Folks,
Well, after all the planning and looking forward to the tournament, Costa Rica's world cup is already over. It's their worst performance ever, and everyone is bitterly disappointed.
The Ecuador match
------------------------
Although they lost against Germany, the way they played and the two goals were seen as enough to keep their dream alive. However, it all unravelled on Thursday when they crashed out 3-0 to Ecuador. Ecuador were simply too good from them, they went 1-0 up within the first few minutes, and Costa Rica never really looked to be in with a chance.
My students are bitterly disappointed. They're also embarrassed that the country was shown up so badly on the international stage. It's their worst ever performance in a world cup. ¡Qué Fiasco! was the headline in La Nación, echoing the nations feelings. Many people are not even interested in watching tomorrow's match against Poland.
Because both Ecuador and Germany have now won twice, they're both on six points and qualified. The only question is who comes first and second. The game between Costa Rica and Poland is meaningless, except to see if either team can salvage their world cup with a win.
An Irish Student
--------------------
Of all the countries I've ever travelled to, I've never been anywhere with as few Irish people as Costa Rica. So I was amazed when I got to school on Monday and was told that there was an Irish student this week. Trish is from Drumcondra and she's studying Spanish for four weeks, before doing four weeks voluntary work.
She's in her fifties and has a grown-up family. Her marriage has just broken down and the house is for sale. Rather than staying in Dublin and watching it sold, she decided to take a year-long trip around the world. She found a website for an English company that does 'gap years for grown-ups'. Costa Rica is the start of her trip, and she continues to New Zealand, Australia and India. We met up with her on Wednesday – she was dying to go out for a drink. And she came in with us to San José on Saturday night.
Avispa
---------
We went into La Avispa in San José on Saturday night. You may remember that we'd been to this gay club before, but haven't been in ages. It's a really nice, fairly large, club. Trish came with us, and we also arranged to meet up with our Columbian friend, Marisela when we were there. It was ages since we'd had a good night out in San José, and we really enjoyed it. The city doesn't even look too bad at night!
Scorpion
-----------
I forgot to mention last week that we had our first scorpion experience when we were down in Manuel Antonio last week. I was talking to the others when I saw all eyes looking in alarm above my head. There was a scorpion walking calmly up the curtains. A lot of frantic attempts at catching him resulted in knocking him onto another curtain and then out the door. I've never seen one in Heredia, although a former neighbour swears she saw one in her apartment. I've been checking my shoes in the morning ever since.
Oscar talks to Benedict
-----------------------------
The new president, Óscar Arias, took advantage of the world cup to visit a few European countries during the week. I was interested to see that he used his trip to the Vatican to tell Ben 16 that he thinks the church has got it wrong on birth control and that they should relax the rules on artificial contraception. I wonder when we would ever see an Irish leader expressing such liberal opinions.
-----
Well, that's it for another week. I've only got two weeks until the end of semester, and I'm really looking forward to the break. So until next week …
Pura Vida,
Éamon
Monday, June 19, 2006
Monday, June 12, 2006
Glorious Defeat
Folks,
Well, after all the build-up, the Germany match is now over. There's a lot of pride here that they acquitted themselves well, and that it was the highest scoring opener for the world cup ever.
The build up
---------------
The expectations within Costa Rica for the match were surprisingly low. I think in Ireland we feel we can win no matter what the opposition. However, here they felt that they were going to be beaten badly by Germany. Several bars and restaurants had prediction competitions, and the vast majority predicted a big German win, with a small number predicting a draw, and the very very few optimists predicting a Tico win.
The venue
-------------
The match was on at 10am, so everyone was hunting for a good place to watch the match. Most of the teachers were going to a party in a student's house. However, the student and his family are Colombian, and I felt there'd be hardly any Ticos there, so we decided to go to a bar. We went to a bar up the road, and it was packed, with everyone wearing their red team shirts. There was no cover charge, we got a table, and they started serving us at 10am (although it wasn't officially allowed until 12).
The Match
--------------
Costa Rica looked to have stage fright at the beginning, and the goal keeper looked extremely shaky, so it wasn't really a surprise when Germany went 1-0 up after 5 minutes. However the bar nearly erupted when, against the run of play, Wanchope levelled 5 minutes later.
Germany scored again, and after 17 minutes there had already been 3 goals. In the second half Germany scored again, but Wanchope (who must be on every billboard and ad on TV here) scored again, making it 3-2. The crowd went wild again, chanting the slogan you see everywhere here '¡Sí se puede!' Yes, we can!
