Quick Update

Wanted to drop a quick line, cause I haven't written, since that manifesto about the weekend in Domincal. My first project in the Habitat office - Construction Site Saftey has produced a few differnt completed pieces of work at this point. The first is a 30 slide powerpoint presentation, which will eventually be linked to all the Central American and Carribbean Habitat volunteer websites the Habitat volunteer website. It is in english, and includes a lot of the photographs I have taken at the different build sites around the country. The slides are grouped under the main safety issues, use photos to highlight examples, and recommend different precautions that can be taken by volunteers to avoid potential injuries, as well as outline what to do should certain common injuries occur. The second piece, which I completed the draft of today is a pocket card that can be carried by the Construction site formen - one side in spanish and the other in english...that provides an outline of an orientation that the formen should provide to all new volunteers their first day on the construction site before they begin work. The final aspect, I will be working on with an Italian volunteer named Giovanni, who is a graphic designer. It will be a bi-lingual poster, that is waterproof, which can be hung up on the equipment storage area at every job site, which highlights with photographs and text some of the safety hazards to be aware of.

I will begin my second project next week, when I am working on a waste management analysis for materials used in the construction process.

Other then that - I attended a Habitat office religious meeting yesterday, where people sang church songs, read passages from the bible and discussed the connection between Habitat and the work that we all do, and God. While I am not a religious person, I am a spiritual person, and this meeting made me feel like part of a community, accepted.

I play soccer again tonight with the group of guys from the office, and will head to the beach at Manuel Antonio tomorrow night after work with a group of girls and guys for the weekend.

Finally - I gotta say I am stoked about the Celtics Draft - I think Danny Ainge did a great job snagging Gerald Green and Ryan Gomes...and now he's ripe for a trade...I just hope it isn't Paul Pierce.

SKYPE.com I got me an account under the user name Sweetwally, and I can make free long distance phone calls to anyone else with a skype account - computer to computer through the VoIP network. SO if you wanna give me a buzz I work 8-5 down here, and I am 2 hours behind East Coast time. Keep smiling. Peace...Paz (en Espanol)

Sunday...skeeter day

Similar routine on Sunday morning…woke up with a slight hangover around 7, took 2 advil, finished off some more water and went back to sleep until 9. Breakfast down at the restaurant/bar…really yummy egg n cheezer with tomato and avocado and a yummy green verde sauce that was delish…along with the fresh fruit and ubiquitous coffee. We packed up our gear, paid the bill ($15 bucks a night per person – gotta love it) and bounced over to Hacienda Baru for a hike through the rainforest for a few hours before I had to leave around 1 with my buddy Victor (see below for photo) to get back to San Isidro to catch the bus to San Jose. Unfortunately for me, I forgot to put on the bug repellent I bought specifically for hiking in the rainforest (estoy un grande idiote), and I got absolutely eaten alive by mosquitoes every time I stopped to take photo. The hike was amazing, and that was just 1 of the many trails throughout the reserve. We hung out with a family of white faced capuchin monkeys (see the pic below) and watched as they swung from tree to tree and how they interacted with each other. Julie busted out some of her knowledge, naming and telling stories about the different types of trees, birds, mammals and insects. Saw a big iguana hiding in the curves of a strangler fig tree, that was strangling a cashew tree. Saw tons of leaf cutter ants creating huge moving trails throughout the jungle with the empty handed ants heading back to the leaf source in one direction, and the ones with full loads side by side in the opposite direction (an ant highway). Saw some interesting birds, bright yellow ones, huge hawks and turkey vultures, tiny little humming birds and swallows. (some pics from their website) Just an amazing 2 hours that was over WAY too fast. I could have easily spent a week there (with insect repellent of course)…as I didn’t get to see the butterfly garden, the orchid garden, the canopy tour (to get up amongst the tops of the trees), the zipline, the birding towers, etc…etc…the list goes on. Julie is very lucky to have scored such a great location to do her volunteership.

The ride back was uneventful, and I got into San Jose in the evening, showered, did laundry and was in bed, asleep at 9pm, exhausted. Great weekend…I can’t wait till next Friday :o)...though i have spent the last two days tirelessly scratching my legs from ankle to knee as the mosquitoes had a feast.

What a day!!!

I don’t know how Julie did it, but she did. She had to get up at 545 am to volunteer at her Nature Preserve for a ½ day…lucky me I slept till 8 am and woke up to the sound of the surf outside the window of my cabina (at Tortilla Flats). I walked down to the bar/restaurant and snagged a fruit juice, and took it for a walk on the beach as the start to my day. Perfecto. The beach is gorgeous, black sand (from worn down volcanic rock) with HUGE waves…which forced me to choose not to rent a surfboard and catch a beatdown from the Pacific Ocean. After my walk I took a quick shower, to get wet, and to tame wally’s bed head (my hair is getting LOOOOOOONG), then headed down to the bar/restaurant for a lazy breakfast while reading the book that the owner of Hacienda Baru (Julie’s Nature Reserve) had written about the 25 year process he has witness of the reforestation of his land, which was previously used for cattle ranching and rice and palm oil production. Breakfast was delish, fresh fruit, banana bread, scrambled eggs and 4 cups of the deliciously addictive costa Rican coffee (sidenote: I think I will probably have to bring back large quantities of this coffee to the states, as I have fallen in love with it, and I’m sure after 3 months of drinking multiple cups a day, I will be thoroughly addicted – whether I like it or not.) After breakfast I headed back to the beach and spent 10 minutes just meditating on the waves…recalling my summers life-guarding on Plum Island, MA; and just thinking how lucky I am to have this opportunity to travel. After meditating, I did a long, slow, rejuvenating, full-body stretch…prolly 20 minutes. What a way to start the day. I moseyed back to the cabina and grabbed my camera, and set off down the beach for a photography walk. One of my goals in Costa Rica was to learn more about photography…I have always been interested in it, but never really understood anything about focus distances, apertures, shutter speeds, lighting etc…so prior to my trip I purchased a Canon Powershot A95 – because it has multiple settings…AUTOfocus for those basic snapshots, but also 11 other settings that allow to you adjust the various characteristics of the photograph manually. So I have been slowly reading the manual and trying out new things…see some of my results below. Anyway – the walk on the beach was phenomenal…the rainforest comes right down to the shore in some places, and in others large chunks of volcanic rock remain exposed as the ocean slowly wears them down. Local surfers were out on the waves 10-12 footers were normal at low tide, and there is a small shop to rent boards and take lessons…unfortunately 12 foot waves are not for beginners. I also saw local Tico fisherman, using the throw nets, surf casting for lunch. Parts of the beach that are near where the mountain water runoff forces small rivulets down to the ocean are covered by rocks that the water carries down the mountain slopes. Not yet blasted enough to become sand, yet still worn down to be smooth, I snagged a cool looking one for my collection of rocks from around the world. (yeah I know, I’m a tool :o)

