The Best Laid Plans

Until yesterday, I had planned on writing a reflective post, offering observations abut my first month in Costa Rica.

But that plan changed yesterday afternoon.

I had lunch with Scott Bowers, aka the Costa Rica Guy, whom I have referred to in several posts.

I know that Scott has several different projects on the go, so I wanted to learn more about what he does.

And learn I did.

As well as his main business, Package Costa Rica, he is developing a real estate web site, writes several blogs and his most recent passion...promoting indigenous art.

His work regarding indigenous art is nothing short of amazing.

The website Costa Rican Artisans is still under construction...but check it out.

Long story short, the indigenous art that Scott promotes is produced by tribes of native Indians that are largely ignored by the Costa Rican government.

Scott's commitment is to help sustain rural and indigenous art by offering a platform for artisans to display their works to the outside world.

Through the sale of these handmade arts and crafts, the tribes can generate the money that they need to continue to survive.

The quality of the craftsmanship of these masks is absolutely unbelievable.

The detail of the carving and the intensity of the painted colours are unlike anything I have ever seen before.

The Brunca mask above is one of several that Scott has in his office until it is put on public display.

Similarly, the hand-crafted pottery of the Chorotega artisans is unique and truly one of a kind.

Handling the pottery, I was well aware that I held something very, very special.

Take some time to check out the Costa Rican Artisans website.

Enjoy the stories and the images of the art. Like me, you have probably never seen anything like it before.

Congratulations on the indigenous art project, Scott.

Thanks for your work in creating a platform for this artwork.

Hope the project is as successful as it deserves to be.

My First Spanish Lesson....

...was a qualified success.

One of the perks that Pro Language offers its teachers is free Spanish lessons.

When asked if I'd like to take lessons, of course I said yes.

Lost...But Not Ignored

Today was my first lesson. But not as it turns out, the first lesson of the other students in the class.

The class was supposed to start at 1:30 but in very un-Costa Rican fashion, it started at 1:15.

By 1:20 I was lost...and by 1:45 I was totally overwhelmed.

At 2:15 I was ready to surrender and throw in the towel...and honestly tried.

The teacher seemed to take it personally that I was so out of it that she redoubled her efforts to salvage the lesson for me.

Finally Lydia, another student, was able to help the teacher understand that this was my first Spanish lesson...ever!

At that point, the teacher's approach shifted to providing me with a half-hour tutoring before the next class. She...the teacher whose name among other things, I forget...said she would speak to Mark,who owns and runs Pro Language, about extra help for me.

Mark and I are developing a very enjoyable relationship so I wouldn't be surprised if I find myself the beneficiary of some extra help in learning Spanish. Only time will tell.

More Lessons Learned

As much as I might...or might not... enjoy extra help in learning Spanish, that was not the success element of the lesson.

The Spanish lesson was not the only item on today's to-do list.

My day started as most do, at 5:30 AM when my brain was eager to get going.

So I wrote a blog post and finished a magazine article that I had promised for March.

I then walked the 20 minute trek to the Pro Language office (in 30 degree temperature) to finish setting up a bank account.

After 1½ hours in the bank yesterday it was still not finalized because there was problem with the 'systema'. Today, with the assistance of the Pro Language admin assistant, it took only 45 minutes to finalize the details.

After lunch at a nearby but noisy Peruvian restaurant, there was the aforementioned (now that feels nice and familiar!) Spanish lesson.

The lesson was to have ended at 3:00 and then I had planned to take 2 different buses to a 2-hour teaching session with Gustavo.

Fortunately Gustavo canceled tonight...his boss is in town.

On the way home from the prematurely ended Spanish lesson, I reflected on why I had felt so overwhelmed in the class.

Gradually, I realized what was happening.

For the past month or so, I have set some incredibly high expectations for myself. Happily, for the most part, these expectations were met.

But today, I my adaptability scale hit overload...and it was not pretty nor was it fun.

Time out!!

And what's just as helpful: I know know what Gilbert and Gustavo feel like when working through a 2-hour English class after a full day of their normal work.

Like I was today, they are any or all of: tired, stressed, frustrated and overwhelmed.

I cannot do anything about how my students are feeling.