However, a blinder of a goal in the 87th minute gave us the final 4-2 scoreline.
Still, everyone feels that the team acquitted themselves well, gave an entertaining opening match, and they're delighted to be able to move on and focus on the other matches.
Now it's clear that the Ecuador match is crucial, as they've beaten Poland. That match is on Thursday morning at 7am!
Manuel Antonio
--------------------
We had a lovely few days with Nicole and Ronan down in Manuel Antonio. The weather was a combination of lovely sun and then heavy rain, this being rainy season. The sea was particularly rough, with high waves and lots of stones and shells washed up onto the beach. (There were actually three American students and their teacher drowned close to there last Saturday in the strong swells.) But it was a lovely, relaxing few days, and it was a good break.
Taxi TV
----------
One consequence of the world cup is that some taxi drivers have installed TVs in their cars, and they're watching them as they drive. We'd seen this a couple of months back during a big club match here, but now the transport ministry is looking to increase the fine for this, which is currently only $4. One taxi driver, who was interviewed in the newspaper while simultaneously watching Bad Boys II and driving on the motorway, said that it was fine during the day, but a little dangerous at night, because it reflects a lot of light.
------
Well, that's it for another week. Nicole and Ronan left yesterday, and are home now. We're off ourselves in three weeks! Apologies to anyone who's written emails recently and not got a reply. I'm going through them this week, so you should hear from me soon. So for now…
Pura Vida,
Éamon
Well, after all the build-up, the Germany match is now over. There's a lot of pride here that they acquitted themselves well, and that it was the highest scoring opener for the world cup ever.
The build up
---------------
The expectations within Costa Rica for the match were surprisingly low. I think in Ireland we feel we can win no matter what the opposition. However, here they felt that they were going to be beaten badly by Germany. Several bars and restaurants had prediction competitions, and the vast majority predicted a big German win, with a small number predicting a draw, and the very very few optimists predicting a Tico win.
The venue
-------------
The match was on at 10am, so everyone was hunting for a good place to watch the match. Most of the teachers were going to a party in a student's house. However, the student and his family are Colombian, and I felt there'd be hardly any Ticos there, so we decided to go to a bar. We went to a bar up the road, and it was packed, with everyone wearing their red team shirts. There was no cover charge, we got a table, and they started serving us at 10am (although it wasn't officially allowed until 12).
The Match
--------------
Costa Rica looked to have stage fright at the beginning, and the goal keeper looked extremely shaky, so it wasn't really a surprise when Germany went 1-0 up after 5 minutes. However the bar nearly erupted when, against the run of play, Wanchope levelled 5 minutes later.
Germany scored again, and after 17 minutes there had already been 3 goals. In the second half Germany scored again, but Wanchope (who must be on every billboard and ad on TV here) scored again, making it 3-2. The crowd went wild again, chanting the slogan you see everywhere here '¡Sí se puede!' Yes, we can!
However, a blinder of a goal in the 87th minute gave us the final 4-2 scoreline.
Still, everyone feels that the team acquitted themselves well, gave an entertaining opening match, and they're delighted to be able to move on and focus on the other matches.
Now it's clear that the Ecuador match is crucial, as they've beaten Poland. That match is on Thursday morning at 7am!
Manuel Antonio
--------------------
We had a lovely few days with Nicole and Ronan down in Manuel Antonio. The weather was a combination of lovely sun and then heavy rain, this being rainy season. The sea was particularly rough, with high waves and lots of stones and shells washed up onto the beach. (There were actually three American students and their teacher drowned close to there last Saturday in the strong swells.) But it was a lovely, relaxing few days, and it was a good break.
Taxi TV
----------
One consequence of the world cup is that some taxi drivers have installed TVs in their cars, and they're watching them as they drive. We'd seen this a couple of months back during a big club match here, but now the transport ministry is looking to increase the fine for this, which is currently only $4. One taxi driver, who was interviewed in the newspaper while simultaneously watching Bad Boys II and driving on the motorway, said that it was fine during the day, but a little dangerous at night, because it reflects a lot of light.