After returning from my photography excursion it was now late morning, and getting really hot, I took another quick shower to cool off and snagged an old, unused lifeguard chair in the shade of the beach side cashew trees and settled in to read until Julie got off work. They let her out early, around 11 instead of 1, and she came back to the beach with a craving for pizza. So we walked a few km to the local pizza joint, and settled in with a Bavaria Dark (as Julie complained of still having a hangover, and the female bartender recommended a BD in the frozen stein as the perfect cure…and it was) So we sat drinking and chatting waiting for our pie, and the bartender puts on the TV and starts watching “Election” the cheesy early 90’s movie with Mathew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon…unfortunately we got sucked it by the twilight zone atmosphere it created…and the bartender and this one other Ex-Pat who owns a construction company down here added to the strange vibe with weird conversation. Needless to say we scarfed our pie and bounced…could not get out of there fast enough. A nice mosey back to the cabina and a swim in the ocean to work off the pie. Spent a ½ hour body surfing some of the smaller waves, and battling the current of the larger ones…it was fun, but definitely tiring (and I didn’t know till I got back to San Jose, that the beach at Dominical is one of the biggest shark areas in the country). So we were lucky to escape with all our limbs :o). After the big meal, and the exercise in the surf we headed back to the cabina for a little nap before the evening. After the rejuvenating nap, we headed to the bar/restaurant for a beer and some cribbage until the rain passed (it rains everyday for like 20-30 minutes in the the afternoon around 4 or 5, and cools everything down, but leaves mudpuddles all over the dirt roads). After whooping Julie in cribbage (she had to teach me the rules again, so I don’t think she was happy to lose both games to the rookie); we headed off to her favorite restaurant in Domincal for dinner (I was hoping fresh seafood, but it was a Thai restaurant…still yummy but expensive). After dinner we walked another few km in the pitch black now – no street lights anywhere in Dominical, to the local dance club where all the TICO’s go to pick up gringos, and vice versa. Again they were playing raggaeton, hiphop and dance music…really loud…but we snagged a Cuba Libre (rum and coke) and grabbed a table to see how things shook out (cause at 10 pm we were still early). After 10 minutes or so – Julie got asked to danced by this Honduran guy Jose Manuel, and he asked me permission to dance with her. Pretty funny. When the song was over he came back to me and offered to buy us a round of drinks…he didn’t speak any English, but between my broken Spanish, and julies Spanish we had some interesting conversation and ended up hanging out with him and his girlfriend the rest of the night. Again we danced until 2 am, including this hilariously awkward 3 person dance where everyone was holding hands and spinning around…absolute riot. Instead of risking walking home on the dark road, we snagged two huge water bottles from the bar, and walked out to the beach where we again headed home along the ocean by moonlight. No swim tonight, we were too tired, but still a great way to end an evening.

Travelling Fiasco to Domincal

I worked a ½ day on Friday, and busted out of the office around 11:45 and snagged a taxi to the bus station. Wes, the volunteer coordinator, had provided a list of bus schedules, station locations, prices and times the buses leave. Unfortunately, the information was old, and when we got to the location there was no bus station there :o)…so I told the cabbie where I needed to go (San Isidro and then on to Dominical) and he took me to a different bus station. Of course it meant that there was no way I was on the 12:30 bus, and that cause I had to wait until the 2:30 bus – and because of that I would miss my connecting bus in San Isidro. Ahhhhh the joys of travelling. But with a positive attitude and a flexible schedule I made the decision that I would figure out a way to make it happen. So I sat down in the bus station and listened to these crazy old xylophone players – they were hilarious and I soon had a smile back on my face. As soon as we all got on the bus, an argument erupted right across the isle, as apparently everyone was sitting in the wrong seats (all buses have numbered, assigned seats). So after a 15 minute delay playing musical chairs we finally were on the way. This was my first time leaving San Jose and not using the TransAmerican Highway. Domincal is on the SouthWest (Pacific) coast, and we took a windy road up and over the mountains on our way to the coast. The ride was really exciting as we careened around curves, passed slow trucks and wove through cloud forest white outs at the top of some of the mountains. I wish I was sitting at a window seat, cause there were some ridiculous photo opps. We took a 10 minute bathroom and snack break about 2 hours into the 3.5 hour ride, and there was a HUGE humming bird feeding station right outside the window of the little cafeteria with at least 10 feeders and hundreds of tiny iridescent birds (see pic below) flitting about – with wings moving so fast that they were a blur. When I finally arrived in San Isidro it was 6:30 and getting really dark (the last bus had left at 4:30), but I was determined to figure out a way to get the final 50 km to Dominical tonight – instead of having to find a place to stay in San Isidro. I asked directions to the road that lead to Dominical and started hitchhiking. This grizzled old guy driving a bright red truck with a cattle car built up in the truck bed asked if I wanted a taxi. I told him no thanks and kept trying to hitchhike. After another 10 minutes he drove round again, and we both laughed when I again gratefully refused his services…finally after 30 minutes of waiting it started raining, and was now pitch black…so when the same guy drove by a third time I asked him how much he charged and for a crisp $20 I hopped in the cab and introduced myself to Victor. The first thing Victor does is say we won’t make it the 50km to Dominical unless he gets gas, and to get gas he needs me to pay him before we arrive. Reluctantly, I fork over the $20 and listen to the banter of Victor and the gas station attendant. With a full tank we finally hit the road, and Victor is taking me through the backroads of San Isidro to get to the main road to Domincal. After another couple minutes the electrical fuse goes out in the truck and we lose all inside and outside lights…Victor is pounding the dash, turning levers on and off, and driving in the pitch black without any lights. My heart is racing and all the horror stories I have heard are rushing through my mind. He pulls off the road into someones driveway, and I expect 3 dudes to run out and pull me from the cab, beat me senseless and rob me blind. After a couple of hectic minutes, he manages to coax the lights back on, turns to me and laughs and pulls back onto the road with a toot of his horn. I exhale and laugh at myself, and ask him how long the trip is gonna be and he says 30-40 minutes. So with my ever improving Spanish I open up a conversation about our families, about my volunteership here in CR, about my plans for the weekend, etc. He was bumping some pretty cool Spanish music, kinda latin jazz, and was singing along. I told him he had a great voice and that I liked his singing…and that prompted him to turn off the music and bust out some acapella. It was hilarious, and he sang three songs then asked me if I sang. I told him not really, but not wanting to be a stick in the mud I busted out a couple of Sublime toonz, laughing at myself the whole time. Victor apparently drives the route to Domincal all the time (sometimes 3 and 4 times a day), so even though it was pitch black, raining and foggy he was tooling around the curves like a pro, and honking his horn at everyone we passed on the roads, as well as all the little roadside stands. When we finally got to Dominical I told him I was gonna buy him a beer at the bar I was supposed to meet Julie at. So we snagged a brew and waited for Julie, but since I was 3 hours late, I figured she might have left and gone to the cabinas on the beach that she had reserved for the weekend. I thanked Viktor, took his card and told him I would call him on Sunday if I needed a ride. He was having nothing of it, and told me to get back in the truck and he drove me right to the door of the cabinas. I found Julie chilling at the small restaurant/bar connected to the cabinas; and recounted the tale of my travel adventure. Over an excellent dinner of veggie fried rice, French fries and a salad washed down with a couple Imperials we caught up on everything from 2nd semester at AU (Julie is in the AU/UPEACE program which has 1 semester in DC, 2 semesters in Costa Rica with a summer volunteer internship, and the final semester back in DC – next January), to travel stories, to what friends were up to, to our respective volunteer internships. After dinner was done it was now around 10 and we moseyed over to a reggaeton (kind of a combo of reggae and techno…dance music) bar. Where we snagged a few more brews and danced till the wee hours of the morning. We capped the night off with a moonlight swim in the Pacific…absolutely perfect. The trials and tribulations of the adventure getting to Domincal were well worth it, and I was psyched for a great weekend. (more to come tomorrow).