I will however continue with my Spanish lessons in order to learn Spanish...and remind myself of how my students probably feel in my classes.

Shame On Canada

There is nothing like spending time in a foreign country to see your own country in a new and different light.

“It's Not Our Problem”

About three years ago, when visiting a Canadian friend in Puerto Vallarta, I met several of his friends, both Gringo (from the USA) and Canadian.

One of his Canadian friends told of an altercation with the Puerto Vallarta police...a situation that seldom has a positive outcome.

As a result of too much partying and Mexican beer, this guy had to pee big time. As my family can attest, I know the feeling...far too well.

Responding to this very urgent real man need, he chose to relieve himself in a semi-public place...against some bushes.

A couple of passing Puerto Vallarta police officers took exception to his choice of urinals, words were exchanged and bingo...one more Canadian taken to a Mexican jail in handcuffs.

The response was to contact the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City for help. Isn't that what Embassies are supposed to do...help their citizens in need?

Apparently not.

When this jailed Canadian eventually talked to a human being at the Canadian Embassy, the response was a curt “...it's not our problem. Get a lawyer.” End of conversation.

I recall reading some where that Mexico is second only to mainland China for the number of Canadians languishing in jail, apparently ignored by our embassies.

Not good.

The Next Plane Out

A couple of weeks ago, I met Leonardo, who is a Costa Rican. Several years ago, re-911, Leonardo was legally working in the US and was invited by some Canadian friends to visit them in Montreal.

He got a cheap fare on a Mexican airline, so booked his flight to Montreal. At the time Costa Ricans did not need visas to visit Canada.

When he checked in, his Costa Rican passport was confiscated by the airline “...at the request of the Canadian government.”

He was advised that he could get his passport back when he got to Montreal.

Some one must have forgotten to tell the people in Montreal about this procedure. When he asked for his passport on arrival, no one seemed to know anything about it.

Eventually, he wound up in handcuffs while an immigration officer berated him for trying to get into the country illegally.

After a suitable harangue, the officer told Leonardo if he knew what was good for him, he would get on the next plane out of the country. He then unlocked the handcuffs, handed Leonardo his passport and stomped out the room.

I can hardly imagine what would have happened with our new post 9/11 security measures in place.

Visa Denied

Today I met Leslie who works as a loans officer with Bank America here in San Jose.

Last summer he was invited by some Canadian lawyer friends to visit them in Lake Louise.

Being good and thorough Canadian lawyers, his friends checked with Immigration Canada to find out what Leslie had to do to get his visa to visit Canada. (Yes, Costa Ricans now need visas to visit the great white north. Go Figure!)

When advised of the details, Immigration Canada reported that Leslie would not have problem and even recommended that he plan his trip with 2-3 day stopover in Guatamala where he could get his visa from the Canadian Embassy there.

That is the nearest Canadian Embassy to Costa Rica.

So Leslie booked a first class flight, applying unused frequent flyer points. He also arranged vacation time and obtained a written confirmation of continued post-vacation employment with the bank.

When Leslie returned to the Canadian Embassy as instructed to pick up his passport and hopefully his visa, he was told that his application had been denied...because he had not paid for his flight.

The official explanation was that “he had not paid for his flight and there was no evidence that he could support himself while in Canada.”

It would seem that some official chose to ignore the letters of support from his Canadian lawyer friends, the confirmation of his continued post-vacation employment and two credit cards with combined credit availability of well over $25,000. That should have been enough for a 10 day holiday...even in Lake Louise.

When his lawyer friends contacted Immigration Canada to try to sort out the problem, they were advised that granting visas was a local issue in which the Embassies' decisions were final.

Sounds a lot like me to “...it's not our problem”.

Leslie used his ticket to go to Holland...because there was a direct flight from Guatamala...and he didn't need a visa.

Sometimes it doesn't feel so good being Canadian.

Three Weeks...

It's now been three weeks that I have been in Costa Rica. Three weeks of positive experiences and pleasant surprises.

Tuesday's experiences and surprises were fairly typical.

A Wrong Turn

I had a 10:30 training session at the Pro Language office so decided to walk.

I had been told it was only a 20-30 minute walk. It probably would have been had I not taken a wrong turn.