------
Well, that's it for another week. Nicole and Ronan left yesterday, and are home now. We're off ourselves in three weeks! Apologies to anyone who's written emails recently and not got a reply. I'm going through them this week, so you should hear from me soon. So for now…
Pura Vida,
Éamon
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Lulling Germany into a False State of Security
Folks,
I'm writing this from our bungalow in a hotel in Manuel Antonio, where we're having a great break with Jack's niece and her boyfriend. And my phrase of the week for students is that ' Costa Rica is lulling Germany into a false sense of security' because of their dismal World Cup warm up.
World Cup build-up
------------------------
Expectations for Friday's opening World Cup match against Germany are definitely dampened following a very poor warm up campaign by the Costa Rican team. They had been beaten by Catalonia, and now this week it was the turn of Czech Republic (1-0) and the Ukraine (4-0) to humble the team. Still, everyone is looking forward to Friday. We're still not sure where we'll watch the match Friday morning. The school is showing it on a big screen in the dance room, but there may be other options to explore.
Visitors
----------
Jack's niece Nicole and her boyfriend Ronan are visiting us at the moment. They arrived last Sunday night and it's been great once again to have people staying from home. They have hired a car and headed off for the Arenal volcano on Wednesday, staying in a tree house hotel which sounds so interesting. They were back then on Friday.
I was working on Saturday, but they headed off with Jack to the Poás volcano which is not too far from where we live, but awkward to get to. The joys of a hired car. They had a great day at the beautiful volcano with its lake in the crater, and then they went to the nearby La Paz waterfall and butterfly garden.
We went into San José for a meal last night, and drove down here to Manuel Antonio today. We had tried to phone ahead to book a hotel myself and Jack had stayed in before, but couldn't get them. When it got here it was booked, which was a stroke of luck, because we've come to the place my mother stayed, Hotel Vela Bar, and we've got a fantastic bungalow. It's like a large apartment with two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a kitchen and living area. There's a terrace outside Nicole and Ronan's room, and I'm now out on the veranda having a beer while they've nipped off to the supermarket.
Baby shower
-----------
One of the big celebrations in a workplace in Costa Rica is a baby shower before co-workers go out on maternity leave. There are currently 4 pregnant women, all on the admin side, who are pregnant, with 5 babies due between them. It was so funny. It was, not surprisingly, an overwhelmingly female affair. I think there were seven guys and over 30 women. Hormones were very much in evidence, and when the (quite impressive) presents were given, all of them were in floods of tears. I wasn't far off it myself.
Prices
-------
We're arriving in Ireland on July 3rd, and we're already gearing ourselves up for the prices. It's going to be so expensive holidaying on Tico wages. We went for a meal with Nicole and Ronan in one of Heredia's plushest restaurants, Oporto, on Friday. It's really nice. We had a meal for four, with all of us having starters and main courses, which also included a bottle of a lovely Argentinean wine, a glass of white wine, coke and a latte. The total, including service and tax, was C35,320, or under €14 per head!
-----
Well, that's it for another week. The others have just arrived back, and we're going to go into El Avión, the restaurant in and around an old airplane for our meal tonight. We're really looking forward to the match on Friday. So, until next week.
Pura Vida
Éamon
I'm writing this from our bungalow in a hotel in Manuel Antonio, where we're having a great break with Jack's niece and her boyfriend. And my phrase of the week for students is that ' Costa Rica is lulling Germany into a false sense of security' because of their dismal World Cup warm up.
World Cup build-up
------------------------
Expectations for Friday's opening World Cup match against Germany are definitely dampened following a very poor warm up campaign by the Costa Rican team. They had been beaten by Catalonia, and now this week it was the turn of Czech Republic (1-0) and the Ukraine (4-0) to humble the team. Still, everyone is looking forward to Friday. We're still not sure where we'll watch the match Friday morning. The school is showing it on a big screen in the dance room, but there may be other options to explore.
Visitors
----------
Jack's niece Nicole and her boyfriend Ronan are visiting us at the moment. They arrived last Sunday night and it's been great once again to have people staying from home. They have hired a car and headed off for the Arenal volcano on Wednesday, staying in a tree house hotel which sounds so interesting. They were back then on Friday.
I was working on Saturday, but they headed off with Jack to the Poás volcano which is not too far from where we live, but awkward to get to. The joys of a hired car. They had a great day at the beautiful volcano with its lake in the crater, and then they went to the nearby La Paz waterfall and butterfly garden.