THURSDAY

Not much of note on Thursday except for playing some indoor soccer with some of my co-workers at Habitat. We played 4 on 4 with a goalie at a local indoor venue, but there are no hockey style boards like indoor soccer in the states; just lines where you do kickins, if the ball goes out of bounds; and mesh netting to keep it from hitting anyone sitting in the bleachers. (the other team actually had a few fans :o) I played defense by position, but was constantly making offensive runs, then hustling back to try and cover my man. After 5 minutes or so I got back most of my skills, though being aggressive I got burned a few times being caught to far up. But I helped, more then I hurt as I scored 1 goal and assisted on several others, as we ended up beating a local church team 15 to 11. The funniest part of the game was that the goalie didn’t speak any English and was constantly yelling positioning commands at me in Spanish, and I had no idea what he was saying and just played regardless; though I think he was pretty annoyed at me by the end of the game. It was fun, and a hell of a workout – as we played for an hour with no subs and I was completely soaked with sweat at the end. I will probably play every Thursday I am here, as it is a good time, a good workout, and another way to improve mi Espanol.

After heading home for a quick shower, I bounced out to the Bar – Mac’s American again, to see Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Grabbed a cheeseburger and fries and spent the night talking hoops with two dudes from Israel – a Bulls fan and a 76’ers fan. It was a good time, and I’m glad the Spurs were able to pull out the W; if only cause I think Larry Brown is wanker. On to the draft and summer league for my beloved Celtics. I hope Danny Ainge can continue to work his magic, and that he doesn’t make the mistake of trading Paul Pierce. I predict we draft a Croatian Point guard tomorrow - Roko Leni Ukic, but think that Danny may also pull off a trade, but only time will tell.

Wally's weekend in Dominical - below are some of the pics from this past weekend, when I busted out of San Jose and spent the weekend on the beach and in the rainforest with Julie Earp (yup - some relation to wyatt) an amiga from AU - who is down here on the UPEACE Program.

Wally and Julie easing off a sunday morning hangover with a walk on the beach

My Crazy Tico "Pirate Taxi" driver Victor...and his pimp mobile

Iridesent humming bird at a rest stop - there were hundreds of them flitting about and eating from sugar water feeders right next to the windows

huge pelican landing in the waves

Tico hottie lounging in the sand checking out the surfers

Good shot of the rainforest, the volcanic rock, the black sand beach and the ocean...4 completely distinct environments

Inside the volcanic rock outcropping - looking out to the pacific ocean

The rainforest jungle comes right down to the ocean's edge in some places

Volcanic rock outcropping on the beach

Local Tico Net fisherman - with an average size wave crashing behind him

Dominical Beach - rocky from the volcano and the river mouth...but still big with surfers...waves were too high for a beginner like me to get whomped (10-12 footers were normal)

Waves battering an offshore island of volcanic rock in Dominical

start of our hike through the rainforest at Hacienda Baru - where Julie is volunteering this summer

look out below - caught this pic just before he launched himself into the air and swung on the next tree branch - tarzan styleeeee

family of monkeys...chimp's cousins (but they don't play hold em as well as JIm does)

Don't mess with this tree - bark as sharp as shark's teeth

crazy "telephone tree" - indigenous people use this tree as a source of long distance communication by banging out signals and rhythms on the root system

Iguana in a strangler fig tree - about 18 inches long

Photos from Esparza and San Ramon Trip

Below are 3 photos from the trip I described with Minor to the Habitat Costa Rica Afficates...read the full story at the bottom of the pictures for more details on this adventure.

View from one of the Habitat build sites in Esparza, this will be their back porch.

A safe work environment :o) (I see why my project is needed so desperately)