Once I realized I was lost, I looked for a cab and almost instantly a cab pulled up beside me to discharge an existing customer.

When I got in and told the driver where I wanted to go, he didn't know where it was...but undeterred headed back into the traffic.

When he got to a large intersection...the one where I had turned...he asked some street vendors for directions.

Based on the unanimous agreement of these folks, he headed in the direction in which they pointed and literally within minutes, we arrived at my destination ...the very destination I would have reached by myself, had I kept going straight instead of turning.

No big deal...tomorrow when I walk to the office, I will not turn off the main road.

Mark & His Mother

After my training session, Mark Henker, the founder and Executive Director of Pro Language took me to the location where my first class was scheduled.

His mother who had dropped into the office joined us on the ride.

He and his mother were totally on top of current events, both locally and internationally. They explained what the outcome of the recent election would mean locally and internationally.

Among other things, they discussed the rationale and benefits of the country's decision decision to recognize mainland China instead of Taiwan.

While Mark was on his errands, his mother and I chatted about everything from learning Spanish to shopping at the West Edmonton Mall.

Without a doubt, Mark and his mother are two of the brightest people I have met in a very long time.

When we returned to the office, Mark suggested that because it was my first trip to a new class, that I leave early enough to allow an hour or so for being lost. (I hadn't told him about my morning experience.)

Majic

Following Mark's advice, I arrived at my class 1½ hours early.

No problem...I ran into Majic, an Iranian-born Canadian from Vancouver who is now living now living in Costa Rica. Majic took me under his wing and out for a late lunch (his).

Turns out that Majic is the entrepreneur's entrepreneur.

As near as I can tell, he is running 6 businesses, one of which is the Costa Rica Buy & Sell...a country-wide free newspaper filled with ads.

When he found out I am a writer, he offered...and I accepted...a free ad in the newspaper that comes out next Monday.

He is also working on another project and is very keen to talk about how I might be able to participate.

In all honesty I would never ever have anticipated connecting in Costa Rica with an Iranian-born Canadian from Vancouver.

2 MBAs

My first student is Gilbert who is the General Manager of a huge Honda-Fiat-Alpha Romeo dealership in San Jose.

He runs a 200-person operation and wants to improve his English so he can communicate better with his international suppliers.

Gilbert is one very bright man. He has two MBAs...one in marketing and one in finance and a whole bunch of other professional and continuous training.

The hardest part of working with Gilbert is seeing his frustration at struggling with basic English.

His determination to learn English will help keep me focused on helping him. It will also inspire me to work harder at learning Spanish.

Like Mark and his mother, Gilbert is one of the smartest people I have met in a very long time.

Add Majic and his entrepreneurial street smarts to the combination and you have four amazingly smart and competent people...in a third world country no less!

Lots of opportunity for this first-world canuck to learn.

And learning I am...virtually every day there is time to get lost and learn from the experience.

So far so good...next week's challenges: opening a bank account and getting a cell phone.

Teaching and Eating

It has now been 2 weeks that I have been in Costa Rica.

Happily, 2 big pieces of the puzzle have now fallen into place.

I now have a part-time job. I have been hired by Pro Language to teach Business English.

The hiring procedure was a two-part selection process. The first part was an interview with the Academic Coordinator.

The second part was a peer teaching, in which I had to teach an actual unit to one of admin assistants who speaks very little English.

Prior to the peer teaching, I was advised that the grammar component of the teaching session was critical.

As an avid reader and a writer, grammar is something I hardly think about any more. Apart from occasional interventions by the in-house grammar police, English grammar is hardly a frequent topic of conversation.

When I saw that the grammar element involved teaching simple past, past perfect, past continuous and past perfect continuous tenses, although the words themselves were clear, the combinations seemed like a foreign language.

It's amazing what you can do when you have to.

After some extra preparation, the peer teaching went very well.

I was told that I had 'aced the session' and that what made the difference was the grammar component.

Teaching...or Tutoring

Not sure that what I will be doing is teaching as we know it.

It's more like tutoring, following a pre-set course or program.

In actual fact, it is more like engaging the student in conversation following the course outline.

At this point, I have one student, whom I will be working with 2 evenings per week from 6-8 PM.