We went into San José for a meal last night, and drove down here to Manuel Antonio today. We had tried to phone ahead to book a hotel myself and Jack had stayed in before, but couldn't get them. When it got here it was booked, which was a stroke of luck, because we've come to the place my mother stayed, Hotel Vela Bar, and we've got a fantastic bungalow. It's like a large apartment with two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a kitchen and living area. There's a terrace outside Nicole and Ronan's room, and I'm now out on the veranda having a beer while they've nipped off to the supermarket.
Baby shower
-----------
One of the big celebrations in a workplace in Costa Rica is a baby shower before co-workers go out on maternity leave. There are currently 4 pregnant women, all on the admin side, who are pregnant, with 5 babies due between them. It was so funny. It was, not surprisingly, an overwhelmingly female affair. I think there were seven guys and over 30 women. Hormones were very much in evidence, and when the (quite impressive) presents were given, all of them were in floods of tears. I wasn't far off it myself.
Prices
-------
We're arriving in Ireland on July 3rd, and we're already gearing ourselves up for the prices. It's going to be so expensive holidaying on Tico wages. We went for a meal with Nicole and Ronan in one of Heredia's plushest restaurants, Oporto, on Friday. It's really nice. We had a meal for four, with all of us having starters and main courses, which also included a bottle of a lovely Argentinean wine, a glass of white wine, coke and a latte. The total, including service and tax, was C35,320, or under €14 per head!
-----
Well, that's it for another week. The others have just arrived back, and we're going to go into El Avión, the restaurant in and around an old airplane for our meal tonight. We're really looking forward to the match on Friday. So, until next week.
Pura Vida
Éamon
Sunday, May 28, 2006
12 days to Germany vs. Costa Rica
Folks,
Our visitors are due tonight, but I've a chance to lash off a quick mail because their flight is delayed. It's just about 15 minutes by bus from here to the airport.
Preparation for Germany
------------------------------
The Costa Rican preparation for the world cup had a bit of a setback this week. They played Catalonia (region of Spain) on Wednesday, but lost 2-0. However you can see the world cup fever ramping up here. We're getting flyers from Pizza Hut, and there are lots of ads on TV for fast food, delivery services, as well as TVs, surround sound systems and jerseys and flags, and anything red, white and blue.
Crocodile Bridge
--------------------
I forgot to write that when we were at the beach in Esterillos a couple of weeks back, we met one of my work colleagues, Devon, and her Tico boyfriend James. He works in tourism and has a bus, and they gave us a lift home.
On the way back, we crossed what I call crocodile bridge. It's on the main road to the central Pacific coast. You can often see a few crocodiles in the water from the bus. This time we could stop and get out for a proper look. There were about 20 crocodiles, of all ages and sizes. Some of them were huge. While we were there, one of the onlookers threw down a chicken (from the butchers, not a live one), and it really showed me how fast they can move when they want to. The chicken only lasted about a second.
BBC
------
I listened with interest to a report from Costa Rica on the programme From Our Own Correspondent recently. It's so interesting to hear about somewhere which sounds so exotic when you are actually living in.
The item was about the Free Trade Agreement, known here as TLC (Tratado de Libre Comercio). They made the point that Costa Rica is now trying to walk a tight-rope between the USA to the north, and the South American countries to the south. And they also noted that there are more PHDs in the cabinet of the new government than in any other country in Latin America. I'm not sure if that's a good thing!
In praise of podcasting
---------------------------
I'm not singing the praises here for my own very meagre podcast of this weekly update. But I have become a real fan of podcasts in general. There are quite a few done by the BBC, and the Guardian newspaper in the UK. Unfortunately, RTÉ is running a little slow on this initiative. I can only get the Gerry Ryan weekly highlights. They're just sound files that you can set to automatically download to your PC, and then to your iPod or MP3 player.
The BBC have a daily update that is taken from highlights of their news programmes, and it's excellent. And the Guardian have a daily news programme on their site that's like a little radio station. I have an iPod shuffle, so now I'm never without the news. Which, incidentally, is how I heard the BBC report on Costa Rica.
-----
Well, that's it for another week. We're off to the airport now to pick up the two travellers. They've had a long day, and have travelled from Dublin to Amsterdam, to Miami, to San José. So until next week.
Pura Vida,
Éamon
Our visitors are due tonight, but I've a chance to lash off a quick mail because their flight is delayed. It's just about 15 minutes by bus from here to the airport.
