Paddy's day

Well, we made the most of Paddy's day. We went to a party and then to an Irish bar.

The pic of the weeks shows the two Irish teachers, myself and Erin (from California, but her parents are from Roscommon).

Mini Paddy's day
-----------------
We had a celebration for Paddy's day in school. In one class I assigned the students Irish names from a hat. So we had students that included Padraig O'Rodriguez, Aodh O'Jara, Brigid UíAlfaro, Fionn McVilquez, and studied Irish history, arts, music, and watched a bit of Riverdance!

Read Paddy's day
------------------
One of the teachers had a house-warming on Saturday, so we started there. Everyone was impressed with her new posh house. Hot water in the bathroom!

Afterwards a group of us went to Stan's Irish Pub in an area of San José. It did have a bit of an Irish look I suppose. But Stan is tico and there was a band playing latin-American music. I had my first Irish Car Bomb there. Maybe everyone knows them, but I'd never heard of them before working with Americans over here. A bottle of Guinness is poured into a pint glass, and then a shot glass of Bailey's and whiskey is dropped down into the middle of the glass. It starts foaming, and you have to drink it quickly before it foams over. Unfortunately, Stan spoiled the effect, because he added the shot contents at the bar, and brought a tray of Guinness with disgusting congealed heads. However, we still drank them.

Reflections on Granada
------------------------
The drama and trauma of the wallet pushed out more general reflections on my visit to Nicaragua. I really liked it, but the only downside was that there was so much poverty. It really was visible everywhere you went. And people approach you for money constantly. In one case a guy showed me his infected foot and doctor's prescription for anti-biotic. I wasn't much help, having only 40c in my pocket at the time, this being post-wallet disappearance.

When I was sitting on a bench reading, before the wallet incident, a pleasant young guy called Julio sat down beside me. He started talking. Where was I from, the usual. Then he asked if I needed any marijuana. I said no. He asked if I wanted cocaine. I said no. Girls? No. Boys? No. Realising that I didn't want what he could supply, he went back to general chit-chat. And then wandered off after a while. I felt bad that this is what money and tourism means in a poor country. Drugs and prostitution.

Spanish
--------
One thing that the conversations in Granada showed me was that my Spanish is actually improving. I feel I've been on a plateau for a long time, with little improvement. But maybe all the time studying verbs and vocabulary is finally paying off. I'm also speaking more Spanish of necessity in school. Last week, a former student contacted me wondering if I gave conversation classes. I suggested an intercambio, where we speak one hour in Spanish, then one hour in English. So we're now doing that twice a week, and I really am quite confident of a good improvement.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. This is our last week before Semana Santa, when we're off for the week. The following week is just 3 days, because there is a bank holiday, and Barbara, my boss, is back the following week. So the end of this busy, busy time is nigh.

Chao,

Éamon

Today's headline in La Nación: Man killed his companion in San José and then committed suicide

Granada, Nicaragua

Well, I finally made it to Nicaragua. I was very impressed with the town. And most importantly I didn't have any border problems and I'm now completely legit in Costa Rica for another 90 days.

The downside was that my wallet was lost or stolen during the trip. It was a downer, but it's the first real difficulty I've had in all my time away.

The pic of the week is the beautiful cathedral in Granada, which typifies the colonial architecture of the town.

The trip
---------
This trip was long overdue. I was delighted on returning in July to discover that Irish people now got an automatic 90 day visa for Costa Rica. However, between one thing and another, I never did my visa run in October. I tried to do it at Christmas, but the buses were booked out and I couldn't get a ticket. So I was six-months over. I had rehearsed all my excuses, and faked a very real looking plane e-ticket in case I was challenged. But none were needed, and the border crossings were very simple.

The journey is nine hours from San José, but two hours of this is taken with the lengthy bureaucratic process at the border.

Granada
---------
Granada is on the shores of the huge Lake Nicaragua. It's about 2 hours over the border. I really didn't expect it to be such a beautiful place. It's an old Spanish colonial town, and I was amazed at how beautiful it is. Very different to anything I've seen in Costa Rica. There were beautiful colonial buildings and wide tree-lined streets. The tiled roofs looked beautiful after the corrugated iron which is everywhere in Costa Rica. And it was quite a bit cheaper than Costa Rica too.

The Wallet!
------------
On my first day there, Friday, I went for a walk down to the lake, and wandered into the Centro Turistico, a tourism 'complex' just out of the town by the lake. Despite the name, it was actually deserted. There were lots of bars and shops, but only one of them was open. It was like a seaside town in the off-season which had seen better days. Even though this should be high-season.

