Sunday 21st July,2013, Part II

This incredible plant is called "Flame of the Wood" (Llama del Bosque"), and when I first saw it in the school garden I thought it was fake!   Absolutely incredible!

A few more generalities, as they occur to me.

First of all, I want to stress how friendly and pleasant the people are, especially those with whom I have dealings, but in general, everyone is helpful and friendly.   With the exception, I have to say, of the waiters at the cafe where I went yesterday for a coffee before returning to San José.   Doña Rita said the men tend to be very arrogant!

Second, I want to say that I feel privileged and fortunate to live in the United States.   We are so incredibly fortunate when it comes to material well-being, and the infrastructure of the country, and it is good to visit countries who do NOT have such efficient systems in place.   We are lacking other things in the USA though, that are here, and in other simpler societies than ours, such as the strength of the family, and the sense of collaboration and cooperation among family and friends.   They teach children at an early age through fables to respect their families, their elders, women, the church; and they teach the importance of hard work and helping others.   Otherwise the monster will come and get you, YOU will turn into a monster and roam around in eternity dragging heavy chains etc etc etc.

The other general observation I must make, is that most of the local people that I have seen so far, on the streets, in the buses, in the stores etc.,  do not appear healthy.   A high percentage of people are overweight, even young and attractive men and women (and children).   The diet is high in starches and carbohydrates: rice and beans (every meal), potatoes, white bread, lots of processed cakes and cookies, processed meats that are full of nitrites and nitrates, and a LOT of sugar, in both processed sweet things, and in the incredible array of tropical fruits that abound here.   Sadly, the fruits are all high on the glycemic index, so eating lots of fruit, and worse, fruit juice, which is so much more concentrated, does not help keep the body fit.   The sugar turns to fat and is hard to shed.      The result seems to be that people age fast here and do not generally have high levels of energy.   They would look quite different if they were eating the Mediterranean diet.   My Prof, Eduardo, is definitely an exception to this rule.

The water is safe to drink though, and for this I am grateful.   For breakfast I have a small dish of fruit every day prepared by Doña Rita, and either a bowl of cereal (which I purchased at the supermarket) or my complete Usana meal replacement shake, which I take with me always when I travel.   At the mid-morning break I eat a Usana protein bar, often have lunch in the school cafeteria, which is usually pretty good and costs about $5, and in the evening I eat something that Doña Rita has prepared, and lately she has been making soups and salads, which have kept me REALLY happy.   I think she's noticed that I never eat the starchy things she prepares!   I have to say that all the brain work that I am doing makes me hungry all the time!   Six hours of class plus an additional hour are demanding for anyone, let alone an old bird like me!

The plumbing leaves much to be desired!   The sewage pipes are too narrow for the volume of waste, and so everywhere people are exhorted not to flush ANYTHING down the toilet, including toilet paper.   I wondered why there was a coca cola bottle next to the WC when I arrived at my new "home", but I soon caught on!   They don't have bidets as such, but a bottle of water is used for washing oneself after using the toilet, thus eliminating the need for paper at all.   It reminds me so much of India, where people carry around little brass pots for water so they can wash themselves after relieving themselves, which they do in great numbers along the side of the railway tracks in the early morning, waving at the trains as they go by.   It also reminded me of Egypt, where there is actually a plumbed in water hose by the side of the toilet.   How much more civilized than using paper!   So I have had no problem adjusting to this custom.

My first weekend outing.

Doña Rita more or less insisted that I go on an outing with her, and with Angela, another student who lives in this house, who is 23, and studying Spanish at the University of Latin America.   I did not really want to go because from her description of the outing I knew it was not my cup of tea.   And it wasn't.   We took a taxi to the bus-station in downtown San José, and bought a ticket (after showing a photocopy of my passport I was given a senior discount ($4)).

Puntarenas promenade and beach.   These photos do not do justice to the squalor of the place.   Trust me!

We arrived at Puntarenas, a resort at the end of a spit of land jutting out into the Gulf of Nicoya, on the Pacific side of the country, and as I feared, it was a total local tourist place.   The sea is very dirty at that point because of the sewage going into it, and the beach looked sad and squalid, with lots of garbage strewn about.   There were so many people walking about, loud music everywhere, food trucks selling fried things, traffic, and roadside cafes.   We went to one of the cafes for lunch and I had some shrimp cooked in a garlic sauce with French fries and a salad, and it was very good.   Then we took a taxi along to the end of the spit where the "fancy" resort was with swimming pools and lounge chairs.   We paid $4 to get into the area, and it was just as crowded as the previous stretch of coast had been, with lots of lounge chairs, nearly all taken, three pools, all filled with people, and extremely loud music blasting from loud speakers into the area.   I found us a spot in the shade somewhat behind the music, and Doña Rita took a nap, I did some Spanish studying, and Angela dragged her chair into the sun by the pool.

 Angela sunbathing by the pool

Doña Rita and Angela in the shade

 I was not a happy camper.   I had exchanged the smell of diesel fumes for chlorine fumes coming up in powerful waves from the pools.   I had mistakenly imagined that at least I would breathe some clean sea air, but alas no.   Mercifully, it started to rain, so we packed up our things and headed back by taxi towards the bus station.   Doña Rita wanted a coffee, desperately, so we went to another local place and ordered a coffee for her, a cappuccino for me, and a coconut for Angela.   First I received my cappuccino, weak and already sweetened, and then we waited, and we waited, and we waited for the waiter to bring the other two drinks.   The waiter was truly rude and macho, which was unacceptable, given that Doña Rita is an older and very sweet and kind person.   We eventually left and caught our bus back to San José.

Puntarenas Bus Station

Buses are used a great deal in this country, more than trains, so they are always full.  The driver was excellent, prudent and courteous (and also good-looking!) At least on the way back we sat in the front row so I had some space in front of me.   On the outward trip I swear I had 8"between me and the seat in front of me and I felt quite claustrophobic.   The road went over many high bridges, and I looked down into heavily forested ravines to small rivers.   It felt very good to get back "home" again, and we had some good lentil soup for dinner.

And now it's time to do some Spanish studies:  read the newspaper, watch TV, go over verbs, learn new vocabulary, talk with my family....I'm loving every minute of it!