Things have been moving along slowly but steadily and I think I'm almost "there" - wherever that is. I have my apartment stuffed pretty amply with the stuff Heidi had been saving for me. A lot of it was very dirty after sitting in an outdoor garage for who knows how long, so I've used up at least half of my spray bottle of Clorox and my room smells a bit like a nursing home (old but well sanitized). I'm in a little studio, probably about 12'x16', and I've managed to cram in a big bed (queen, I think), a dining table, a kitchenette (fridge, microwave, toaster oven, gas stove, blender), and the built-in bathroom. I also have space open for a sleeper couch that we haven't been able to bring over due to the rain.
Ah, the rain. Costa Rica is in its wet season right now, and the last couple of days (due to a storm in the Atlantic, I'm told) have really lived up to that title. Normally, it's supposed to rain for a couple of hours in the early afternoon. Yesterday, it rained from 10am to 10pm or later, and today it's been going since late this morning. That said, I really don't mind it beside the inconveniences it causes. It's a soft rain, as they say here, and I find it to be much more calming than depressing. There's some occasional lightning, but nothing like a good midwestern thunderstorm. The Ticos/as (people from Costa Rica) all seem to think Nebraska is always cold - it's funny to watch their faces when I tell them about the difference between our summer and our winter.
Finding internet has, obviously, been quite the challenge. There is a network I can access right now that's named "5.000 x mes 2232-2215", but I tried calling that number today and it belongs to a hospital. I also tried entering the number as a password, but that didn't work either. 5,000 Colones x mes means roughly $10/month, so this would be a great deal if I could access it. None of the neighbors I've talked to so far know who owns it, but I'll keep looking.
Ah, my neighbors. It's been a lot of fun meeting them. Yesterday, Anna (who lives across the hall) saw me standing in the dark by myself eating an avocado with a spoon. I apparently looked pathetic enough to earn a meal, because she brought in a casado (lunch dish) with rice, beans, yuca (kind of like squash), and chicken. She came back to check on me once with an avocado, and another time with a coke. It was so nice of her - I think we had spoken maybe five words before then. Today, another one of my neighbors (the sister of one of our church members) taught me how to cook a typical lunch. It was the same as my lunch yesterday, except we fried a kind of sausage instead of roasting chicken. I have enough leftovers for at least three or four days.
I have a lot more to write about, but I have to get this down. As of this evening I have been dating one of the most beautiful, intelligent, loving, and faithful people I have ever met for nine months. Be jealous.
No comments:
Post a Comment