90 Days in Tamarindo: Day 3

Buenos días from Tamarindo!

If you haven't already figured it out, we made it to the hostel safe and sound. We are in the beautiful city of Tamarinado, which is unfortunately full of tourism but fortunately still full of culture and beauty.  This small town boasts a mix of paved and unpaved roads, locals (Ticos) and tourists, mom and pop shops, tourist boutiques, hand made goodies, wildlife like you've never seen, and Subway. Yes, subway - the only American fast food chain here.

It's day three here and we have already experienced many notable cultural differences. First and foremost, the driving is horrendous. We were picked up from the airport by a friend of Shelley (co-owner of the hostel). Her name was Anne and she is from the States. She mentioned the drive time being "usually three and a half to four hours" but since we were driving with her, it would be much shorter. We laughed because we sometimes have led feet too and could relate.

This was just not the case.

We landed in San Jose around 7:50pm and arrived at the hostel around 11:30pm. This included deboarding the plane, going through customs, finding Anne, trying and failing to exit the underground car park a couple of times, and driving from San Jose to Tamarindo. Fast is an understatement.

The police here don't care about speed as much as they do having the correct registration stickers. Tailgating is a normal occurrence on Costa Rican roadways, as is passing the vehicles in front of you using the lane designated for traffic moving the other direction. Pedestrians do not have the right of way and it is not seen as a courtesy to slow down if a person happens to be in the street. If you are walking in the street and not paying attention, it is not uncommon to be involved in a hit and run accident. Accidents of this nature can happen anywhere due to the highly common occurrence of people walking in the street, on highways, alongside freeways and on unlit, curved roads in the middle of the night with nothing but dark skin and dark clothes to warn drivers. Yes, I'm serious. Apparently Costa Rica has the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities in the world. Sadly, it makes sense after being here for a day or two.

The map below can give you a better idea of the distance from San Jose to Tamarindo.

Another cultural difference to note is the dual currency system. While I am very grateful that the Ticos take Americans dollars, converting it to Colones is not the easiest thing to learn when giving change in the hostel. As a receptionist, we take American Dollars and Colones but always give change in Colones. The conversion rate at the bank is about 540 Colones to 1 Dollar. In the hostel, as well as most other local businesses, we convert it as 500 Colones to 1 Dollar. Locals know this already and most tourists are informed upon arrival. Nonetheless, my math skills when taking money and giving change are sub par compared to doing so when just one currency is involved. 

Another thing to note is the sheer abundance of offers for "blow" and "weed" on any given corner in Tamarindo. In just 30 minutes on the beach and on the way to the beach we were asked by four different people. The good news? Once you politely say "no, gracias" they stop asking and move on to the next potential buyer. Pura vida, eh?

Tamarindo has been great to us so far. I've been using Spanish more than I ever have before, going to the beach every day, meeting and making new friends from all over the world (yes, in just three days), and after walking from one side of town to the other, we are learning where everything is. We will see how we adapt as the time goes on. 

Hablar luego.

My Freakishly Fast Decision to Adventure to Costa Rica for 1/4 of the Year

With a recognized Type-A personality and a knack for planning and attention to detail, one would not assume I am very spontaneous. That is just not so.

In fact, I move to initiate a new personality trait descriptor which includes characteristics from both Type A and B personalities. However, since the English alphabet lacks a letter between A and B, I am unsure of what to name this new persona. Type A/B, Type A 1/2, Type -B? Those are starting to sound like blood types, so I digress.

The purpose behind bringing up personality types is this: with all the planning, details, calendar entries, and organization a Type-A person such as my self deals with, it would come as a highly unexpected surprise that I made the decision to sell my belongings, quit my job, leave my house and move to Costa Rica to volunteer at a hostel for three months with no plan as to what I will do when those three months are up. Additionally, this big decision and all of the smaller decisions that went along with it happened within four days. Yes, that's correct, four days. See? Highly unexpected.

The odd part about all of this unexpected, anti-Type-A, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants decision making, is that this choice was very easy for me. Aside from the initial reservations regarding safety, legitimacy of the business, and the "go-ahead" blessing from my parents, it was a no-brainer. Nothing was telling me not to take the opportunity.

So all within the span of four days, I pitched the idea to my friends, got them on-board, pitched the idea to my parents, got them somewhat on-board, researched the country as a whole as well as the city in which we will reside, had an in-depth conversation with the owner of the hostel and our soon-to-be volunteer coordinator, and made the firm decision to take a leap of faith.

So far, I have had no regrets about the decision and have been taking all of the necessary steps to make it go as smoothly as possible (can't hide the Type-A forever). I firmly believe I won't have any regrets in the future either. With a decision as easy as this one, and everything falling into place like it has, what is there to be regretful about?

