A better state of mind

So I´m on my last proper day here in Costa Rica, and Im pleased to say Ive basically found my way out of the funk and I may even have grown some balls.

Becca went home on Monday, so I´m on my own now but doing fine. After a nice long bus ride to Monteverde, I easily found my hostel where I was invited out to dinner with two other tourists. The next morning I woke up early to do a zipline canopy tour that ended up including a tarzan swing and a repel and a small scorpion bite. I must admit that the hardest part for me was probably the hiking between zip lines. That´s embarrassing. Anyhow, I learned about the macro function on my camara thanks to a soft spoken young botanist in an orchid garden and toured Don Juan´s Coffee Finca where I learned all about the infamous ox carts and of course, coffee production. I spent some leisurely hours sipping mocha and doing crossword puzzles and talked politics and traveling with a Tex-Mexican, a Brit, a Dane, and some Canadians. Holding true to my heritage in the past few days I managed to get lost trying to find a Quaker meeting house in Monteverde AND a bank in San Jose that accepts Mastercard (harder than one might imagine) AND a shop to buy an alarm clock. Despite a serious lack of street signage in either city I found my way home each time (never did find the Quaker meeting, though).

I also discovered a bit too late that I have extended family here in Costa Rica who offered their hospitality. Sad day that I´m missing that! Perhaps another trip with a little more forethought.

I´ve recently heard from numerous people that Costa Rica isn´t their favorite Latin or South American country. No one doubts that´s it´s beautiful and politically interesting- no military- the money is instead invested in the environment and education- but just that people seem to prefer Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Cuba, or in my case, Peru. Part of Cost Rica´s appeal to me was that it was one of the safest countries in Latin America. However, the tradeoff is that its much more geared to tourists looking for a beach/jungle vacation rather than a cultural experience. Also, its not as cheap as I was expecting, which is good for Costa Rica but bad for my bank account. Anyhow, I guess the conclusion I´ve come to is that maybe Costa Rica isn´t my favorite place ever, but it´s not terrible either. I wish my first experiences here had been different and that I´d come here with a couple of back up plans, but as it is I´m going home more motivated to get my life in order and all of that.

I´m also very excited because before coming to Chicago I´m doing a stopover on the east coast. This Thursday I´m flying to D.C. where I´m going to spend Halloween with Nena. Then I have plans to see Claire, some family, Alex and Katie before traveling to Boston to visit Allie and a city I´ve always wanted to see more of. As a bonus, Lara is going to be in Boston for a BC football game (word that the Notre Dame rivalry is a big deal) so I´m hoping to see her, too, and have my first college talçilgating experience. (Although Lara, if you happen to read this, no pressure!!!)

In conclusion, sometimes traveling is hard. Sometimes traveling with others is harder. I reaffirmed my love for the U.S.of A. with all of its (red) flaws and that´s enough for me.

My country tis of thee
Sweet land of liberty
Of thee I sing!

Land of the Pilgrim´s pride
Land where my fathers cied
From every mountain high

Let freedom ring!

(lyrics to this, as in all other songs I ¨know,¨ are my best estimate)