Terremotos...Earthquakes

So I'd never been in an earthquake until I moved to Costa Rica. The first one I experienced was a few weeks after I arrived, and I was in the upstairs part of a cabana at my in-laws house...no, the upstairs part of a cabana is not stable. So I was lying in the bed and it started shaking. I thought my husband had snuck upstairs and was shaking the bed trying to scare me...which is why I yelled out, "Stop shaking the bed!" Then I heard my husband come RUNNING up the stairs yelling, "Are you ok?! Are you ok!! It was a terremoto!!" I said, "Who is Terry Moto?" When my husband was able to stop laughing and breathe again he said, "Terremoto means earthquake, not Terry Moto." Earthquake number two happened a few weeks after that. I was standing in the living room at my in-law's house (again) and I was standing up looking down at a table, and the table started shaking. A few seconds later it stopped and I heard a BLOODY MURDER SCREAM from outside. It was like nothing I have ever heard in my entire LIFE. So I ran outside because I thought someone was hurt from of the earthquake... and heard chanting and yelling and crying coming from the neighbor's house...and more screaming. All the lights were off at their house so I ran back inside my in-law's to look for a flashlight. That's when I ran into my father-in-law, who asked me what I was searching for. I told him I needed a flashlight because I thought the neighbors were hurt... That's when he informed me that no one was hurt, they were just performing an exorcism. Yes, hola Emily Rose! That night I slept with my eyes open and my bilingual Bible...I wasn't sure if the demons would speak Spanish or English. Earthquake number three happened this morning. I came home from working the night shift and got in the bed, and a few hours later my body shook..and then shook again...and then shook again. I woke up my husband and yelled, "TERRY MOTO!!" Actually it wasn't an earthquake...my German Shepperd had gotten up in the bed and was lying on her side with her back against my back... and she had the hiccups.

Crazy Carz

So yesterday I decided to venture out for the first time in the car to a public place by myself...up until now I've only been driving to and from work. I went to the mall and drove through the whole parking lot searching for a spot...and accidentally ended up in the drive through line for McDonalds. Yes, there is a McDonald's outside the mall, and I couldn't tell where the line was for the drive through and where the line was to leave...so after going through the drive thru and trying to explain in Spanish that I didn't want anything that it was an accident, I finally get out of the parking lot...and make it to the parking garage. There were signs everywhere explaining parking rates and where to get a time-stamped ticket, closing time blablabla...but dare I try to read the signs? Hell NO! Because half of Costa Rica was behind me honking their horns like they had somewhere important to be....hello....it's a mall. Drivers here are SO IMPATIENT here. Seventy-five percent don't even follow basic traffic laws...like stop at t red light or stop at a stop sign. Anytime you are stopped at red light (if you are one of the few who stop) motorcycle drivers all weave between the cars to make it up to the front of the line, and then run the red light. Anyway, after running in the mall and getting a chai latte from the only place in the whole country I can find that sells them, and paying some bills, I got back in the car and headed for Wal-mart. (We just got Wal-mart!!) Well that trip wasn't much better. In fact I didn't even make it because I got lost and it started raining and people started that rude horn honking again because I was driving too slow. I turned around and came back home :(  I'll try again another day.

New Car!!!

