church when it was complete and then after it was bombed. There were pictures of bloodied people who were either dead or seriously injured. Most shocking was the fact that for each church they had a description of what happened to it and then the flag of the country's forces that was occupying the area at the time. So there were Italian, British, American, Irish, all sorts of flags and sentences like this "The American KFOR forces allowed the Albanians to burn this church." Or "After the British KFOR arrived in town x they stood by while Albanians torched the church." They even went so far as to show pictures of soldiers in churches (they appeared to just be looking around.)
This monastery survived because it was located in a predominantly Serbian town and the citizens protected it. Now it has Swedish KFOR there protecting it.
Alright, that's it...I will be heading back to Costa Rica on Tuesday and will try to post some pictures this week.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
New Pictures of Lucy
Here are some new pictures of Lucy. She's now almost four months old and it so much bigger then when I left for Kosovo just three weeks ago. Her coat is also changing colors - which is normal for Beagles up until a year old. 
Pictures from Kosovo
Here are some pictures from my trip to Kosovo.
First, here is the "monument" to their independence. It's been signed by all sorts of people - legally, not graffitti.
This is the University Library. I think it looks pretty cool for a building in a communist country but people here tell me that it is ugly.
Here is the office where I was working and the view from that office.
The view looks exactly like Bulgaria.
Also, while I was in Kosovo, The Wall Street Journal published an article about tourism in Kosovo. My mom saw it and sent it to me. Here is a link to it:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121452066620808827.html
Monday, June 30, 2008
Coffee
So, in this region of the world a lot of people drink "Turkish" coffee. This means coffee that is boiled with the grounds in it. It's much thicker than American coffee, is served in a smaller cup, and often has a kind of sludge at the bottom. It never has milk added but if people want sugar it is boiled with the sugar. They had this in Bulgaria too. However, here they do something a little different. At a cafe, they serve you this coffee with a small glass of sparkling water. You don't pay for the water, it comes with the coffee. It make sense since this coffee is so thick but is just something interesting that I have not seen before.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
An insight into Kosovo
So today I got out of Prishtina (the capital) a bit for a meeting with one of Care's partner organizations. One of the guys from the partner organization spoke pretty good English so as we were drinking coffee after our meeting I was chatting to him about his community, etc. He told me his story about during the war and according to everyone I have talked to here, this was not out of character.
Let me give you a little background before going into it. In Kosovo there are two main ethnic groups: Albanians and Serbians. Albanians are the majority and Serbians are the minority. In addition, there are other smaller minority groups like Roma (gypsy) and Eqyptians. Under Milosovec and up until Februrary of this year, Kosovo was part of Serbia but considered an autonomous state. So essentially, they ran their own affairs but were part of Serbia. Under Milosevec this started to change and Albanias began to be discriminated against. Think of apartheid in South Africa - the minority discriminating against the majority. Anyway, many communities in Kosovo were (and still are) divided ethnically. So there are all-Albanian towns or all-Serbian towns. In the late 90s, the situation escalated to violence - which many of us know about from the NATO bombings, Kosovar refugees, etc. There were "freedom fighters" or a "terrorist organization" depending on who you believe called the Kosovo Liberation Army.
When this violence started by the freedom fighters/terrorists, it also began on a small scale. Serbians tried to demonstrate the power of Serbia by destroying people's homes and property...and here comes the story. This man I was talking to was about ten at the time that all of this started happening. He lived in a village that was part-Serb and part-Albanian. His Serbian neighbor came into his house and lit it on fire, burning it to the ground and causing he and his family to flee to the mountains for the remainder of the violence. He says now that Kosovo has declared independence, Serbs will not return to his community because they know there will be retalliation.
All of this said, the Albanias are not without fault. Their freedom fighters/terrorists provoked some of the violence, and after Serbians began returning to the communities (even some Serbians who had not committed any acts of violence) some Albanians did the same thing to their homes.
I'm not making a judgment here. I'm just trying to provide you with a personal perspective that we may have missed when we were following the politics of the situation or the US involvement. It's not always easy to figure out exactly what's happening on the ground from the US news media after the US has picked sides.
While there are not that many Serbians around (although a few work in the office here) I will try to talk to them as well and get a different perspective.