3 Habitat Houses in Esparza

Travelling for Work

Up early today, as Minor Rodriguez – the construction specialist for Central America and the Caribbean region for Habitat (the guy I report to for my 2 projects), picked me up at 7 am. We got on the Pan American Highway (which essentially extends the Route 101 that hugs the Pacific coast from Washington to San Diego…down through Mexico and all of Central America to the Panama Canal) and headed out to San Ramon. The hour long drive was filled with interesting Spanglish conversation about Habitat, our families (his 2 sons are baseball fanatics and his wife started her own flower delivery service), fun facts about Costa Rica, and interesting tidbits about stuff we were passing by.
When we reached San Ramon we found the local Habitat affiliate office and met with Manuel, the director of the local affiliate. He hopped in the back of Minor’s SUV and we tooled around the countryside for a few hours stopping at different Habitat build sites, in different stages of construction. At each site I got the chance to speak with the foreman, sometimes through a translator, and ask about safety issues and materials waste in the construction process. I had a chance to meet volunteers and homeowner families, and take photographs of each of the sites, noting specific examples that would be useful for my projects. After visiting four different sites, and basically circumnavigating the backroads of the city, we headed back into the city proper and stopped at the main market.
We pulled up stools to a counter that was essentially a mini diner, and ordered café con leche (coffee with milk – a staple of my diet) and a small snack – I had a bean and cheese empanada, and upon Manuels recommendation something I had no idea what it was when I ordered it, but it thankfully turned out to be a slice of custard pie :o)…oh the games we play with our stomachs in another country…when you order something and you don’t know what it is…it always feels like the 1950’s muscle car games of chicken driving head on towards each other…you could end up crashing (getting something served to you that you wouldn’t touch, much less eat) or having the other guy swerve out of the way and you ride off into the sunset victorious (getting something that turns out to be better then you could have had any right to expect.)
After parting ways with Manuel, Minor pulled me over to a fruit stand before we hopped back in the SUV…and he grabbed 2 green things about the size of a granny smith apple, with a duller skin. I forget the name of fruit, but it was pretty good. Minor borrowed the fruit guys knife and chopped them in half exposing a white, fiberous inside with a cluster of tiny white seeds in the middle. The seeds were hard, but were eaten along with the rest of the fruit, skin and all, and it was actually calmly refreshing.
As we had some time before our next meeting in Esparza, we ran an errand for Minor’s wife (the flower business), and headed to the crazy greenhouse in Las Palmas…see the pics and comments in the posts below. Minor purchased 3 plants from the greenhouse and they got added to the back of our car, to accompany us for the rest of the day. On to Esparza. Esparza is over the mountains, and close to the Pacific coast (we could actually see the ocean from the tops of some of the mountains, and the Highway was challenging in that it wound round like a hiking trail as it gained and lost elevation. And the thing that really kept you on your toes was the fact that people are insane behind the wheel down here. When big 18 wheelers chug up the hills slowly, small cars and motorcycles try to pass, but like I said, the whole thing is curves, so you end up turning the curve and are faced with the chicken situation I described earlier – as a pickup truck is trying to pass and is headed straight towards you, in your lane, paying no attension to the double yellow line in the middle of the road. This must have happened 3 or 4 times on the hour drive to Esparza.
When we arrived in Esparza, I got to meet Rafael Angel Vargas, who is the new National Director of Habitat Costa Rica. We picked him up at the Esparza Affiliate office and did the same thing we did with Manuel, drove to one of the local Habitat build sites (aside: Habitat Costa Rica is struggling with money, and with the fact that some affiliates – like esparza – are only building 2 or 3 homes each year…so the internal debate to consolidate these is going on right now). When we got to the build site, I saw why they were struggling – the Foremen and his men were sleeping soundly in the shade of the sign that marked the site as a Habitat build. Ridiculous. We walked around the site, talked a bit about the things we saw, and we felt could be done differently. Saw a hilarious example of what NOT to do (see the safety pic). I listened in on Minor and Rafael’s conversation about the struggle to decide what to do with the underachieving affiliates who were draining money, but not producing much.
We then saw a second site, where construction was also delayed – because they were waiting on the delivery of the windows – so they could be installed, before the next stage of construction could begin. After we dropped Rafael back at the affiliate office, we took his recommendation and headed to a local Chinese food place for lunch (smile henry ;o) We ate fried rice and lo mein and watched the Brazil vs Japan soccer game on a big screen tv. Lunch was yummy, and knowing what to expect, and getting it was comforting. So with full stomachs we hopped back in Minor’s SUV for the 2 and ½ hour drive home.
Along the way we stopped at a couple of local farmer stands, as Minor informed me that this region of Costa Rica was famous for their avocados…because the elevation and the climate were ideal. So I bought 4 avocados, (2 for Maximo’s family and 2 for me), and Minor got a few and also some mangoes and some homemade smoked cashews (which were outstanding). I also tried this tiny little yellow fruit that is usually placed in Guaro or Vodka and allowed to ferment…it was pretty bitter and they all laughed at the face I made when I ate it.
The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful except for the deadly accident that occurred on the other side of the highway when we got close to the Airport (about 15 miles from SJ) . It backed up traffic for 5 miles, and Minor said they were waiting for a judge to come down to certify the body and notarize the accident report. When I got home, I went out for a run, in the cool weather right after the rain…and had a lazy night at home, watching the end of the sox game on ESPN Deportes, transferring and organizing the photographs from the day, and getting caught up on my journal entries. All in all an outstanding day at work, getting to explore Costa Rica and the culture, try new foods, practice my Spanish with Minor, and make some progress on my two projects for Habitat.

SWEETFIST - soon to be winners of the 2005 Emergenza Battle of the Bands...check em out at www.sweetfist.com...thats Chris, Dandan, Hair and Manny...Kick A$$ boyz

SWEETFIST

SWEET....FIST....SWEET....FIST...this Saturday, June 25th at 4 pm at the Avalon on Landsdown Street in Boston, My buddy Dan's Band SWEETFIST will be competing in the Finals of the Emergenza Festival Battle of the Bands. Over 180 bands started in this contest and it is down to the last 14...and only 1 gets an all expenses paid trip to Germany to play the 3 day Taubertal Open Air Festival. Of course that one will be Sweetfist. So if any of you guys want to hit up finals and support Sweetfist (i'll be there in spirit) check out their website (which i linked to above) for the details.

I expect nothing less then domination from Dandan, Hair, Chris and Manny...and try and get someone to video your set, cause you know i want to see it when i get back stateside.

Quick Pics for Momma

On wednesday I was out of the office travelling for work with my supervisor (Minor Rodriguez) to different Habitat sites in San Ramone and Esparza...and in between we stopped at this crazy greenhouse in Las Palmas - to pick up a few plants for Minor's wife. So I took a few pics, cause I know momma walters would like to see.

Amazing Greenhouse in Las Palmas, Costa Rica. The owner practices cross breeding - and creates his own new breed of plants and flowers

exploding orange globe like flower

close up of these pink waxy leaves

crazy hybrid plant

baby pineapple - just started growing (MAYBE 6 inches tall)

Monday & Tuesday

The only thing of note from Monday was that after work Lisa (Maximo’s 18 year old daughter) and her boyfriend ReecePaulo invited me out to meet some of their friends. I figured we were going to someone’s house, or to a bar or restaurant…but no we drove 2 blocks down the street and pulled into the corner store or as they call it “the Chino” cause the owners are Chinese. ReecePaulo opened the doors to his truck, put on some latin music, headed into the “chino” and came out with 3 beers. We sat on his tailgate and listened to music and chatted as their friends began to arrive. Within 30 minutes there were 4 or 5 cars and about 20 people chilling, drinking beers in front of the “chino”. I met everyone, chatted in my basic Spanish, and eventually had a great conversation with “chappy” a chubby, 19 year old Tico studying civil engineering at the University. We discussed politics, both Costa Rican and US, CAFTA, and world politics…great conversation. Then, cause we didn’t want to remove ourselves from the get together, the topic of conversation turned to music and we started trading band names. Another local Tico “freddy” was definitely a cool dude, and we talked about Sublime (peep the new tribute CD, just got it off iTunes, sweet), Zepplin etc. I told him I have friends in the states that are in bands and promised to burn him some toonz…so Sweetfist, FreightTrain and El Gringo (they particularly liked that one, as it got the whole crew laughing coming straight from the mouth of a gringo) will be bumping from car stereos all over San Jose by the end of the summer. I claim International Marketing Rights ;o) The other person I chatted with was this cute little Tico kindergarten teacher, Manuella…who has done some traveling and recommended some cool things for me to visit while I am down here…we’ll see if I can convince her to accompany me on an adventure or two. Finally, after 3 hours chilling in front of the “chino” drinking beers and waiting till ReecePaulo’s truck battery died from playing the music I had the final conversation of the evening…with a particularly drunk tico, who spoke less English then I do Spanish (so the whole convo was en Espanol) and had just returned from a trip to the States. Apparently he had been roadtripping with a friend from Indiana to NYC, and he spent some time in Buffalo, Niagara, and yes…the ROCH. He had a couple of funny encounters with cops – as it is apparently not a big deal to drink and drive down here…and he tried that in upstate New York, and blew a .3 on the breathalyzer and spent a night in jail because of it. Slowly people said their goodnights and we all headed home under the light of the full moon, and it was still 75 degrees at midnight…ahhh life is good.

