It has been a long day! Lee and I got up this morning at 4:00 am to drive to the Myrtle Beach airport. We said a quick goodbye (to try to avoid getting upset) and I joined the group inside. We got through security fine and finally made it to the airplane and on to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. We had some delay in FL, but we all made it to Costa Rica! Our first stop was the Banco Nacional (the bank) where we got our money exchanged. We stood out like a sore thumb 13 Americans trying to exchange money knowing minimal Spanish was an interesting feat. When I actually got the colones (Costa Rican money) in my hands I was completely overwhelmed. The bills I received were all different colors and sizes that came in $10,000, $5,000, and $1,000 with 2 $500 coins. Now I can see the confusion for ESL students; all our money looks pretty much the same and the numbers on our bills are much smaller.
Next we went to lunch and each ordered in Spanish (kind of) I got the most amazing drink; piña y agua which is pretty much pineapple, water, ice, and sugar…but it was phenomenal! I also got Quesadillas Palbronos which were simply put make your own quesadillas. I scarfed it down and we went to the local farmers market and I was in heaven! There were fruits and veggies of every kind imaginable (and then some) , herbs, spices, meats, cheeses, eggs, flowers, etc. It was awesome! Mangoes are in season right now, so I had to buy one! It took me, Katie, and Ashley talking to one guy to get our mangoes and try to function with the lack of Spanish and the exchange rate! When he told me $450 I almost freaked out…until I thought about it and realized that that’s less than a US dollar. We walked around the city and learned the 4 staples of Costa Rican culture: Church/Religion, School, Bars, and Soccer (which all happen to be in the center of pretty much every city. A tico man stopped us and told us to all be happy and enjoy Costa Rica while we are here. He told us the two major problems Costa Rica is having: the wealthy forget about the poor and drugs. He told us not to worry about it and be happy! He was great, he said all this in almost perfect English grinning from ear to ear!
Things I learned today:
- 3 Americans are better than one (especially when all speaking broken Spanish)
- Spanish speaking people will try to help you, don’t get offended if they laugh first
- Exchange rates are viciously confusing
- Never Drive in Costa Rica (people drive crazy on tiny roads in big buses and they are not afraid to honk)
- Try local foods…so far so good!
