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.

Homestay Gifts—Gift idea for Costa Rican host families and others in Latin America

If you’re like most tourists or new students, you’re likely going to struggle to come up with something that will both be representative of your home and also appreciated by your host family.  What inspired me to write this post is the simple fact that Americans are terrible at this.  My mom suggested I bring tea to my host family.  Can you imagine bringing coffee or tea to Costa Rica!  That’s like bringing bottled sand to Hawaii to give to the locals as a kind gesture.  Other terrible ideas: t-shirts, baseball hats, board games, things that are expensive in the USA, and things that you wouldn’t want.  If it’s something you wouldn’t want, why would they?  I’ve seen (and myself brought) so many bad gifts that I’ve decided to do a blog entry on the topic.  Here are some suggestions.

Good Gift Ideas are things that represent your locale, but are also highly useful.  A snow globe of your city is not useful!  A South Park action figure is not useful.  What is your host going to do with a golf club cover from your home course?  Think.  What about some soft sheets with an interesting pattern?  In my opinion the sheets in Latin America are terrible.  Any bedding could be a great gift.  A bottle or two of local wine or liquor is a universal gift.  Be careful about bringing food from the US.  For the most part the same things can be bought in the destination country for less.  Also, steer clear of your local produce and meats.  These things can make passing through customs at the airport a miserable experience, and you may well lose your gift in the process.

My Suggestions:

-ELECTRONICS.  Due to taxes, limited supply and selection, and a technology-hostile climate, electronics much more expensive and harder to come by in most of Latin America.  I brought a discount MP3 player and a 2GB USB jump drive to give to my host family.  To give it a personal touch, I opened up the package, charged the device, and pre-loaded it with a few hundred of my most-played American songs.  Stereos, MP3 players, food preparation devices (like a blender or a George Foreman grill), computer accessories, and anything else in your price-range with a fairly broad application would do quite well.  If nothing else, your host family can sell it for more than you paid for it once you leave.

-Nice, mass-produced, somewhat personalized fabrics.  While certain areas of Latin America are known for their cloth artisanry, the bed sheets are still best used for exfoliation.  Try to cater your gift to the socioeconomic status of your hosts.  If you’re staying with an indigenous or low-income family, you may be best off bringing a fine, workable fabric.  My host family in Otovalo, Ecuador would have preferred a bolt of fine cloth to a full-sized bed set from WalMart.  If you’re staying with a somewhat well to do suburban or urban family, you’re better off bringing Mets-themed bed sheets and pillow cases.

-Sports equipment for your nation’s sports.  A cricket bat would be a nice gift from a visitor from India, as would a soccer jersey from an Ecuadorian.  I would recommend bringing a basketball or a football as a gift, especially if you’re going to be staying with anyone young.  These things are useful, represent your heritage, and universally understood.  It’s a shame that the three sports I enjoy playing the least are basketball, football, and baseball.  I must have been born in the wrong country.

-Creature-comforts from your locale.  Try and be more creative than getting some locally-made soaps.  Consider fine nail polish (though I don’t know much about the subject), face or body creams, that bizarre-shaped-lumbar-back-support-pillow-from-your-car-that-you-swear-by-and-can’t-live-without.  Be creative, be smart.

I’m sure you’ll have no trouble finding a gift that your hosts will appreciate, will use, and will be a little more appreciative of your home and lifestyle.  Just make sure to follow these rules:

1.         Find something useful
2.         Make sure it isn’t readily available (and potentially cheaper or of a higher quality) where you’re headed.
3.     Pick something universal (so someone of most any age, gender, and background can appreciate the gift)
4.      Find a way to connect it to your home (a local sports team, industry, fashion, popular culture).
5.     Make sure it’s something you’d appreciate

Just be smart and put some thought into the gift.  You will be relying on the kindness and good spirits of these hosts for much of your experience abroad.

Pura Vida,

Z

My Host Family

After more than 24 hours travel and a brief stop in Nicaragua, I have finally arrived at my new home in San Jose, Costa Rica.  The place, the people, and the neighborhood is perfect.  I am still taking everything in, but I'll do my best to share everything I've experienced so far.

