The rainy season intensifies. We had a couple of weeks with hardly any rain, so I guess I was getting a bit complacent. Well, it bucketed down torrentially this week. The mornings are still usually good. But in the afternoon, and now often through the night, we’re getting really heavy rain. I’ve taught my students to say ‘It’s lashing’.
Feliz Navidad
-----------------
It looks like Christmas comes early to Costa Rica. There are cars that drive around fairly regularly with megaphones advertising something or other, or to issue a health warning about Dengue Fever. But the other day I laughed when I heard the song ‘Feliz Navidad’ being broadcast, figuring he’d played the wrong tape. But no, I’ve heard it twice since. And then I went to the supermarket and they’re selling Christmas trees, baubles and Santa candles. Maybe because they don’t have Halloween there’s nothing to stop the lead-up coming earlier?
Living solo
--------------
I’m still adjusting to solo living. I have to say everyone at work has been great, and they’re all enquiring if I’m ok, and what am I doing for the weekend, which is nice. But it’s very different being here alone and being part of a couple. I think it’s still a transition time as I get used to things.
The Tico handshake
-------------------------
One of my students had to mention to me this week that my handshake isn’t as strong as it could be! It’s the custom for guys to crunch each other’s hands when they part. In several of my classes all the guys come up to me one by one to shake my hand. And it’s bone crushing stuff. It’s like the tighter the grip the more important you are. I usually wear a ring on my right hand and it’s very painful in mid-grip. I try to remember to switch it to the other hand when I’m coming towards the end of class. But sometimes I forget, and my lack of enthusiasm for the shake is not appreciated. Freddy, my student, warned me that he wouldn’t think less of me for having a weaker handshake, but that some Ticos would, and it’s something I should be aware of. So I have been warned.
Spanish
----------
I was all set for getting back to Spanish lessons this week. However, I completely forgot to set the alarm, so I ended up sleeping late and missing enrolment. So I had a relatively easy week. But I’m definitely going back to class in the morning.
Bulevar
----------
My friend Anna, a fellow teacher, rang me to say that they were going to Bulevar, the local American bar beside the University, for a few drinks and some food this evening. She was going with her boyfriend John, and her friend Leah. Leah has just started working in Intercultura also. We arrived in the middle of the Costa Rica-Mexico world cup qualifier, which we hadn’t realised was on. They lost 3-1, but in an Irishesque style the Ticos still managed to have a few drinks to celebrate. I think qualification is still looking likely. They play USA here on October 9th, and several teachers are trying to get a ticket for the match. Apart from that it was a fairly usual Costa Rican night, lots of reggaeton music, a few beers, two power cuts …
OK, that’s it for now. I’m off to bed. The nights are continuing to get cooler. 20 degrees last night. If this keeps up I might have to get a blanket.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Monday, September 19, 2005
Dia de la Independencia
Thursday was Independence Day. So it was a holiday, and I woke up to loud bands marching down the Avenida outside.
Dia de la Independencia
-----------------------------
Costa Rica achieved its independence fully 100 years before Ireland managed to. It declared independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. Since I came back two weeks ago I’ve notice the red, white and blue flags everywhere in the lead up. All the public areas of the school were bedecked with bunting. I work a check shirt on Wednesday to class, and was praised by my students for my patriotism, as it was red, white and blue! Class on Wednesday evening was disrupted by a very loud firework display outside. On Thursday morning, the marching began. I guess it sounds like Mexican music in old films, if you’re wondering what I woke up to. Unfortunately, I was a little hung-over, as one of the teachers was leaving (Andrew from Leicester) and we’d had a night out on Wednesday. When I got up and headed out, they were still marching around Parque Central and down towards the apartment on Avenida Central.
Quieter life
--------------
Wednesday night for Andrew’s booze-up was actually my only night out this week. (Readers who think I live in the bars please note!). It’s much quieter, obviously, without Jack being here. Our Colombian friend Marcella was organising a night in San José on Monday, but I was too wrecked after work to head all the way in. So I’ve been reading a lot, rented the odd DVD, and downloaded some missed episodes of Desperate Housewives. I even downloaded the new Ricky Gervais comedy Extras. So I’m feeling very up-to-date.