Tuesday – Quick note from the morning…Maximo confronted me in the car about a misunderstanding with the homestay…I was under the impression that breakfast and dinner were included in the cost of my room; and have been eating like a king with Rebecka’s (Maximo’s wife) excellent cooking…but I guess I misunderstood things and that they provided me with a mini fridge and access to the kitchen so that I could buy my own groceries and make my own meals…and that I was only supposed to eat meals with the family when they invited me, and not to expect it every day and every meal. Apparently Maximo had spoken about this to Wes (the volunteer coordinator), and he just happened to be walking to work as we were having the awkward conversation…so Maximo pulls over and offers Wes a ride, and he climbs in and it becomes an even more awkward conversation. Eventually we just figured out it was a misunderstanding and that from this point on I will purchase all my own groceries…and eat with the family occasionally when invited; which is probably a blessing in disguise as with Rebecka’s excellent cooking I put on a few pounds in the first 10 days I have been here.

I made it my mission to try and find a place to see the NBA Finals game 6…so after work I busted home…got soaking wet as I forgot to bring my raincoat to work and it was pouring out for my 20 minute walk home. Got home, changed into dry clothes, grabbed my raincoat and headed back out into the deluge to meet Wes and hit one of the San Jose city buses for the first time. Bus was clean, fast and efficient, and not a hint of the pickpockets all guidebooks warn about…but I guess it all depends on which bus, which time of day, etc. Eventually we found a place called Mac’s American…that was showing the game as the first couple places didn’t have it on. So we chilled with a bunch of other gringos, drank Pilsen and ate American bar food favorites – nachos, wingys, quesadilla and onion rings…while finally getting my hoops fix (first game I have seen since the Celtics lost game 7 to Indiana and I almost had a conniption in a Beantown bar – but that’s another story for another day). The bar was split fairly evenly between Spurs and Pistons fans, but there weren’t any real hardcore fans screaming at the TV…just polite cheering and clapping after nice plays. Eventually when the Pistons secured the W and forced a game 7, the bar emptied out and we paid the bill and bounced…looks like I’ll probably be back there on Thursday night after a game of post work soccer with some co-workers. And just for the record I hope the Spurs win the title.

Lazy Weekend in San Jose

Saturday – Saturday was a fairly uneventful day; I slept late and woke up to an empty house, as the Cisernos were attending their daughter Lisa’s high school graduation. I decided to explore the neighborhood, and put on my running shoes. A couple of laps around the neighborhood and the nearby hospital in the 85 degree heat and I was sweating bullets. Probably did around 5 miles, but definitely lost a little of the endurance I gained running for the month I was home. After lunch and the return of my host family, I watched the Argentina vs Australia soccer game with Maximo. I walked to the local mini mall later in the afternoon to get a “Congratulation on Graduation” card for Lisa and a “Father’s Day/Birthday” card for Maximo. The rest of the afternoon was spent reading and doing one of my Spanish language lessons on the ipod. In the evening I started watching the Red Sox vs Pirates game which was on ESPN Deportes, but then the power went out, due to the thunder and lightening storm. The family was getting all dressed up for the Graduation Celebration Party that evening, and had to do it by candle and lantern light. It also made it pretty funny when I tried to take photos of them before they left, when they were all dressed up…cause the entire room was dark and when the flash went off everyone kept closing their eyes. After they left I went to bed early, but woke up for a snack and some TV when the power came back on a few hours later.

Sunday was Father’s Day and also Maximo’s Birthday. I awoke to Max jr sleeping on the couch, and made a pot of the coffee he had brought with him from the plantation he works at in MonteVerde (supposedly the best coffee producing region of Costa Rica – up in the cloud forests). It was a delicious way to start the day. I went with Maximo to church again, and we went early this time for a couple of reasons. First I had the opportunity to attend a meeting that Maximo was organizing between some of the church leaders concerning a project he is working on with them and Habitat. As the community and church relations director – he is attempting to organize his church to help them provide Habitat housing in their own community. I met a young guy – Carlos – who is the youth relations representative for the church, and we chatted about a whole bunch of things. He is a published writer and we shared some of our writing with each other; and promised to try and hang out sometime in the future. The Second reason was that a group of 20 missionaries from Florida were attending today’s service and Maximo had borrowed the simultaneous translation equipment from Habitat to be able to allow them to understand the sermon. I helped him hand out the equipment, and make sure everyone’s was working properly, as well as keep track of who was using which device. The sermon was interesting – it was taking a look at the different types of Parents and they way that they relate to their kids. It highlighted six negative things that some parents do, and then ended by discussing ways to change those 6 types, and offering 10 questions for self-reflection: so that church members could assess their own relationships with their children as well as recognize real ways that they could change for the better. While the sermon was going on I had the chance to practice my Spanish with a little 6 year old girl Rachel. She was really cute and we practiced basic things, like names, age, parents and brothers and sisters, etc…she had fun listening to the English in the translation equipment and practiced her writing in my notebook. After church we returned home to a Father’s Day feast of steaks on the BBQ…which were delicious…right on par with the LOIN :o)…I also got the chance to talk to my folks for the first time since I arrived in Costa Rica, great to hear their voices and it was nice to be able to wish my Dad a Happy Father’s day. More soccer in the evening – as the Mexico vs Brazil game was on, and was really exciting…with Mexico pulling off the stunning upset 1-0 on a crazy header. Just before sundown, Maximo asked me if I wanted to play paddle ball…I said sure – not really knowing what it was, but grateful for any athletic fun. With his special heavy wooden paddles from Peru (the size of pickleball paddles, but much heavier), and a tennis ball we headed down the street to the neighborhood park. The game is a combination of tennis net skills and the paddleball you see at the beach; but with the heavy paddles the ball travels really fast, and you can’t let it hit the ground. SO you are simultaneously trying to keep the rally going, while hitting a difficult shot for your opponent to return. After I got the hang of it, it was a really fast paced, reflexes based game…that left us both sweating bullets and gasping for breath after 30 minutes. Lots of fun, I hope we get to play again. After a shower I spent the rest of the night reading and went to bed early.