The Family:

   It seems that I will be seeing the most of Marta, a wonderful and loving catholic woman.  She is the mother of the house, a wonderful cook, and so accommodating and loving that I already feel (and am being implored to consider myself) like family.  She is not employed outside the house, and has assured me that I am welcome to do anything and everything she does--like Piglet and Pooh.

  The father, Marcus, works in the airport (customs I believe), and is equally as warm.  He reminds me of a young version of my grandpa Irwin in his diction and inflection-filled means of communication.  He left for work shortly after I arrived, but stayed long enough to enjoy breakfast with me and the rest of the family.

   Marco (please appreciate the similarity in names) is a thirty year old son, and the last person living here in the house with me.  He is a pilot for Spirit Airlines.  He's fit, intelligent, and his lifestyle parallels mine in the United States.  He keeps his laptop by his bed, rocks a blackberry of the sorts, and appreciates the finer things in life.  He's invited me to play some pick-up soccer with him and his friends (they play two nights a week) when he's not staying over in another country.  We've had quite a few laughs together.  I already consider us friends.

Rebekah, the daughter, works in the hotel industry in Costa Rica.  She recently married, and now lives a kilometer down the road with her husband Richard.  I plan to write about them when I see their home.  They are wonderful as well.

There is also a fairly regular maid, Lidieth, who is a part of the family.  I imagine I'll get a photo of her up here soon enough.


The Home:

The house has a beautiful atrium (or rather, a peristylium) full of flowers, plants, and a babbling fountain.  It brings sound, color, and balance into the entire home.  I love it.  Though it's only been a day (and I've admittedly slept a majority of it), I can tell that this will be a great experience.

I've also added photos of the family pets.  The kitten is just about the only cat I've ever enjoyed.  I actually like that it looks like a rat.  The dogs are polar opposites.  One is a very friendly and somewhat goofy stray named Lucas (I fell in love immediately).  The other dog is mean as spit, aqui se llama griñon.

And with that, I'm off to have a quick dinner with Señor Marcus.  Friends and family in the US, know that I'm doing well.

Saludos, or rather Pura Vida,

-Z

Three days until departure—What I’ve packed

Nothing.  I am serious.  I have packed nothing.  I think maybe my lack of preparation is a reaction to my ambivalence towards leaving.  The adventure and potential for learning and growth excites me, but I am not eager to give up the wonderful things I have here in the United States, namely: a wonderful and sweet girl, a mother who takes care of everything in my life, a family that’s best described as exciting, deluxe air conditioning, my VW Jetta GLS (it’s a 2000, but in my opinion is still better than most of the cars my friends drive).  Everything else (fancy gyms, supermarkets, large shopping malls, a large social circle) I can do without.  Most of my friends have already learned that, with me, friendship doesn’t require constant watering.  I know that years could pass and I’ll still pick up where I left off with a number of friends.

Now, for what I plan to pack:

-Vital documents and certified (and non-certified copies)

-Tons of socks, boxers, undershirts (though I doubt I’ll wear undershirts much)

-Sandals, boat shoes, running shoes, soccer cleats (hoping to find a regular pick-up game in San Jose), tan leather dress shoes (for work), one extra pair of casual shoes TBD

-Bed sheets (jersey cloth, so soft, very important, from what I remember the bedding is miserably scratchy in Costa Rica).  I plan on bringing a full size mattress cover and top sheet, as well as 2 pillow cases.  If I need a blanket (which I doubt I will), it will not be in direct contact with my skin.  Some things people bring abroad seem a little silly but make new places seem like home.  This is not one of them; comfortable sheets are a must and, from what I’ve read, quite hard to come by in Costa Rica.

-Nice watch, silver necklace, absolutely no other jewelry (I’m not a jewelry person, and anything of the sort is a liability).

-Samsung n120 Netbook  

($300, 2GH processor, 160GB Hard drive, 9.5 hour battery, ~11in. screen, built in webcam).  One of the best purchases I’ve ever made.  This is a tiny, light-weight, dirt-cheap, high-performance travel laptop.  The longer I’ve been out of college the more I realize that the only thing “adults” use lap tops for are photos, word processing, music management, and (almost entirely) the internet.  If I had a job in electronics I might bring my Macbook, otherwise it’s just cruel to subject it to the trip.