La Nación
-------------
I’m trying to read the local paper every so often. It’s called The Nation, and costs 67c. It’s seven days a week, and usually has a number of sections. A single issue lasts me ages. Irish news rarely features. The IRA decommissioning announcement got the front page. And the Irish tourist killed in Kusadasi was also covered. Today’s headline is Fire fighters warn about the bad management of gas. The big running stories are the TLC (known as CAFTA – The Central American Free Trade Agreement), and the up and running campaign for the presidency next year. Former president and Nobel peace prize winner Oscar Arias is the front-runner by a long way. His full-page ad in the paper today says The streets are full of potholes, the ports are inefficient, the airports can’t cope. Yes, I accept the challenge. Then his slogan: Yes! Costa Rica!
Saturday classes
--------------------
I’m back teaching on Saturdays. We work five Saturdays on, and five off. I have two beginners’ classes, and I enjoyed it. Classes run from 9am to 3.30pm. This rotation runs until 15 October. At that stage we’ll nearly be in the dry season, so I’m hoping to plan a few weekends away.
Tomorrow I’m back to my Spanish classes. It’s very tiring when you are taking 20 hours Spanish on top of teaching, but I’m determined that I’ll do it week on week off until Christmas. At that stage I’m hoping to be conversational.
Tomorrow the Dublin forecast is windy with rain and drizzle, with a high of 16 C. Heredia’s forecast is for scattered thunderstorms, and 25 C. Have a good week, and I’ll be in touch next weekend.
Dia de la Independencia
-----------------------------
Costa Rica achieved its independence fully 100 years before Ireland managed to. It declared independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. Since I came back two weeks ago I’ve notice the red, white and blue flags everywhere in the lead up. All the public areas of the school were bedecked with bunting. I work a check shirt on Wednesday to class, and was praised by my students for my patriotism, as it was red, white and blue! Class on Wednesday evening was disrupted by a very loud firework display outside. On Thursday morning, the marching began. I guess it sounds like Mexican music in old films, if you’re wondering what I woke up to. Unfortunately, I was a little hung-over, as one of the teachers was leaving (Andrew from Leicester) and we’d had a night out on Wednesday. When I got up and headed out, they were still marching around Parque Central and down towards the apartment on Avenida Central.
Quieter life
--------------
Wednesday night for Andrew’s booze-up was actually my only night out this week. (Readers who think I live in the bars please note!). It’s much quieter, obviously, without Jack being here. Our Colombian friend Marcella was organising a night in San José on Monday, but I was too wrecked after work to head all the way in. So I’ve been reading a lot, rented the odd DVD, and downloaded some missed episodes of Desperate Housewives. I even downloaded the new Ricky Gervais comedy Extras. So I’m feeling very up-to-date.
La Nación
-------------
I’m trying to read the local paper every so often. It’s called The Nation, and costs 67c. It’s seven days a week, and usually has a number of sections. A single issue lasts me ages. Irish news rarely features. The IRA decommissioning announcement got the front page. And the Irish tourist killed in Kusadasi was also covered. Today’s headline is Fire fighters warn about the bad management of gas. The big running stories are the TLC (known as CAFTA – The Central American Free Trade Agreement), and the up and running campaign for the presidency next year. Former president and Nobel peace prize winner Oscar Arias is the front-runner by a long way. His full-page ad in the paper today says The streets are full of potholes, the ports are inefficient, the airports can’t cope. Yes, I accept the challenge. Then his slogan: Yes! Costa Rica!
Saturday classes
--------------------
I’m back teaching on Saturdays. We work five Saturdays on, and five off. I have two beginners’ classes, and I enjoyed it. Classes run from 9am to 3.30pm. This rotation runs until 15 October. At that stage we’ll nearly be in the dry season, so I’m hoping to plan a few weekends away.
Tomorrow I’m back to my Spanish classes. It’s very tiring when you are taking 20 hours Spanish on top of teaching, but I’m determined that I’ll do it week on week off until Christmas. At that stage I’m hoping to be conversational.
Tomorrow the Dublin forecast is windy with rain and drizzle, with a high of 16 C. Heredia’s forecast is for scattered thunderstorms, and 25 C. Have a good week, and I’ll be in touch next weekend.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Has it only been a week?
