Semana 2

Unsolved Mysteries - Un Noche Sin Agua

            Mere moments (or a couple of hours, but that’s less interesting) after posting my cheery, uplifting first blog entry I came home to no water. I attempted to pay my bill for the second time, consulted with the heroes next door (who still had water), and with their assistance checked my online bill status. Alas, no explanation. The next day I went to the municipalidad to get to the root of the problem but the very helpful city worker declared the situation “Muy extraño!!!”. Indeed. He instructed me to go directly home and wait for another city worker who, much to my surprise given the usual gringo complaints regarding CR service, did arrive fairly promptly. He would not enter the property but showed me from the city side everything was as it should be. I proceeded to ask about the “clave” the first city worker had referenced. From outside the fence, with a language barrier, he directed me to where to find this clave (valve as it turned out). The valve outside my apartment was closed, I opened it, the worker gave me a high-five, and the drought was brought to an end. Unfortunately, the mystery was not.

Penchant Por Palabras

            I was filling out a form for work that asked what church I was “assisting”. It seems this is similar to how we would ask what church you are attending, but I like this better. Whatever church we are attending we should be assisting!

            This reminded me of a couple of other words/phrases I enjoy in the Spanish language. The first: here in Costa Rica (perhaps in all Spanish speaking places - I forget my non-Tico Spanish class…) they do not ask “how old are you?”; instead, they ask “how many years do you have?”. I feel this sounds more like an accomplishment as opposed to an assault of years. The second: “esperar”. I was reading a familiar verse, I forget which, in my Spanish Bible and where in English it says “wait” it used what I knew as the Spanish word for “to hope”. Up until then I didn’t know it was the same word. Que rico! I mean I dunno if that phrase applies to non-food items but it should apply to this. Hoping. Waiting. So often intertwined.

Otra Cosas

• I met a girl at the bank who spent four months in Sheridan, TX. Talk about extraño! First tico/a I’ve met who has traveled to Texas. New Jersey, Florida, and LA seem to be the destinations of choice. Bright girl, watch out for her.
• I haven’t mentioned work much. The little people don’t arrive until February 5^th so it’s mostly been trainings and classroom preparations, and only for half days. It’s been nice as I’ve had more time than expected to get settled. On Friday we had VBS, hehe. We had our regular morning devotional followed by some games, worship, a talk/lesson, craft time, and a snack! But the snack included coffee which is way better than real VBS. We are also still getting breakfast every day which I am going to miss. #spoiled

Things I miss (other than my cats, I still must say):

• My luscious locks. This hair, y’all. Hot. Mess. Ladies, you know that sort of sticky maybe I didn’t get all the product washed out feeling? No….? Anyway, pretty much where I’m at. E’erday. I’ve experienced it before but only as a short timer so now that I am living here longer term I may need to find a solution, beyond the permanent poofy pony tail. A coworker assures me that this, too, shall pass. May it be so. 

Until next time...

Foto Friday

 But first, COFFEE! Porque siempre es hora del cafe.

Cafe Miel, long time favorite, now improved by legos. A must do if you are in Costa Rica.

 Coffee dreams for lunch? It's as though you read my mind.

Coffee Dreams' WiFi password is on point. Perfectly sums up my thoughts on WiFi access.

After lunching on Coffee Dreams I had afternoon coffee at Don Mayo...

where I imbibed the spirit of coffee.

For my animal loving friends, there weren't enough of these to purchase one for all so enjoy the picture of this animal rights activist mug, en español. 

And now, for something completely different. It would seem you can rent a burial spot in Heredia? Good financial planning considering people will soon enough forget to visit your languishing remains. 😁

Just in case there was any doubt, it has been written in stone that you must be a "legitimate" heir to share this space. Perhaps the illegitimate heirs got a rental spot.

My homie:

All joking aside I enjoyed this antique lamp post:

and this interesting marker for un pintor. All of these were taken at Cementerio de Heredia. 

Also taken around Heredia: 

While in Alajuela looking for Wal-Mart... 

(and having coffee) I happened upon the Museo Histórico Cultural Juan Santamaría. Juan is a national hero, though of disputed legitimacy. Don't we all have some of those? I accept his reputed heroism without debate as he made my birthday a national holiday. Thanks, Juan! Anyway, some tidbits from el museo:

Interventions of Estates Unidos...?! Say it ain't so! 

