Before We Grow Up

I guess we’re back to apologizing again for taking so long in between posts. It’s been kind of crazy lately since we all decided to move on. Our roommate Hester moved out in December and is currently traveling Costa Rica with her friend from the UK. She returns home in February, very tanned I’m sure, and not looking forward to the cold. And my brother, our other roommate these 6 months passed, has moved back to Kentucky to finish his bachelor’s degree and become a teacher.

So that leaves Rob and me… As most of you know (assuming our readers are mostly friends and/or family), we have officially moved back to the States. We just moved into our awesome little apartment in Lakeview, Chicago, and we’re starting the whole honeymoon period all over again. Things couldn’t be going better right now as we’re falling back in love with our country. Our little slice of Chicago is beautiful and clean and filled with bars, restaurants, specialty stores, groceries, and shops. And we are so excited to be here.

So why the move, the indecision, the secrecy?

When we first made the decision to leave Costa Rica, we also made the decision to move to Spain. We began planning and looking for jobs and apartments in Barcelona and Madrid, thinking that it would be easier to hide our non-work-permit-having selves in a big city. I emailed some American English teachers I found on a few web advertisements over there and asked them about our prospects. They were bleak, but not hopeless, so we decided to go for it. But at that time, we didn’t know about all the things that were working behind the scenes to pull us back to the States. Blocks kept popping up unexpectedly, and our search for a way to get to Spain easily wasn’t going as we’d hoped. In the end though, our decision to move back home just boiled down to everyone in the world getting married. In chronological order, we have the weddings of Aaron, Mark, my cousin, Rob’s cousin, Rob’s brother, and Dennis to attend - all by October 2010! Had we gone to Spain, that would’ve been too many flights for our tight budget. We also had an issue trying to move the cats to any other country from Costa Rica since it is not on the list of rabies safe countries (apparently the U.S. doesn’t care as much as Europe about things like that). And last but not least, we also really missed our friends and family! So it just became easier to come back to the States and figure things out from here.

Why Chicago? Basically for the public transport and to be close to my mom. Since we sold our cars and have no money to buy them back, it had to be a walkable/public-transportable city. And I’m a momma’s girl, period.

So there you have it. You’re all caught up. We’re here safe and sound in a very cool one bedroom, happy to have a place all to ourselves again, in a really cool neighborhood in a really cold city, and very thankful for everything we’ve learned from our Costa Rican experience. We can’t wait to see what this chapter of our lives brings and what else we’ll get into before we grow up.

- Meg

January 22nd, 2010 | Tags: Chicago, Costa Rica, moving | Category: Live from Chicago | Leave a comment

Now that we know we’re leaving Costa Rica - though we don’t yet know when or where we’re going - we’re starting to feel nostalgic and kind of sad about leaving. I never really thought I’d experience any culture shock because I was so ready to leave the U.S. when I did. But being here, even in a place as similar to the U.S. as Costa Rica, has made me appreciate everything I left and everything around me in many different ways.

Since being here, I’ve become intimately familiar with the stages of culture shock. For me, they were/are:

1. The honeymoon - during this phase, Rob and I were delighted with everything Costa Rican, from “pura vida” and gallo pinto to the unique brand of Spanish and the sexy way women dress. This phase was one of discovery and excitement.
2. The realization - this phase was short but important. Let’s call it the shattering of the rose-colored glasses. After a few months of being here, we started to realize that though the problems of Costa Rica were not the same as the problems of the country we left, they were still every bit as annoying.
3. The anger/frustration - this phase has lasted longer than I thought it would but it has been essential to my personal growth. I’ve been angry at Costa Rica, almost unwittingly and unknowingly, because it isn’t the U.S. Things don’t work the same down here. People are consistently late, there is too much traffic, too much crime, too much trash in the streets, and too few pretty places in San Jose. It was toward the end of this phase that I realized how ethnocentric and almost snobbily American I was. I was superimposing my own values on a place with a completely different culture. It’s easy to do because there are so many similarities, but I never thought a would-be world traveler such as myself could ever be so ethnocentric. And for what it’s worth, I apologize to the country I’ve been so harshly judging for so long.
4. The acceptance - this has been the most rewarding of all phases because it’s helped me come to appreciate the positives of the U.S., the awkwardness of feeling out of place, the nostalgia of wasted time, and the beauty hidden in places that aren’t pretty.

