- Goodbyes in the morning with the Kulshan folk departing today as they check out of our hotel. The next part of travel begins - the solo adventures and the pressure to make make life for myself and to allow life to happen to me. I am staying one more night in the same hotel for the ease of transitioning and the ability to get laundry done.
- Met Alicia to help her with a medication concern. She left a thyroid medication back in Washington and needed to get the prescription filled in Costa Rica. I accompanied her to the Clinica Bilblica to discover that the pharmacy (and the country) does not carry the drug she needs. We checked into having it shipped to the embassy but they said she would need special permits to import a drug which could take weeks or months if it got approved at all. Tomorrow she will try to get another drug that her physician back home recommended. The experience at the hospital was wonderful - great care and helpful staff - another benefit of a more resourced country with socialized medicine. Still, every encounter with health care system reminds me what a challenge it is for so many people to access and navigate them, more so for those with fewer resources to do so.
- Connected this evening with Pablo, a man I had met briefly in San Jose when I was first here. He sings for the National Symphony Choir, a group of about 100 people who perform with the National Symphony Orchestra and produce their own concerts as well . 20 of them, including Pablo, had been chosen to perform in the Opera that I had seen two weeks ago. He had some great behind-the-scenes stories including a lead who fell ill opening night and was replaced by an American hired last minute, and another lead who had trouble hitting her high notes because she was freelancing as a pop artist.
- We talked about a great many things including how sad it is that Walmart causes local businesses to close no matter where in the world they open. We also talked about a fun article that Kevin had sent me titled, "Same-sex unions ‘accidentally’ approved in Costa Rica." Apparently, a youth rights bill was approved without a number of lawmakers noticing a line allowing the right to same-sex marriage. Oops. President Oviedo said he felt "deceived" by the bill and conservatives are urging him to veto it. According to Pablo, the local rhetoric has focused on the response of the Catholic Church which, no surprise, is upset with this advancement of rights. The church also sites that the canonization of Pope John Paul II is a sign that God wishes Costa Rica to keep to Catholic values because one of the two requisite miracles for sainthood involves his healing of a Costa Rican woman from a severe brain injury. Pablo has stopped listening to the news on the issue because all the air time seems to focus on the conservative controversy and not the rights of LGBTQ citizens. He expressed frustration that a nation so focused on progressive rights would fall short in this area. I reflected that my country had a long way to go too.
- Home. Sleep.
09.07.2013
- Met Alicia back at the hospital for another round of drug-seeking . Met Dr. Munz who believes he found a comparable drug available in the pharmacy. He also gave me a lot of tips on places to visit and things to see in Nicaragua. We chatted about his time training at Tulane in New Orleans and his family vacation and his love of Costa Rica. Really, it was the best consult ever!
- Quick lunch in the cafeteria and spent the rest of the day running errands. Finally bought a new pair of shoes that I'll feel good wearing to an opera while traveling. Alos bought my bus ticket to Managua, Nicaragua for tomorrow.
- Picked up stowed luggage from Balmoral and checked into Hostel Van Gogh just up the street. Met a lovely man named David who owns the hostel and my new roommates: Q, who loves Seatlte and who just got out of the military in Maryland last week;and Alan, from Austin, Texas. Other guests included a couple from Brazil and their son who walked in on a woman in shower and has been very shy ever since.
- In the evening I met up with Pablo. He took me to meet his friend, Cesar, who was about to get his 5th tattoo at Vilda Negra, owned by one of the best known tatoo artists in Central America. Pablo found the image for Cesar's new ink which represents an ancient Egyptian God. Pablo had designed another of Cesar's tattoos and is apparently he quite the artist as evidenced by his Facebook page.
- After, we went for their traditional post-tattoo celebratory meal... at Wendy's. If you know me, you know that I never eat fast food at home and that I am not a fan of multinational food chains that deteriorate economies and cultures. But, when in Rome, eat with the Romans, even if they eat at Wendy's. It reminded me of going to KFC in Cambodia last year to celebrate the social work students' graduation. Oh well, another excuse to eat french fries.
- We then made our way to a sports bar, Ave 2, to kick back some beers (Cesar), casique (me), and coca-cola (Pablo). We watched Costa Rica beat Cuba in the Gold Cup game. The boys sang along to the music. I suggested Karaoke. We wandered over to a small, back room bar. With no English songs to speak of and no book of titles to sort through, I simply enjoyed watching Pablo sing two songs. He's a great baritone!
