Catching you up to speed

Ok, I have been horrible at updating this blog but its because I´ve been so busy doing stuff I don´t have a lot of time to get on the computer and type.  It´s so much easier and faster to just update my facebook status. But since some of you are still in the stone ages and are not on Facebook I´m going to try to get  you caught up by pasting some of the highlights of my posts since the trip started.


1. Well I am very impressed with the first hostel on this trip. Probably the best one I've seen. — at Astor Hyde Park.
           ***Update- This was only true at that point in the trip.  Looking back that was near the bottom compared to some of the hostels I´ve stayed at since then.

2.  Second hostel looked like it was going to be a disaster but it ended up working out just fine, as it always seems to. I'm so in my element right now.

3.  It was a beautiful day for a long bike ride to a Belgian beach. After a 44 km round trip I think some mussels and a few Belgian brews are going to taste even better! — at Lybeer Hostel Bruges.

4.  Eating lunch in Ghent and I've never been more content to just sit in one place by myself for awhile. — at Gent Centrum.

5.  Went off the grid for a little while but I'm still making my way through Europe. Very happy to see my old McNair pal Erik Buboltz and his family here in Germany!

6.  German breakfast: Beer, Weisswurst, a soft pretzel, and some sweet mustard. That'll do. — with Erik Buboltz at Karlsbad Langensteinbach.

7.  Stopping by Paris tomorrow. I have about 9 hours to explore and then my overnight train leaves for Barcelona.

8.  There's not much better music to listen to while riding on a train than good ole Bob Dylan!

9.  Barcelona is one of those places where you immediately know that you're going to love it from the moment you step out of the train station.

10.  Barcelona: A place where life is good and everyone realizes it.

11.  Just changed the keg at the hostel bar because the girls working the bar didn't know how. They rewarded me with a free beer. Summer job???

12.  Had a nice little adventure today trying to recover a small bag containing my shoes that I left on my train from Paris. It was a sleeper train so i had a bed and i forgot to check underneath when i got off the train (I was wearing my flip flops). Went back to the train station but their lost & found was a long metro ride to the outskirts of Barcelona. My somewhat limited Spanish was very necessary being well outside the touristy area. I actually did quite well asking for directions but it took a long time to finally find this place because it wasn't very close to the metro. Unfortunately, they didn't have the bag so I ended up just going back to the city and buying a new pair of shoes. It was a good experience and I really like the new shoes anyway. ‪#‎gowiththeflow‬

13.Found a cool little park right by the beach today. Trees combined with the beach and Mediterranean backdrop. Awe inspiring peacefulness. Tranquilo. — at Parc Del Port Olympic, Barcelona.

14.  After the little park by the beach I thought I had the highlight of my day but I had no idea of the absolutely wondrous views and natural beauty that followed at Parc Guell overlooking the city. I wasn't sure where nature ended and architecture began in this masterpiece of a park by Gaudi. — at Parc Guell, Barcelona.

15.  Every day in Barcelona feels like a festival.
       ***Update- Still true!

16.  So I thought 1100 pictures on my memory card would be enough but I just ran out of space today. Discovered some new picture settings and went a little crazy today at La Pedrera and the Magic Fountain. — at Hello BCN.

17.  Well I just can't leave this place yet. Just moved back my flight a couple weeks and I'm going to volunteer at the hostel for free accommodation.

18.  Sea kayaking trip yesterday with some snorkeling and jumping off a big rock was awesome and today after I changed my flight I finally had a day just doing nothing on the beach. Yeah I'm good with 18 more days of this!

19.Full moon on the beach tonight.

20.  I have not seen it rain on this trip since London, and that day I spent mostly in a museum anyway.

21. Gotta go do some 'research' for my new gig as activities coordinator here at the hostel. Trying to find the best beach to set up beach volleyball tomorrow.

So there are the highlights so far.  As you can probably tell, Barcelona has been by far my favorite part of this trip.  I´m now coming back on August 9th.

JB

Jake's Journeys Revisited - Europe Trip

I'm resurrecting my blog for my upcoming trip to Europe which starts tomorrow June 26th 2013.  First stop on the journey is London.  Stay tuned.