So now with what little time we have left here, we’re going to enjoy every angering, beautiful, frustrating, wonderful piece of this crazy Costa Rican adventure. And maybe next time we’re in the States, I won’t take it for granted either.

- Meg

December 2nd, 2009 | Tags: Costa Rica, culture shock, living abroad, moving abroad | Category: Live From Costa Rica | Comments (1)

Alright guys, here’s the scoop: We’re leaving Costa Rica in January. The only problem is, we’re not exactly sure what the hell comes next.

First, let me explain why we’re leaving:

1. Too much crime in our neighborhood (including, but not limited to, an armed robbery at a local skate shop, two nearby muggings at gunpoint, the stabbing of a friend with a dirty knife, and a fatal shooting around the corner from our school). It’s not that we aren’t aware that crime happens everywhere, and it’s not that we feel as though leaving San Jose will eliminate all crime from our lives, but I’ve never lived in a place where these things happen in my ‘hood and frankly, I’m just not comfortable with it.
2. We don’t make enough money or have enough consecutive free time to enjoy Costa Rica properly. I know this was the topic of my previous post, so I won’t elaborate here. Suffice it to say that we weighed danger versus benefits and decided it was time to go.
3. The timing is right. We get three weeks vacation at Christmas anyway, so why come back to San Jose just for two more months of underpaid boredom?

So basically, we’re finishing out this bimestre with the school, thoroughly cleaning our house (so we get our deposit back), showing mom around CR at Christmas and New Year, then getting the hell out of dodge.

But where are we going? What are we doing next?

Options are many and plans are cooking, so stay tuned. Once we 30-and-nearly-30-year-olds figure out what we want to be when we grow up, you’ll be the first to know…

- Meg

November 13th, 2009 | Tags: Costa Rica, crime | Category: Live From Costa Rica | Comments (3)

So I know it’s been a while since we’ve written here, but it’s just because not much happens day to day when teaching English in Costa Rica. To sum up, here’s a list of things that have happened since the last time we posted:

1. We bought an Xbox 360.
2. I got my hair cut and highlighted.
3. Rob cut all his hair off.
4. Pat turned 28.
5. I dyed my hair Kool-Aid red. (Yikes.)

Aside from these exciting things, not much else has happened. That’s because the reality of teaching English in Costa Rica isn’t as exciting as it sounds. Don’t get me wrong - Costa Rica itself is a great country. But here’s a little advice for people interested in teaching English in Costa Rica: basically, go somewhere else. CR is a great place for vacation or long-term travel because you get to see some really beautiful places - I love what I’ve seen of the rest of the country - but for living and teaching it’s not ideal. Let me give you some examples…

Finding a job in Costa Rica is easy, but you have to live in San Jose, and San Jose sucks.

It’s literally the least charming city I’ve ever visited (and that includes places like Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, and Corbin, KY - pretty charmless cities, all). There is no real city center here because it’s not the original capital of the country, so there’s really no place to hang out and enjoy the city. It’s full of winding one-way streets that are too narrow for the volume of traffic, so there is a lot of air and noise pollution. But I think I wouldn’t mind that so much if there was a defined cultural space. There are some lovely, charming spots in San Jose, such as our favorite pizza place, Parque del Este, and the National Theater to name a few, but they’re so far apart you have to purposefully travel to each one. There’s no one place where people can go hang out at a cafe, take in a movie or play, eat at a lovely restaurant, and see some green space all at the same time.

The next thing we discovered about San Jose is that inflation is out of control and cost of living is way high. I make less than 1/4 of what I made in the States - which, to put in perspective, is still about twice that of a Costa Rican policeman’s salary - but food and accommodation costs are about the same as prices back home. Most teachers here spend their money on food, board, and getting the hell out of the city whenever possible. On average, Rob and I spend about 20,000 colones (around $35 USD) every trip to the grocery. We go to the grocery 2-3 times per week, so in an average month, we’re spending roughly $400/month on groceries and household goods - exactly the same amount we were spending in the States. (That’s our estimate for us as a couple. I assume you could halve that number for a single person…)