Has it just been a week since I came back? I can’t believe it, but that week has flown. I finally got the computer back up and running, but I’m afraid that I did lose all my data.
Germany here we come!
-----------------------------
Although there was bad news from the Ireland France match, things are a lot more positive here in Costa Rica. I may have a team to cheer for in Germany after all. Before the summer they had written off all chance of qualifying after some poor results. The Concacaf qualifiers are now in the final round, where the six teams left form a group, with the top three qualifying, and the fourth going into a play-off with an Asian team. Mexico and USA are well ahead, and Costa Rica, Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago were close for the third place. On Saturday Costa Rica beat Panama 3-1 away, and then followed on Wednesday with a 2-0 victory at home over Trinidad & Tobago. So it now looks like they can’t be caught for the third spot. The final matches are against USA here and Guatemala away. The match coverage is hilarious. Companies sponsor various events in the game, so the screen has banners of running ads depending what happens on the field. For example, whenever there’s a corner, we get ads popping up for Bimbo Bread. For a goal, Coca-cola graphics fill the screen.
Computer blues
-------------------
I seem to have spent most of the week driving around San José and Heredia in busses and taxis with my laptop meeting various people in an attempt to rescue the data. It ended up in PC Doctor – a shop in a mall between Heredia and Alajuela. And that still required 10 taxi journeys before it was complete. It turns out that the hard drive was damaged. So I’ve lost all my data. This includes my journal since I arrived, my photos for the last three years, the entire music collection and more that I don’t even want to think about. I had to buy a new hard drive, although the old one is still under guarantee. I couldn’t delay anymore. I’ve cancelled two English Horizons classes, so I needed to be up and running for tomorrow. I’ll still follow up with Dell though. Gmail has been brilliant though. I had emailed lots of work files to myself, so I could print them off in the school. Because there’s loads of storage in Gmail and you don’t delete they’re all still there. I also have the photos that are on the website, and the weekly emails from the blog.
Troubleshooting at work
------------------------------
I’m back again in work. I was given a new class this week, because there was a clash between the students and the previous teacher. I now realise that I’m the ‘trouble-shooter’, because it’s about the third situation where I’ve been given a class or private students after ‘clashes’. It’s interesting that there are now 10 teachers who’ve started in the school after me. They’re all from the US, so the balance has shifted quite a bit. When I started there were 3 from the UK and 4 from Canada and myself as the non-US teachers. Now there is 1 from UK, 1 from Ireland, and 3 from Canada.
Barbecue
------------
Last Saturday, one of my friends from work, Anna from Maryland, had a barbecue in her house in Concepción de San Raphael, which is up the mountains. It was a good night, although again I realised how cool it is up the mountains in the evening. They have rented a beautiful house. It’s a big wooden cabin-style building, with a big porch, and a view over the Central Valley, which looks beautiful at night. But it’s a bit remote, and takes about an hour by bus to get back down to the school. So I think I’ll stay where I am!
I’m looking forward to this week, although I’m now moving onto Saturday rotation, so I’ll be working on Saturday’s for the next five weeks. There’s a bank holiday on Thursday (it’s Independence Day).
Germany here we come!
-----------------------------
Although there was bad news from the Ireland France match, things are a lot more positive here in Costa Rica. I may have a team to cheer for in Germany after all. Before the summer they had written off all chance of qualifying after some poor results. The Concacaf qualifiers are now in the final round, where the six teams left form a group, with the top three qualifying, and the fourth going into a play-off with an Asian team. Mexico and USA are well ahead, and Costa Rica, Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago were close for the third place. On Saturday Costa Rica beat Panama 3-1 away, and then followed on Wednesday with a 2-0 victory at home over Trinidad & Tobago. So it now looks like they can’t be caught for the third spot. The final matches are against USA here and Guatemala away. The match coverage is hilarious. Companies sponsor various events in the game, so the screen has banners of running ads depending what happens on the field. For example, whenever there’s a corner, we get ads popping up for Bimbo Bread. For a goal, Coca-cola graphics fill the screen.
