Things you might find interesting...

1. Usually there are no light fixtures, just light bulbs screwed into the ceiling (or the wall in the case of my bedroom).

2. There are multiple "General Stores" (called Pulperias) in neighborhoods where people can buy the basics such as rice, beans, sugar, coffee, bread, fruits, vegetables, even soda and ice cream, without having to leave the barrio to go to the supermarket. Even though these pulperias are more expensive and the selection isn't as great, most people shop here for the convenience. And they shop frequently....like multiple times a day.

3. The above being said, sometimes these pulperias run on the book system where they come and get what they want but they don't pay for the food. Instead the shopkeeper writes their total under their name in a notebook for them to pay later....which I can't imagine ever happens. Some people have big outstanding debts. This is done because the people need to eat but really can't afford to pay. So they might pay a small part each time but never the full bill.

4. If you go to the pulperia to buy a Coke in a recycled glass bottle, the Coke is poured into a plastic bag (think sandwich bag minus the ziplock) and handed to the customer to drink with a straw.

5. This same idea of serving drinks in plastic bags are also done when large numbers of people are being served and the drinks have been baggied-up ahead of time. Think of when you win a goldfish at a carnival and they give you your prize to take home in a plastic bag. Then you just bite that little plastic corner off the bag and suck the drink out. Pretty creative don't you think?

6. On the topic of food, when there are leftovers, they are usually thrown in the fridge on a plate but without any kind of plastic wrap or lids. Or sometimes the food is just left on the stove to be eaten the next day. Both are gross in my opinion. Usually the food in the fridge has absorbed the taste from the uncovered onion or what have you.

7. Ticos (as Costa Ricans are called) almost always take food with them to work to eat for lunch and sport insulated lunch packs. Exactly the opposite of the American way of lunch.

8. All children wear uniforms to school which is no surprise but usually school is held in turnos where the children might go to school one day in the morning but the next day in the afternoon. Or this similar system is implemented by the week. This is to accommodate the overpopulation at the inadequately small school.

9. There is no type of PC here. No matter what your decent or physical appearance, if you're any type of Asian you are called Chino, if you are black you are Negrito, speak English you are Gringo and obviously from the United States, and if you are even slighty less than skinny you are Gorda (fat)....yeah, I've heard that one enough!

10. Lots of people share beads here no matter what their age or sex. For instance in my house, my 50 plus Tico mother shares the double bed with her 18 year old son and 7 year old grandson. Thank God Peace Corps requires that volunteers have their own rooms!

11. There isn't always a separation of financial status in neighborhoods. You can find a nice two story house (which is really rare, most are just one story) next to a tin shack in some barrios.

12. These people have skill. They ride their bike while holding an umbrella in one hand and a cell phone or baby in the other. Or sometimes the baby will just be plopped in the bike basket.

13. Toilet paper doesn't go in the toilet. Nough said.

14. No one is shy, you will find a woman walking around with her boob hanging out while breast feeding around every corner and next to you on any public bus.

15. The cockroaches don't even have shame. I woke up one night to find one crawling in my cleavage!

Pictures!

I present to you Don Manuel and Doña Silvina. Below is my house. Actually, it is the small general store that Don Manuel runs and the house is actually to the right behind the big empty space which is the much used patio.

Week 1 in the life of a PCV

I've been in my new town for less than a week now and have already become so bored that I've resorted to the internet after only day 5. Ok, it's not that I'm bored, it's just that I have nothing to do at this point in time that my family probably thinks I'm a lazy Gringa. I sleep for 10 hours every night, eat (bad food), write mail, read on the porch (which is interpreted as studying here), and then hop on the bike and ride to the center of town for a few hours everyday just to make it seem like I have important business to take care of. Sometimes this is true, other times I'm just killing hours till it's time to go to sleep again or time to eat some more really bad food.

I've been battling a cold for the last week so that hasn't helped in making me feel comfortable in my new surroundings. Today when I told my dad that, "Yo siento como mierda!" He went roaring into the house to tell his wife the fax pau that I had just said. In an attempt to say, "I feel like shit", it came out as, I'm not sure quite right, "I feel like shit is about to come out of me." So everyone got a good laugh. As they usually do with my language goof-ups. Last night I was explaining how my brother and his girlfriend are now the proud owners of a dog (a Dacshaund) and I explained the dog as being a "perro caliente (hot dog)" instead of the correct term of "salchiccha (sausage)". Same difference, no?

It's been raining here a ton and since the streets in my barrio are not paved, there are tons of pot-holes filled with muddy water covering just about every inch of the road. This always makes for a really fun bike ride where it is absolutely inevitable that you will come back with mud splattered over every inch of your pant's legs. It'd be so much easier if you could just ride around naked and then shower the mud off when you got to your destination.

That's all from me this week. Be sure to watch the soccer game tomorrow night (Oct 8) when the US plays Costa Rica! Go Ticos!!