Karina's Birthday Party:
Karina, Lalo, and I drove out to a fancy discoteca to meet up with some of their other friends to celebrate Karina's birthday. She turned twenty-something again, we had a few non-Tico beers (the Costa Rican beer is really bad, and not much cheaper). We stayed until around 2am, and thanks to my up-at-6am schedule, the physical lifestyle here, and the fact that people actually dance here, I was so exhausted I was falling asleep. It was great seeing Lalo and Karina, and going out with some Ticos for a night on the town.
Tamara's Birthday Party:
Two birthday parties in one weekend. Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot.
Tamara, Tia Flori's granddaughter, had her birthday party this weekend. And, shockingly, she was spot-on with her invitation list. There were at least a hundred people at the party, as well as horses, dogs, cats, birds, and even a donkey. The family had rented a very nice finca outside of San Jose with the option of swimming, playing soccer, having a barbeque, socializing, and lounging by the bar. As promised, there was a clown (a very bad clown I might add), a ton of great Tico food, and more relatives than most Americans could imagine.
I played soccer, took a wonderful soak in the pool, filled up on chorizo, carne de res, gallo pinto, arroz con vegetales, unos hotdogs con queso, and a very bizarre dessert best described as marshmallows dipped in colored, condensed milk. Marcos and I (after tearing it up on the soccer pitch), fled the party as soon as the sky started to fall (and the clown started to bomb). Still, it was one of the best days I've had here in the rich coast.
TEFL Certification
I am now officially certified (and also licensed) to teach English here in Costa Rica. My report card was good enough (all top marks or near enough to be considered presentable), which I am proud of given my limited experience and knowledge of teaching or studying the English language. I should also point out that I scored in the top band in every single section of the Cambridge Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT), a test used by Costa Rica and many other countries as a means of qualifying, evaluating, and categorizing English language instructors. There wasn't much to study for the exam, as I felt confident in nearly every section after taking a practice test a few days before sitting the exam. While we were allowed a full day to prepare for the test, and the test itself is nearly four hours, much of the time allotted wasn't necessary. If you take a TEFL course from a reputable and achievement-oriented teacher training institute, you should have no trouble scoring top marks on your TKT. Moreover, your performance is considered "acceptable" if you score in either of the top two bands in every section. No sweat, mae.
Going out with the teachers
After finishing the TEFL course, it seemed like the perfect thing to do was get together with the other students/teachers and eat, drink, and relax. Our instructor (Sara) hosted us at her new apartment (it seems we're all relatively new to Costa Rica). I brought Karina (she took me out with her friends and let me use my Spanish, I felt like it was only fair to bring her to an English-dominated affair). Karina and I brought some drinks and a pack-load of delicious cheese or cheese and meat rice-filled tacos. Because of their awesome size and deliciousness, we started calling them pocket tacos.
The potluck was delicious and interesting, the students, administrators, and teachers in attendance were all interesting, and the mood was light. It was a great way to end our TEFL training experience. I hope to see my classmates and instructors (and their boyfriends/girlfriends/fiancées) again soon.
I think the highlight of the night for me was heading to the only open bar within walking distance and finding it full of beautiful, interesting, happening Ticos. There was no cover, everything was affordable, and there was an open pool table when we arrived. We played 9-ball, cutthroat, 8-ball, and had a great time getting to known each other in a more relaxed setting. Deli's guy Justin was a ton of fun, though I imagine his night started to drag when he had to (with limited Spanish) get himself and Deli home at 3am.
The highlight for a large group of bar-goers was certainly shocking the Gringos. Little did we know, we'd happened upon a bar full of lesbians. I have to tip my hat to Costa Rica. In a part of the world dominated by Catholic decrees, Machismo attitude, and homophobia, Costa Rica seems to be a gay-friendly zone. Female-female couples were making out and dancing throughout the bar. Surprisingly, I think it made us more comfortable. Our group was mostly girls, and they had no problems dancing together Tico style.
Deli's highlight must have come the next morning, when she woke up with a grand wine hangover and discovered delicious pocket-tacos in her purse. Some people thought we were joking, but Justin and I were all about the concept of pocketing the tacos and snaking on them throughout the night. Brilliant. Thank you Karina for making them. It was super-cool that I showed up at your place to head to Sara's and you were putting the finishing touches on something delicious to share.
Moving to Heredia
While my homestay was a great and memorable experience, it was more than time to move out. I left the Monday evening after the end of my TEFL certification. It is miserable to not have all of your creature comforts when living temporarily in a foreign country, but moving is a hell of a lot easier. I hailed a taxi and negotiated an $18 fare (I was worried about keeping all of my stuff with me and getting between bus stops, not to mention the cost of the taxis on both ends of the trip). I feel the price was right, and I was able to get from San Jose to my new place in Heredia in less than 40 minutes.
My new place is perfect. I have a beautiful, large, hardwood room. The floor, ceiling, door, and floor-to-ceiling dressers are all solid wood, as are the stairs and everything else on the second floor. The entire second floor is mine, as my two roommates (Ariana and Reyna) live downstairs. There is a full bathroom on the second floor (with pretty good water pressure and heat), a landing large enough for a full-sized futon pad, and most notably a beautiful open terrace with two wood/leather rocking chairs. The terrace is a beautiful beige/orange, and has a beautiful corner panorama of downtown San Jose.
(My bedroom. Ignore the TV/electronics, those belong to the previous Gringo roommate who's moving out because his Golden Retriever puppy is too big for the place. Note the fact that I'm sleeping on a Tico mattress on the floor. It almost makes me miss my children's loft back home.)
We have a (functional) kitchen, a nice dining room table, some wooden furniture with cushions towards the entrance of the house, a downstairs bathroom, a laundry room with a Tico washing machine, a square, cement "backyard," and a wonderful corner lot that allows for a fenced-in garden, enough parking for four Tico cars and plenty of motos, and a Super less than 100 yards away for any grocery needs.
The best part about living here in Heredia may be...
...the modestly cooler weather compared to San Jose...
...one of the largest Universities in Costa Rica as a center of the culture of the city (and a quarter-mile from my house)...
...the fact that the average person you meet in Heredia is down to Earth, well educated, incredibly accepting, and eco-conscious...
...I'm still only a 30 minute bus ride from San Jose centro and a $2-3 bus ride to both coasts...
...my roommates and a quarter of the inhabitants of Heredia are musicians. In fact, the central parque here in Heredia has a music temple. Very cool...
...from my new house I can walk to/from a supermarket that sells everything I could need, downtown Heredia, a beautiful coffee plantation, buses directly to San Jose and directly to Politenico (assuming I work there)...
...rent is affordable ($200/month) as are utilities...
...having two roommates who are happy to show me the ropes and teach me how to cook and do laundry for myself the Tico way...
...we have two hammocks already. One is hung in our wrought-iron garage near my new garden, I am looking into getting the other one hung on the second floor...
That's all I have energy for tonight. I have interviews for teaching positions tomorrow. Wish me luck; I'm hoping at least one of them is nothing more than a formality.
Warmest Regards and Pura Vida,
Zach
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