Computer blues
-------------------
I seem to have spent most of the week driving around San José and Heredia in busses and taxis with my laptop meeting various people in an attempt to rescue the data. It ended up in PC Doctor – a shop in a mall between Heredia and Alajuela. And that still required 10 taxi journeys before it was complete. It turns out that the hard drive was damaged. So I’ve lost all my data. This includes my journal since I arrived, my photos for the last three years, the entire music collection and more that I don’t even want to think about. I had to buy a new hard drive, although the old one is still under guarantee. I couldn’t delay anymore. I’ve cancelled two English Horizons classes, so I needed to be up and running for tomorrow. I’ll still follow up with Dell though. Gmail has been brilliant though. I had emailed lots of work files to myself, so I could print them off in the school. Because there’s loads of storage in Gmail and you don’t delete they’re all still there. I also have the photos that are on the website, and the weekly emails from the blog.
Troubleshooting at work
------------------------------
I’m back again in work. I was given a new class this week, because there was a clash between the students and the previous teacher. I now realise that I’m the ‘trouble-shooter’, because it’s about the third situation where I’ve been given a class or private students after ‘clashes’. It’s interesting that there are now 10 teachers who’ve started in the school after me. They’re all from the US, so the balance has shifted quite a bit. When I started there were 3 from the UK and 4 from Canada and myself as the non-US teachers. Now there is 1 from UK, 1 from Ireland, and 3 from Canada.
Barbecue
------------
Last Saturday, one of my friends from work, Anna from Maryland, had a barbecue in her house in Concepción de San Raphael, which is up the mountains. It was a good night, although again I realised how cool it is up the mountains in the evening. They have rented a beautiful house. It’s a big wooden cabin-style building, with a big porch, and a view over the Central Valley, which looks beautiful at night. But it’s a bit remote, and takes about an hour by bus to get back down to the school. So I think I’ll stay where I am!
I’m looking forward to this week, although I’m now moving onto Saturday rotation, so I’ll be working on Saturday’s for the next five weeks. There’s a bank holiday on Thursday (it’s Independence Day).
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Still PC-less
Back again in CR. The trip home was all too short, but it was greatcatching up with everyone. I just wish I had more time.
Mrs. O'Connor
---------------
Well, the wedding went brilliantly. I arrived down to Cashel Bay in the damp and drizzle that you expect for Connemara. Later, it got worse and the rain was beating against the windows. Incredibly, there was a total transformation on the Monday. It was a scorcher. And nowhere in the world can beat the west of Ireland when you have the weather. The weather was beautiful and Sharon was stunning. She's now Mrs. O'Connor (I keep thinking of that butter ad with the GrimReaper).
Lone voyager
--------------
As most of you who met up with us over the week know, Jack has decided to stay on in Ireland for a while. He never really settled in over here. He feels CR is a good holiday destination, but not a place he'd like to live. So the plan is for him to stay on in Ireland for the moment, get a job, and head back here in the new year for another stint.
Thursday night
----------------
I can't tell you how delighted I was to meet up with so many of you in the Forum on Thursday night. It was brilliant. The only downside was that it meant I had so little time to catch up with people individually. Rest assured that I will never travel home for only a week in the future, so I will have more time to catch up. However, it was brilliant to meet everyone and catch up, however briefly. Thanks for coming in, one and all. One thing that was mentioned again and again was how the weekly email is part of so many people's Monday mornings. Cue immediate guilt for the amount of times I've missed the deadline through busy weekends. So I promise to make more of an effort in the future. Apologies that I'm saying this on a 'Wednesday' delivery week (see ongoing computer problems below).
Ireland
--------
I guess you have to be away from Ireland for a while to really appreciate it. It was great to see Dublin, Galway and Clare (and everywhere in between) on the visit. The weather was great, and sure you can't beat Ireland with the weather. Although it seemed cold at first, I think this was just that Friday WAS cold. There were no problems the rest of the week. Also, I miss the long summer evenings so much. I know you all feel the evenings closing in at this time of the year, but you have many hours on us. 6pm and it's dark. All year round. The other thing I really noticed was the obvious wealth. The expensive cars, the amount of people in shops and restaurants. The amount of road building going on. The shocking prices! It's quite a contrast to here!