Preparation for Germany
------------------------------
The Costa Rican preparation for the world cup had a bit of a setback this week. They played Catalonia (region of Spain) on Wednesday, but lost 2-0. However you can see the world cup fever ramping up here. We're getting flyers from Pizza Hut, and there are lots of ads on TV for fast food, delivery services, as well as TVs, surround sound systems and jerseys and flags, and anything red, white and blue.
Crocodile Bridge
--------------------
I forgot to write that when we were at the beach in Esterillos a couple of weeks back, we met one of my work colleagues, Devon, and her Tico boyfriend James. He works in tourism and has a bus, and they gave us a lift home.
On the way back, we crossed what I call crocodile bridge. It's on the main road to the central Pacific coast. You can often see a few crocodiles in the water from the bus. This time we could stop and get out for a proper look. There were about 20 crocodiles, of all ages and sizes. Some of them were huge. While we were there, one of the onlookers threw down a chicken (from the butchers, not a live one), and it really showed me how fast they can move when they want to. The chicken only lasted about a second.
BBC
------
I listened with interest to a report from Costa Rica on the programme From Our Own Correspondent recently. It's so interesting to hear about somewhere which sounds so exotic when you are actually living in.
The item was about the Free Trade Agreement, known here as TLC (Tratado de Libre Comercio). They made the point that Costa Rica is now trying to walk a tight-rope between the USA to the north, and the South American countries to the south. And they also noted that there are more PHDs in the cabinet of the new government than in any other country in Latin America. I'm not sure if that's a good thing!
In praise of podcasting
---------------------------
I'm not singing the praises here for my own very meagre podcast of this weekly update. But I have become a real fan of podcasts in general. There are quite a few done by the BBC, and the Guardian newspaper in the UK. Unfortunately, RTÉ is running a little slow on this initiative. I can only get the Gerry Ryan weekly highlights. They're just sound files that you can set to automatically download to your PC, and then to your iPod or MP3 player.
The BBC have a daily update that is taken from highlights of their news programmes, and it's excellent. And the Guardian have a daily news programme on their site that's like a little radio station. I have an iPod shuffle, so now I'm never without the news. Which, incidentally, is how I heard the BBC report on Costa Rica.
-----
Well, that's it for another week. We're off to the airport now to pick up the two travellers. They've had a long day, and have travelled from Dublin to Amsterdam, to Miami, to San José. So until next week.
Pura Vida,
Éamon
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
World Cup countdown
The world cup countdown is beginning in earnest. I've also learned a little about the police force (from my students, not from personal experience!), and I need to warn any of you who I'm meeting in July that some Americanisms have crept into my speech!
Preparation for Germany
------------------------------
This week the Costa Rican football team headed for Germany. They had a relaxed final training of a few days on the Pacific coast. The news now has coverage from their hotel in Germany and keeps us informed on how they're doing.
There are all sorts of rumours about what bonuses they're on. In Italia 90 they qualified for the second round, and all the players won a car. Trying to dampen the rumours, officials reported that this time the players earn $1,000 a day while in Germany, with $400 extra per match.
They are playing in the opening match against Germany on June 9th. The match is at 10am here, and the government has given all their employees the morning off work. I think the other matches are at 8am.
Obviously, people aren't confident about the opening match against such competition. However, I keep feeling that stranger things have happened. Given that all the pressure is on Germany and nothing is expected of Costa Rica other than turn up. We'll see.
Part-time policing
----------------------
In class during the week, we were talking about modal verbs of permission or obligation, and used the rules of the road as an example. Things like you should wear a helmet on a bike, and you must stop at a red light.
But I was told that at night in San José you may jump a red light if there is no traffic coming, because it's dangerous to stop in some districts. I asked if the police would take any action if they saw you jumping the light. They laughed, and said that this was just at night, so 'obviously' there are no police around.
It turns out that the police finish about 8.30, and there is no coverage overnight. They were amazed when I told them that police-keeping at home was 24-hours.
Americanisation
--------------------
Just a warning, before I travel home, that some Americanisation (Americanization?) has crept into my speech. I teach American English, while always also telling my students the British/Irish English equivalent. But this constant use of American English is creeping into my speech. I've talked about 'movies' a couple of times to Jack. I'm quite comfortable spelling color and neighbor. I use the bathroom (they think toilet is quite a crude word!), form a line instead of make a queue, throw out trash, and I call people, rather than phone them!
