Alison does Costa Rica

I have moved into my homestay where I share a room, ghetto bathroom, and kitchenette with another gringa. This is where we shower. The only output is cold water.

Also note in my luxurious accomodations my roomate and I have encountered 3 of these crabs, which we swept out into the street. This is a photo of one (this was in the wild, but imagine it crawling next to your bed...)

The senora of my casa makes amazing meals, or casadas, for me very night... always consisting of rice and beans. Derivation of name (casada = married) is a meal that a woman cooks for her husband who goes out and labors all day. They are huge and usually include a meat, rice & beans, plantains, vegetable and some sort of salad.

Finally, I am sure you are curious of my footwear. My usual footwear is extremely attractive....

and for school, when I need to dress up, I wear these fake Crocs

This is a view right by my house on the way to work (ocean in back)

I'm sure you are curious about my teaching which I'll write about later. Gotta go.

So I read this great document in a real estate magazine about how to obtain Costa Rican residency. After detailing the immigration law (you may retire if you have pension money, $200K to invest, or if you marry a Costa Rican or have a Costa Rican baby...) they then go on to describe how one might obtain a work permit. I found this particularly amusing so thought I´d share it with you. Highlighted in bold are some of my favorite parts.

¨Work Permits. If you are neither retired nor have big savings, but still want to stay in Costa Rica, you will have to work. Without work there is no money and without money no bread to eat - but you also have to eat, even in paradise.

A typical case is that someone visits Costa Rica as a tourist for some weeks, falls in love with the country and wants to stay and work here. If this happens to you, I recommend you resist and always go along with the law, since the government takes it seriously. And even if you do find a job, your income would be only $300 a month, which is not enough. It is better to stay as a tourist, enjoy the country for a while, and return to your home country if you do not meet the residency requirements.

There are not many people without a job in Costa Rica. Even in periouds of less economical growth, Costa Ricans work hard for little money. Neither the government nor the people like foreigners taking jobs away.

Under some circumstances you can get a work permit
as a scientist, as a trainer for sports team, as artist (or showmaster) as priest, if you marry a Costa Rican, as a student , as a member of a multinational company, as a doctor or nurse, as bilingual professor.

It is important to know, that the old trick to leave to Panama for 3 days and come back in order to get another 90 days legal stay is not as easy as it used to be. Costa Rica does not like this behaviour and you may be deported.¨

So today was supposed to be my first day as a teaching assistant for the English class in Samara´s elementary school. I arrived at the school and the teacher never showed up. Apparently she is on bedrest, but by the way people are talking about it it sounds like she is possibly playing hooky. Starting tomorrow I am going to be the head teacher in English classes for grades 1-6 until she returns...
The school asked for lesson plans which I have been working on today (when I wasn´t at the beach, of course!!). The plans consist of games that I have invented as well as ¨head shoulders knees and toes¨ and singing the ABCs. My lesson plans are hand written on scraps of paper and in English, so I´m not sure what they are going to do with them.
If anyone has any ideas about how to teach school, send them my way!
Other interesting news in the jungle is that my friend Beth came to visit for 5 days. We saw some waterfalls, beaches and had monkeys throw mangos at our cabin all night long.

I´ve just gotten back from the middle of nowhere and landed in another middle of nowhere (only this middle of nowhere has lots of yuppy trustafarians wearing Bob Marley tshirts)
My first middle of nowhere was Tortugero, where I toured some jungles via canoe and stalked turtles. Turtle stalking involves going on guided walks on the beach in the pitch black from 10 PM to midnight looking for giant leatherback turtles laying their eggs. Unfortunately I did not see a single turtle in 3 nights, as the season doesn´t really start up until June. These turtles can be up to 2 meters long (US conversion: 6 foot 4, like the size of Erik) and they come to shore every few years to lay 100 eggs. Apparently it is the most amazing thing ever to see one of these giant beasts ascend from the ocean.
I was lucky enough to at least see tracks. As we were walking single file in complete darkness, I figured there would be no way we could see turtle tracks. But these turtles are so enormous they basically create gorges when they walk. Pretty amazing.
I also saw a Cayman crocodile in the jungle - my guide and I were in a canoe about 2 feet away. Photo to follow!
So now I am in Montezuma hippy land where my friend Beth will be joining me for 5 days. I´m off to go look at some hippie clothes boutiques now, as what genius decided to have all of her clothes laundered while the clothes she is currently wearing are soaking wet from the torrential downpour??

