ADJUSTING

I mentioned before how much I loved my apartment because of how central it is. Well, this also makes it very, very noisy. Think of New York City in rush hour, but maybe even worse because people use horns here as turn signals, warning signs, hello's/goodbye's, move your ass out of my way, I am passing you in a second, I am crossing the street, there is a hot girl walking by, do you need a taxi?….etc. The train next door to my house passes at 6:45 every morning and 6pm every night. The trains use the same concept of the horn because there are no train lights or signs to block the cars from the train. So at least I have morning classes. The buses, traffic, and street vendor commotions starts at 5am for my convenience. Needless to say I wear earplugs to bed now.

The buses and taxis are the best thing about public transportation here. You can basically wave any bus or taxi down in the middle of the street. Bus stops, like traffic lights and stop signs, are usually optional features. Just make sure when you get on the bus and pay your fare, you cross over the line and wait for your change. The bus drivers will not hesitate to yell at you. But, you can take a bus anywhere for little cost. Just know that sometimes you might have to stand the whole way, even if it is a 4 hour trip. There are no direct buses anywhere. Every bus goes to Centro San Jose and you find your connecting bus there. It is almost like a game to me to try and learn where all the bus stops are. They can be down a street, around a corner, way across on the other side of Centro, in front of a park, in front of a house, a small sign, etc. A 10 minute car ride to your friend's house can actually be a one hour trip home because of transfer time. But once you know, it is not so bad.

I have special taxi drivers that I call depending on where I am and what time of day. They know me, where I live, and that I am foreign and won't rip me off. If they like you they will give you their number and you call them. Pretty convenient

The most valuable thing I have learned is how to give and get directions from a Tico, since there are no addresses or street signs. 100 meters = 1 block. An American-Tica friend (Erin) had to give me a crash-course in this, after getting lost a million times by what seemed to be simple directions. I once got lost for an hour going 2 blocks because of the miscommunication in directions. Also, down the street, or in front of could definitely mean in front of but 200 meters behind and 100 meters down. Directions include landmarks which could be a pharmacy, tree, house, store, church, sign, etc.