-Cannon Powershot SD 600 Digital Elph.  It’s one solid pocket-sized digital camera.  I take a ton of photos, and I consider a digital still and video all-purpose camera a must for international travel.  Furthermore, I am sure that the camera will help with work, teaching, language apprehension, keeping in touch with family/friends, making new friends, and a million other things while abroad.

-Running shorts, mesh shorts, soccer shorts (some with built-in underwear to cut down on laundry)

-(2) pairs of dress shorts (seersucker and vineyard vines linen shorts), (5) pairs of lightweight dress pants, (1) pair of jeans.  My reasoning: even though it’s hot as hell and wet as well… a rainforest, the people of Costa Rica expect very formal dress etiquette.  While my professors at Virginia Tech would teach in jeans or cargo shorts, in Costa Rica teachers are expected to wear dress pants.  Shorts are not considered appropriate for any business exchange (it’s like they don’t realize that San Jose is a tropical city in a rainforest of a country).

-Stationary.  Any person over 15 should have a good set of stationary.  I don’t care if you get it for your bar mitzvah, your quinceñera, your confirmation, or you buy it yourself.  I don’t like writing things by hand, but when I do I like it to look nice.  I am also bringing a pack of my favorite ball-point pens, as I am a slave to my consistencies, and I have had trouble finding “my pen” here in the US.

-L.L. Bean adventure pack (The Closest Thing I Could Find Currently For Sale By L. L. Bean).  I bought one of these for my semester in Ecuador, and after my laptop and other possessions survived months of abuse across Ecuador and Alaska, I had my sister get herself one as well.  The pack has a waterproof rain cover that works better one could dream.  I took my things poling upriver in a dugout canoe on the Napo River in the Amazon, I baled 10 tons of water off a runway at a glacier-bound, arctic research station when leaving Alaska.  The most amazing part about this pack is its function as a backpack.  It sits comfortably, holds an incredible amount of stuff (I’ve used it trips longer than a week before), it breathes better than my school backpack, it has two water bottle caddies, bungee bands for wet things and oddly shaped possessions (e.g. soccer balls, hockey sticks, umbrellas, lunch bags, hammocks), and a detachable and entirely separate top compartment for packing toiletries and/or messy things.

(Above: me and a classmate in our dugout canoe... before the rain... before losing our outboard motor... during the first day of our two-day journey.  Left: Another classmate and friend Tymer walking our pack canoe upriver.)

-Dress clothes.  A three-piece seersucker suit (an indulgence, I know, but I love to look good), dark blue pinstripe (subtle) suit, one additional sport coat, (4) button-down dress shirts (again, only because of the Costa Ricans and their demand for formal attire)

-(5) collared shirts, and (10) t-shirts.  I’m hoping that I’ll be able to wear collared shirts to work, and I live in T-shirts.

-(2) Long-sleeved t-shirts and (1) rain slick and (1) hoodie.

Other people swear by bringing certain other amenities: electronics to exchange, dehumidifiers, laundry detergent, shampoos/conditioners.  I will likely have a long list of things one shouldn’t leave home without (hindsight is, after all, much better informed than foresight).  You’ll benefit from my tremulous transition.

And now it really is 3 days, as I leave at 9:30AM 15^th July, 2010.

Luego,

Z

Starting A Blog, Using Feedburner, Blogger, and AdSense

I thought I'd make a post chronicling my experience setting up a blog.  Albeit, this is my first blogging experience, I have only written a handful of posts, and I have little basis for comparison.  Still, I feel something can be gained by others from learning about my experiences so far.  I'll start with...

     --Blogger--

Blogger is Google's free of charge blog program (www.blogger.com).  Like everything else Google touches, Blogger is incredibly user-friendly, very dependable, and widely used.  The greatest thing about Blogger is that, again like everything else Google, it works seamlessly with all other Google applications.  Blogger is the only blog host I know of that allows you to use AdSense with a free blog.  It also links seamlessly with Feedburner, another now-Google application, to help your blog gain a readership.  If you're looking to start a blog, I strongly recommend you use Blogger.  The only issue I've run into so far is with the site theme.  Why is it so hard for Blogger to provide templates with a decent contrast between background and text color?