The Academic Coordinator advises that I can expect another 2-3 students, each of which will also involve 2 weekly sessions of 2 hours each.

Ultimately that will total 16 hours per week at the rate of $4100 CRC for a weekly income of $65,600 colones.

Before you get too excited by that number, it works out to about $125 CDN.

But that's okay. The furnished bachelor apartment that I have arranged will cost only about $177 CDN per month. (I'll write about that when I move in...which I hope will be Saturday.)

Rice and Beans

It didn't take long to learn that the best place to eat is at a Soda, which is a small cafe.

These are small 1-2 person operations that offer good meals at even better prices, usually 2000-3000 colones ($5-$6).

With few exceptions, whatever you order in a Soda comes with rice and black beans.

After my first interview at Pro Language, I ordered what I was pretty sure was a fish dish...and it turned out to be fish & chips, complete with rice and black beans.

Another time I ordered the daily special, which I knew was spaghetti...and sure enough with the requisite healthy servings of rice and black beans.

In view of the compulsory servings of rice and black beans, I have started to have a fruit plate for breakfast.

That's 'plata de frutas', which a a plate or bowl containing chunks for freshly cut fruit. 'Ensaladas de frutas' also has chunks of fruit...but covered in ice cream, jello and chocolate syrup.

It tastes good...but I have learned that a 'plata de frutas, pan tostadas & cafe negro' is a much less jarring way to start the day.

The Costa Rican Adventure: Lesson #1

Since leaving for Costa Rica, I have had many, many experiences.

But like my father, I seem to forget the bad ones. Not sure whether it's a genetic thing or an aging thing ...but it really doesn't matter. The end result is the same. I feel good...really good.

Without a doubt, the most consistent factor has has been how positive and helpful every personal contact has been.

This has been true of every single person with whom I have had a personal contact or interaction...from the taxi driver who took me to the airport in Toronto to the nice lady who wants to rent me an apartment. (I will write abut that tomorrow...and also my new job!).

It was true of people whom I asked for a little help...like when I asked a San Jose police officer for directions to a bus stop.

Similarly it was also true of people like Leo who, personal issues aside, provided lots of help.

Certainly all of this help has made for a more enjoyable experience. But it has done so much more.

It has increased my self-confidence, encouraging me to move further from my comfort zone to go new places and try new things.

Even when I encounter a problem as I will no doubt continue to do, I remain confident that when I ask for help...even in my very limited and halting Spanish...we can sort out the problem.

Coming from some one who has been as fiercely independent as I have been, that is a new experience...and it feels good.

As an added bonus, these helpful interactions have also reinforced how important interpersonal connections are to me.

Unfortunately as I became increasingly engrossed in writing and building my website, interpersonal interactions of all kinds became fewer and fewer.

That was not and is not good.

Which brings me to Lesson #1: I cannot, ever again, allow my focus to narrow to the point that it was before I left Toronto.

In other words, I cannot allow myself to become isolated from the very elements that are adding so much to my Costa Rican experience.

As much as I need my own space...I also need to interact with positive and helpful people.

Lesson learned.

You Gotta Love San Jose

Sunday February 7: Yesterday was my first day on my own in San Jose.

It was also the best day I've had since arriving in Costa Rica.

In fact, it's been a long time since I have enjoyed a day as much as I did yesterday.

For starters I love San Jose. What's not to love about the city?

Surviving Buses And Taxis

It is a charming old Latin city with appropriate hustle & bustle, many large and well enjoyed open public spaces.

And the population does not appear so engrossed in their own affairs that they are oblivious to what is around them.

It might be that being aware of what is happening around oneself is a critical San Jose survival tactic.

In addition to the motorcycles, private vehicles and trucks, there are a lot of buses and taxi cabs racing around this city. And race they do.

Bus service inside of San Jose as well as to and from it from neighbouring towns and cities is provided by several private sector companies.

So like taxi cabs everywhere, including here in San Jose, they literally race to pick up the next fare and complete their trips as soon as possible so that they can squeeze in a few more fares.

If pedestrians are not immediately potential fares they...or more correctly we...are little more than obstacles to the maniac flow of San Jose traffic.

