Costa Rica - Post #1
I’m in Costa Rica right now and it is very strange because literally everything reminds me of the Spanish and Portuguese sections of Newark. I’ll get there in a minute, but first a travel recap. Nothing terribly exciting happened since my post on Thursday - I went to a concert, watched the Devils unfortunately fall to the Predators here in Nashville (I was offered probably about 100 opportunities to go, but I’d much rather support my peer at his last conducting opportunity of the semester), had some desert with my housemate’s family and then started packing. Woke up at 4:30am yesterday so we could pick our program director up at his house in Brentwood (very fancy location about 25 minutes south of Nashville) and bring him to the airport. This whole semester with him has been a little weird because for the entirety of my undergrad he was the ensemble director who was strange, a little annoying, and I always though he didn’t like me, but this year (and particularly on this trip) he’s been extremely nice and we’ve become decent friends. Anyway, for most of the trip the consistent theme was that I would be running a few minutes behind everyone else - In the parking lot my car wouldn’t lock, on the planes my stuff was difficult to get organized or I was seated farther back than everyone, and so on. The flights weren’t bad, maybe a hair too long and with some turbulence, but nothing I hadn’t experienced before. Well actually, on the first flight from Nashville to Houston, the plan tilted probably somewhere near 45 degrees to the ground (in a jerky-“This pilot is not meaning for this to happen” fashion) which was something new. I’m ok with flying, but my housemate, holy cow, is not. When we were boarding for the second flight he looked frightened/unhappy/irritated so I jokingly said, “Come on, man… Smile!” to which he responded “By the way, when you become a band director and have a kid that’s unhappy, saying ‘smile’ just makes them want to punch you in the face.” He makes these snappy little suggestions frequently when he’s upset, and yes… They are annoying. One last thing about the flights… I sat near someone wearing a World Series championship ring. Couldn’t see what team, but still very cool.
Ok, so after 9 hours of travel we land in Costa Rica. Its surreal how everything is in Spanish, looks “Central American” (I’m really not a racist or anything. Go and visit and you’ll notice it too!), and most noticeably… How crowded everything is. On our way from the airport to the headquarters of El Sinem (the national music program we’re here to help with), we were caught in rush hour traffic which is easily 500x worse than NYC. It wasn’t standstill, but it was like the lines painted on the road were simply to break up the monotony of the asphalt. Vans, cars, buses, and especially motorbikes were everywhere and it was literally mayhem. We arrived at the headquarters and were greeted by Sandra (the one coordinating our stay) and Melissa (probably the best English speaker I’ve come across). They gave us some absolutely delicious pastries and Coca-Cola (which I instantly love more because it’s not made with frickin’ Corn Syrup). We meet the program director, discuss random details about our stay and when Sandra is coming to Nashville, laugh at our director’s broken Spanish, and then Ronny, my first host, shows up.
Ronny is a 40-year old clarinetist who runs the music program in Acosta, CR which literally is just a few “montañas” away from San Jose. We drive out there through some “pueblitas” and long, winding mountain roads. The slopes and turns on these roads are ridiculous and unlike anything I’ve ever driven on before. We arrive at his music school which has about 20 kids hanging around it. They’re all young, seem fairly cool, and laugh at me like I’m a foreigner. The building itself is brightly colored, slightly run-down, but very charming. At one point Ronny looked at me and said in a mix of Spanglish “As you see, we have little money.” We go and pick up his wife and daughter who are visiting a newborn niece, as well as about 10 other nieces and nephews and some other relatives. We grab them and head back towards the music school and walk about a block to Charlie’s Bar and Restaurant. When there, I have no clue what to order, so Ronny gets me an Imperial beer and suggests a “Maritas” plate. This comes with a nice filet of Marlin (never had it before but it was FANTASTIC), some chimichuri (essentially what I’m used to calling pico de gallo), beans & tortilla strips, a tomato/cabbage/onion salad, and some papas fritas. All of it was fantastic. We then drove back to Ronny’s house which is absolutely gorgeous - like something I’d see in an upscale section of Arizona. He gives me a quick tour of the first floor which is again, beautiful, and then I basically turn in for the night. I’ve already got stuff to write about today, but I’ll save it for later. Costa Rica! Woo!
Adios.
Ok, so after 9 hours of travel we land in Costa Rica. Its surreal how everything is in Spanish, looks “Central American” (I’m really not a racist or anything. Go and visit and you’ll notice it too!), and most noticeably… How crowded everything is. On our way from the airport to the headquarters of El Sinem (the national music program we’re here to help with), we were caught in rush hour traffic which is easily 500x worse than NYC. It wasn’t standstill, but it was like the lines painted on the road were simply to break up the monotony of the asphalt. Vans, cars, buses, and especially motorbikes were everywhere and it was literally mayhem. We arrived at the headquarters and were greeted by Sandra (the one coordinating our stay) and Melissa (probably the best English speaker I’ve come across). They gave us some absolutely delicious pastries and Coca-Cola (which I instantly love more because it’s not made with frickin’ Corn Syrup). We meet the program director, discuss random details about our stay and when Sandra is coming to Nashville, laugh at our director’s broken Spanish, and then Ronny, my first host, shows up.
Ronny is a 40-year old clarinetist who runs the music program in Acosta, CR which literally is just a few “montañas” away from San Jose. We drive out there through some “pueblitas” and long, winding mountain roads. The slopes and turns on these roads are ridiculous and unlike anything I’ve ever driven on before. We arrive at his music school which has about 20 kids hanging around it. They’re all young, seem fairly cool, and laugh at me like I’m a foreigner. The building itself is brightly colored, slightly run-down, but very charming. At one point Ronny looked at me and said in a mix of Spanglish “As you see, we have little money.” We go and pick up his wife and daughter who are visiting a newborn niece, as well as about 10 other nieces and nephews and some other relatives. We grab them and head back towards the music school and walk about a block to Charlie’s Bar and Restaurant. When there, I have no clue what to order, so Ronny gets me an Imperial beer and suggests a “Maritas” plate. This comes with a nice filet of Marlin (never had it before but it was FANTASTIC), some chimichuri (essentially what I’m used to calling pico de gallo), beans & tortilla strips, a tomato/cabbage/onion salad, and some papas fritas. All of it was fantastic. We then drove back to Ronny’s house which is absolutely gorgeous - like something I’d see in an upscale section of Arizona. He gives me a quick tour of the first floor which is again, beautiful, and then I basically turn in for the night. I’ve already got stuff to write about today, but I’ll save it for later. Costa Rica! Woo!
Adios.