Chillin' with the hostel's cat

I am sitting here in the San Jose Backpackers hostel chillin' on the couch in the computer lobby. Though I am inside, directly in front of me is the pool. There is no wall or door - the air is naturally air conditioned by the sea. The sea also brings with it plenty of rain, feeding a plethora of plants all around the city.

Back behind the pool is a path leading to a cafe that is part of the hostel. There is a projector in there where you can watch movies, or just sit and play a guitar they have sitting around in there.

I am amazed at the diversity of people in this hostel. It is such a cool environment and everyone is so nice. Last night I ended up chatting for a couple hours with a Canadian hippie who has been funding her travels by making and selling rather impressive jewelry and selling it on the streets. Also at the table were two French Guys, a guy from Germany who will be studying at the University with me, a guy from Israel, and another guy from Russia. Tonight I met two guys from Spain, near Barcelona. Oh, and I've met plenty of other gringos like myself.

Today I met up with someone I had met on Myspace who also goes to the University of Costa Rica. Like all "Ticos" she was very willing to show me around and gave me a nice tour of my new school. I was slacking on my camera shooting during the tour, but I get a nice shot of the inside of the Arts building, designed to resemble Greek culture.

After the tour we went for a bite to eat. I was amazed at how inexpensively I was able to get a nice meal! For a little over a dollar I was able to get a plate of beans and rice with a fried egg, which I enjoyed inside by the window... Or rather by the wall that wasn't really there.

It started pouring rain by the time we finished eating, so I got to walk back to the hostel under my newly purchased umbrella. I coulda taken a cab, or a bus... but I wanted to take the chance to get to see the city a bit.

An interesting thing about the city of San Jose is that they have a very logical numbering system for their blocks. For example... the hostel is at Avenida 6, Calle 21-23... Avenidas run east-west and are even numbers south of the central Avenida, and Calles run north-south and are odd numbers east of the central Calle. So my hostel is 3 blocks south of the center, and on the block between 21 and 23.

The funny thing is, the streets are not marked and no one ever knows any of the names! I guess I felt somewhat justified in getting lost when I went into a produce shop asking where I was and one persona said I was at calle 31 while the other said I was most definitely on 26!

On my way back I was able to find my favorite Spanish delicacy, jamon serrano - cured ham - at a supermarket I ran into. I hadn't had jamon serrano in about 3 years, and so I was ecstatic when I was able to make a bocadilla espanola with jamon, cured cheese and tomatoes.

I've been pleasantly surprised at how nice the people are here. Everywhere I go I am able to talk to the people and they are always so friendly and willing to answer any questions. A simple question can easily turn into a nice little conversation and a pleasant friendship.

The same hospitality goes for this hostel where the employees treat you like guests in their own home and are more than willing to lend you a towel if you forgot one, or let you borrow a knife from the cafe's kitchen if you need to cut the cheese.

So I am really loving life in Costa Rica so far, and I haven't even left the city yet to see all of nature's marvels that fill up this entire country. Just wait until I make it to the beaches or the rainforests!