Let me give you a little background before going into it. In Kosovo there are two main ethnic groups: Albanians and Serbians. Albanians are the majority and Serbians are the minority. In addition, there are other smaller minority groups like Roma (gypsy) and Eqyptians. Under Milosovec and up until Februrary of this year, Kosovo was part of Serbia but considered an autonomous state. So essentially, they ran their own affairs but were part of Serbia. Under Milosevec this started to change and Albanias began to be discriminated against. Think of apartheid in South Africa - the minority discriminating against the majority. Anyway, many communities in Kosovo were (and still are) divided ethnically. So there are all-Albanian towns or all-Serbian towns. In the late 90s, the situation escalated to violence - which many of us know about from the NATO bombings, Kosovar refugees, etc. There were "freedom fighters" or a "terrorist organization" depending on who you believe called the Kosovo Liberation Army.
When this violence started by the freedom fighters/terrorists, it also began on a small scale. Serbians tried to demonstrate the power of Serbia by destroying people's homes and property...and here comes the story. This man I was talking to was about ten at the time that all of this started happening. He lived in a village that was part-Serb and part-Albanian. His Serbian neighbor came into his house and lit it on fire, burning it to the ground and causing he and his family to flee to the mountains for the remainder of the violence. He says now that Kosovo has declared independence, Serbs will not return to his community because they know there will be retalliation.
All of this said, the Albanias are not without fault. Their freedom fighters/terrorists provoked some of the violence, and after Serbians began returning to the communities (even some Serbians who had not committed any acts of violence) some Albanians did the same thing to their homes.
I'm not making a judgment here. I'm just trying to provide you with a personal perspective that we may have missed when we were following the politics of the situation or the US involvement. It's not always easy to figure out exactly what's happening on the ground from the US news media after the US has picked sides.
While there are not that many Serbians around (although a few work in the office here) I will try to talk to them as well and get a different perspective.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Kosovo
So, despite the fact that the title of my blog is "Anna in Costa Rica" I'm actually writing from Kosovo where I am for about two and a half weeks doing a consultancy with Care. So let me tell you a little bit about my trip here and my first impressions...I just arrived on Thursday night.
I arrived after much drama originating from an extrodinarily delayed flight from Costa Rica which caused me to miss my connection in Atlanta. From there it continued like this - stay an extra 24 hours in Atlanta, layover of 10 hours in Vienna, late arrival at 11 PM in Prishtina (capital of Kosovo) to a lost bag that just arrived yesterday. One wonders how the bag could have not made it here if they had 24 hours in Atlanta and 10 in Vienna, but I know better than to ask those sorts of questions of airlines these days. Anyway, the positive side is that I got to explore Atlanta and Vienna. I had been to Atlanta before but there are always new things to see wherever you go.
Moving on...So my first day in the office was Friday and the staff here are really nice and generally young. The culture seems a lot like Bulgarian, although not exactly the same of course. The people are extremely friendly and really want to play the host - trying to make you feel comfortable, included, and paying for everything. It's quite the change from my experience in Malawi and Costa Rica where most locals don't want anything to do with me. I'm mulling around in my head if that is a cultural thing or if it's a factor of being from the Embassy community...
The city of Prishtina looks a lot like other major cities in the Balkans - less tall buildings, no international hotels, but otherwise very similar. It has several major European chain shops like Bennetton, Mango, and Terranova and the streets are lined with outdoor cafes where everyone is drinking coffee and smoking.
The food is great - a lot like Bulgarian which I miss. The fruits and vegetables are so much better in this region of the world. I've eaten cherries - which we don't get in Costa Rica and the most wondeful tomatoes. Breakfast is buffet style and each morning I eat Bulgarian feta cheese (I'm sure they call it Kosovar feta here...but I'm sticking with Bulgarian - very different from greek feta - much softer and saltier), tomatoes, cucumbers, a delicious type of Balkan salami, and some fruit and other more normal breakfast food. Because of the heavy presence of foreigners in the last decade or so there are also a lot of "international" restaurants like Italian, Mexican, a Brazilian coffee shop, lots of pizza places, etc.
Speaking of the presence of foreigners, the Italians are currently the soldiers who are here keeping the peace. I know some people were worried about my safety coming here, but honestly it feels completely safe. The only funny thing is that yesterday I was sitting in a cafe having a drink and five army hummers (not the kind that idiots drive down the street in urban areas of the US but like really all armored, guns on top, etc.) drove right down the street that all the cafes are on. It seemed strange and when I asked on of my Kosovar collegues, he said it was just to make sure people knew they were there. Whatever. Several British soldiers also came in on my flight. Still trying to make heads or tails of all the military.