The Irish phrase I'm lost without is 'giving out'. I still can't make out what the Americans say for it. They use 'scold' to translate the equivalent Spanish word engañar. But they feel it's old-fashioned and don't use it in normal speech. They don't say 'telling off' which I think is more British. So I still say 'giving out' and no-one has a clue what I mean.
I also surprise people when talking about 'your man' to point someone out – with the reply 'Did you just call him my man?'
I'll be looking forward to July when I can top up on Hiberno-English!
-----
Well, that's it for another week. We have visitors arriving next weekend, Jack's niece and her boyfriend, so we're really looking forward to that. So until next week …
Pura Vida,
Éamon
Today's headline in La Nación: US Senate defends the rights of foreigners working in agriculture
Preparation for Germany
------------------------------
This week the Costa Rican football team headed for Germany. They had a relaxed final training of a few days on the Pacific coast. The news now has coverage from their hotel in Germany and keeps us informed on how they're doing.
There are all sorts of rumours about what bonuses they're on. In Italia 90 they qualified for the second round, and all the players won a car. Trying to dampen the rumours, officials reported that this time the players earn $1,000 a day while in Germany, with $400 extra per match.
They are playing in the opening match against Germany on June 9th. The match is at 10am here, and the government has given all their employees the morning off work. I think the other matches are at 8am.
Obviously, people aren't confident about the opening match against such competition. However, I keep feeling that stranger things have happened. Given that all the pressure is on Germany and nothing is expected of Costa Rica other than turn up. We'll see.
Part-time policing
----------------------
In class during the week, we were talking about modal verbs of permission or obligation, and used the rules of the road as an example. Things like you should wear a helmet on a bike, and you must stop at a red light.
But I was told that at night in San José you may jump a red light if there is no traffic coming, because it's dangerous to stop in some districts. I asked if the police would take any action if they saw you jumping the light. They laughed, and said that this was just at night, so 'obviously' there are no police around.
It turns out that the police finish about 8.30, and there is no coverage overnight. They were amazed when I told them that police-keeping at home was 24-hours.
Americanisation
--------------------
Just a warning, before I travel home, that some Americanisation (Americanization?) has crept into my speech. I teach American English, while always also telling my students the British/Irish English equivalent. But this constant use of American English is creeping into my speech. I've talked about 'movies' a couple of times to Jack. I'm quite comfortable spelling color and neighbor. I use the bathroom (they think toilet is quite a crude word!), form a line instead of make a queue, throw out trash, and I call people, rather than phone them!
The Irish phrase I'm lost without is 'giving out'. I still can't make out what the Americans say for it. They use 'scold' to translate the equivalent Spanish word engañar. But they feel it's old-fashioned and don't use it in normal speech. They don't say 'telling off' which I think is more British. So I still say 'giving out' and no-one has a clue what I mean.
I also surprise people when talking about 'your man' to point someone out – with the reply 'Did you just call him my man?'
I'll be looking forward to July when I can top up on Hiberno-English!
-----
Well, that's it for another week. We have visitors arriving next weekend, Jack's niece and her boyfriend, so we're really looking forward to that. So until next week …
Pura Vida,
Éamon
Today's headline in La Nación: US Senate defends the rights of foreigners working in agriculture
Monday, May 15, 2006
Thoughts of home
Having been here a year, it’s possible to compare the start of the rainy season this year and last, and there’s so much more rain this year. We’ve booked our holidays home to Ireland in July, and Jack’s started guitar lessons.
Travelling home
---------------
I hate searching for complicated flights on the internet. I always end up with about 16 browser windows open, and flit between them tweaking dates to try to get the best fare. This time the best fare turned out to be a crazy route. But still, best fare is best fare, and we’ve gone for it.
We’re leaving here on July 2nd, arriving into Dublin on the morning of 3rd. We don’t leave Ireland until 31st, so it’s a good long break. The route we take is, wait for it, on the way out; San José, Miami, St. Louis, Chicago, Dublin. And then on the way back it’s Dublin, London, Miami, San José.
We’re really looking forward to catching up with people at home, and I’ll have so much more time than my quick trip last August.
Things you miss from home
-------------------------
Whenever anybody comes out, they always ask what we want brought over from Ireland. To be honest, there’s really not a lot that we miss. I’d kill for a batterburger and chips, but it’s not very realistic. What I’ve got people to bring so far includes the predictable Barry’s Tea. I didn’t bring any with me, because I think the milk abroad is often dodgy. But it’s fine over here.
