An Australian in Costa Rica

Part Four 

Wow, I am there. I am really here! After two years of planning I am in this cloudy, cold mountanous region, I need seven blankets a night . . . say what?

I hear you people stuck in England laughing.
 
The training session in the La Lucha is the coldest place in Costa Rica, and probably one of the highest. So basically I literally live in the clouds. Its amazingly beautiful, but its also amazingly cold.

However today I am in San Jose emailing you, and its about 25, and where I am going its going to be about 38. I dont think I will manage there either! Oh, yeah, I will!

So far so . . . . good? No, in all honesty it hasnt been brilliant. I was aware of what I was going to, but nothing can prepare you for this kind of lifestyle until you get there. Women arent allowed in most bars in the villages, and if they do go they have to be escorted by their house father. It is expected that I will like cooking, and children. The guys here wont have to do their own washing, but the women will!

However, my house family is wonderful. I am so in love! My mother gets up every morning and makes me scrambled eggs for breakfast, they clean my room and do my washing. Dinner is amazing. Loads of beans, so I am a little gassy right now, but I am sure I will get used to it. I have a 13 yr old and a 6 yr old sister and a three year old brother who is famous in the town because he just walks around everywhere and acts like he owns the neighbourhood. Oh yeah, and they loved my gifts!

Things havent works out so well with the WorldTeach training. I feel like at the moment, I am being taught to suck eggs. We were told no less than twenty five time not to wear valuable stuff in San Jose because of theft. For me once would have been enough. However I finally understaood the need for repetition when one of the girls from Boston rocks up wearing pearls. Not a great one for tact, I asked her if she was mad?

Apparently.

Common sense and inelligence which comes naturally to most people I know, doesnt to these people and as they spend hours studying maps so they don’t get lost, I walk up to people and ask for directions and usually get there faster!

Although I have to say that i am in the most advance Spánish class and its too slow for me! So thats great. I feel incredibly intelligent!

There are some great people, who have done a bit of travlling, or were miraculously born with common sense, and I like these people. These people can salsa without looking ridiculous, they dont yell when something funny happened so the whole of CR doesnt know about it, and they are great fun to hang around with.

Four days in and I am having a little bit of "lets relocate back to London now" syndrome, but I am pretty sure it will pass.

We went to visit the Doctor when we first arrived, and we were told that we needed to wear bug spray 24 hours a day, because different mosquitos are around at different times of the day. So malaria at one time, jungle fever at another, and dengue at another! (I wont be in any of these regions). We´ve been told not to swim in the beaches because we may drown from the riptides, and everything we own will get stolen in San Jose. Oh yeah and
everyhing will get stolen in San Jose.

Fortunatley, touch wood (and there is alot of that around in the WorldTeach induction) I havent and wont be robbed as I have "common sense."

I have been really grateful to receive your emails. I miss you loads. I know this email isnt funny. Funny isnt me right now.  . . .

Oh yeah I have one thing for you:
I rock. We went out for lunch the other day, and I convinced a couple of people to have a beer. SO then all of a sudden everyone was drinking beer. This girl on my left said that she was worried about feeling sick so she didnt want to drink until she adjust to the water. I told her that the alchohol would probably kill any bacteria, and that it was probably a good idea to drink.

She ordered spirits.

And everynight since at least a couple of us have been out for a beer!

Oh yeah we were also told that we would definitely get sick from the change in diet, and water. Finally those four years of constant diarryhea from living in Chile have paid off! Not a thing yet!

I am happy here. I love the Costa Ricans, we played tacca tacca (table football) last night and I lost badly.