The courtyard where I sit and have a morning coffee and breakfast; and where we BBQ'd steaks for Dia del Padre'.

My Bedroom from Inside - looking out the windows to the patio

My Bedroom, through the French Windows that open to the patio

The View outside my Host Familia's House - I see the mountains when I go running in the mornings...hoping to hike to the top one weekend to see a panorama of San Jose.

FRIIIIIIIIDAY!!

My first Friday in the Habitat office was pretty chill, as everyone was looking forward to their weekend plans. I finished my orientation yesterday, and met with the Construction Specialist for Central America and the Caribbean Region – Minor Rodriguez - to review and plan for my projects. It looks like I will be working on two complementary, but separate projects…the first a construction site safety project – to provide an orientation and handbook to incoming volunteers about the potential safety issues they should be aware of; as well as; a similar document (but in Spanish) for the new homeowners – as most have never been on a construction site before, and will now have to provide hundreds of hours of work on their homes, as well as on other Habitat homes (one of the provisions for a family to be chosen to buy their Habitat home is that commitment)…and finally a document to help the construction site foremen provide a brief orientation to safety issues to everyone who will be working with them on the site at the start of the day. The second project originally began as the Environmental Impact Assessment of the construction process; but that may have been overly ambitious to complete in 8 weeks; and the safety project was of higher priority…so the EIA got pared down to an analysis of the amount and type of waste produced by the construction process, and a proposal on ways to help minimize that waste.

Meeting with Minor was a fun time in and of itself, because he speaks a little more English then I do Spanish…but not much…so between hand gestures, and the google translator we managed to have a pretty in depth conversation in Spanglish. After lunch and meeting a few new volunteers who were just starting their orientation on Friday, I set to work in earnest on my research. Around 4 pm I was supposed to receive an email from a friend from AU – Benjamin, who is down here in the Natural Resources and Sustainable Development program which has a semester in DC, a year in Costa Rica (at the University for Peace) with an internship this summer, and the final semester back in DC, next spring. However, Benjamin never dropped me that email so we couldn’t get together for a couple of beers…but minor setbacks like that never stopped me, and I managed to convince 3 people from the office, Wes (the volunteer coordinator), Diana and Marco to head out after work…and we hit up El Pollo Cerversero…essentially the Chicken Beer Bar :o)

After a few $1 brews…Imperial is pretty delicious…we scarfed down some delicious rotisserie chicken that had been cooking all day and was ridiculously tender, for dinner, and then went on a mission with Marco who was trying to sell his car. He left the phone number of the guy he was supposed to meet at 9 pm in the office, and forgot his code to get in the building after hours…so we tried to call a bunch of people, and we even drove to the office and tried to convince the guard to let him in…no luck…so we gave up on that mission and headed over to San Pedro – the section of town where the University is located. After battling for a parking space, we walked over to these two streets that are filled with bars, restaurants, clubs, pool halls…and jam packed with all types of kids…from preppies to punks with some gringos mixed in here and there…all the while kids in their pimped out rides were cruising down the street dodging pedestrians and crazy taxi drivers…kinda made me feel like I was 16, just got my license and needed to cruise the strip at Salisbury beach. So we snuggled into a outdoor table at one of the bars, where we could watch the action on the street, and began work on a pitcher of Imperial. After polishing off the pitcher we decided to hit up the pool hall, where Wes proceeded to dominate (he waited until ½ way through to tell us all that he grew up with a pool table in his basement, and that his Dad at one point was so good that he dropped out of college to make money hustling.) Like any fun night on the town, it ended with a pilgrimage to the local pizza joint, for a late night slice. We then climbed into a beat up old taxi and held on for our dear lives as the guy ignored every stop sign, stop light and traffic law known to man…Wes got dropped off first, so I had to spend the second half of the ride in this cab solo…and of course made some small talk in my basic Spanish…at which point the cabbie offered to pick up a prostitute for me. I dunno – do I look desperate or something? Seems anytime I go out someone is trying to get me a hooker. Rediculous. Anyway – I made it home safe, and got in the house without having to wake anyone up, and without the 200 lb English Mastiff mauling me.

PS: i just spilled my morning coffee all over me :o)...quite standard wally maneuver...if you can't laugh at yourself when you do something like that, your gonna have a stressful life. Pura Vida.

Happy Father's Day VATI...me and L miss and love you.

Post Build Fiascos

After heading back to the hotel for a shower, Wes and I went out for a couple beers with another volunteer Devin, who is designing the website for the San Ramon Affiliate of Habitat. We wandered the town for a few minutes until we saw an Imperial sign pop up, and we piled into the bar. We just happened to end up sitting next to a American Ex Navy guy…mid 60’s…drunk as a skunk and talking lots of trash, primarily about the Tico women. Devin had some great stories as he worked for a summer up in Denali Park in Alaska driving a visitors bus around the park, and hiking after work until midnight, cause the sun never sets. He also hitchhiked from California, down through the Baja Penninsula, over the bay to Mexico, down through Mexico into Central America and ended up here in Costa Rica. At this point The Ex Navy drunk offered to buy us all prostitutes, and head over to his apartment…we declined and settled on a round of beers.
After pounding the beers we got out of there as fast as we could, leaving the crazy guy in our rearview mirror. We headed back to the hotel and had dinner with the Ohio State Brigade, and then missed our bus back to San Jose. So we sat in the bus station, cause the next bus was supposed to come in 45 minutes, but it was 45 minutes late…so we finally go on the bus about 11 and didn’t get back to San Jose until after midnight. I was a little wary walking home, but had no problems as Maximos’ house is in a nice neighborhood. But when I was unlocking and re-locking the front gate the HUGE English Mastiff – Olympia…came out to greet me, as though I were an intruder. So that woke up everyone in the house, and necessitated the Mom – Rebecca getting out of bed to calm down the dog, and let me in the front door. I felt terrible, but they assured me it was ok, and that they were glad I got home safe. Needless to say, after a hard day lifting 120 lb bags of cement, digging 8 foot deep holes for septic systems, lifting buckets of cement above my head to hand to guys on the roof, and then dealing with the entire Bus fiasco, I hit the pillow and was out like the light.

