Casa de Agua

I've decided that "Casa de Amber" will now be known as "Casa de Agua." I've had one very wet weekend here in San Jose - and that's not all due to the rainy season kicking into high gear here!

Saturday night, I decided to have two of my friends over for dinner. Luckily they were here! While we are hanging out in the kitchen as things cook, Casey says "What's that noise?" She wanders down the hallway and then comes back and says "Oh, it's just the water heater." After a moment I realize that because the water heater is turned off (you have to keep it off so as not to run up the power bill - we just turn it on and let it heat up before showers) that it should not be making any noise. So, I wander down the hallway and step in a puddle. I flip on the light and there is a small river flowing out of the water heater closet and into the floor.

Basically, the faucet on the water heater had rusted completely off and all 30 gallons in the tank were rushing into the floor of my apartment!! Kristen (my neighbor) was quick to call our landlord Carlos, while Casey and I began picking things up off the floor in the apartment. Carlos came quickly and shut off the water, but it was no use since all 30 gallons of water in the tank were determined to be free and all over my apartment.

It was a FLOOD! Nearly every room in the apartment had about an inch of water in it. What do you do!? Well, basically you start sweeping the water to a central location (the guest bathroom), scoop it up with the dust pan, dump the water in the shower, and then use towels to mop up the now somewhat drier area. It was definitely a team effort. Casey, Kristen, Carlos, and I spent about an hour and a half drying out the apartment. I was lucky that we caught it in time and no electronics bit the dust. But, what a mess, and what a way to spend a Saturday night!

Carlos is a great landlord. So great, in fact, that he was back at my door at 8:45 on Sunday morning to install a new, smaller, instant hot water heater. Yay for hot water, but boo for the early hour on Sunday! I'm glad he's always available for emergencies like these.

Then, just because I think someone up there needed a good laugh today, I came home to find more water (quite a bit actually) in the floor of my kitchen! I had just returned home and walked into the kitchen when Kristen came over. I felt like I was losing my mind because there was no explanation for where the water came from! Not from the sink, washer, refrigerator, or new hot water heater! There were no leak marks in the ceiling. BAFFLING!!

But have no fear! As Kristen was helping me mop up water, again, she felt a drop on her head. The water was coming through a leak in the ceiling. But that leak, was actually above (in) the light fixture! So the entire globe around the light (which was working FINE) was full of water! We cleaned that mess up and I text Carlos again to explain. His response? "Don't worry about that. We had a big storm with wind." Pura vida people!!

So, needless to say, I am ready to dry out for a bit! Nick and Manissa are in the country and on the coast for a few days and Sarah and Chris arrive Wednesday. Let's just hope the apartment holds up until they leave!

<3,
Amber

What? No refill?

So one of the things I had to adjust to when I moved to Costa Rica was the lack of refills. Yes, drink refills at restaurants. In the States, your waitress is bad if she doesn't refill your cup so many times that you float out of the restaurant. But here, when you buy a beverage, you get that one beverage - that's it!

This is the case in most sit-down restaurants. Some, but not all, fast food restaurants have a soda fountain to the side where you fill your own beverage. But don't just think because it is accessible that it is acceptable to refill as many times you as you like! I recently noticed this sign in a Taco Bell:

This is a list of Taco Bell's refill rules. Yes, refill rules! And there are 5!! (My translations are a little loose.)

1. Drinks are for individual consumption.
2. Drinks are exclusively for consuming in the restaurant, up to 30 minutes after purchase.
3. Refills are authorized in Taco Bell cups only.
4. To be eligible for a refill, you must purchase a Taco Bell product.
5. This applies only to 16 oz and 22 oz cups.

In my opinion, that's a lot of rules just for getting a refill!

<3,
Amber

Random, but Appropriate

I randomly came across this picture and caption on the web. It's fitting, considering the sloth is the mascot of Costa Rica's newest tourism campaign...

This sloth kind of feels like you should update your blog more frequently.

<3,

Amber

My Local Store

While there are way too many cars on the roads in Costa Rica, the reality here still is that most people don't drive. Most walk or take the bus to get to work, the grocery store, etc. Due to this non-driving culture (which is completely opposite of our drive everywhere culture in the US,) all neighborhoods have little convenience stores peppered every few blocks so that they are easily accessible to everyone.

There are pulperias - very small stores that sell a variety of odds and ends. These are usually quite tiny and run out of someone's home or in a very small store front. There's no browsing here. You go because you forgot milk or you need an egg, or a button, or something else random that does not constitute the need for a bus ride or long walk to the grocery store.

Then, there are supers. I'm not sure why they are called supers...maybe for super mercado? But these aren't big either. Think of like your local convenience store. They have coolers with drinks and some food items, a few veggies, canned food, snacks, toilet paper, diapers, shampoo, etc. There's a little more browsing to be done here, but still the selection is not large.

In the last few months, I've taken to walking a block from my apartment to my local super. Everyone around here calls it "the chino" because, well, it's run by Asian folks. (I'm not really sure if they are Chinese, so we'll just call them Asian.) In fact, a lot of the supers in this country are run by Asians. It is similar to how most of the nail salons in the US are run by Asians. (Here in CR, they are run by Ticos...) Ok, I digress...

So I really like going to my neighborhood chino. The family that runs it is always super friendly and nice. It's a great place to pick up an onion, or a diet coke, or some cookies. And, it's nice to get out and walk a little every now and then. (Don't worry Mom, it's safe!)

Below is a picture of my chino - which is named Super Manfred. (That may be another reason I like it. The name Manfred is fun to say, and I am pretty sure that none of the Asian folks there are named Manfred...) I realize that it looks a little dilapidated and kind of scary with the bars and razor wire. But it's a nice little store and a nice addition to my evening routines sometimes.

<3,
Amber

Lo siento!!! (I am sorry!!!)

If you're still out there following my as of late poor excuse for a blog, I owe you a big apology! I think I just got into the routine of every day life here and forgot to keep you informed of my adventures! There weren't many adventures to be had between January to March, but I could have been sharing every day things about my life.

So again, I am sorry! I am going to make it a point to be better about updating the blog. So, if you're still out there reading, thank you and hang in there with me!

I've just returned back to Costa Rica after being away for a month for work travels. It was nice to get back "home" and not be living out of a suitcase. And while Costa Rica will never be my true "home," it is where I currently live and where my life is for now. I'm glad that I am feeling settled enough to be happy about coming back. It's a nice feeling.

Until my next post...

<3,
Amber