- We walked to get a cab in the central park, singing Celine Dion all the way. Back home for a quick shower and sneaking in quietly as not to wake my roomies. Alan woke up slightly: "There you are. We were worried about you." New communities form quickly and change again tomorrow.
- Excerpt from email to Kevin:
Last night was my first night in a hostel with strangers. I hadn't done it in a long time and I was excited but nervous. It has been very nice and makes me more excited about the rest of the trip - like I will be able to do this myself. I was starting to feel the pressure of solo travel as the tour ended. I was also ready for it too - to make my own way and make new connections outside of the chorus and the planned activities. For example, Pablo, who I hung out with the past couple evenings, which felt like the first social contact I have had here which had nothing to do with the chorus. Last night we met his friend to watch him get his 5th tattoo and then ate Wendy's and went to a couple of bars - it felt like a night out with Ken and Irfan, in a funny way. Anyway, the hostel, Pablo, new plane tickets, and a bus ride to Nicaragua today - it feels like Bonderman is really starting. I need to stop counting weeks though - I have a count for # until I see you (20.5) and till I am home (53.5) - those numbers are silly to keep in my head... but I have been. There is something open and free about this experience right now - like the whole world is open. At the same time, Alicia was lobbying for you and I to move to Bellingham. I think I can hold space for both feelings - big in the open world and rooted in the people and places I love.
- Countdown till I see Kevin in South Africa
- Travel Jokes. Because, when you spend this much time managing the logistics of travel, you need to keep a sense of humor.
10.07.2013
- Ate breakfast my new friends at the hostel, got packed up, and called for a taxi. The start of another very long travel day.
- Waited for my Mercedes coach at the Tica Bus station amid a crowd of other ready travelers. Eventually I was on board in a very comfortable seat with my headphones locked in for the long ride ahead.
- Crossing the border back and forth from Canada to the United States along the I-5 corridor a mere 20 minutes from home is sometime a tedious process. After two hours moving between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, standing outside the bus waiting for our luggage to be checked and paperwork to be processed, I feel right at home. I have an entire year of border crossing ahead of me and this is not likely to be the worst of it. Back on the bus. Moving on.
- Finally in Managua, I negotiated for a taxi while the smallest kitten I have ever seen begged for attention and food from the mass of weary travelers. Tracy Harachi, I can't help but think of you in these moments and wonder how much trouble adoption a travel companion might be.
- I asked the cab driver to stop at a a restaurant on the way to the hostel since I had only had snack food all day and one Kleen Kanteen of water. Net result: best tacos ever. I waited in the car for the food to be ready and sang along to UB40's version of Can't Help Falling in Love on the radio, one of my all-time favourite songs.
- Arrived at Managua Backpackers Inn and met my host for the evening. While walking me over to my hotel room he told me about the "gringo" woman that he is in love with. She is a Floridian and friend of a friend who was in the hospital after suffering an illness on her trip to Nicaragua 5 months ago. They now Skype once a week. He helps her with her Spanish and they share their love for life and God.
- The room is the only one on the second floor of the building with an entrance located through the back door and up a spiral staircase. I feel like a princess. Went downstairs to access the wifi and talked with some of the other evening's residents: one person from Virginia who was on my bus and two people from Ireland. At some point, as sometimes happens, the conversation turned to the topic of racism. At some point, as happens with white folk, it was mentioned that racism isn't really an issue anymore - not really. As a friend pointed out to me later, we all live in our own bubbles. In my bubble people rarely make such a bold and inaccurate statement. In his bubble, we have come a long way in the United States of America and have a black President. This was an opportunity. This was a chance to ask questions, to share my experiences and the experiences of people of color I know or have seen or read, and to share the definition of racism from People's Institute which is "race prejudice + institutional power" - that all people have prejudices about people of different racial groups but only people in dominant positions in society possess the institutional power to benefit or harm racial groups. Racism is a systemic issue that continues to impact the lives and livelihoods of people, every day.
- On another note: Happy Birthday, Dad!!! Congrats on the big catch and grandson, Kyler's, first catch!
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