Tico Tuesday, March 16th

It's about time!

I've been in Costa Rica for almost a year now, and it's taken me this long to do 2 things I wanted to do right when I got here... not sure why it took me so long to get around to doing them, but por fin (at last)! Success! I have a huge, lovely world map in my office that has already grabbed the attention of those who dare wander by and poke their heads in my office (which is not part of a high traffic zone in the church). And, that little thing I'm holding is my Costa Rican Driver's License! For once it paid to be a gringa! Further details on the blog along with the amazing story of the appearance of the map.
Happy Tuesday everyone!
Love,
Carrie


Last Wednesday I went and killed the 2 birds mentioned above with one trip into San Jose. I'll tell you, it was the longest trip I have EVER had into San Jose. The pirate taxi drivers (that aren't official and insured) had some kind of protest/demonstration stupidity and blocked the major arteries into San Jose. I left my house at 7, no buses came until 7:35, I got to Heredia centro at about 8 (normally it only takes 12-15 minutes to get there), and got off in La Uruca at 9:15ish. It was RIDICULOUS!
In order to get my Costa Rican license, I could just “co-validate” (I don't know how to say that in English) my license from the US. The process of getting your license for the 1st time here is a MAJOR headache. And, thanks be to God I didn't even have to wait in the insanely long line with all the ticos (Costa Ricans). I could just skip upstairs, have them look over my papers, go deposit $7 and get my picture taken and walk out with my license. I got out of there the same time as the ticos who arrived at 7am! And they don't even open the place till 8!!!
Next I headed to San Jose centro. I had been told I could find a large world map there. So I found out where the maps were and then asked another girl there if they had any big world maps. There were a whole bunch of large things rolled up maps, body parts, charts of the senses, etc. I thought she might be able to help me find a world map easier. I wasn't looking forward to having to go through each one. But the girl told me they didn't have any of the big size. They only had smaller ones, about a quarter of the size I wanted. I asked where else I might be able to find a big world map and she just said “any bookstore.” HELLO! I was in the biggest, most well-known bookstore in San Jose-and that probably means the whole country. If this bookstore doesn't have something, NOBODY else will either!! So that was a little frustrating. But, I figured while I was there, I might as well look through the big rolled up maps and random charts-there might be a world map there, I desperately hoped. I'd seen a few that said Central America, Europe, Latin America, but I picked one up. It said “planisferio mercator.” I don't have a clue what mercator is or means and it doesn't appear on Word Reference.com (ok I looked it up and it is a map thing, named after a Flemish cartographer). But, there is a world map at the MSO (LAM Miami Services Office) that says Planisferio on it, so I figured it had a good chance of being a world map. I unrolled it the rest of the way and-Voila! The girl saw it and was like “Oh well I hadn't seen one in so long I just assumed we didn't have any more.” Right. Maybe she doesn't pay very good attention. Or maybe God made the map just appear for me! I'd be ok believing that. And there you have God's goodness to me this past week. :-)