JB

Job

It's been awhile since my last post and thats because I have been a lot more busy in the past couple weeks. I finally found myself a job down here. I applied for a few teaching jobs but no one would hire me because I don't have a work permit. The sportsbook thing didn't really pan out either so I decided to broaden my search. I emailed my resume to a call center company called Datascension that I found in the classifieds of an online Costa Rican newspaper. They called me back less than ten minutes after I sent it and I went in the next day for an interview.

What I'm doing is calling people in the US and asking them to do surveys. Since we call the US they need people who can speak good English for this job. There were a few other Americans in my training group but also a lot of Costa Ricans who speak English.

We went through a week of what they called "nesting" where we were monitored and evaluated by our trainers. We also got points for the number of surveys we completed and you can make more money if you get a certain number of points. The points made it like a competition and that made it more fun for me, especially because I was the top producer of our group just about every day of the training. They had a whiteboard with everyone's name on it and how many surveys we finished. Some of the Costa Ricans had trouble because they had too strong of an accent and lots of people hung up on them.

After the week of 'nesting' some people had to stay there for more training but they took about the top 8 of us to move up to the main floor and start new projects and officially be part of the company. The people at this job are really cool. Its been nice because everyone there speaks English so its a lot easier to meet people.

I'm starting to feel more and more like a local here. I take a bus to San Jose and then walk about 12 blocks through the city and then get another bus to the suburb where I work. Going through that daily routine, you really get a sense that you are part of the culture just like everyone else. Today I had the day off but I was walking in the city and I went into a store just looking around. The lady asked me if I needed any help and I replied in some broken spanish that I was just looking. She asked me in English if I lived here. I told her that I've been here for about a month and a half. Then she said "I asked because you don't look like a typical tourist." Also, a couple weeks ago some guy asked me for directions. And I think I was even able to tell him correctly.

So I plan on working a lot over the next month and then I'll spend the last few weeks traveling around the country. Its already been a great experience and there's still so much more to come!

JB

Playa Samara - Bike Adventure

On my first full day at Samara I decided to rent a bike and explore the area. I knew there was another smaller beach not far from there so I thought it would be fun to go for a ride. I found out last year that a bike is a great way to explore in Costa Rica. I enjoy the sense of freedom that I feel as I'm exploring by bike. I think it also reminds me of when I was a kid riding around the neighborhood. I also enjoy the exercise and pushing myself up those hills and then being rewarded with the wind in your face as you coast down the hill. Its even better when there's a nice beach and the Pacific Ocean there to cool you off.

The other beach, Playa Carrillo, was 7 kilometers down a winding road with a few hills. This beach was very nice because it was isolated from everything. Other than the road, it was surrounded by nature.

The bike

I spent some time relaxing on the beach. Not one person came within about 100 yards of me the whole time I was there. And I was pretty much in the middle of the crescent shaped beach. Eventually the clouds rolled in from the ocean so I threw on my rain jacket and hopped on my bike again. I rode on the beach in the rain and it was so much fun. You know things are going pretty well when you genuinely enjoy the rain.

The guys who rented me the bike told me that I could ride back on the beach when it was low tide. Apparently they didn't mean all the way on the beach, only the Samara Beach portion. I think the language barrier caused a little confusion. Since both beaches are crescent shaped, in between there is a point that juts out. I assumed that I just had to get around the point and on the other side would be the other beach. As I got close to the point the water got closer and the sand gave way to more rocks and a reef. I got off the bike and started walking with it. Soon after that I heard sound of air coming out of my front tire. It hit a sharp pointed piece of coral reef. The pointed piece of reef was still stuck in the tire keeping some air in but I knew it wouldn't last long enough for me to ride back. A few minutes later the tire was completely flat.

I was still curious about seeing what was on the other side of the point. But the terrain was a lot more rocky and there was no way I could take the bike any further. So I left it where I was so I could hike around on foot just to check it out. I got around the point only to find that there was another crescent shaped rocky area that led out to another point. This is when I realized that it would not be possible to get back via the beach. But my curiosity about what was on the other side of the point was satisfied so I turned around, picked up the bike and walked back to Playa Carrillo and got to the road that I came in on.