Habitat Build site in San Raphael - Cinder Block and Cement Construction

Working on a Septic System in the back of the house

Costa Rican Homeowners who worked side-by-side with us on the construction of thier house - relaxing in the shade after lunch

Habitat Brigade from Ohio State eating lunch

Habitat Build

Bright and Early – 7 am I walk to the Hospital Mexico – which is about 10 minutes from Maximo’s house; and grab a taxi. Communication with the taxi driver is hilarious, and we both end up sharing a good laugh, as well as reaching our destination – the Bus Station. The Bus system in Costa Rica is Phenominal!!! Beautiful, clean, high quality buses extend to a comprehensive network all over the country. Samantha (another volunteer from Columbia University) and I hop on the bus to San Ramon, and arrive an hour later after a beautiful drive through the Costa Rican countryside. In San Ramon, we grab a taxi and take it out to the Build site in the neighboring tiny town of San Raphael, where we meet up with Wes and get introduced to a brigade of students from Ohio State who are down here volunteering for 2 weeks. After meeting the construction site foreman, and the homeowners with whom we are building, we got right to work. As one of the stronger men there I had to take on the heavy lifting tasks…primarily making cement from scratch…which consisted of 7 big buckets of sand, 5 big buckets of rocks, 2 big buckets of water and a HUGE 50kg (120 pound) bag of cement….after lifting all of those ingredients into the cement mixer, I used a wheel barrow to deliver the cement to the workers who were building the front porch and the septic tanks in the back of the 3 houses we were working on. In All I produced 8 batches of cement (and have a sore back and shoulders today to attest to it :o). A couple times throughout the day I pulled out my camera and took some photographs for my two projects: Environmental Impact Assessment of the construction process, as well as a safety orientation for volunteers. After lunch and some time chatting with the Ohio state kids, and playing with the local Tico dogs, I went subterranean, and finished digging the final septic system hole which is 8 feet deep, and 6 feet wide, and 8 feet long. The last part of the afternoon was spent hoisting buckets of cement onto the top of the walls, where others were completing the walls and beginning the roof. All in all it was a phenomenal day; great weather, good people, honest labor and the satisfaction of seeing the smile on the faces of the homeowners as their home progresses along towards its finish.

Pictures

Ok, so I have been delinquent in posting pictures...here are a few I snapped in the week before I left for Costa Rica...I'll post some CR ones soon. Keep Checking back.
Peace - Wally

PS: If you click on the pics you can see a larger image

Captain Vati - Setting Sail out of Newburyport Harbor

Wally's New Ride

Momma's Bday - Ralph Lauren Antique Car Exhibit at Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Beantown Crew - BBQ Sendoff (see Loin)

Loin...yuuuuuuuum

Lunch with Jarda in Miami - Diplomat Hotel

Arrival in the Office

Monday was my first day in the Habitat for Humanity International office based in La Uruca (a suburb of San Jose). Maximo drove us both to the office (about a 5 minute drive, which I usually make a 20 minute walk). I met with Wes Weston the International Volunteer Coordinator, and genuine cool dude. Wes and I have a lot in common, and I’m sure will be hanging out together outside of the office, and will probably plan a hiking trip into the mountains one of the weekends. Anyway – Wes took me through the 1st day of my 4 day orientation…introducing me to everyone in the office (about 40 people including volunteers), going over basic things about Costa Rican Culture, discussing the different groups in the office and what they work on, and basically reviewing the Volunteer Handbook that he put together. Everyone in the office is ridiculously nice, and welcomed me with open arms and big, bright smiles :o)

During lunch we took care of some basic tasks, changing $$$, touring the local area, pointing out landmarks and stores etc. We walked back to Maximo’s house so I could grab my computer and get hooked up to the internet in the office – which was much easier then I thought it was going to be. After lunch I tackled the challenging task of writing a letter of introduction to my colleagues here in Spanish (thank god for google translator). Finally I watched 3 HFH videos, that were extremely touching – discussing the founding of Habitat, seeing a build site and watching some volunteers work, as well a meeting some of the homeowners and seeing the hope that HFH gives them. (http://www.habitat.org/faces_places/hom/list.aspx) And just like that my first day was in the books. Tuesday was similar, as I focused my time on the Habitat online University, which was essentially 5 online courses that are an introduction to the organization, it’s mission, it’s principals and values, and the history and how it has progressed and grown over time. I spent the last hour of the day getting organized and planning for my “Build” day (Wednesday) in San Ramon: figuring out the Bus route to the construction site, learning what clothes and supplies I should bring with me, and generally getting prepared for what to expect (a day of hard labor, getting dirty, working side-by-side helping people realize their dream of owning their first house).

Attending Church Services

Allright, time to finally get caught up. I forgot to mention my trip on Sunday morning to Maximo’s church. It is located in a very poor neighborhood in San Jose, but that does nothing to take away from the people’s passion. We arrived at 10 am and stood in the back of the open air church building. The first 30 minutes were spent greeting friends and fellow congregation members, as a Christian rock band played Spanish songs about the grace of God, and two sets of teenage girls performed dances on either side of the band. It was a very high tech operation, as there was a multimedia screen behind the band, flashing up the words to the song, as well as other religious pictures, and the whole band was hooked up to mikes and amps and the sound quality was very good. After the music, was the tithing going in order from children, women then men. Then the youth pastor made some brief remarks, and invited two women from the congregation onto the stage to share stories about how God had touched their lives. Finally the pastor came out and began his sermon, which Maximo translated for me. It was about the Apostle Paul and his grace in jail, turning a negative situation into a positive opportunity to spread the word of God and try and convert his prison guards, and other prisoners. All in all it was a very moving experience, despite my agnostic religious beliefs I enjoyed the service, and will probably attend another one before I leave.

First Weekend

Alright, so lets see…where did I last leave off?...ahhh that’s right, lost luggage :o)…so fortunately for me, the Habitat for Humanity driver waited outside for over an hour while I dealt with my luggage fiasco (American Airlines sucks…cough, cough). He didn’t speak any English, but we managed to exchange some small talk with my basic Spanish, as he drove me to the house of my Costa Rican family for the next 2 months. Upon arrival, I was greeted by Maximo and Rebecca – my host parents and their 4 dogs (3 pugs and 1 HUGE English mastiff – pics to come), and their 16 year old daughter Sol and her boyfriend Jose who essentially looks like a wally with dark hair (LOL). After a brief tour of the house (which is beautiful) and my bedroom (which is nice and comfortable – pics to come), we piled into the family van and headed over to rebecca’s brother’s house for a good old fashioned Saturday night family get together. Over beers and BBQ we began the process of getting to know one another. Fortunately for me, the entire family is bi-lingual, so I can convey more details then my basic Spanish would allow. After a few beers we busted out the foosball table (don’t be jealous henry) and played a bunch of games…while the adults settled into a Barry Manilow concert DVD (hilarious). The energy petered out after the foosball game, and we were soon headed home for bed. Sunday was a relaxing day, though I still hadn’t adjusted to the 2 hour time difference and woke up at 6 am. After a family breakfast of fried eggs, cheese, ham and tortillas (everyone loves a good egg n cheezer), Sol took me out for a tour of the neighborhood. After lunch I called mis amigos at American Airlines and they informed me that I should call back later cause my bag did not come in on the early flight…ahh the joys of wearing the same clothes for days in a row. The afternoon was spent lazing around the house, reading, listening to music and chatting in the little patio right outside my bedroom…My mom helped put together a few small housewarming gifts, and my Tico family was surprised and excited to see the gifts, especially a photograph & cook book of regional cuisine from all over America. Maximo offered me a pair of shorts and a fresh t-shirt, while Rebecca threw my clothes in the wash…absolutely priceless. In the evening the rest of the family came home – Lisa (18) and her boyfriend (from the beach) and Max Jr (25) and his American girlfriend (from Santa Rosa, CA) where they had spent 5 days in Nicaragua. After a family dinner of Chinese food I headed out with Lisa and her boyfriend for a few beers, and some good conversation at a local bar. They sound really excited to have me here, and want to take me out and show me all the cool areas of San Jose. Next weekend is Lisa’s highschool graduation party, so that should be an interesting experience. I really like the whole family and I think the next two months will really go smoothly with all of their help.

