Pura Vida

So here I am in San Isidro de General . It's city in the province of San Jose, Costa Rica, located about 4 hours drive from the city of San Jose. If you have ever been to Costa Rica you have surely heard the Tico (Costa Ricans are Ticos or Ticas) salutation "Pura Vida". It translates to Pure Life, more or less, and can be used as much to say hello, goodbye, or "my wallet got stolen and my dog died so, well, pura vida". Sure, this slogan can probably be seen strewn across tourist souvenirs or t- shirts and after a while one might think that this a crude tourist thing that can't possibly have anything to do with the "real" Costa Rica. Well, so far my experience has been that indeed this pure life thing has a root in reality.

This city has a population of about 50,000 and there are maybe a few hundred extranjeros here ( literally translates to "stranger" I think, though not derogatory, more like foreigner)and hardly any tourists at all. For the most part I think the Gringos and Euorpeans are here for the pura vida vibe-not to mention the lush fertile mountains that surround this valley city and the more or less eternal spring climate. Certainly it is not perfect here. There is crime and greed and inequality as anywhere though there is also a slowed down more quaint version of what you might find in the US. For instance the town center park is anchored by a huge church and every night this month there is a mini carnival with rides, bumper cars, cotton candy etc. and walking around seeing all the kids holding hands or the teenagers kissing on a bench, it feels like perhaps this is what people think of when they think of the US in the 1950's. Though insert cell phones into the hands of everyone in the 1950's and you are getting a little closer.

Being a North American who speaks really shameful Spanish, I sort of expected to maybe given annoying glances or experience utter impatience as I once again request that the woman at the bank speak a bit slower for me, though without fail, most everyone here has this amazing ability to be like, cool, no problem, pura vida. If you are in a rush here, good luck, it just doesn't work. I had to go to the bank three times and wait about 30 minutes each time to open up a simple account. The one time I found myself running through the streets here it was to get out of the rain and the first guy I passed offered me room under his umbrella- "like, dude, it ain't worth getting all worked up." When my car broke down in the middle of downtown Allejuala because the gas station attendant filled it up with regular instead of diesel, it was a mere 10 seconds before someone helped me push it aside and helped me find a phone to use. ( The gas station spent a hour flushing all of the gas out and refilling it again-and gas here is 5 bucks a gallon...) "Muchos muchos gracias" I say, 'Pura Vida", I hear back.

That's another thing , owning a car here, where you can interact with the community in a simple way. Though there are many cars here, most people don't own them as it is simply not affordable for most locals. Being that I am going to be working between here and Uvita area, about an hour away and all over in between it really was imperative that I get some wheels. Though with this luxury comes the simple responsibility, or more like simple fun response, to pick up hitchhikers as much as possible. Just about everyone hitchhikes here, even young kids. In the states it like, "oh no, hitchhikers are going to rob you and leave you for dead!" Here its like "hey, hop in and let me practice my Spanish, please!"

So the nuts and bolts of being here is that Alena and I will be working on an ecologically sustainable housing development on a ridiculously gorgeous mountain top overlooking the pacific ocean. We will be helping getting it permitted, implemented, marketed, dream about the details, blah blah etc. At this point it feels a bit overwhelming and at times I feel like I might not be up for the task ahead, though really, much of my life has felt like that and I'm still here, creating more possibilities. What's the worst scenario, ummm, we eat some sweet limes and learn some more Spanish. So here we go....

Now I must walk a few blocks to the lavanderia to get my clean ( finally!) clothes. We move into a home that we rented in a few days and then we will have our own washing machine and line to dry them. We will also have mandarin, sweet lime ( more like oranges) and mango trees in our yard. Yes, this orchard-like yard was the deal maker for me. Sign me up baby! By the way, just for info sake, a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, house complete with sweet lime trees is about $500 a month. A few years ago this might have been more like $250, things are changing I guess. So until I move in on Saturday, restaurants and laundry mats. This means alot of rice and beans and fish. So far I have been here sans family and I am looking forward to being with them all soon. Wondering what the kids will think of it here...