The walk back wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I knew that I really didn't need to be anywhere at anytime so that made it easier to deal with. I saw some cows just walking on the road. This is a common sight in Costa Rica. I also saw some horses walking down the street quite a few times in the town.

I eventually got back to the bike place and they gave me a replacement bike to use. I took a little ride up and down Samara Beach just before sunset and watched some people playing soccer on the beach. After that I was pretty tired from my little adventure so I went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Playa Samara - Part 1

I took my first trip outside San Jose this week to a little beach town called Samara. I went during the week from Tuesday through Friday morning. Because it was mid-week and its also the off season here, there weren't many people in town and some of the restaurants and hotels weren't even open. But I felt like it was time to get out of San Jose for a few days for a change and it was a nice peaceful place to go.



First I should say that most of the beaches in Costa Rica are vastly different than most of the beach destinations in the U.S. With a few exceptions, there are no high rise buildings or chain restaurants or boardwalks. They are pretty much like little villages with one main street and a bunch of little hotels scattered around a few side streets. The hotels usually double as restaurants and they are run by families who also live there. Here's a picture of the main street in Samara.

Just about every time when I went to a restaurant for some food I was the only person there. It was strange, I wasn't sure if the places were open because I didn't see anyone at the tables. But I can imagine this town gets pretty crowded during the high season, and from what I've heard, it does.

I enjoyed the tranquility of the place and the feeling that I almost had the whole place to myself. I'm going to do a separate post about some of my adventures in Samara.

JB

Settling In

I've been here for about a week and a half now. I've been easing my way into things here just taking everything in. There's a lot of that to do. Every day I am discovering something new and some of the things are just mind blowing. But I'm never surprised by anything here because thats just the way I expect it to be. When I walk through San Jose it is a constant reminder that I am not in a first world country. But at the same time I never feel like I'm in danger. Although I am doing most of my exploring during the daylight hours. There are definitely parts of San Jose that I would not venture into after dark.

I don't have a job yet and I'm starting to get a little restless. Its fun to walk around exploring the city but I definitely need to have some other purpose while I'm here. Plus it will be a good way to meet more people. The sports book is still a possibility. I got a number to call from my new friend who works at one of the sports books but he doesn't seem to be very reliable. On Monday I think I'm going to look for a job at one of the American schools here. I'm going to ask if they need any substitute teachers or if any other part time position is available.

By the way, the family has another person staying here. He is actually a student at this American school. He's a 16 year old kid from Taiwan but his parents are diplomats and he grew up in the US and then they moved to Costa Rica. But now his parents are in Spain so he's staying here. I have a new room this time because this kid, James, is in my old room. I actually like my new room better. I kind of have a whole loft area to myself this time. I hardly ever see this kid. He hides in his room all the time. I think I've seen him twice in the 10 days I've been here. Weird.

I am definitely picking up a lot of Spanish everyday but I still have a long way to go. I'm doing really well with reading Spanish because I can take my time to decipher the language. Its much more difficult when I'm listening to someone speak and the toughest part is when I have to speak on the spot. Every morning I read the newspaper in Spanish. One of the stories this week was about a Costa Rican girl who is competing in the Latin American Idol. Vote for Maria Jose!

Oh yeah, one more thing. I am using Skype on my computer to send text messages and to call people. I can still receive texts on my cell phone but sending them is more expensive from here. So feel free to text me anytime and if I'm near my laptop I can respond. When I send these messages it will show a random list of numbers as the phone number, not my phone number. So if you see something like that its from me. And you can't reply directly to that message, you have to send it to my regular number.

Pura vida!
JB

Pictures

Here are some pictures from last year when I was in Costa Rica. I mistakenly left most of my pictures on the computer here last year so I didn't have them until I got back. I haven't taken any new pictures on this trip yet but when I do I'll post some.

This is my Captain Jack Sparrow picture. Bring me that horizon!

I found these Ticos one night singing some songs around a campfire on the beach so I decided to join them. When I walked up they were singing "Wish You Were Here" so I immediately felt welcome.

The waves are about to come crashing over me.

These are just a few of my favorites. Maybe I'll put some more up later.

JB