28 days and counting....

"Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing." - Helen Keller

Holy crap... it is really happening, I am getting on a plane in 28 days to move to a country where
1. I have never been
2. I don't know a soul
3. I don’t speak the language

All of a sudden this seems insane, I mean have I lost my mind? What the hell am I thinking? I am leaving my favorite city in the world, where I have great friends, a great place to live, a great job and where I SPEAK THE LANGUAGE!!!

However, in my attempt to be slightly more prepared, I have been listening to Spanish cd’s in my car when I am driving (which frankly is not that often bc I work from home now)… and in the second lesson, right after the alphabet, they taught me to say “cauliflower.” WTF? I don’t use that word in the US, why in the world would I need to know it in Costa Rica? My Spanish teacher isn’t even sure they have cauliflower in Costa Rica! And these were supposed to be the “number one selling language cd’s” … boy I can see why.

Luckily in the third lesson they were teaching the art of conversation and question asking, and the question/conversation went like this (and no I am not making this up):

“¿Es agua?” (Is it water?)

To which the other person replied

“No es vino.” (No it is wine.)

Ok, so I find that MUCH more helpful than learning “coliflor” (cauliflower); but if I am going to a country where the people can’t tell the difference between water and wine that is grossly problematic.

Maybe that is why I am freaking out… I am moving from a place where wine country is a short 30 minute drive from my house to a place where potentially they can’t tell the difference between water and wine. I should have done a little more research.

Really though, the time is quickly approaching and I can’t believe that what was a “wild hair” idea 6 months ago when I quit my job is now coming to fruition.

And while I am nervous, I am also ready and excited and trying to prepare myself for the adventure ahead. I will be living on a property with 15 “bungalows” (the ex-pat word for small A-framed house) and will live in 3 out of the 15 bungalows during my time there.

I have posted pictures of the property on the next blog entry… it looks so beautiful, I can’t wait to be there…there are literally monkeys and sloths in the trees surrounding my house.

I am sure some of you instantly thought “Wonder how long it will be until she gets shit on by a monkey?” What good friends you are.

I have also included a link to a website operated by one of my landlords. When you see the tv, you will realize why I planned to be back in the states by the start of football season.

http://www.casamonococo.com/

Ok, I have to get back to temporarily packing up my life here in San Francisco. I promise to blog every week until I leave (March 31st), and once I get there I will be blogging frequently, so check in on me, I will work hard to keep you entertained.

Pictures of my place and my pals

Here is the walkway from the street up to the property.

Here is the pool where I will spend a lot of my time... esp. bc it is wireless equipped. Nothing like working remotely!
Here is my good friend "Manny the Monkey"... I hear that he likes shiny things like keys and sunglasses, so they say to cover those things when you get in the pool otherwise the monkeys will jump down from the trees and steal them. All I can picture is a bunch of monkeys running around wearing sunglasses and a key belt.
And here is my other good friend "Sal the Sloth." I wonder how many drinks it will take before I actually start attempting to have conversations with them.... I wonder if they speak English... or drunkin', I mean broken, Spanish for that matter.