Noisy Political Warfare

In case the International media has not picked it up, there is a presidential election going on in Costa Rica...today.

I don't know if Costa Ricans are passionate about politics...or love making noise...or both.

All day yesterday, last night and starting early today cars, SUVs and small trucks wearing the colours of main political parties have joined the motor race around town.

The vehicles however also have supporters fervently waving flags to show their party loyalty. And since the drivers need the use of both hands to steer from time to time, instead of a flag, they blast on their horns non-stop.

Think downtown Toronto when there is a major soccer match being played, but with the supporters of 4-5 teams driving around, waving flags and blasting their horns. And then add in the Blue Jays winning a world series or the Maple Leafs making the playoffs.

Last night, I walked past the headquarters of one of the candidates. Seems his campaign slogan is something like, 'not the worst'. In any event it was quite a scene.

As vehicles bearing the colours of the other parties passed his headquarters, they waved their flags more vigorously, shouted louder and blew the horns non-stop. h

His band of supporters responded in kind by waving their blue and red flags,...as did a group of green party (yes..the same one but the incumbent here...this time with female leader) stationed across the road.

Periodically all traffic of every kind and colour would stop completely while the blue & red supporters ran onto the road and gave flags, t-shirts and hats to eager passengers in cars and buses alike.

All of this noise had the ancillary effect of setting off the alarms of other non-politically aligned vehicles that were innocently parked in the vicinity.

As I write this, a new source of noise has joined the San Jose Election Day Symphony.

The gringos (Americans) in residence here, of which there are many, are as engaged in watching the Superbowl on TV as the Costa Ricans are in their election noise-making.

Monday February 8: Last night ended with a round of fireworks...sounded like the city was under attack.

Today the country has a new president...Laura Chinchilla, first female to hold the office and a protege...some say puppet...of the outgoing president.

Ah....Latin American politics...gotta love them eh?

My First Night In A Hostel

Saturday February 6, 2010: Like many people without a place to stay, I spent last night in a hostel...a youth hostel to be exact.

From start to finish it was an interesting experience.

Not Unexpected

When Leo came home from work yesterday (Friday) he told me it was time for me to leave and that he would arrange for a hotel and cab for me. From my perspective, this was not totally unexpected.

On Thursday evening, a friend (Scott Bowers...aka Costa Rica guy) called me at Leo's place. To say Leo went ballistic is the understatement of the year. He was really pissed off that I had “been giving his phone number out.”

Earlier in the day, Scott and I had a quick exchange of emails which ended with Scott telling me to call him, which I did. When I called, the phone wasn't answered so I just hung up.

In the afternoon, Scott checked the call display on his phone, saw a number he didn't recognize, which was Leo's, checked the timing and concluded that was my call to him. He called around 6:00 and suggested that we go out.

He had just learned that he had been granted permanent residency status in Costa Rica and wanted me to go out to celebrate with him. (We did in fact go out...and the tale of our evening is a story for another time).

It was after Scott's call that Leo went ballistic. It was during his tirade that Leo basically said he liked being alone and did not welcome people...or phone calls...into his home.

OK..fair enough.

So why was I there?

Leo's Fantasy

Leo and I initially connected through an online chat room and exchanged emails for several months.

Throughout this exchange, I saw that Leo was starting to develop the fantasy of our becoming...and then actually being...close friends.

For Leo, this fantasy was becoming increasingly appealing; for me it was becoming increasingly marked by warning flags and flashing caution lights.

When I made my decision to visit Costa Rica, Leo invited me to stay at his place until I got a place of my own. At the time, we agreed that two weeks would be about right.

When I met Leo last Saturday, he was warm and friendly, happy to see me.

When we got to his place, I was absolutely blown away by his condo.

It was huge..2200 square metres..and very, very luxuriously furnished. But is was also very sterile. It felt like being in a museum surrounded by professionally chosen accessories and works of art. No where was there anything that reflected Leo.

Things Don't Always Work Out As Planned

It was during our conversations that I began to realize how lonely Leo is.

He talked about friendships that didn't work out, and went on to explain that as a result he doesn't really want any friends.

For me that was a huge disconnect with what we had chatted about in our emails.