I’ve also asked people to bring Blu-Tack. I’m not sure why, but you can’t get it here. There is a fantastically equipped American office store called Office Depot, which has more items than I’ve ever seen available in Ireland in it’s large warehouse. But no Blu-Tack. It’s amazing how much we’ve managed to decorate the apartment walls since it’s arrived.
The only other thing is a favourite from my childhood. Erin Irish Potato soup. Just a simple packet soup, but ideal for days with tropical rainstorms. They should use that in their advertising!
Guitar lessons
--------------
I got Jack a guitar for his birthday, and he’s now taking lessons. My boss’s brother, Colin from the US, is a very good player and is giving him lessons for just over €5 an hour. So he’s practising loads at the moment, shredding his fingers away in the process.
Drifting exchange rate
----------------------
Another aspect of Tico life is that the currency, the Colón (or Columbus), is constantly falling in value. When we arrived it was C467 to the dollar. It’s now C508, a fall of nearly 9%, and that happens year in year out. It doesn’t fluctuate. It just falls.
Because of this, the dollar acts as a surrogate currency. Most of our bills are in dollars, and they have a dollar conversion rate to give you this months total in colones for payment.
-----
Well, that’s it for another week. The rain continues. A couple of minutes ago we couldn’t hear each other speak for the din on the tin roof. There’s a respite for the moment. So until next week.
Pura Vida,
Éamon
Today’s headline in La Nación: Schools fail to check schoolbags daily (for weapons!)
Travelling home
---------------
I hate searching for complicated flights on the internet. I always end up with about 16 browser windows open, and flit between them tweaking dates to try to get the best fare. This time the best fare turned out to be a crazy route. But still, best fare is best fare, and we’ve gone for it.
We’re leaving here on July 2nd, arriving into Dublin on the morning of 3rd. We don’t leave Ireland until 31st, so it’s a good long break. The route we take is, wait for it, on the way out; San José, Miami, St. Louis, Chicago, Dublin. And then on the way back it’s Dublin, London, Miami, San José.
We’re really looking forward to catching up with people at home, and I’ll have so much more time than my quick trip last August.
Things you miss from home
-------------------------
Whenever anybody comes out, they always ask what we want brought over from Ireland. To be honest, there’s really not a lot that we miss. I’d kill for a batterburger and chips, but it’s not very realistic. What I’ve got people to bring so far includes the predictable Barry’s Tea. I didn’t bring any with me, because I think the milk abroad is often dodgy. But it’s fine over here.
I’ve also asked people to bring Blu-Tack. I’m not sure why, but you can’t get it here. There is a fantastically equipped American office store called Office Depot, which has more items than I’ve ever seen available in Ireland in it’s large warehouse. But no Blu-Tack. It’s amazing how much we’ve managed to decorate the apartment walls since it’s arrived.
The only other thing is a favourite from my childhood. Erin Irish Potato soup. Just a simple packet soup, but ideal for days with tropical rainstorms. They should use that in their advertising!
Guitar lessons
--------------
I got Jack a guitar for his birthday, and he’s now taking lessons. My boss’s brother, Colin from the US, is a very good player and is giving him lessons for just over €5 an hour. So he’s practising loads at the moment, shredding his fingers away in the process.
Drifting exchange rate
----------------------
Another aspect of Tico life is that the currency, the Colón (or Columbus), is constantly falling in value. When we arrived it was C467 to the dollar. It’s now C508, a fall of nearly 9%, and that happens year in year out. It doesn’t fluctuate. It just falls.
Because of this, the dollar acts as a surrogate currency. Most of our bills are in dollars, and they have a dollar conversion rate to give you this months total in colones for payment.
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Well, that’s it for another week. The rain continues. A couple of minutes ago we couldn’t hear each other speak for the din on the tin roof. There’s a respite for the moment. So until next week.
Pura Vida,
Éamon
Today’s headline in La Nación: Schools fail to check schoolbags daily (for weapons!)
Monday, May 08, 2006
Inauguration bank holiday
Folks,
It’s a bank holiday here today, although I’m actually working later on. I’m watching the inauguration of the new President, Óscar Arias, on TV.
New President
------------------
There are many leaders of Latin American countries here for the inauguration, in addition to Laura Bush and the President of Taiwan. The inauguration is held in the National Stadium. It’s a little like an amateur version of the Olympics opening ceremony. People are doing gym displays and some marching and dancing. It’s quite unlike what we’ve done in Dublin Castle for the two Marys.