These figures wouldn’t be so bad if we had time off to spend the rest of our money outside the city, but working in San Jose means working around the schedules of the people we’re trying to teach. Which means our only guaranteed day off is Sunday. Now, please don’t think that I’m complaining about my 22 hour work week - it definitely beats the hell out of 40+ hours! I’m just letting you know that the reason we teachers don’t travel much around Costa Rica is because most of us don’t have 2 consecutive days off. If we had cars or if Costa Rican buses weren’t required by law to pick up every Tom, Dick, and Harry on the sides of the roads, travel would be much faster. As it is, buses are our only means of transport, and they are slow as molasses. The nearest beach - Jaco - is about 2 hours by bus, but it’s a Gringo tourist trap, so we’ve never been. Around 4 hours by hot, sweaty, overcrowded bus gets you to some of CR’s coolest places, such as Manuel Antonio, Arenal Volcano, or Puerto Viejo. But we don’t have the time off to go very often, and that’s why the 22 hour work week sounds much nicer than it actually is.

So basically, the reason nothing ever happens around here (and the reason we rarely update our blog) is becuase we don’t have a nice city to explore, very much money, or time to explore the rest of the country. And though our advice to anyone thinking about teaching English in CR remains the same - don’t! - we highly recommend this as a profession. We are still so very happy we moved down here. Moving out of the U.S. to explore the world has truly been the best and most rewarding decision either of us has ever made.

- Meg

October 28th, 2009 | Tags: cost of living, Costa Rica, teaching English, TEFL | Category: Live From Costa Rica | Comments (3)

We’ve had a lot of visitors around here recently and it’s been kind of hectic, so sorry for not writing in a while! Some of Pat’s friends from camp came down to explore Costa Rica and used our place as a base, then one of my BFFs and his boyfriend (who I’d been dying to meet) came for a few days. Luckily, our boss gave us a few days off to travel, so we were able to go to Arenal Volcano with Brian and Gio. Unluckily, we couldn’t take as many pictures as we would’ve liked because we forgot to charge our camera’s battery. But without further ado, here are the pics from Arenal - one of the most active volcanoes in the world - and if you look closely at the night pics, you can actually see some lava coming down the mountain!

That’s about all that’s been happening around here lately. It’s weird how normal Costa Rican life has become for us. We work, we play (especially xbox 360 now that we have one again - thanks, Brian!), we eat, we speak Spanish, we sleep. I guess with so much globalization, it’s possible to live a “normal” life anywhere. But to combat that feeling, we’re thinking about giving ourselves a real culture shock with our next move. Stay tuned for details…

September 11th, 2009 | Tags: Arenal, Costa Rica, volcano | Category: Live From Costa Rica | Comments (2)

What is happening to the US?

After years of conservatives calling liberal protesters ‘cry babies’ and ‘whiners’ or ‘un-patriotic,’ now it seems like the shoe is on the other foot.  With a Democratic government in power the protesters have all become those on the other end of the spectrum, going so far as to tote guns to their protests.  And although I believe in the right of assembly and free speech, I think the guns say the wrong message.  I mean when was the last time the democrats made gun control a key issue?

All of this anger and resentment leads me to believe that there really does need to be 2 United States.  An ideological split that has lasted decades has seeped to the surface and now can’t be reconciled.  I say can’t because I see no way to calm the aggrieved and repare the rift.  If people are openly carrying guns to protests, we are at the boiling point.  Protesters already run on high-tension and feel the frustrating need to be heard.  How long before someone reaches for a gun?

I’m not trying to argue one point or the other here, it just seems to me that “When in the course of human events…”  etc, a split becomes necessary.  We can’t possibly make those who want health care for all happy while still making libertarians happy.

We need 2 different nations.  I don’t care about the geography, just ideals.  One country can shift left and the other can shift right.  This shifts will allow each new nation to explore the idealogy that is in the extreme side of their own.  Instead of two parties which can’t agree on anything, we would have a nation of Democrats and Socialists and another of Republicans and Evangelicals.  Of course these are not the only parties and aren’t the only interests that need to be addressed, it was just an example.

Progressives and Conservatives can’t go on screaming their ideas laced with hate.  All that does is make everyone deaf.  Let’s part ways while we can still remember the good times, still remember common histories like Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Kennedy.  Maybe, just maybe we can still have an amicable parting of ways and if not call ourselves “brother-nations”, maybe just be close cousins.