When talking to people about customs, attitudes, etc. they preface almost every comment by "before the war, people did this...after the war people do this..." It makes perfect sense since the war was so recent and affected everyone, but for some reason it really made an impression on me.
Well, the good news is that they have already asked me to come back again to help with another project for a few weeks so I'm happy about that. I'll go back to Costa Rica for about a week and then come back here...then Tyler and I have a trip planned to Mexico with his parents for about a week - I almost don't feel like I live in Costa Rica anymore!
I arrived after much drama originating from an extrodinarily delayed flight from Costa Rica which caused me to miss my connection in Atlanta. From there it continued like this - stay an extra 24 hours in Atlanta, layover of 10 hours in Vienna, late arrival at 11 PM in Prishtina (capital of Kosovo) to a lost bag that just arrived yesterday. One wonders how the bag could have not made it here if they had 24 hours in Atlanta and 10 in Vienna, but I know better than to ask those sorts of questions of airlines these days. Anyway, the positive side is that I got to explore Atlanta and Vienna. I had been to Atlanta before but there are always new things to see wherever you go.
Moving on...So my first day in the office was Friday and the staff here are really nice and generally young. The culture seems a lot like Bulgarian, although not exactly the same of course. The people are extremely friendly and really want to play the host - trying to make you feel comfortable, included, and paying for everything. It's quite the change from my experience in Malawi and Costa Rica where most locals don't want anything to do with me. I'm mulling around in my head if that is a cultural thing or if it's a factor of being from the Embassy community...
The city of Prishtina looks a lot like other major cities in the Balkans - less tall buildings, no international hotels, but otherwise very similar. It has several major European chain shops like Bennetton, Mango, and Terranova and the streets are lined with outdoor cafes where everyone is drinking coffee and smoking.
The food is great - a lot like Bulgarian which I miss. The fruits and vegetables are so much better in this region of the world. I've eaten cherries - which we don't get in Costa Rica and the most wondeful tomatoes. Breakfast is buffet style and each morning I eat Bulgarian feta cheese (I'm sure they call it Kosovar feta here...but I'm sticking with Bulgarian - very different from greek feta - much softer and saltier), tomatoes, cucumbers, a delicious type of Balkan salami, and some fruit and other more normal breakfast food. Because of the heavy presence of foreigners in the last decade or so there are also a lot of "international" restaurants like Italian, Mexican, a Brazilian coffee shop, lots of pizza places, etc.
Speaking of the presence of foreigners, the Italians are currently the soldiers who are here keeping the peace. I know some people were worried about my safety coming here, but honestly it feels completely safe. The only funny thing is that yesterday I was sitting in a cafe having a drink and five army hummers (not the kind that idiots drive down the street in urban areas of the US but like really all armored, guns on top, etc.) drove right down the street that all the cafes are on. It seemed strange and when I asked on of my Kosovar collegues, he said it was just to make sure people knew they were there. Whatever. Several British soldiers also came in on my flight. Still trying to make heads or tails of all the military.
When talking to people about customs, attitudes, etc. they preface almost every comment by "before the war, people did this...after the war people do this..." It makes perfect sense since the war was so recent and affected everyone, but for some reason it really made an impression on me.
Well, the good news is that they have already asked me to come back again to help with another project for a few weeks so I'm happy about that. I'll go back to Costa Rica for about a week and then come back here...then Tyler and I have a trip planned to Mexico with his parents for about a week - I almost don't feel like I live in Costa Rica anymore!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Tolls
So all of us find tolls pretty annoying anywhere in the US. Will all the new electronic passes and stuff they are not such a pain...Costa Rica has tolls in the area around the capital city, San Jose. So we were driving on the highway yesterday and we came up to a toll. The toll cost 75 colones (about 15 cents). We didn't have any change at all so we drove up to the toll and offered the attendant a 1,000 colones bill - the equivalent of $2.
And she said to us, "Oh, I'm the only attendant that cannot provide change. You will have to go in another lane." And we said, "Okay, but how do you expect us to do that." She says, "Just back up and go in another lane." ???!!!???? This is not a toll booth with two lanes in the middle of nowhere, there were cars behind us and cars zooming up to every single lane. Tyler said, "That's too dangerous, I can't back up here." Her only answer was, "If you don't pay it, we will take a picture of your license plate."
So we pull up off to the side of the highway just past the toll booth. I jump out and run to the closest booth to pay directly (having to cross a lane of traffic on a highway, how safe.) So I walk up to the toll booth, putting my hand out to stop the cars that would be happy to run me over and the lady (a different lady) says, "You can't walk up here. You have to drive in you car." Well, obviously. So I respond, "The other lady won't take our money and we can't turn around because it's too dangerous." She rolls her eyes as if I am terribly annoying for wanting to pay a toll and not wanting to back up at a toll booth on a highway. She gives me the change, I run back and hop in the car.
All accidents avoided...law followed...I guess it all turned out okay.
And she said to us, "Oh, I'm the only attendant that cannot provide change. You will have to go in another lane." And we said, "Okay, but how do you expect us to do that." She says, "Just back up and go in another lane." ???!!!???? This is not a toll booth with two lanes in the middle of nowhere, there were cars behind us and cars zooming up to every single lane. Tyler said, "That's too dangerous, I can't back up here." Her only answer was, "If you don't pay it, we will take a picture of your license plate."
So we pull up off to the side of the highway just past the toll booth. I jump out and run to the closest booth to pay directly (having to cross a lane of traffic on a highway, how safe.) So I walk up to the toll booth, putting my hand out to stop the cars that would be happy to run me over and the lady (a different lady) says, "You can't walk up here. You have to drive in you car." Well, obviously. So I respond, "The other lady won't take our money and we can't turn around because it's too dangerous." She rolls her eyes as if I am terribly annoying for wanting to pay a toll and not wanting to back up at a toll booth on a highway. She gives me the change, I run back and hop in the car.
All accidents avoided...law followed...I guess it all turned out okay.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Kosovo
Why is this my blog title you may ask yourself? As far as I know this is the newest country in the world (as of February 2008), and I'm one of the first people I know to visit it...
I got a consultancy there for two weeks - leaving next week and coming back just after the 4th of July. Several questions might pop up to you now, so I will answer them:
1. Where the heck is Kosovo?
It was the southern region of Serbia. Borders Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, and Montenegro.
2. Capital?
Prishtina
3. Why in the world are you going there all the way from Costa Rica?
My boss from Malawi (who I love) is now working for Care International (a big humanitarian assistance international organization) in the Middle East. We talked about me doing a consultancy in Yemen which didn't work out. She recommended me as a consultant to the Care Country Director in Kosovo and here we are. I don't have a job, the pay is good, and I'm interested in the consultancy business and the Balkans. They pay for the airfare and they are willing to fly me from Costa Rica.
4. What will you do?
I'll be there for about two weeks helping them write a proposal for a grant they are trying to get. I'll work with their staff there and help them to put together a well-written proposal that will hopefully win the grant. According to the country director there, if I do a good job on this, he will recommend me to other Care offices in the region and I could get more consultancies.
5. Aren't you worried about your safety?
While there is some fighting on the Serbia/Kosovo border, there is not major violence in general in the country. I will be staying in the capital, have a driver from Care and be staying at an international hotel. I'll be fine.
If you want to know more about the country you can check out this site:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kv.html
Maybe I should change the name of my blog to "Anna in Costa Rica and Kosovo." Bet not many other people have thought of this combination of countries...
I got a consultancy there for two weeks - leaving next week and coming back just after the 4th of July. Several questions might pop up to you now, so I will answer them:
1. Where the heck is Kosovo?
It was the southern region of Serbia. Borders Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, and Montenegro.
2. Capital?
Prishtina
3. Why in the world are you going there all the way from Costa Rica?
My boss from Malawi (who I love) is now working for Care International (a big humanitarian assistance international organization) in the Middle East. We talked about me doing a consultancy in Yemen which didn't work out. She recommended me as a consultant to the Care Country Director in Kosovo and here we are. I don't have a job, the pay is good, and I'm interested in the consultancy business and the Balkans. They pay for the airfare and they are willing to fly me from Costa Rica.
