Grand Rapids Public Library

You may be thinking to yourself, "Valarie. Nobody travels to go to the stinkin' library." And you would be correct. However...

If you live here, and you haven't been utilizing the library, YOU SHOULD BE. Go. Go now. There is a wealth of neat stuff GRPL offers.

There's books. That's a given. But they also offer E-BOOKS directly to your computer. Spiffy, hey? They have courses in how to use a computer in English, or Spanish. This month they have weekly seminars on how to manage money. Did I mention the books?

And now-- the most exciting thing I've EVER found at a library EVER. And I've been to my fair share of libraries, folks. Grand Rapids Public Library offers passes to local attractions that you can CHECK OUT. Frederik Meijer Gardens, the Children's Museum, Grand Rapids Ballet and Opera, tickets to a Griffins or Whitecaps game... and they are free.

And it's not like you have to be lame, and ask your friend to pay their way, either. Most of them come in 2's, 4's, or 6's! Come on, gentlemen. You can take your (potential) lady to the ballet for freeeeeee! Why would you not jump on that?

Also, they offer a load of other programs, as well. Literacy, stuff for kids and teens, a little cafe onsite, and an online language course. Just sayin'... GRPL is pretty spiffy, and worthwhile if you already live here.

If you wanna come visit, lemme know and we can go catch a Whitecaps game or something soon. :)

New Location and Break

The wandering troll has wandered. I'm now in GR, MI-- not REALLY a wander, but it feels bizarre. I don't seem to be doing as poorly as I had thought; I've re-established myself in my life here pretty well. I was really, really upset for a while; I mean, six months in one location was a super long time for me. But I'm living with my sister, and working. I'll let you know the next time I go adventuring.

Maybe I will start wandering about Grand Rapids and keeping you updated as to what is good here. Yeah? Yeah. I think so.

How to do a Visa Run to Bocas del Toro

OH NO! I'm almost out of my tourist visa and I haven't signed up for any of the over priced tour companies trips out of the country! What am I going to do!?

Tranquilo, mi corazon. Esta bien!

It is 100% possible to do this on your own. I've done it three times, each using different method of travel. Here is the easiest. One weekend in Bocas del Toro will cost about $55 for transportation to and from San Jose (not including taxi), $6 for Panama stickers (not optional), and $38 for lodging at Casa Verde for 3 nights. You should bring at least $40 in US money to the border. There's an ATM on Bocas del Toro to pay for the rest of your things. (US currency is a second official currency of Panama.)


Two weeks before

• Make your reservation at a hostel. My top picks? Bocas Bound if you don't want to stay on the main island, or Casa Verde if you do.
• Gather up your: passport; flight information for when you leave Costa Rica

A day before

• Pack your shtuff. Bug spray and sun screen are musts. More important, in fact, than your underwear. Also, a bathing suit is pretty important. Oh! And dramamine if you tend to get queasy.
• Buy your bus ticket to Sixaola for 6 AM at Caribenos.

The day you leave Costa Rica

• Dress in comfy clothing that do not go past the tops of your (close toed) shoes if you get nervous with heights AND/OR are clumsy.
• Show up at Caribenos terminal at 5:45 a.m.
• Climb into the bus exhausted from a crazy night out before, pop two dramamine, and cuddle your luggage as the bus starts up.
• Arrive at Sixaola. Locate the REALLY BIG BRIDGE and walk to it. Go to the Customs office on the Costa Rica side.
• Eye the bridge you're about to spend some quality time with. Note all of the loose nails and holes. Feel soul shattering terror. (But don't worry-- your pants won't snag on the loose nails because YOU followed my recommendation about clothing-- right?)
• On the other side of the bridge, there will be men trying to help you and a line forming at Panama customs. Do NOT go straight to the Customs line. Look for the stairs, and go to the ticket selling booth. There you will purchase a $12 bus ticket. They'll ask you for your passport to make sure that you use the ticket. I still don't understand that.
• Walk back up the stairs, and try to ignore the children who are eating lunch and still telling you that they are starving and need your money. If you must give in, buy them food.
• Do the Customs thing on the Panama side. Pay for your $3 sticker.
• Let the sketchy seeming men load you into a van with a bunch of other tourists. This usually costs around $10.
• After a really long van ride, you'll get dropped off in front of a water taxi station. Tip the teenager who helped with your luggage, pay a $4 fee, and arrive in Bocas del Toro.

Stay at least three nights.


Three days later...

• Collect all your stuff. Make sure your passport, some money, flight information, and bus ticket are easily accessible.
• Take the 8 am water taxi to Almirante. (You can catch the 8:30, but that can be cutting it pretty close.)
• When you dock, you will likely be swarmed by a group of people shouting taxi. These are the same slightly sketch people that bombarded you before. Join them. It should be cheaper-- you need to go to Changuinola this time, NOT Sixaola.
• After the van is filled, it will take you to your bus, or where your bus will be.
• Give them your ticket. It will be dated from the day you bought it. It is valid for up to a year.
• The bus will again drop you off to deal with customs on one side, and you will again walk to the other. Cough up another $3 to leave Panama.
• Walk across the bridge in a terrified manner. Scowl at small children who mock you by running across.
• Deal with customs on the other side. If you don't have your flight info, for whatever reason, they'll let you print it at a pharmacy... for $3. No, it's not gold-leafed. Also, remember to say that you are a TOURIST when entering Costa Rica again, or you could have problems.
• Stop and get a fresh squeezed orange juice, pop your dramamine, and climb on the bus. Or go in the store to buy snacks and ice cream-- it's probably hot by now.
• Wait on the bus. For what feels like ever. But I promise, they will eventually leave!
• You will, at some point, make it to San Jose. Keep your passport readily available, though; police may stop the bus and ask to see 'em.