They’ve now been hit by a torrential shower, so there are umbrellas everywhere. There’s also live coverage of the chef preparing the state dinner (in a marquee!).
CAFTA
----------
Since we arrived here, the major public issue has been the Central American Free Trade Agreement, known locally as TLC, Trato Libre de Comercio. It’s an agreement to lift trade barriers between the US and the Central American countries, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean.
Many people here are opposed to the agreement, feeling that it’s too favourable to the US. There have been many protest marches and you can see posters and stickers on people’s windows saying ‘No to annexation, no to TLC’. It’s been ratified in the other five countries. It’s likely to be ratified by the new President as he’s in favour of the agreement.
Selling in the streets
------------------------
One of the features of life here is the street sellers who are everywhere. As you go even to the supermarket, you have to run the gauntlet of people selling lottery tickets, mobile phone covers, jewellery, pirated CDs and DVDs, in addition to fruit vendors. When you take the bus into San José, someone often gets on and makes a long speech about their hardship, and then sells pens to passengers to make some money. The story is often about their health problems. One guy had been the victim of a car crash, and showed us all his x-rays.
Men looking for women
-----------------------------
I’ve just bought a copy of the local English language newspaper, The Tico Times. There are many personal ads in the newspaper, the majority older guys in the US looking for younger Tica girlfriends with a view to marriage. This is a typical example.
Marriage-minded 43 year old athletic surfer / fireman from San Diego, California seeking Tica / Nicaraguan / Panamanian will be in Beatle Bar, Jacó Beach Costa Rica June 16-24 ask for Brendan Mac. Hope to see you! Will buy your first Cacique! email me bmcinerney@san.rr.com.
-----
Well, that’s it for another week. The inauguration is over now, and there’s a Colombian telenovela (soap opera) in its place. The rain has stopped, and I’d better get ready for school.
Pura Vida,
Éamon
Today’s headline in La Nación: Óscar Arias takes over as President of Costa Rica
It’s a bank holiday here today, although I’m actually working later on. I’m watching the inauguration of the new President, Óscar Arias, on TV.
New President
------------------
There are many leaders of Latin American countries here for the inauguration, in addition to Laura Bush and the President of Taiwan. The inauguration is held in the National Stadium. It’s a little like an amateur version of the Olympics opening ceremony. People are doing gym displays and some marching and dancing. It’s quite unlike what we’ve done in Dublin Castle for the two Marys.
They’ve now been hit by a torrential shower, so there are umbrellas everywhere. There’s also live coverage of the chef preparing the state dinner (in a marquee!).
CAFTA
----------
Since we arrived here, the major public issue has been the Central American Free Trade Agreement, known locally as TLC, Trato Libre de Comercio. It’s an agreement to lift trade barriers between the US and the Central American countries, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean.
Many people here are opposed to the agreement, feeling that it’s too favourable to the US. There have been many protest marches and you can see posters and stickers on people’s windows saying ‘No to annexation, no to TLC’. It’s been ratified in the other five countries. It’s likely to be ratified by the new President as he’s in favour of the agreement.
Selling in the streets
------------------------
One of the features of life here is the street sellers who are everywhere. As you go even to the supermarket, you have to run the gauntlet of people selling lottery tickets, mobile phone covers, jewellery, pirated CDs and DVDs, in addition to fruit vendors. When you take the bus into San José, someone often gets on and makes a long speech about their hardship, and then sells pens to passengers to make some money. The story is often about their health problems. One guy had been the victim of a car crash, and showed us all his x-rays.
Men looking for women
-----------------------------
I’ve just bought a copy of the local English language newspaper, The Tico Times. There are many personal ads in the newspaper, the majority older guys in the US looking for younger Tica girlfriends with a view to marriage. This is a typical example.
Marriage-minded 43 year old athletic surfer / fireman from San Diego, California seeking Tica / Nicaraguan / Panamanian will be in Beatle Bar, Jacó Beach Costa Rica June 16-24 ask for Brendan Mac. Hope to see you! Will buy your first Cacique! email me bmcinerney@san.rr.com.
-----
Well, that’s it for another week. The inauguration is over now, and there’s a Colombian telenovela (soap opera) in its place. The rain has stopped, and I’d better get ready for school.
Pura Vida,
Éamon
Today’s headline in La Nación: Óscar Arias takes over as President of Costa Rica
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