4. What will you do?
I'll be there for about two weeks helping them write a proposal for a grant they are trying to get. I'll work with their staff there and help them to put together a well-written proposal that will hopefully win the grant. According to the country director there, if I do a good job on this, he will recommend me to other Care offices in the region and I could get more consultancies.
5. Aren't you worried about your safety?
While there is some fighting on the Serbia/Kosovo border, there is not major violence in general in the country. I will be staying in the capital, have a driver from Care and be staying at an international hotel. I'll be fine.
If you want to know more about the country you can check out this site:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kv.html
Maybe I should change the name of my blog to "Anna in Costa Rica and Kosovo." Bet not many other people have thought of this combination of countries...
Chocolate Shakes and Facebook
Okay, so I'm deeply entrenched into the "I don't have a job or kids" lifestyle. This means organizing your day around The View and Oprah and trying to make up stuff you might need to do years from now that you might as well get taken care of now when you literally don't have anything else to do. I pay way too much attention to the dog, how to train her, how much she's eating, and MOST IMPORTANTLY what her poop looks like to make sure she is not sick. If you ask me, I'm sick for paying attention to it. (In other news, yesterday was the first day she didn't go pee in the house! Woo hoo! A major milestone.)
So, point is...when you are in such a state you start noticing or doing things that you might not have if you had a life. First of all, I did a thorough search of the McDonald's here, including interviewing a girl who works there extensively and found out that McDonald's does not serve chocolate shakes in Costa Rica. WHAT??!!?? Impossible! This is the only reason I go to McDonald's in the US (or in Bulgaria for that matter...) and I am having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that they do not have any kind of shakes, let alone chocolate shakes. And it's not like they don't do ice cream - Mickey D's here has McFlurries and ice cream cones. And it's not like they don't do shakes in Costa Rica - other ice cream places have them. What a mystery.
Second thing I suggest you do if you are ever in a situation such as I am - no job, no kids, pulling out your hair thinking of things to do...sleeping too much probably - join Facebook! It really does take up way more time than necessary and you can stalk all of your friends and people you used to be friends with or maybe talked to once in high school. You can play games like Scrabble (called Scrabulous on Facebook) and take quizzes about how much you know about geography or what character you would be on Sex and The City (by the way, saw the movie, if you are a female and haven't seen it yet - RUN to the movies! Just looking at all the clothes is totally worth it and it's a good movie.)
If you are concerned about my mental health now...don't be! Read the next blog to see what's coming up in the next couple of weeks for me!
So, point is...when you are in such a state you start noticing or doing things that you might not have if you had a life. First of all, I did a thorough search of the McDonald's here, including interviewing a girl who works there extensively and found out that McDonald's does not serve chocolate shakes in Costa Rica. WHAT??!!?? Impossible! This is the only reason I go to McDonald's in the US (or in Bulgaria for that matter...) and I am having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that they do not have any kind of shakes, let alone chocolate shakes. And it's not like they don't do ice cream - Mickey D's here has McFlurries and ice cream cones. And it's not like they don't do shakes in Costa Rica - other ice cream places have them. What a mystery.
Second thing I suggest you do if you are ever in a situation such as I am - no job, no kids, pulling out your hair thinking of things to do...sleeping too much probably - join Facebook! It really does take up way more time than necessary and you can stalk all of your friends and people you used to be friends with or maybe talked to once in high school. You can play games like Scrabble (called Scrabulous on Facebook) and take quizzes about how much you know about geography or what character you would be on Sex and The City (by the way, saw the movie, if you are a female and haven't seen it yet - RUN to the movies! Just looking at all the clothes is totally worth it and it's a good movie.)
If you are concerned about my mental health now...don't be! Read the next blog to see what's coming up in the next couple of weeks for me!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
An Update
Well, a lot has been going on and I've been terrible about updating this...
First things first...Lucy is now 10.5 weeks old and she is absolutely adorable. Case in point:
She's growing slowly but surely and it's kind of embarrassing how small she is right now. But she will grow into a medium-sized dog.
Also, Laura (my sister) was here and that was super fun. We went to Arenal Volcano where there are natural hot springs. Here's a pic:
And to the rainforest where we did ziplines...another pic.
We also went to Playa Cocles on the Caribbean side which was lovely.
It's been raining like crazy since we got hit by Tropical Storm Alma last week...my poor sister probably think Costa Rica has the worst weather ever.