Luckily, people with more experience and intelligence still see hope.  And if they believe we can come together, then I can believe it too.

-Rob

September 10th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Comments (7)

Before making a decision about health care (and definitely before listening to the misinformed, fear-mongering idiots currently dominating your media channels), please read chapter 4 from this well-researched report I helped put together back in 2007. Chapter 4 nicely summarizes the myriad of health care issues currently facing our country and cites many additional sources of reliable information. This publication comes from a highly respected, non-profit, non-partisan state policy association, The Council of State Governments. Please read and pass on:

- Meg

p.s. The beautiful artwork throughout this report is courtesy of two fantastic artist friends of mine Kelly Phelps and Sal Villagran.

August 14th, 2009 | Tags: health care, health reform, health statistics, Kelly Phelps, Sal Villagran, The Council of State Governments | Category: Live From Costa Rica | Leave a comment

What is going on up there America?  All over the planet people are laughing at us.  Costa Ricans are baffled and so am I.

In order to explain the situation to Non-Americans, I had to explain that healthcare lobbyists are one of the most powerful privately-funded interest groups on the planet, right up there next to Middle-Eastern oil sheiks.  Costa Ricans now believe that Americans are either stupid or just totally self-centered, and I don’t know how to argue that.

9% out of my paycheck here in Costa Rica offers me total healthcare coverage including dental and vision, and before you think “Third World,” which Costa Rica is NOT, check the World Health Organization’s international healthcare rankings where the United States is 37th in the world and Costa Rica is 36th.  If a nation one third the size of Kentucky can figure this shit out, what is the hold-up?

Also, we spend the 2nd most in the world on health care based on percentage of GDP, according to this 2005 statistical report from the WHO.  So, why the hell are we paying the second most in the world for the 37th best care?  A possibility:  because these private insurance providers are businesses first, health care providers second.  Their job is to make money, and they do it unscrupulously.

Two possible arguments:

1) You believe this ignorant hype of “death panels” in which groups of government officials will decide who lives and who dies.  Notice on these rankings that Canada and the United Kingdom (which is now showing incredible support for it’s NHS) both rank higher than the United States by far and have a higher life expectancy than the United States.

2) You don’t think you should have to pay for someone else’s well-being.  Which is the worst form of selfishness and an entirely immoral idea.  If you are an island unto yourself, then try not to enjoy public schools, the Post Office, television and radio (regulated by the FCC) or roads, basically live on a farm growing your own food, because the food we buy in stores needs to meet the quality and standards dictated by the FDA, and don’t use cash as it is government provided and regulated legal tender.  But when you are in dire straits don’t expect a hand.

The world is laughing at us and/or showing disgust.  This health care package won’t force you into an Orwellian nightmare, you be allowed to keep your provider if you wish, it will just save the lives of millions of other Americans.  If this is too difficult for the United States, then we have no right calling ourselves the greatest nation on Earth.

Don’t make me come up there!

-Rob

August 14th, 2009 | Tags: health care, Healthcare, WHO rankings | Category: Live From Costa Rica | Comments (7)

So, if you’ve read Meg’s previous post about the walk to Cartago, then you’re up to speed.   If not, I’ll wait while you read it…

Done?  Good.

So, Meg said that she thought this would be a really cool activity for us to join in, even though it involved a 12+ mile walk.  I wasn’t so enthused.  True, the beer made my decision to come home a little easier, but it’s not as if I got drunk and decided I no longer wanted to continue on my journey, I never wanted to go from the beginning.

Secondly, the accusation of laziness is completely false.  I had entreated Meg to forget this foolishness and come with me to the gym, hardly the behavior of a lazy person.

And finally, I think that 12 miles by foot to see a statue that holds no religious meaning for me whatsoever (As I’m not Catholic) is masochism.  It would be analogous to visiting Kerplakistan around the holiday of Ziekisplov - the holiday in which Kerplakistanis self-flagellate with sea bass, beating themselves until their skin is flayed from their body or the sea bass goes off -  taking part in a ritual that is both meaningless and physically punishing.

Save the noble seabass!  Contact your Senator or Representative and ask that they place an embargo on all Kerplakistani goods!

-Rob

August 3rd, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment