200,000 Colones--That, my friends, is gangster

With the help of my host father Marcos, I went to the mall and exchanged some cash.  My original goal was to open a bank account with one of the more common banks in Costa Rica.  It seems my options are Banco Nacional, Banco de Costa Rica, and Scotiabank.  Sorry to disappoint everyone back home, but Scotiabank seems to be the best run, fairest, and most accessible.

While the teller was very helpful and very social at Scotiabank, he was not able to open an account for me (a foreigner) without a recommendation from a bank in the US and a letter from my educational institution or employer.  A note to foreigners who want to spend time in Latin America: FIGHT FOR A REFERENCE.  My bank in the US (Wachovia) shied from giving me a reference due to potential liability.  Try contacting the International Banking Sector of your US bank, a printed email will suffice.

I plan on returning to Scotiabank with these two reference letters and my certified check after I start classes this week.  In the meantime I was able to exchange enough money to survive, and my host family preferred to be reimbursed in US dollars.  Curious.

The buy-sell differential at the bank was very good (They bought US dollars for 508 colones, and sold US dollars at 520).  It is always best to avoid money exchange stands like the ones you'll find at most airports.  I've attached photos below of some coins from my change purse.  I've also attached a photo of me holding some colones (and an American with US dollars for comparison).

(HEADS)

(TAILS)

(DOLLARS)

(COLONES)

And with that, I'm going to focus on the soccer match on TV before I pass out.  The local team, se llama Liga (the actual name is Liga Deportiva de Alajuela, or something like that, but the people here just call the team Liga), is currently up one goal in the first half, and it's promising to be a good game.  I've put a photo (and a link: Liga Deportiva Alajuela) to the right for anyone interested in the team.  Goodnight to all.  It's been such a long day, I hope to write about some of the things I did... tomorrow.


Pura Vida (and yes, the locals do actually use the phrase ...all the time),

Z

 Oh... our team just scored again.  It's a good night.