We are a bit spoiled after being in Malawi which really did have the BEST weather ever. It would rain for like two hours a day in the rainy season which lasted about four months. Here, it rains every day for lots of hours (four or more) and the rainy season is 8 MONTHS!!! I'm not complaining though...I could live in Chicago which would probably be worse weather - at least from November - March. And, it's predictable anyway...right?
Saturday, May 17, 2008
The Soccer Game
This is a post from Tyler:
So a few weeks ago there was a big soccer game in Costa Rica between Costa Rica's best team, Saprissa, and the best team from Mexico, Pachuca. I really wanted to go to the game, so I organized a group of people from the Embassy--a couple of my colleagues and their families, and we got tickets and went to the game.
Traffic was horrible getting out to the stadium, so we didn't actually get to the game until about 10 minutes after it had started. As we walked in through the gates, the stadium was packed at full capacity, with twenty-four thousand crazy costa ricans yelling, screaming, chanting, and beating the drums of war...or the drums of futbol at least.
The only problem with the packed house was that we didn't have any seat assigments...all the tickets were just general admission. As we passed full section after full section we began to wonder if we'd have to stand the whole game...until we saw a section that had a bunch of seats open, right behind the goal. We made our way up the aisles, jumped over the aile railing and took some seats in the middle of the section.
We sat down, and I started talking to a guy sitting in front of us. After the initial hi, how you doing's, he asked me where we were from. The US, I told him, and asked him, "and you're from Costa Rica?" He looked at me like I was crazy for a second, and said, "No...of course not, I'm from Mexico...this whole section is the mexican section."
It felt like a hole opened up in my stomach, and suddenly made sens why there were so many police officers standing in the aisles surrounding our section and the yellow caution tape up around it. At that second one mexican fan put up a pro-Pachuca banner, and all the Costa Ricans started going nuts, yelling at our section...I've never heard as many 'puntas' in my life...which especially great seeing as how I was the fearless organizer of this family outing which included a mormon family of five and another couple with their 2 year old, made all the more enjoyable due to the fact that they kept flashing messages across the scoreboard such as "don't throw cameras...don't throw batteries...no fighting..."
Anyways, it was a pretty stressful for the first half, but the seats were amazing...we decided to move at halftime to some open seats in the corner of the stadium...worse seats, but at least we we didn't have to look out for the occasional thrown camera coming our way. Pachuca actually went into the lead in the second half, at which point the costa ricans did start throwing stuff at the pachuca section (where we had been), though as far as we could see they were only throwing cardboard pizza boxes...so, in a way they were just welcoming the visiting fans with free left over cheese and pepperoni bits...
The game ended with a Saprissa goal in the last two minutes to put the game into a tie, which wasn't the result that Saprissa was hoping for, but was certainly better than a loss. And, we made it out of the stadium alive, which was a plus....
So a few weeks ago there was a big soccer game in Costa Rica between Costa Rica's best team, Saprissa, and the best team from Mexico, Pachuca. I really wanted to go to the game, so I organized a group of people from the Embassy--a couple of my colleagues and their families, and we got tickets and went to the game.
Traffic was horrible getting out to the stadium, so we didn't actually get to the game until about 10 minutes after it had started. As we walked in through the gates, the stadium was packed at full capacity, with twenty-four thousand crazy costa ricans yelling, screaming, chanting, and beating the drums of war...or the drums of futbol at least.
The only problem with the packed house was that we didn't have any seat assigments...all the tickets were just general admission. As we passed full section after full section we began to wonder if we'd have to stand the whole game...until we saw a section that had a bunch of seats open, right behind the goal. We made our way up the aisles, jumped over the aile railing and took some seats in the middle of the section.
We sat down, and I started talking to a guy sitting in front of us. After the initial hi, how you doing's, he asked me where we were from. The US, I told him, and asked him, "and you're from Costa Rica?" He looked at me like I was crazy for a second, and said, "No...of course not, I'm from Mexico...this whole section is the mexican section."
It felt like a hole opened up in my stomach, and suddenly made sens why there were so many police officers standing in the aisles surrounding our section and the yellow caution tape up around it. At that second one mexican fan put up a pro-Pachuca banner, and all the Costa Ricans started going nuts, yelling at our section...I've never heard as many 'puntas' in my life...which especially great seeing as how I was the fearless organizer of this family outing which included a mormon family of five and another couple with their 2 year old, made all the more enjoyable due to the fact that they kept flashing messages across the scoreboard such as "don't throw cameras...don't throw batteries...no fighting..."
