Sorry to all my blog buddies. I've been a bad blogger here is Costa Rica. Oddly enough in all the countries I've visited, internet access has been the most expensive and most difficult to use (i.e. slowest).
I am going home tomorrow. I have mixed feelings about it. I wish I could stay here in paradise and ignore the year ahead of me. The coming year will be very full and hard. It will be my last year of a full load of classes, hopefully for the rest of my life. I am up to the coming challenges and in many ways I feel rested and ready to go back to work, but I am certainly drawn to the idea of buying a little cabana on the beach and harvesting coconuts. Maybe that sounds silly, but traveling reminds me that there are many ways to live. It is entirely within the scope of reality that I could choose a much calmer life, choose to live simply and slowly on a beach somewhere. Knowing that there are other ways to live makes me examine the life that I have chosen. It is a life that I am grateful for and wouldn't change... But it is nice to know that I can do something different if I want to. Getting a PhD and surviving Los Angeles is not my only option!
Costa Rica has lived up to all of my expectations. It is an amazingly beautiful country, one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been. Rain forest, wildlife, pristine beaches, volcanoes and of course those waterfalls. Despite its wonder, I can't say that I've enjoyed it more than the other countries in Latin America. My time here has been vacation. Rob and I have stayed in comfortable hotels, gone on tours and visited all the most popular places. It has been fun and relaxing and I've loved sharing it with the boyfriend. Vacation is wonderful but it is very different than what I did in the other countries, in a negative way. I feel much more like a consumer here and much less like a learner. The two roles are certainly not opposite but when most of my conversations are with hotel staff, waiters and tour guides it is almost impossible to have authentic interactions with the people of this country. There are differences between being a tourist and a traveler. A tourist is entertained, served, accommodated, speaks and is spoken to in English. A traveler shifts, ponders, adapts, and stumbles through communication. In general I prefer the more difficult but more fulfilling role of traveler. I truly love the discover and adventure of trying to know and understand another culture. I like being flexible, I don't mind having to try hard.
The tourist thing is really draining for me. Should we pay thirty dollars per person to go to the world famous hot springs? Should we try to cram in one more tour this afternoon? Will that butterfly garden have different species than the other on? So many choices... And then I have to ponder how can I best commemorate this experience. There are tee-shirts at every road side stand. Should I buy tee-shirts for my family or shouldn't I? What about a carving of a frog? Or a set of post cards? Maybe a wooden carving of a surfer (like the one that MC and KAK had)? What souvenir can I buy to remind myself of my vacation to Costa Rica? Oh all of this is so draining and what I try very hard to fight against when I am traveling. Of course some of this pressure is internal, but much of the mentality is built into the tourist culture, the comsumerist culture. Costa Rica is easy to visit and a wonderful vacation spot because of its well developed tourist infrastructure. But, this infrastructure costs something in authenticity. I have much more respect for this place than to presume that I can represent it with a silkscreen image of a frog on 100% cotton. Alright, enough of the soap box.
I guess i am ready to return to the real world of Los Angeles (I hope everyone caught the irony there).
One more thing about vacation that is making me tired: restaurant food. The food is overpriced and portions are three times the size of what I need and everything is fried or soaked in butter. I am so hungry for a spinich salad with walnuts and strawberries and raspberry vinigrette dressing. Or a veggie burger. Or some humis and pita bread. I am not very picky about food. If I was still living with a family and eating rice and beans everyday I would be just fine but the restarant food is pushing me over the edge. The darn tourist infrasturcture makes it hard to get a simple meal, i.e. on that does not come with french fries.
I realize that I am complaining a lot in this blog. I am sure you all know that I am having the time of my life in Costa Rica. You will see that when you see the pictures. i would not trade my time here with my 'Berto and I am grateful for the rest and relaxation that I have had. I think I am winding down and ready to come home. That is a good thing.
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