Quiz question of the day:
When checking in for the plane from Tortugero to San Jose, the following things were put on a scale:
a) my luggage
b) me
c) all of the above

Maybe this is a common occurance on little planes but it kind of freaked me out.

Don't get excited. I didn't actually see a cougar. But I am learning that I have the potential to become one. Seems the 18 year old Costa Rican boys have quite a thing for me.
It started on my kayak tour yesterday, when I noticed that my 18 yr old guide was quite flirtatious and trying to impress me with his kayak skills. We shared an inflatable kayak on the 3.5 hour tour (note: the adventurous Alaskans* took real kayaks that can tip over, which I was not about to do in alligator infested waters)
* note: my Alaskan friends are an ex Army couple who went to Iraq and are currently living in dry huts with no running water in Alaska. Obviously a bit more hard core than NYC girl.)
Anyhow, 18 yr old guide was visibly disappointed to hear I was 30, he was sure I was only 22 which I guess is within his age range. Next day after tour I saw him and he told me he would really miss me (?????).
Then on bus ride yesterday there were a bunch of school kids in uniform sitting in back of bus as seniors tend to do worldwide because back of the bus equals cool. One confident boy was encouraged by his friends to come talk to the random gringo (me) and find out if I had a boyfriend. While this was happening his friends shouted that my new amigo "Le gusta chicos! He is a gay!" . After which my amigo told me I was bonita, though I think he was just trying to prove his heterosexuality.
Anyhow, where am I you ask? I decided to go off the beaten track a bit as I was in a lot of touristy places where only english was spoken. So I found a random town and got to speak plenty of Spanish. (aside from Alaskans, and Utah tour group in rainforest with lots of hippies, including one woman who had the longest armpit hair I have ever seen, male or female) We went to a chocolate farm and learned to make chocolate which was really fun (note that CR is not famous for chocolate)
Yesterday was tedious as I had to take FOUR buses and a boat to get to Tortugero... but fabulous as I spoke Spanish all day.
Bus rides:
1< La Virgen to Sarapaqui- where I was hit on by high schooler in uniform
2< Sarapaqui to Guapiles , made an amigo who was illegal immigrant from Nicaraugua
3< Guapiles to Cairias . Don't remember much about this ride, was delirious with heat and sweat.
4< Cairais to Pavona. more like a freight truck than bus, local farmers kept getting on with fruit bags and unloading at different stops. I spoke with some, one gave me a guava and told me about the man in front of the bus whose 3 year old son was eaten by a gator 10 days ago. (note: I have since heard that they are on a gator witch hunt here, killing every gator trying to find little boy's body. very sad) Also I made friends with an old man who resembled Junior from the Sopranos but I couldn't understand a word he said so just smiled and nodded.
As if 4 bus rides wasn't enough, we were dropped off in field, climbed a fence and walked to river. Got on a boat to ride through canals to get to Tortugero Island. The ride was the coolest ever, it felt so jungle like that it couldn't be real, almost like I was on a ride at Diesney world. Only locals on boat. We dropped some people off at cabins on river and then I got off on the island. it is so cool here, just a tiny village! I couldn't explore much because it was getting dark and I am responsible and safe (note to Mom and Dad) but I had dinner at a great Caribbean restaurant below my hostel.
Today I have made a German friend and we are going on a walk. He just told me that there is a boa outside eating an iguana but I am not going to go look at it.
There was a 2 inch bug crawling on me in my sleep last night.