Anyways, it was a pretty stressful for the first half, but the seats were amazing...we decided to move at halftime to some open seats in the corner of the stadium...worse seats, but at least we we didn't have to look out for the occasional thrown camera coming our way. Pachuca actually went into the lead in the second half, at which point the costa ricans did start throwing stuff at the pachuca section (where we had been), though as far as we could see they were only throwing cardboard pizza boxes...so, in a way they were just welcoming the visiting fans with free left over cheese and pepperoni bits...
The game ended with a Saprissa goal in the last two minutes to put the game into a tie, which wasn't the result that Saprissa was hoping for, but was certainly better than a loss. And, we made it out of the stadium alive, which was a plus....
Friday, May 9, 2008
Our House
Some of you have asked to see pictures of our house so here you go: 1) our bedroom, 2) the living room, 3) the dining room, 4) the kitchen, 5) the patio. We also have some bathrooms, two guest bedrooms, an office, and a sitting area upstairs but they are not all that interesting so you'll just have to come and visit to see the whole thing!
Puppy
Yes, we got a puppy as some of you have heard already. Her name is Lucy and she is a 6.5 week old Beagle. She is really adorable and really really really tiny (especially compared to our big dogs in Malawi.)
Here are some pictures. As you can tell she likes to sleep a lot and most of the time buries herself between pillows or in the cushions of the couch or something.
We decided to get a Beagle which is a smaller/medium-sized dog so that we would be able to bring it to other places with us.
One of the most painful things about leaving Malawi was leaving our two amazing dogs. They are huge and wouldn't have fared very well in a tiny apartment in DC and then this place (which has about 1 foot by 1 foot of rocks which we are replacing with grass on Monday.) Also, one of the dogs was very aggressive with other dogs which means that walks on the street with other dogs are very difficult. I will never be happy about my decision to leave them and will always miss them, but I had to do what I had to do.
Anyway, puppy training has begun and she has her first vet appointment tomorrow...
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
We got our stuff
We got our stuff which means that soon enough I will post some pictures of our house...We haven't seen our things since we left Malawi so it was a bit like Christmas. However, there were several things that I was like, "Why in the world did I ship this thing halfway around the world?" The #1 thing on that list is homemade beef jerky that we bought from a friend in Malawi in June 2007. It was wrapped in newspaper and put in a ziploc freezer bag. Gross.
Festival Imperial
So on Sunday it really hit me how different Malawi and Costa Rica are...we went to an outdoor concert called Festival Imperial. Over Saturday and Sunday five major groups played (okay, so it depends on your definition of "major" but let's just say groups people have heard of...) including Smashing Pumpkins and Incubus on Saturday and Seal, Enrique Iglesias, and Duran Duran on Sunday. We went on Sunday with a friend and got $20 for the lawn. We watched Seal from the lawn and then decided that for Enrique we would try to sneak up a little closer...which we did and essentially got to about row 30ish...you could totally see him and I have to admit he was quite attractive in person! Also, of the three groups we saw perform on Sunday, he was by far the best with a crowd - the crowd loved him but when he finished performing the crowd didn't really applaud much which meant that he didn't come out for an encore! Maybe that's not a thing here? I'm going to have to look into that...it was even obvious that Enrique Iglesias didn't sing his most famous song (Hero) because he was waiting for the encore...weird.
Anyway, the reason that I know this is very different from Malawi is that in Malawi I never even went to a movie, let alone a live performance of anyone I've ever seen before. I did go to a concert once of a Hugh Masekela (clearly no one knows who he is...South Africa jazz guy) and like everyone we knew went because there was nothing else to do. He was really good though...(no worries getting up close there...there was no security to sneak through!)
Anyway, the reason that I know this is very different from Malawi is that in Malawi I never even went to a movie, let alone a live performance of anyone I've ever seen before. I did go to a concert once of a Hugh Masekela (clearly no one knows who he is...South Africa jazz guy) and like everyone we knew went because there was nothing else to do. He was really good though...(no worries getting up close there...there was no security to sneak through!)