I am off tomorrow to a build site in the city of San Ramon, to work with a brigade of 12 students from Ohio State as well as the local Costa Rican affiliate of Habitat. So I will be away from the computer and internet, out riding a bus around the country and getting my hands dirty helping build a Habitat house. I’ll post on Thursday what the build was like, as well as my first few days in the HFH office; and see if I can get some pics up as well.

Always Grinning - Love Life - Pura Vida

a SMILE :o)

Hola everyone. Gonna get caught up on the past few days in a little bit, but I just wanted to share a quick thought.

The power of a smile.

Ticos' are an amazingly positive group of people; I am just beginning to meet people and remember names; but if I greet anyone with a smile...whether I know them or not, whether we can communicate (in my broken spanish or their english) or not, the smile is returned and I am made to feel welcome.

It is truly a global form of communication that can create a sense of community among a diverse group of people.

If you aren't smiling right now, think of wally with a big grin on his face...there thats better...see I can even make you smile over the internet, thousands of miles away...the Power of a smile :o)

Miami to San Jose

Hanging with Jarda was a nice relaxing transition day. Friday night was filled with pilsner urquell, shots of the homebrewed Czech liquor – Slivo, massive amounts of Chinese food and stories from the past year. Despite a soggy morning on Saturday, things warmed up by lunch time and allowed us the opportunity to hop in the car, head to the beach and eat lunch at the Diplomat resort inches from the sand and ocean. The couple of frozen margaritas necessitated a post lunch nap, then shower to wake up and continue on the second leg of my journey. Miami airport was jam packed with people, and as it is one of the major hub cities for American Airlines, my check in line was infinite. As the sole gringo standing in line I was surrounded with the Spanish language, which it has become my goal to become conversational by the end of my 75 days. Yet here I was reminded how challenging that goal will be to reach. Despite an introductory Spanish class in DC, and the highly touted language CD’s of Michel Thomas, I can only comprehend about a third of what is being said.

At the end of the check-in line, I was told to bring my backpack over to the x-ray screening machine, as I dropped my bag on a cart of a young woman who was toting it to the machine, I got a strange feeling. She smiled and said “you’re all set sir.” And with that she turned and pushed my bag off around a security wall. Still toting that uneasy feeling, I turned my attention to finding my gate, which naturally is in the farthest possible wing of the airport. After a hike around Miami International, I finally settled into my aisle seat on a packed plane, that actually had the one open seat on the plane next to me…the strange uneasiness was forgotten and I smiled at my unusual luck. After an uneventful flight we touched down in San Jose, and after breezing through immigration and customs I stood at the baggage claim…and that uneasy feeling surfaced again. There is something about my luck with baggage claims…I always seem to be one of the last 10 people waiting for their bag. So I stood, watched and waited; as everyone grabbed their luggage…the first wave of bags, then the second…by the time the third and final wave of bags came out it was down to the last few unlucky souls. And as luck would have it, my bag never came out of that luggage chute. So all of my clothes, toiletries, summer reading, sandals and sneakers were still chilling in Miami; while I stood at the American Airlines customer service center and calmly filled out the claim. Remembering that the key to enjoying your travel experience is to let all problems just slide off you back, and deal with them calmly and with a positive attitude.

half the adventure

is in getting there...So after a morning filled with last minute packing, runs to the Bank and the obligatory Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee (gonna miss those in CR)...i finally hit the road on the way to the airport for my flight to Fort Lauderdale, and a night on Southbeach hanging with my favorite Czech - Jaroslav Vasicko. After strolling thru security without a hitch, i sit down at the gate and turn my attension to CNN which is running a story on Tropical Storm Arlene ....which is already causing flooding, massive rain, and heavy winds all over southern florida (so much for my fun-filled plans on the sunny sands of south beach). With about 30 minutes left in the flight, the pilot gets on the loudspeaker and drops this little gem on us

"attension passengers, please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts, we will be experiencing some turbulance for the remainder of the flight and approach to landing, but it is nothing for you to be concerned about, because we aren't concerned."

Now anytime I hear the pilot (who is incharge of landing this huge steel cage) tell me he is not concerned with landing the plane, while there is a hurricane on the ground, but that i better put on my seat belt and not get out of my seat for the rest of the turbulence (ie flight)...of course I shouldn't be concerned...well...gotta say jetblue has great planes, nice prices, tv's in every seat, and a friendly courteous flight attendants...but their pilots can not be counted on to inspire confidence. (ddefinately a Dave Barry moment)

So here i sit in the miami airport, watching the eye candy walk by, as I wait for Jarda to arrive in an hour...gotta love that the entire airport is hooked up with wireless internet...one last thing...i am now untethered (cell phone free), so email, IM and blogging are the best ways to stay in touch over the next 2 months.

Ready to Rumble

If you are new to "Blogging" scroll to the bottom and read up...that way you read the blog in chronicalogical order it was posted...this post is the most recent

wow...the last few weeks have been a whirlwind...working trying to save money, visiting friends I haven't seen for a while, spending time with the fogies, and trying to pack in as much fun as possible; all the while planning and organizing the next 75 days of living in a foreign country...needless to say the thing that suffered most was my sleep.

The "to do" list is almost all crossed off, all that remains is the final laying out of all my clothes, gear, books, camera, computer, etc...and the final pack. I leave tomorrow morning for Miami, where I will be chilling with Jarda for a night of fun in South Beach, and then on to San Jose, Costa Rica on Saturday afternoon.

I hope everyone who visits this blog enjoys it. please take the time to write comments when you can, and check back often, because I will be updating it constantly.

peace
Todd