     --AdSense--

This is a fairly novel concept, though I believe this is how Google makes a profit.  It's bizarre to me that a company that's produced the greatest search engine/man-produced algorithm (Google), the fastest and easiest to use web-browser (Google Chrome), the best free blog site (Blogger), and the best chat/news/online gaming/email integrations ever produced (GMail/iGoogle) makes all of it's revenue of internet ads.  The rest of what google does is free services.  I have a friend working for Google in the New York City office, and I'm convinced that they're about a hundred years ahead of the rest of us.

AdSense is simple.  You write a blog.  You put spaces for ads supplied by Google.  Google's algorithm (something like a mix between God and the computer from War Games) reads your blog and puts insightfully relevant and non-abrasive advertisements on your blog.  Google pays you for every person that clicks on an advertisement while on your site.  Unfortunately, the way Google appropriates money for your "clicks" is a system more complex than post-transcriptional control in our biology.  For people like me and you, it's simply enough to know that Google pays you for successful advertisement, adjusted for the value of advertising in your particular field.

     --FeedBurner--

Feedburner is not simple.  It's a free service (and a Google free service at that!).  Feedburner takes your blog and converts it into an Atom or RSS feed.  This allows blog readers to get regular updates about your blog in a newsfeed on their social network.  I use iGoogle, and I get blog updates on my newsfeed through my Google homepage.  Other people may use MySpace, Facebook, or a myriad of other networks to stay on top of their blogs subscriptions.  In short, FeedBurner increases readership of your blog and decreases the amount of work a reader has to do to stay up-to-date on your blog by updating them automatically when you publish a new post.  Without a newsfeed, readers have to check your blog manually/periodically to see if it has any new material.

I will be posting more about my blogging experience (interspersed in my blogs about my experience through Latin America).  I plan to share my site visits, my click-throughs, my monthly revenue (if any) from AdSense, and anything and everything else about blogging with Blogger.  I am quite curious to see if keeping a blog can actually produce revenue, though I am writing this blog to keep my family and friends in the United States involved in my adventures.  I am also sharing my experiences to help any future adventurers (or escape artists) grow as individuals through new cultural experiences.

Saludos,

Z

Certified Copies and Notarized Document in Latin America

I don’t understand Latin America’s general obsession for legal documents, but it can be a real pain.  My past experiences traveling through the region have shown me the need to have every possible document available, especially if one wants to open a bank account, cash a traveler’s check, pay a bill, or find employment.  While I have heard from many sources that the best way to find a job in Latin America is to show up in person and interview, I want to have all of my ducks in a row before I arrive.  Here’s what I am bringing:

-Passport and two photocopies (Having a photocopy of your identification is especially important if you lose or have stolen any of these documents.  It is a huge ordeal to get your identification re-issued from a consulate).

            -Drivers license and two enlarged photocopies 

            (Same reason as above, enlarged for clarity).

-COPY of social security card and birth certificate (these are very important documents and, when in possession of your passport unnecessary to bring with you for travel).

-ORIGINAL and CERTIFIED COPIES of my official college transcript, college diploma, SAT scores, AP exam results, and other certifications/documents.

The certified copies of my transcript, college diploma, SAT scores, etc., are for employment prospects.  A number of English and Spanish job postings request official or certified copies of these documents.  What happened to the good old days of taking people for their word?

I am very fortunate in that my father is an attorney.  Just about every law office has at least one notary public on staff.  I brought all of the documents in to my dad’s office and, within an hour, I had certified copies of everything courtesy of the paralegal/notary public extraordinaire Beatrice.  For anyone with a family/friend in the legal business getting a document notarized should be free of charge.  The most a notary can charge for their services is $5.00.  For more information, see http://www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/Notary/notary.cfm.  The laws are different in each state.

Unfortunately, notaries are not able to make copies of vital documents (birth, death, and marriage/divorce certificates).  These documents must be produced by the government, and therefore are more expensive and significantly slower to arrive.  To get these documents, contact the office of Vital Records in your state (VA: http://www.vdh.state.va.us/vital_records/).

I am bringing the SAT scores and AP scores with the intention of teaching for the exam.  Many test prep programs ask for proof of a 700+ performance on the section of the SAT you wish to teach, or a 4 or 5 on the AP exam for a given course.  I found a few postings online offering significantly better pay for English tutors who can teach the SAT/AP. 

Seven days until I leave for Costa Rica. 