The church that now resides at the heart of Alajuela.

Chepe! I love San José as it is more formally known, especially all of the murals. 

And also fun signage: 

But they need to work on weed control: 

In Costa Rica they put up these elaborate nativity scenes which are still up well after Christmas. I admired them when I was here a year ago bussing around the country. Every town we were in had a very nice one in the central church. Here are a couple of examples, one in San Jose and one in Heredia:

Finally, moving on to Belén, my new hometown. Excuse the terrible photo but my 14 year old coffee pot that I am emotionally attached to successfully made the move and airline abuse. Yay! 

New neighbor, Aphrodite. Don't tell my babies. 

I'm kind of afraid of this odor control. Not sure why... 💁

I was in love with this loco pajaro as a child. Most sought after character at Universal Studios. And yes, I did go watch it in Spanish. 

The title changes of movies is interesting. For example, what we know as Ferdinand in the US is Ole! The Travel of Ferdinand. 

I went shopping for some house plants and had a little reminder of home. 

And during one of my wanderings to and fro I almost stole this puppy. Not sure what the punishment for puppy theft is in Costa Rica. Not harsh I hope. 

Speaking of puppies Scott is huge around here. Painted on the side of buildings huge. And apparently you can get a plush doctor puppy with your tissue. If anyone needs one let me know. 

And finally, a carnivorous tamal! 

Semana 1

How I Met My Neighbors

            I landed in Costa Rica with a migraine. When a man offered to collect our bags, put them on a cart, and load them in a taxi I said “Sí!!!!!”. He offered to take my backpack as well and I figured that might help my aching head and sweating body. Una problema – I didn’t think about my backpack much more after this. Mostly I was thinking about not projectile vomiting in the taxi. Right up until the taxi driver was driving away from my new abode, that is. I tried yelling from behind my gated apartment fence for him to stop. He didn’t. I happened to see one of the residents of the apartment adjacent to mine heading up the stairs so, knowing they were awake, I knocked on the door. Mercifully he spoke English (I was in no shape to hablar en español) and I hadn’t tossed the cab information. After I explained the situation he called the taxi service (I didn’t have my CR number yet) and while waiting for the return of my backpack he and his roommate carried all of my luggage upstairs! I haven’t communicated with them much since this event, other than to drop off some thank-you chocolates, but they were my heroes my first night here!

Plane Philosophy

            On the flight to Costa Rica I sat next to Joel (Jo-elle). After offering her a snack from my personal stash she asked if I was always so nice to strangers. I thought about it and decided on “mostly” but then my mind wandered to how I treat non-strangers. Specifically, people who have offended me in some way that I can’t quite let go of… I am thinking perhaps I should treat these people more like strangers in the future. ;-)

Otra Cosas

• Mi amiga y yo ate breakfast at La Caserita in my new hometown our first morning here. The proprietor, Frank, gifted each of us with a chorreador! You can learn more here: http://www.ticotec.net/index.html 

• People here are incredibly observant! I am not, as my mother could tell you. Two people have commented on my new glasses after briefly meeting me months ago. Two people have commented on seeing me walking about various places. Maybe this trait will rub off on me! Or maybe people are generally observant and I am hopeless? 😁
• Thus far the work visa process hasn’t seemed overly difficult. Some disgruntled expats would lead one to believe it’s nearly impossible. Getting my US papers was painless – granted I was still there. The fingerprinting process in Costa Rica was equally painless. I don’t have a visa in my possession yet but all the paperwork has been handed over and it seems to be a matter of waiting at this point.
• For our first week of work we got free breakfast every day! #itsthelittlethings
• I am impressed with the diversity in my very narrow circle. I have met friends from Cuba, Colombia, and Argentina.

Things I miss (other than my cats, obviously)

• Sea level. Seriously, when will I be able to breathe again? #thestruggleisreal
• Water pressure. #firstworldproblems

Until next time…

            

It's a Special Occasion

I've had these dishes since I was in high school. They were part of my "hope chest", if you will. There were many other things in the "hope chest" which I have slowly decluttered over the last year. However, these dishes stayed and sat in the cabinet waiting for special occasions. Whatever that meant... I used them when friends came over and I would prepare full meals. Otherwise they never saw the light of day. I had my every day dishes which I used for myself. I finally decided, after reading many a blog that pointed the concept out, that every day is a special occasion to be celebrated and I shouldn't save these dishes for some magical event that rarely occurs. So... Out with the every day, in with the special occasions! 