Hope recedes
--------------
The story with the PC is a little like being a sailor on a Russian submarine. Time is running out and hope is fading fast. Thanks to those of you who have come back with suggestions. However, it seems to be a big problem. I've tried all manner of CHKDSK and FIXBOOT instructions to no avail. I've tried accessing it from a Linux live-CD. I've been travelling around Heredia and San Jose trying to get people to help. I'm meeting a guy in San Jose tomorrow who has particular expertise in laptops, so I'm hoping. But without optimism at this stage. I know that I can reformat the disk, and reinstall everything, but at the cost of losing everything too. I hope this is a lesson to you all. Learn from my misfortune and avoid having it yourself. The amount of times I made a mental note to investigate the options to backup the laptop now that there are gigabytes of data on it, especially since all Jack's music went on. But I just never got around to it. I felt that the only real threats were from viruses. I now have an external hard drive for backup. I've learnt my lesson, so if I could just get the data back as a slight forgiveness it would be fantastic.
So it's all go, go, go here, rescuing PCs and slaving away in the school. I'm legal again (but just for a month!).
Mrs. O'Connor
---------------
Well, the wedding went brilliantly. I arrived down to Cashel Bay in the damp and drizzle that you expect for Connemara. Later, it got worse and the rain was beating against the windows. Incredibly, there was a total transformation on the Monday. It was a scorcher. And nowhere in the world can beat the west of Ireland when you have the weather. The weather was beautiful and Sharon was stunning. She's now Mrs. O'Connor (I keep thinking of that butter ad with the GrimReaper).
Lone voyager
--------------
As most of you who met up with us over the week know, Jack has decided to stay on in Ireland for a while. He never really settled in over here. He feels CR is a good holiday destination, but not a place he'd like to live. So the plan is for him to stay on in Ireland for the moment, get a job, and head back here in the new year for another stint.
Thursday night
----------------
I can't tell you how delighted I was to meet up with so many of you in the Forum on Thursday night. It was brilliant. The only downside was that it meant I had so little time to catch up with people individually. Rest assured that I will never travel home for only a week in the future, so I will have more time to catch up. However, it was brilliant to meet everyone and catch up, however briefly. Thanks for coming in, one and all. One thing that was mentioned again and again was how the weekly email is part of so many people's Monday mornings. Cue immediate guilt for the amount of times I've missed the deadline through busy weekends. So I promise to make more of an effort in the future. Apologies that I'm saying this on a 'Wednesday' delivery week (see ongoing computer problems below).
Ireland
--------
I guess you have to be away from Ireland for a while to really appreciate it. It was great to see Dublin, Galway and Clare (and everywhere in between) on the visit. The weather was great, and sure you can't beat Ireland with the weather. Although it seemed cold at first, I think this was just that Friday WAS cold. There were no problems the rest of the week. Also, I miss the long summer evenings so much. I know you all feel the evenings closing in at this time of the year, but you have many hours on us. 6pm and it's dark. All year round. The other thing I really noticed was the obvious wealth. The expensive cars, the amount of people in shops and restaurants. The amount of road building going on. The shocking prices! It's quite a contrast to here!
Hope recedes
--------------
The story with the PC is a little like being a sailor on a Russian submarine. Time is running out and hope is fading fast. Thanks to those of you who have come back with suggestions. However, it seems to be a big problem. I've tried all manner of CHKDSK and FIXBOOT instructions to no avail. I've tried accessing it from a Linux live-CD. I've been travelling around Heredia and San Jose trying to get people to help. I'm meeting a guy in San Jose tomorrow who has particular expertise in laptops, so I'm hoping. But without optimism at this stage. I know that I can reformat the disk, and reinstall everything, but at the cost of losing everything too. I hope this is a lesson to you all. Learn from my misfortune and avoid having it yourself. The amount of times I made a mental note to investigate the options to backup the laptop now that there are gigabytes of data on it, especially since all Jack's music went on. But I just never got around to it. I felt that the only real threats were from viruses. I now have an external hard drive for backup. I've learnt my lesson, so if I could just get the data back as a slight forgiveness it would be fantastic.
So it's all go, go, go here, rescuing PCs and slaving away in the school. I'm legal again (but just for a month!).
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