Hasta muy pronto,

Z

How I chose Costa Rica:

                My experiences in Latin America are mostly in leisure.  I have gone on family vacations to Barbados, Curacao, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Ecuador (and the Galapagos).  Most notably, I had the incredible privilege of spending my last semester in high school studying throughout Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands with an amazing group of students.  The program, GlobalQuest Ecuador, was a life-changing and humanizing experience, and the rawest and purest fun I will likely have on this Earth (If that experience interests you, check out http://www.leapnow.org/.  While I have no experience with this organization, the high school completion program available in Ecuador appears to offer a similar experience to the one I had.)

  

              When I decided to experience living in Latin America as an adult, I considered nearly every country in Central and South America.  This is not the best or most educated means of selecting a destination, I want you to know how I went about choosing the country to explore.

Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador:  Affordable travel to and from the country, Spanish is spoken by nearly everyone, very low cost of living, but safety concerns for US citizens traveling through the heart of the country, economic instability, very small ex-pat population, lack of potential employment.

Mexico, Columbia: Immediately ruled out because of safety concerns due to organized crime and political unrest.  Also, I have been to Mexico many times; the idea simply lacks adventure.

Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay: Relatively small countries, few opportunities for gainful employment.  While centrally located, Bolivia and Paraguay (to a lesser extent) suffer from lack of seaport and import/export capability.  All three countries are not prime tourist destinations, and I found little demand for native English-speakers.

Chile, Argentina: While travel would be somewhat more expensive, the cost of living is what turned me off these two countries.  I also find the Spanish used in these two countries to be different and less universal than that used in Latin America.  While I absolutely love the accents of Argentina, it’s simply less practical.

Peru, Ecuador: I seriously considered these as destinations, and still may end up in these countries after my TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages) course.  I love the Andean people, and their cooking, traditions, and craft work.  My semester in Ecuador has left me with a permanent feeling of closeness with the people of Ecuador, and I would love to return.  Unfortunately, while I remember the cost of living being lower in these two locations, the TESOL programs were much more expensive, as were the travel and hosting fees.

Belize: English is too universally spoken, no programs available for TESOL certification

Puerto Rico and the Caribbean: English more commonly spoken, already a large infusion of English-speaking ex-pats, too commercialized.  I still may spend time in these locations, but they do not fit well with my initial goals of getting TESOL certified, staying afloat financially, and experiencing a complete immersion.

Costa Rica, Panama: I ended up choosing to settle in either Panama or Costa Rica.  Both countries have very strong economies, relatively nonexistent unemployment, impressive biodiversity (something that I love), and very strong economic and social connections to the United States.  I chose Costa Rica over Panama because I found a very affordable TESOL course and one month host through  http://www.teachenglishcostarica.com/. The cost was right ($1251 for the 120-hour, four-week course, $400 homestay with all the amenities I need and two meals a day, TESOL certification, guaranteed job placement following successful completion of the course, and all materials, transport to/from the airport), but most importantly, I was able to talk with Marcela Arce (m.arce@teachenglishcostarica.com), one of the program coordinators.  I have spoken with her on the phone and I have been corresponding with her via email to make sure I have everything packed and planned properly for the experience.


I will, of course, keep you posted on the actual quality of the TESOL program when I arrive.  My travels will most certainly take me to other countries in Latin America, if for no other reason than to renew my legal presence in Costa Rica.

First Entry--Why I'm leaving for Latin America

To the reader:

Somewhat frustrated with my first experience with medical school admissions, and feeling far to alive and both spiritually and mentally underprepared for such a career undertaking, I have decided to move to Latin America.  This move is not permanent, meticulously planned, or a solution to my dilemmas and problems here in the United States.  I just found that the combination of past adventures in South and Central America, an affinity for Spanish, the lack of dependents and commitments in the US, and a few too many Marquez books on my shelf put me in the perfect disposition to consider a foray of a year or more to the exotic and colorful countries along the Pan-Am Highway.

My intention in this blog is to create an informal guide to researching Latin America, planning a cost-neutral trip to a Spanish-speaking country in the Americas, and an account of my experiences.  My hope is that other precocious, grown, children-of-prosperity will be able to use my experiences to take similar journeys.

I aim to have a meaningful, service-filled, culturally-rich experience, ideally without ending up broke.

I’ll keep you posted.

Z