So 3 days ago I finally bought a car, after 1 year and 3 months of not driving. Background: In May of 2010 I sold my car, and my husband and I moved to Costa Rica (he's Tico). We decided my husband would drive the car from the dealership to the gas station. From the gas station I was going to drive home...but on the way I decided to go by my work place to make sure I knew the route. So not far from my work place I look over at my husband and ask him to get my badge out of my purse so we could pass through the gate. I looked back at the road right as I'm driving through an uncovered manhole. (Nice common Costa Rican prank...removing metal manhole covers.) The sound was so loud, and my husband was so not happy. I decided not to go by my workplace after all, and went on home. When we got out of the car we could hear shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...that would be the sound air makes as it's leaking from a tire. Well my husband silently changed the tire and put on the spare (because we had had the car a full 45 minutes), and I called the dealership and told them something was wrong with the tire. The salesman told us to bring the car back, and we did. When we got to the dealership the manager and service guy and salesman all gathered around the flat tire and met for a loooong time. After what seemed like forever, the service manager came up to my husband and me and said, "It looks like somebody slashed your tire. People do that here and then follow you and rob you when you stop. We'll give you a new tire, and it will be covered under the guarantee." Yes, I am probably going to hell because I said, "Wow! I can't believe that!", instead of, "Wow, I ran through an open manhole." So I'll be doing some extra good deeds this week! Driving here is weird because it's in kilometers and not miles...so the signs on the highway say 90 km/h, but I always feel like I'm speeding even though it's only like 55 mph. It's good that I work overnights since there is no traffic at that time! I love the new car, but it's also weird. It has "full extras" but only the front 2 windows are automatic...the back 2 are manual roll downs...but no more bus or walking in the rain or taxi!!!!!! Woohooo!!!!!!!!!

My First Day in the Country...

Also known as the day my mother-in-law and I kissed...on the mouth...by accident. So in the friendly country of Costa Rica people don't shake hands- they kiss on the cheek...the RIGHT cheek to be more specific. So we're at the airport, Jose (my husband), Jose (my chihuahua), and Raven (my teacup Pomeranian). We're all nervous and excited (except Jose the dog because he was drugged). After making our way through Immigration and gathering all 4 of our HUMONGO suitcases, we make our way to Customs...where they waive us through and don't even check my dog carriers. I mean thank God I really was carrying dogs and not trantulas like the smuggler I saw when I was coming back from Panama after a visa run...but that's another blog. So we gather up the 4 suitcases, backpack, laptop case, and 2 dog carriers and head for the exit. While Jose is fighting off the overly-aggressive taxistas all wanting to take us somewhere (I’m sure for the Gringa price), I look up and see Jose the man’s dad. I recognized him from pictures I’d seen and video chats on the computer...Then I see his miniatue mom and miniautre sister...WOW! He was right, they are tiny and I was a giant (and I’m only five ft. six in., imagine my mom at five, ten). So he really is the tallest in his family. Anyway, we all rush up to eah other to hug - well I thought we were going to hug..but it turned out to be the cheek-kiss-greeting. So as I go up to his mom (my mother-in-law), I don’t turn my head to give my cheek, but keep looking straight ahead...and we kissed...on the lips. Talk about that everlasting first impression..that was a winner!! Then I look around and notice that everyone was crying so no one had noticed. They were all happy and crying because Jose, their oldest son, was back after 3 years of being in the United States. I was crying because I missed my mom.

Top five reasons I'll never pass for Tica:

In Costa Rica there are many "white" people with light hair and light colored eyes... so I thought maybe one day I will fit in and pass for Tica. Here are the top five reasons i've been told, "you'll never pass for Tica":

1. "Your clothes are weird...nobody wears dresses with tennis shoes."

2. "Your hair is crazy....women here don't shave their head."

3. "Your Spanish has a Mexican accent."

4. "You're too friendly."

five. My favorite one..the one from my husband: "Mi amor there are many people here with white skin, like you have. And even people with green eyes, like you have... But NOBODY has white eyebrows, like you have."

Gringa Price

That's the price I pay as someone from the United States in Costa Rica on a daily basis. The man in the red van drives around with his microphone and says: "Huevos! Frescos! Huevos! $1,800 colones" Then he comes to me and I give him $2,000 colones exptecting 200 back in change but he said I owed 200 colones more...making the total price $2,200 for only me. I told him (in Spanish), "Hey I speak Spanish and I'm not a tourist. I heard you say the 30 eggs cost $1,800 colones...his response: "Pero ellos son mas grandes!"...yeah so I had to pay more because he was selling me the "most large" eggs.