Out Damned Fear...Out!

In her book Feel The Fear, But Do It Anyway, Susan Jeffers tells us that fear is a normal reaction to any change or new development. She explains that the best way to respond to to this fear is to take action...and that in all likelihood, the fear will not be a great as we had anticipated.

To me, this sounds very much like going swimming in cold water at the cottage. The very thought of it is very scary...but it's not so bad once you get used to it.

Although not consciously following the advice of Susan Jeffers, what happened when I recognized the fear that I felt...along with the excitement...about going to Costa Rica did in fact confirm the wisdom of her words.

In order to get on with the process of 'just doing it', I started by booking my flight. That's kind of like making the commitment to run into cold water. Once it's done, it's done and can't easily be undone.

Initially the travel agent tried to book a mid-afternoon flight from Toronto to Miami and after a 3 hour layover in the airport, taking a flight from Miami to San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica.

However, after experiencing problems booking that flight, we switched to my taking an early morning flight direct from Toronto to Liberia, a mid-sized city in north west Costa Rica.

Definitely not my first choice...but by the same token, seldom is swimming in cold water my first choice.

The next day I got an email from Max, who had seen my profile on a website. Max said that he lived in Liberia and offered to answer any questions I had about Costa Rica.

When I replied and asked him to recommend a clean cheap hotel in Liberia, he responded by inviting me to stay at his place instead of a hotel, an invitation that I quickly and gladly accepted.

Since then Max has referred me to his friend Joseph who is a North American (aka 'gringo') teaching English in San Jose. Joseph has been super-helpful in helping me learn more about teaching English in Costa Rica. I plan to meet Joseph soon after I arrive in San Jose to continue the job search.

As for Max, it turns that instead of just staying with him the first night that I arrive, I will be spending three nights at his place before heading to San Jose. Already he has lots of plans, including introducing me to some of his friends who teach and work at various schools and other learning institutions.

This whole Costa Rica experience continues to look like something that was meant to be.

Out damned fear...out!