Costa Rica - La Primera Vez

Naturally, my first blogpost about Costa Rica ought to be an 'impressions' kind of thing, so here goes:

The Living

Many years ago, when the Savoy Hotel was being built in London, it had the unprecedented luxury of a bathroom in every suite. The builder was much bemused, and asked 'Who's gonna be livin' there, amphibians?'

My apartment has three. I ASSUME it was meant for more people, but maybe it's just for the sake of variety.

The People

Affectionately known as 'Ticos'. Spanish-speaking. The CR accent tends to swallow the last consonant, so 'incomodo' becomes 'incomo' etc.

The Barrio

Fairly dull. Lots of well-off expats and gated condos. To the north is a busy street (actually more of a small highway) lined with strip malls which the Costa Ricans call plazas. Alot of chains and car dealerships. Many off the menus, signs, etc. are in English.

To the south is 'downtown', but this is tame stuff - I was there last night at 8PM and I hardly saw anybody about.

Prices

High - hardly much less than what you would expect in the US. Maybe its a function of the neighborhood.

What IS really cheap are small restaurants called 'sodas' (more on these later) which serve quite filling meals for $3-4.

Also, the money has sharks on it.

Weather

Warm, but even during the day its not unbearable. At night it is cool enough that I don"t even need the AC.

Work:

I have a small office in the basement. Not much sunlight, but close to the cafeteria.

Right now many of people are on vacation, so it's taking a while to get everything organized for me - I'm still waiting on my cell phone and ID badge.

Water

Potable.

Until next time...

Well, It Got My Attention

I suppose that was the idea.

Thundersnow!

So a few days ago New York was hit by a severe snowstorm. It descended suddenly and dropped over a foot of snow on the city in less than 24 hours. It's also the first time in my life I've experienced a thunderstorm and snow at the same time. I knew such things happen, but they're exceedingly rare. I wonder what the science is behind them?

Anyway, the city has been pretty slow to respond. A great deal of public transit is still running behind schedule (particularly anything in or out of the city) and many sidewalks and especially crosswalks are still basically impassable.

I attempted to buy some boots at Macy's but now I have buyer's remorse. The ones I got are a little too cowboy-ish for me.

Oh well. At least the snow looks nice (when not mixed with dirt):

Something a Little Brighter

Pardon the delay...

Washington Square

Nine Years On