Back in Costa Rica
Well as the title states, we are officially back in Costa Rica, and boy if I'm not in culture shock. CR is sooooo much more developed than Nicaragua. There are tourists EVERYWHERE and everyone speaks ingles. I'm really surprised at my being shocked and offended when the locals speak to me in ingles. I just speak to them in espanol and they follow in suit. WOW I miss Nicaragua. We caught the early bus out of Managua with a rude awakening at the ungodly hour of 3 AM by the hotel manager. The last time I wrote this journal I had a low grade fever. I woke up and my ankle was hurting, but I considered the bug issue here and blew it off. However by the time we reached the border, my whole ankle and part of my shin was swelling an PAINFUL!! When we came into Nicoya Costa Rica, I had to be seen by a doctor. It hurt to walk and was only getting worse by the second. Luckily there was a clinic only a block and a half away from where the bus let us out. The doc said I had an infection in my leg from having soooo many bug bites and scratching them and being in a dirty environment (aka:walking around the streets of Nicaragua with sandals on) caused the infection. SO I am on antibiotics and woke up this morning feeling much better, AND, am in better spirits to boot! I had been having trouble with my leg for a few days so I suppose the frustration I vented last time was partially out of unrecognized sickness.
As for where we are, we're chillin out in a surf town on the Pacific coast called Samara. It's hopelessly over run with Gringos and you can tell the locals are resentful. This is another difference between Nicaragua and CR. That and the fact that Nica is the second most poverty ridden country in the western hemisphere, next to Haiti which has the misfourtune of being in first place. The vibe is mellow however and it provides a chance to ease back into the insanity of the US. Speaking of, I keep having dreams, well, nightmares about going home. I really want to go back to Nica, and then on to Hondouras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
I can't wait to go to Peru in the winter.
Oh yeah, my dreams consist mostly of being home and not fitting in. It gives the feeling of desperation really, for example, I'm trying to speak Spanish and nobody understands me. I actully came bolting out of a dream of this sort back in Leon and was so relieved to find myself still in Nicaragua.
I gotta warn all you loved ones, I get reverse culture shock pretty bad. I need alot of patience and some time to get back into the groove of being in that culture up there. Actually it feels more like a burden than a groove at times. But one must retain optimism in times like these.
One thing I am THRILLED about is that Kayleigh told me she really missed Nicaragua. You know what that means? That means she was affected more than I thought and this trip is a success!!! I think she really saw the difference comming back into CR. I gotta tell you, the difference was AMAZING! Ticos are lighter skinned than Nicas, the accent is different, the smell of the air is different and the people are SOOO different. I reccomened this trip to anyone who wants to see the contrasts between developing countries both at the mercy of the Globalization and the US. One comming fresh out of revolution and the other consumed by tourism, ex-pates, US products and MNCs, and the happiness lost by that slow erosion of ones culture. WOW this has been a wild ride...
As for where we are, we're chillin out in a surf town on the Pacific coast called Samara. It's hopelessly over run with Gringos and you can tell the locals are resentful. This is another difference between Nicaragua and CR. That and the fact that Nica is the second most poverty ridden country in the western hemisphere, next to Haiti which has the misfourtune of being in first place. The vibe is mellow however and it provides a chance to ease back into the insanity of the US. Speaking of, I keep having dreams, well, nightmares about going home. I really want to go back to Nica, and then on to Hondouras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
I can't wait to go to Peru in the winter.
Oh yeah, my dreams consist mostly of being home and not fitting in. It gives the feeling of desperation really, for example, I'm trying to speak Spanish and nobody understands me. I actully came bolting out of a dream of this sort back in Leon and was so relieved to find myself still in Nicaragua.
I gotta warn all you loved ones, I get reverse culture shock pretty bad. I need alot of patience and some time to get back into the groove of being in that culture up there. Actually it feels more like a burden than a groove at times. But one must retain optimism in times like these.
One thing I am THRILLED about is that Kayleigh told me she really missed Nicaragua. You know what that means? That means she was affected more than I thought and this trip is a success!!! I think she really saw the difference comming back into CR. I gotta tell you, the difference was AMAZING! Ticos are lighter skinned than Nicas, the accent is different, the smell of the air is different and the people are SOOO different. I reccomened this trip to anyone who wants to see the contrasts between developing countries both at the mercy of the Globalization and the US. One comming fresh out of revolution and the other consumed by tourism, ex-pates, US products and MNCs, and the happiness lost by that slow erosion of ones culture. WOW this has been a wild ride...