I had a beer with ice (a very tico trait I have become accustomed to), and sat reading my book at a table on a raised platform overlooking the Lake Nicaragua. It was hot, but there was a lovely breeze off the lake, and I remember thinking that I don't really need much more in life. I was completely content with my beer, my book and a day off.

I paid for the beer, and that's the last time I saw my wallet.

I sat on a bench down at the lake shore for another couple of hours, finishing my book, and then wandered back into the town as the sun was setting. I stopped for another beer (it sounds like a lot of beer, but this was only number 2!) at a bar with an outside table where I could watch the sun setting over the cathedral. When I went to pay, I realised that my wallet was gone. The bill was C$20 (20 Córdobas, about 80c), but I had C$30 separately in my pocket, and so could pay it.

I retraced my route, to the bar where I'd been so content, the bench and all the paths in between. Nothing.

It could have been stolen from my pocket, but in all honesty I think I may have put it into a shallow pocket instead of the usual zipped one where my passport remained untouched. It probably just slipped out.

The aftermath
---------------
I lost about $35 in US dollars, and about the same in Córdoba. I would have been completely stranded had I not taken out my Costa Rican colones out of my wallet earlier and stuffed them into a book in the hotel. I don't know why I did this. I've never done it before. But I said, there's no point lugging around three currencies. When I got back to the hotel and counted it was around €70. It was enough to pay for the hotel (I had to downgrade my room!) and get me back home.

The hotel called the police, so I was taken to the station. A very dreary place, but decorated in the Dublin colours, which made me feel at home. The officer took my statement on an old typewriter with carbon paper. There wasn't one PC in the station.

If I ever write a book it will include a scene in a Nicaraguan police station.

Emergency fund
-----------------
I reported my card stolen (I thought it sounded better than lost), and it hadn't been used. They then offered to transfer me Emergency Fund money, which I was able to collect at my local supermarket here in Heredia on Tuesday. The minimum amount they would transfer was €850, far in excess of what I would need to tide me over. When I went to collect it it was such a huge amount of money that the guy had to collect it by going around to 4 separate cashiers.
-----
Well, that's it for last week. Sorry about the delay, but it was pretty hectic after I got back. I'm looking forward to St. Patrick's day tomorrow, so going to have an early night now in preparation.

So until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nacion: Colombian convicted for selling ecstasy in clubs

Lunar Eclipse

Folks,

Well, it's been another busy week in work. But I think I'm getting the hang of it, and feel a lot more in control. It's amazing the amount of things that are involved in running a language school. I decided not to go to Playas del Coco this weekend, because I wanted to catch up and not rush unplanned into next week, and also because I'm going to Nicaragua next week anyway.

The pic of the week shows that we had an eclipse too! However, it had already started before darkness and moon-rise, so we didn't get as good a view as those of you in Europe. However, you can see the different angle of the moon here. It's usually on its back when it's a crescent, as opposed to on its side at home.

TLC marches
--------------
I woke up the other day to the sound of music and marching. It's not that unusual an occurrence, but I looked out to see what was going on. It was a protest march against the TLC. This has been rumbling on since long before I came here. It's known in English as the Central America Free Trade Agreement or CAFTA. It's between the United States, the countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic. Costa Rica is the only country that hasn't yet ratified it. If it was going to referendum I feel it would be lost, because people do seem to be very opposed to it. However, I think it's going to parliament soon, and the feeling is there will be enough support there to pass it.

Women in Parliament
----------------------
I was surprised to see in an announcement this week that Costa Rica has the third highest proportion of women in parliament. After Rwanda and Sweden. There are 22 out of 57, or 38.6% in Costa Rica. Ireland has the same number of women, 22, but out of a parliament of 166. This has Ireland at 13.3% in 81st place.

Rain today
-----------
We haven't had rain for ages, but today I got that tell tale smell. As soon as rain hits the city you can smell it. I guess it's the evaporation from the warmer footpaths. I'm not sure. But you usually get the smell before you see or feel it. The weather has been beautiful during the days, but can still be a little cold at night, which is much different from last year.

Irish
-----
It's amazing how few Irish there are in Costa Rica. I am the only Irish person ever to apply to the school. Well, I was, until Wednesday, when I had an application from a Meathman currently travelling in Cuba. Maybe the school will find a Paddy to replace me.

I was travelling home from the cinema last night by taxi, and the driver said 'You're not tico?'. No, I said, 'Irlandés'. '¿Holandés?' he asked. They always confuse Ireland and Holland. 'Ah, Ireland,' he said. 'I've never had anyone from Ireland in the taxi ... Vikings! It's a Scandinavian country?' When we finished he said the first thing he'd do today was look Ireland up on a map.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I'm going to Granada in Nicaragua on Thursday, so won't be back until Sunday or Monday.

Have a good week.

Chao,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Commercial property is registered at national park entrance