So after a long journey I have finally arrived in Costa Rica. I woke up this morning at 6:00 and caught my flight out at 9:30. I was unable to find my boss, Emer, who had arranged to pick me up at the airport. A friendly cab driver offered me his cellphone so that I could call her.

Once I had gotten a hold of her she was actually surprised I was already in Costa Rica, she had expected me to arrive on Sunday. She arranged for her boyfriend Randall to meet me at the Royal Dutch hotel and casino in downtown San Jose. This left me with about 5 hours to explore the city and get my first taste of what life in Costa Rica would be like.

I am immediately refreshed by the relaxed nature of the locals here in San Jose. By Canadian standards I am an easy going individual, but compared to the ticos I feel like a New York cab driver after 6 coffees. I stroll through downtown San Jose cautiously, heeding the advice about the city I have received. Along the way I stumble upon a crowded indoor market lined with crowded booths showcasing various hand crafted goods, fruits, vegetables and a wide assortment of meats. I wander around aimlessly for about half an hour, just long enough to get myself completely disoriented. When I finally stumble out onto the street I have almost no idea where I am anymore, but I continue to explore the shops along the streets. I check out one store that looks to be the local equivalent to “Best Buy”. The only major difference is the armed security officer standing at the front door. After attempting to translate the price of a plasma TV into American dollars I continue on and find a place to eat.

I settle on a restaurant on the corner of one of the main streets in San Jose. The restaurant is completely open concept, like most of the buildings here. I luck out and manage to obtain an English copy of the menu and order some fish with rice. One item on the menu came with something referred to as “tongue in sauce”. Failed translation, or local delicacy? I need to learn Spanish.

Right now, I’m sitting in the lobby of the hotel, my laptop clearly indicating my status as a tourist. Its begun to get dark in the city and I’m now a bit intimidated to venture outside without a guide. I’ve seen many couples walk in and out of the lobby while I’ve been here which reminded me of an interesting article I read online about the main function of hotel rooms here. Makes me a little queasy about where I’m going to be sleeping tonight, but hey, it’s all part of the experience!

Anyways, I’m having an awesome time so far. I’ll have more to talk about soon I’m sure!

It blows my mind sometimes how quickly time passes. It feels like just yesterday that I stumbled upon a listing on a small website called Jobs Abroad that advertised an opening at a web development company called Unidad22. Now, five weeks later, I am getting ready to relocate myself for eight months to a country I’ve never seen before.

Despite my best intentions, my preparations have been quite superficial and now only 5 days before I am set to leave I feel like there is so much I should be doing to get ready. At the same time, however, I can’t help but get excited at the prospect of diving head first into such a unique experience with almost no reservations or contingency plans.

I sincerely hope you continue to follow my progress throughout the course of my adventures, and I encourage you to interact with me as much as possible. Whether this be by commenting on this blog, sending me e-mails or adding me to Facebook, I really want to share this experience with all of you as much as I can. As for now, I must leave you to continue working on this blog so that it can be ready by the time I leave so Buenos Nochos… or something like that!