Requirement of either long sleeves or a light coat has become the norm for the last few days here in San Jose. Rain has been falling for longer lengths of time each day, however, this morning the clouds had cleared enough that I could see the mountains to the North. Directions here are strange as I’m turned around. It’s a good thing my watch has a compass. Relaxation and the continued study of the Spanish language highlighted yesterday and today is more of the same. Going out to the clubs here can be exhausting because one can stay out all night.
Of course this is just what happened on Friday night when I was asked to join some of the Americans at the Hotel de Colours. Club O was an interesting club in that it offered a VIP ticket, which included free drinks all night and a private bar area, for only $12 US ($6,000 Colones). Needless to say we all drank, danced and enjoyed the scenery. The only trouble I had was that the music was so loud that I couldn’t hear anyone and had to constantly ask them to repeat what they said. I’ll have to admit it was a fun evening as the Drag show was very well done and the Drag Queen looked almost like a woman. The music was upbeat and a mix of American and Latin songs. I suppose the highlight of the evening was when a very handsome Tico man introduced himself. He was handsome in all respects and spoke decent English, however, I couldn’t hear him and he eventually left, probably thinking I didn’t speak English or I was not a nice person. The other highlight was the taxi ride home. Rick was a little intoxicated and chattering a lot and when our taxi suddenly stopped and was blocked by three other taxis I had to get him to quiet down so as not to cause any trouble. From what I understood the three taxi drivers, speaking in Spanish, were trying to get out taxi driver to say who was at fault. Our taxi driver was very nice and didn’t want to get involved in their squabble and kept saying he had to go because he had a fare. One of the taxi drivers had hit the taxi ahead of him and thus three taxis had stopped in the middle of the road blocking our taxi so we couldn’t move. They had all gathered around our taxi trying to get our drive involved. Finally our driver insisted that they move so he could get us to our location. Rick was funny in that he kept asking what was going on and talking about this and that. All of us kept quiet and let our taxi driver do the talking.
Breakfast (desayuno) with all of the men at Colours was very enjoyable, however, my driver arrived promptly at 11 to take me back downtown to the Hostel Pangea. I managed to get some emails and may stay in touch with some of them, however, with the way my life is going I will just enjoy meeting new people and then proceed forward just to enjoy that moment in time. Today I finally was able to speak with some of the men in my dorm room. Jon and Dave are from New Zealand and Justin is from San Diego, California. Ages respectfully are 32, 26, and 22. Jon is very tall and has some of the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen; they rival my best friend Jorge’s eyes. And then there is the handsome Matt from Ottawa, Canada. He’s traveling in Central and South America for a while because he finished his studies and wanted to travel before settling down to work. I suppose his personality is what makes him the most attractive, not only because he has good energy, but it’s combined with a handsome physical appearance and he doesn’t seem to know how handsome he really is.
This morning, well actually almost Noon, I met Leith from Houston, Texas. I had heard him talking last night with a group of men, so this morning I introduced myself. He sold everything he owned and decided to travel. He wanted my email address so he could keep in touch and talk about our travels and share information about where to go and how to get there. The best part about staying here at the hostel is that I get to talk to others about traveling on a budget. From talking with Jon and Dave I learned how to get to Cuba from here, even though it’s illegal for Americans to go. He did say it was hard to talk to the locals because they were afraid of the police and being arrested for talking. He also said that credit cards don’t work there and you have to exchange money before going. I’m not sure if I will attempt Cuba just yet, but maybe after I learn the Spanish language a bit I might. However, it may be one of those things I just pass on because it’s so difficult to be there as an American.
Ken, another American from South Carolina, did the same as Leith. He sold his business, his house and car and started traveling. It seems that a lot of people are leaving the United States for the same reason I am, it’s too expensive to live and the government is so screwed up that the country has become an undesirable place to be associated with. I feel that most Americans blind themselves to what is really going on in the country, either because they don’t think they can change it or they just don’t want to know because they are comfortable in their golden cages. Perhaps those gilded cages are what makes them so happy, even if their freedom is being taken away every day.
In reference to freedom, I’ve been talking with Tim from Grimsby, England. He’s been traveling extensively because he isn’t happy with England. He travels for 4 months of the year and works in Europe for 8 months as a Steel Fixer (the American translation would be an Iron Worker, you those men who work building the high rise frames and other dangerous jobs). I’ve greatly enjoyed our conversations as he is here from Rottadam to find his girlfriend of sorts and help her. His story is that she was in Panama studying underwater photography and was raped on a beach. Out of fear, she took a bus and ended up in Costa Rica and he’s trying to find the place where she is located. I helped him out by showing him a map of where she is located and informed him of how to get there either by bus or by shuttle. Their only means of communication in this country is via E-mail and he has never used a computer before, but she set him up an email account and that is how they are communicating. In our conversations we talked about life in the small fishing village where he is from, life in the United States, about his travels, his hopes of opening a bar and hostel in Mozambique (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozambique) He says that the key to life is learning the key to relationships, it’s knowing and doing what is best for other people, not yourself. In other words, not being selfish. Maybe that has been my issue all the time, I’ve been very selfish and always looking out for myself. I’ll write more about my conversations with Tim tomorrow or later this evening, but for now, I’m going to chat a bit more.