Tips and tricks:

• Panama is in a different time zone than Costa Rica-- it is an hour later. (It's 10 o'clock here, it's 11 o'clock in Panama)
• There are a lot of really spiffy tours you can take. Casa Verde offers some on the cheap, but there are other independent operators throughout town. Depending on your skills, you can usually barter the independents down.
• If you are strapped for cash, there is a restaurant on the mainstreet. They have good meals for about $5-- lunch and dinner.
• Fresh fruit is delicious here. Try the pineapple.
• There's a lot of nightlife, but the Barco Hundido is worth a visit. (Note: when I went, Friday was ladies' night. Free drinks for girls until midnight. Vodka is not included, but a liquor called Seco is. It's basically guaro. Just a heads up.)
• If you go to Starfish Beach, wear shoes and avoid contact with the sand as much as possible, lest you end up with fiberglass-like shard in your feet... or bathing suit bottoms. (Very uncomfortable, I promise.)

Gringilla

It's just a little thing, but it's one that I was a little indignant about.

In Costa Rica, you can change a word's meaning pretty simply. Some examples: The ending -ita means small, but it has more of a feel of love to is. -son means big. -illa is disrespectful. I'll use the word "casa" -- which means house-- as an example.

A casita is a little house that you like a lot. A casilla is a little house that is ugly; a shack. And a casona is a nice, big house.

So last night I was in the taxi with my tica sister, Moni, and the taxi driver is talking to me. I've struck up a conversation about shutting car doors; in the US, we pull them pretty hard to make sure they latch. In Costa Rica, taxi drivers will sometimes say "Don't close your door, I'll do it for you" to avoid this sort of treatment of their cars. My professor told me that a gringo closing a Costa Rican taxi door is "tragic."

So we're talking, and the taxista calls me a gringilla! I don't know if he just didn't know how well I understand, or what, so I called him out on it. Then he asked if I was meeting my boyfriend at the bar, and if not, I should give him a call sometime.

I'm starting to wonder why a disproportionate amount of the taxi drivers in Latin America like me... Especially since I'm not just a gringa, but a gringilla.

Quick Update

I just finished my final exam for my advanced Spanish class. It was a presentation, and it was pretty entertaining. It was about the local liquor, Guaro-- a false advertisement. If you want to see it, you should contact me and I'll hook you up. But now? Now I'm done with Spanish. I have a measly 29 days left in this country and then back home. Crazy.

The friend situation has improved. I find that beer will do that. ;) Thought you'd like to know.

So I don't want to lose the Spanish I've gained. That being the case, I'm going to read Harry Potter en espanol (in Spanish) in the mornings I now have free. I used to think that admitting that would be nerdy, but it turns out all the cool kids read Harry Potter in Spanish. As in, most of my friends.

Today:
I'll miss... fresh fruit every morning for breakfast.
But I'm excited for... seeing how big my nieces and nephews have become!

Back In Business

It's been a while since you fine folk have heard from me. I didn't die, or fall off the face of the Earth. My old blog did, though. Glimpse has changed their website, and no longer hosts blogs. However, my old posts are still available for your perusing pleasure!

http://archive.glimpse.org/people/blog/user/21125/

I'm a month into the "new" semester. I have a new roommate, Claire. And I just finished up Advanced Spanish 1. (I never thought a day would come where I could say that.)

I must say, the second semester has been a mixed bag.

When I arrived here on September 25, 2010, and I looked out of the plane onto the green mountains of Costa Rica, I was amazed and humbled to have arrived. I was here! I was in the tropics! Adventure and beaches and friendly people awaited me! It was my honey moon period, and it lasted all of five minutes, when I had to wait in a 30 minute line to get through customs, to wait another hour to take a cushy bus to my new city-- San Jose. When I actually saw San Jose, my outlook on life didn't improve. I was tired, sweaty, had just had a lot of trouble getting here... and the city was covered in graffiti and barbed wire. But the situation was salvageable! I mean, I still had to meet my host family. Surely they would be the epitome of AWESOME.

Then I met Rosa, and realized she didn't speak English. And I? I didn't speak Spanish. It was enough to put a girl in tears, really. Fortunately, my first semester I had a fantastic roommate (Kris) who DID speak Spanish-- and pretty well, too. But in any case, I pretty much hated San Jose for the first month. We had excursions on the weekend, and I wasn't too big a fan of those, either. The hotels were amazing, and I felt like a fraud. F-R-A-U-D. But I made some good friends on the excursions, and we had a pretty tight little group for the rest of the semester.

So. This semester? Is way different. I was sitting in my class of Espanol Avanzado 1, and I realized that I could understand EVERYTHING the teacher was saying. That was such a stark contract to sitting in Basic 2 three months earlier, near to tears because I didn't speak Spanish and I couldn't understand the professor at all. Every day in September I felt like I HAD to buy a plane ticket so I could go home early. By the end of my first day in Advanced 1, I was pretty ecstatic.

Aside from being able to hold a conversation in a Spanish class, I'm also able to walk around the city without a big cloud of paranoia floating above my head. I feel far more confident navigating the city now. The barbed wire doesn't even scare me any more, and some of the graffiti is just awesome. I'll get ya some pictures sometime.


On the downside, those excursions that helped me cement my friendships last semester aren't really an option this time around, so I'm finding it harder to make friends with this group. But it's all good in the hood. I've got eight more weeks to go. And I haven't even thought about buying a plane ticket home early this semester.

Bring it. :)