Wally Wanderlust

My Summer in Costa Rica - J. Todd Walters

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

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.

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