Things That Matter, Stuff That Works

Things That Matter. Stuff That Works. Two songs that I have loved for many years, which have taken on deeper meaning as I’ve worked to simplify my life. I imagine the words ring true to most people on a simple journey.

De-owning half of your possessions will give you perspective on the ‘things that matter’ – tangible and intangible. It will also give you a greater appreciation for the ‘stuff that works’.

I own many things which fall into those categories. A dresser which belonged to my oldest cousin as a child; it has belonged to four cousins over the course of four decades. My grandmother’s cedar chest. The desk my grandfather built in his high school shop class. These things matter, they have history and “spark joy” as Kondo would say. And they also work! Consumer culture tells us these things should be replaced, updated, super-sized but doing so doesn’t satisfy. Deep down, no matter how much we financially buy into the lie, we know that’s not what matters.

Simplifying my life has made it easier to enjoy the ‘things you can share’. My home is a more welcoming place to others. It is easier to clean and to maintain the welcoming environment. I have more time to be hospitable to my guests and enjoy their presence. Having such a home has always been important to me and I never realized how the excess was getting in the way of that goal.

Going forward in my simple life I want to focus more on the things I keep, and less on what I’m getting rid of. More about what I allow in, than what I need to send out. More on the ‘stuff that’s real’!

Tidy Magic

Tidy Magic… that could work as a Tiny Bubbles parody… next post! For now, let’s talk about what everyone in the decluttering/simplifying/minimizing world has already talked about: The LifeChanging Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.

Tidy Magic came into my life via Audible circa March 2015. The minimalist bug was in my ear due to a close friend and I had a LOT of stress in my life. It seemed to make sense that, though the “stuff” wasn’t the source of my stress, less “stuff” could still equal less stress.

I love stuff. I had (still have) lots of stuff. Children’s books, stuffed animals, and clothes I hadn’t worn in a decade. I also had an emotional attachment to all of this stuff. I’m talking psychological issue attachment. This is where tidy magic came in.

I admit the book was odd at times. The idea of thanking “stuff” I should have gotten rid of LONG ago seemed bizarre, at best. But I was determined to listen with an open mind. I listened as I decluttered:

-          size 0 (insert hysterical laughter here) jeans,

-          clothes with tags I knew I would never wear,

-          hard-earned trophies (from over a decade ago),

-          gifts I no longer wished to keep.

While I didn’t go so far as to thank every item I let go of I did learn to appreciate the purpose things served in a given time and space, realizing they didn’t have to fit into the current time and space. I could be grateful for a gift, and still let it go. I could be proud of an achievement, and still let it go. I could accept the lesson of a bad purchase, and still let it go.

Another thing that stuck with me as I listened to Tidy Magic were the cultural differences and how steeped my culture is in consumerism. This is something obvious yet it hit home to me more after listening to Kondo. Not only did Tidy Magic change my relationship with the stuff I own, but it also changed my purchasing decisions. It changed how I give gifts, how I decorate my home, and how extensive my wardrobe is. I still desire and purchase nice things but I am much more discerning of what is a want versus what is a need, and far less prone to impulse purchases that will end in a decluttering heap!

I’ll be sharing more in the future on how decluttering and simplifying has improved my quality of life, thanks in part to Tidy Magic. I’ll also share some of the things I did NOT declutter. J Until next time… travel lightly.  

Post the First

¡ Hola! ¡ Bienvenido! I think this is where I am supposed to make the pitch? Bait the hook? Convince you this is the next great blog on some subject or another… get you signed up for the weekly subscription! Unfortunately, much as I would love to, I can't do that. Like the author, this blog hasn't yet decided what it wants to be when it grows up.

For now this is a place to share my thoughts. I've always used writing as a means of expressing myself but I have rarely shared those writings. They wind up in File 13, literally or digitally. Over the last several months I have been running into the idea of sharing your story, that someone might need your story. So, here I am, adding my story to the Internet cacophony.

I am lately into the idea of simplifying my life, physically as well as mentally. I am a traveler. These things will feature heavily in my posts - thus the name! I am a bibliophile, and a tapophile. I suspect those things will be featured at some point. You'll just have to stay tuned to find out!

My goal is to post weekly, on Tuesday's. Because I can't improve on Mondays. ;-) See you next week for the first "real" entry.

 

~ C