When clearing security at Leo's building for the last time on my way to the hostel, I was struck again with how much the building was like a prison.

His condo is always sealed tight to keep the ever present wind from bringing in dust.

There is only one access point to the building. This is a locked gate that a uniformed guard opens as little as possible to let approved people in or out.

When I was leaving in the cab, I felt like a prisoner must feel on being discharged from jail.

What a great and fun welcome at Hotel Galileo...aka Hostel Galileo. Kind of like going to a rustic cottage with well used and gently abused furniture.

The place is owned and operated by a young American woman about the same age as, and with attitudes similar to, our daughter Hayley.

One of her staff is an equally energetic woman named Tara, who was born and raised the Beaches...yes those Beaches...in Toronto.

By way of bonding with a fellow Torontonian, I gave Tara a handful of maple leaf lapel pins which are miniature versions of the Canadian flag.

She was happier with these pins than Leo seemed to be surrounded by his professionally chosen accessories and works of art.

Upgrading Security

In terms of security, I am going to upgrade the security system on the door to my room. That will be simple...just change the location of the eye bolts for the padlock. Glad I brought my Swiss Army knife.

Reflecting on my experience with Leo, I am reminded of a poster that I had beside my desk at my first job.

The poster said: “People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges”

Living Off The Avails...

Yesterday I reported that Leo (my host in San Jose) does not have Internet access.

That is true in that there is no direct Internet access in his condo.

He does however have access to an unsecured wireless signal from a neighbour's connection in an adjoining building.

That is the connection that I am now using.

It's nice to have en suite Internet access...but there is something even nicer about this connection.

The person whose Internet connection I am now using runs several brothels in San Jose.

So I guess technically, I am living off the avails of prostitution...at least for Internet access.

Now there is a turn of events I would never have expected...but hey, we have to remain open to whatever possibilities that may come along.

Not A Wind Fan

I have always known this about myself, but the past six days have certainly confirmed that I really don't like the wind.

It is especially annoying when it seems to blowing non-stop as it has been here since I arrived last week.

A Wind Range

Liberia seems to be in the middle of a wind range coming ashore from the Pacific blasting through the town and racing towards the mountains.

Most of houses I saw in Liberia had iron bars on the outer walls and solid walls with glass windows further inside, surrounding the living area.

The bars allow more air to pass through than would be the case with solid walls. But like solid walls the bars kept unwanted guests outside.

Theoretically, the windows are opened to create a 'cooling breeze'.

In Liberia, the cooling breeze' was more like a gale force wind. With the windows open, the house was like a wind tunnel.

The alternative was to keep the windows closed to keep the winds out and the heat in.

In my case I chose BREEZY over heat so kept the windows open when I worked during the daytime at Max's place.

When he left for work in the morning Max locked the iron gate. But he never left me a key... so I felt like a prisoner in a wind tunnel.

Broken Windows & Keys

Here at the place where I am staying in San Jose, the only iron bars in evidence are on the security gate which a seemingly friendly guard dutifully opens for any arriving or departing guests.

Leo's condo is on the seventh floor and has an absolutely amazing view of San Jose. It is high enough to attract the maximum amount of wind that whistles up the hill from who knows where.

It seems that during the dry season, gusty winds are normal.

Last night Leo told me that a couple of years ago, the force of the wind shattered the wall size window in one of the bedrooms and blew broken window glass all over the room.

The same thing has happened in other units as well. Yikes!

Leo likes the windows closed, so here I work, alone in his 2200 square metre condo...surrounded by closed glass windows with fabulous views all round.

Leo was kind enough to give me keys to the front door and to his condo...but I broke the key to the front door in the lock yesterday.

Since then and until the broken key is removed from the lock, every one has had to call security to open the front door of the building.

Not sure I want to see the security guys when I go out today. But I have to go out...Leo doesn't have Internet access.

Leo has a very nice place...but having been a virtual prisoner in Liberia, I don't want to re-experience confinement here in San Jose.

PS

This just in...just received an email from Megan which advises me:

"Just wanted to let you know, Helen (her 20-month old daughter/my grandaughter) has a new word.

Da-pa.

Which she says when she points to a picture of you."

Bueno...gracias Helen & Megan :)