Eaten by Tapirs

Living in poverty...

La Casa Fiorella is a wondrously spacious and comfortable gated cluster of four or five houses on the edges of Ciudad Colon, itself at the fringes of San Jose, Costa Rica's capital. The proprietor, Fiorella di Leone, is a delightful pre-school teacher who lives there with her extended family, including her mother, several siblings, as-yet-uncounted nieces and nephews, five students (myself among them) a cheerful middle-aged Rottweiler named Greta, and two caged parrots whose habit of shrieking "HOLA!" at my approach disguises their startling bellicosity.

Set in a high-ceilinged, 3-bedroom house with spotless tile floors, my room is small but comfortable, with a little cable TV and the squeakiest bed in the Western world. The corrugated tin roof roars with the daily monsoons. I've been quite happy there so far. The complex, as is apparently common in Costa Rica, has only cold running water, and the hot showers are provided by a terrifying electrical contraption built into the showerhead, transgressing against every maxim I've ever heard about live wires and water. I've yet to test the good-sized swimming pool just outside, but it looks quite inviting.

More to follow on many topics... including my campus, my host family, and my clumsy Spanish.

posted by Paul @ 1:37 PM