Friday, April 18, 2008
We've arrived
It has taken me longer than I expected to put this post up. We've been in Costa Rica for a little over two weeks now and our internet was set up in week one so I'm not sure what has been taking so long.
We're in our house which is great except for the absence of a yard - no grass, no nothing. We have three bedrooms, office, two and a half baths...we certainly don't need any more room. We've received our stuff that was shipped from Washington which is most of our clothes, our TV, and a few other essentials. Our stuff from Malawi is supposed to come next week. We've set up internet at home and are slowly but surely working on getting me a cell phone...we'll see how that goes. No car yet...hopefully at the beginning of May - that is driving me crazy.
Anyways, I won't bore you with the details but I'll tell you about a couple of cool things we've done since we've been here and one funny story.
First of all, we've adopted our own Costa Rican host family. I'm not sure if they know that they've been adopted, but they they have. We met them in a friend of a friend kind of situation. Their son is married to Tyler's mom's college roomate's daughter. Get it? Anyway, they (mom, dad, son and daughter around our age) are incredibly kind and include us in all kinds of stuff that they do. The mother runs a non-profit that helps communities provide small loans to their members. Because of this she travels all around the country visiting communities. She has invited us to go along with her to one of the sites this week and and we are really looking forward to it.
This past weekend was a three day weekend so we took advantage of an extra day off and did a typical Costa Rica tourist thing. It was a combo trip to a volcano, coffee plantation, waterfalls/nature reserve, and a safari boat trip down a river. It was a great opportunity to get out of the city and see what's around San Jose and do a little research about fun stuff to do when we have guests. We saw toucans in real life which really blew my mind and a sloth hanging from and electric wire. Here are a couple of pictures.
And finally, for the funny story...we were out to dinner with some friends the other night and Tyler had to go to the bathroom. He went inside and walked into the door marked "M." When he walked inside he saw a woman that looked at him a little funny. He thought to himself, "What's her problem and why is she in the men's bathroom? Oh well...I have to go so..." And he went into a stall. He stayed there for a while to do his business if you know what I mean. He washed his hands and walked out of the bathroom. It was then that he noticed that the other bathroom was marked with an "H." Hmmm...M is for men in English, but in Spanish it's for "mujeres" or women. H is for "hombres" or men. Whoops...
More another time...
We're in our house which is great except for the absence of a yard - no grass, no nothing. We have three bedrooms, office, two and a half baths...we certainly don't need any more room. We've received our stuff that was shipped from Washington which is most of our clothes, our TV, and a few other essentials. Our stuff from Malawi is supposed to come next week. We've set up internet at home and are slowly but surely working on getting me a cell phone...we'll see how that goes. No car yet...hopefully at the beginning of May - that is driving me crazy.
Anyways, I won't bore you with the details but I'll tell you about a couple of cool things we've done since we've been here and one funny story.
First of all, we've adopted our own Costa Rican host family. I'm not sure if they know that they've been adopted, but they they have. We met them in a friend of a friend kind of situation. Their son is married to Tyler's mom's college roomate's daughter. Get it? Anyway, they (mom, dad, son and daughter around our age) are incredibly kind and include us in all kinds of stuff that they do. The mother runs a non-profit that helps communities provide small loans to their members. Because of this she travels all around the country visiting communities. She has invited us to go along with her to one of the sites this week and and we are really looking forward to it.
This past weekend was a three day weekend so we took advantage of an extra day off and did a typical Costa Rica tourist thing. It was a combo trip to a volcano, coffee plantation, waterfalls/nature reserve, and a safari boat trip down a river. It was a great opportunity to get out of the city and see what's around San Jose and do a little research about fun stuff to do when we have guests. We saw toucans in real life which really blew my mind and a sloth hanging from and electric wire. Here are a couple of pictures.
And finally, for the funny story...we were out to dinner with some friends the other night and Tyler had to go to the bathroom. He went inside and walked into the door marked "M." When he walked inside he saw a woman that looked at him a little funny. He thought to himself, "What's her problem and why is she in the men's bathroom? Oh well...I have to go so..." And he went into a stall. He stayed there for a while to do his business if you know what I mean. He washed his hands and walked out of the bathroom. It was then that he noticed that the other bathroom was marked with an "H." Hmmm...M is for men in English, but in Spanish it's for "mujeres" or women. H is for "hombres" or men. Whoops...
More another time...
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