Those of you who follow my blog might remember a post a while back about a panic attack that was self-induced by my freakishly fast decision to move to Spain. Rest assured this situation is different. Although I don't have a plan as to what I will do when my volunteer contract is up, I think the simple fact of knowing I am not "moving" to a new country is reassuring.

My freakishly fast decision to adventure to Costa Rica for a 1/4 of the year is nothing short of exciting. As of this moment, I can't wait to begin this next adventure, learn more about myself, immerse myself into the Costa Rican culture, and experience life as it comes.

Check back for new and exciting things coming to the blog (hint hint, changes are coming) and more stories as I prepare for and leave on my next adventure!

College Graduates Are Much Too Entitled

A friend of mine works for a childcare facility making minimum wage. She attends the local community college, paying for the classes, books and supplies on her own. Due to being denied scholarships and grants, she pays for her tuition via the payment plan offered by the school. She lives in a house with roommates and often struggles to pay her bills on time.

As I was browsing job listings in an effort to help her find a better paying job, I came across something that sincerely rattled my brain.

The position listed was a full time Administrative Assistant for an early childcare facility. It required occasional travel, as well as extra weekend hours for traveling and special events. Some duties included general office tasks like filing, answering phones, contacting applicants and sending and receiving applicant mail. In addition, accounting duties would be required such as payable requests, reimbursements, registry of expenditures, accounting spreadsheets, merchant account statements and related paperwork, monitoring purchases, mass mailings and more.

Due to these position requirements the education and experience requirements include childcare facility experience, accounting experience, administrative experience, as well as a bachelors degree in early childhood development, family studies, or a related degree path, all for the measly wage of $12 an hour.

Are you kidding me?

All too often I see companies looking to hire experienced, intelligent applicants who have a degree in a field related to the job listed. Although those preferences are not unrealistic, they are if the company is only willing to pay $12 per hour to hire an applicant with such qualifications.

The problem starts with a company listing a position with requirements like that of the childcare facility and stamping it with a value of $12 per hour. The problem then continues when a prospective employee accepts the position at the posted wage, signaling to other companies that offering such a low wage is acceptable.

The problem is due, in large part, to this idea that all students who graduate college immediately adopt an entitled mindset and attitude where they feel they are owed a larger sum of money than those who have not graduated college. And although there are a handful of people who fit this stereotype, it is not an accurate description of the group as a whole and the description is used much too loosely.

While I personally feel this problem affects more students than just the twenty-somethings, I am going to focus on the group of people who fit the twenty-something description for this discussion.

The graduated students of the Gen-Y or Millennial communities are no strangers to descriptors like lazy, entitled, and high-maintenence. Our hard working, ambitious generation has been unfairly labeled at the hands of a few.

Believe it or not, beyond those students who skate through college on their parents' dime, care more about their summer tans than their school grades and whose only contribution to the community was the philanthropic efforts led by their sororities or fraternities, are the students who work hard outside school, often times at more than one establishment, so they can continue working hard throughout their college career, gaining as much experience and knowledge as possible before they enter the post-graduate, working world.

Those students deserve more than an entitled label, undervalued wages and society's erroneously perceived value of their efforts. After all, it was the preceding generation who pushed us toward the collegiate path, often times without highlighting the dangers of student loans and degrees that lacked demand. Federal grants and loans allowed more students to attend college, and as fortunate as we were to have such opportunities, it severely reduced the value of a degree in addition to reducing the number of jobs in the midst of a financial crisis.

So, due to the lack of jobs, devalued degrees and an olympic-sized pool of applicants to choose from, students are being forced to accept low-paying jobs from companies that have a choice to fairly compensate their employees.

Is it truly laziness and entitled attitudes that earn us jobs with unfair wages? Sure, that may be true for some, but companies have a choice. We should not discount the current state of our economy and unfortunate circumstances these graduates were catapulted into, nor should we discount the hard work and dedication it took for these students to get to the job-seeker point despite those circumstances.

That is assuming a graduate can even find a job after obtaining that proverbial piece of paper. Graduates in today's society are faced with the prospect of not only earning wages below what their experience and education should garner, but of not being able to secure a job at all.

To quote a friend who discussed this same topic with me, "I do not feel entitled to a high paying job. I do, however, think that if I am told to work my ass off in college and do so, that I deserve a chance to prove my worth;" Our worth being defined by our individual efforts to succeed in the field we are working toward, not the perceived effort based on a generational stereotype.

According to an article published in the Huffington Post last summer, half of recent graduates are working jobs that don't require a degree, which is presumable related to the overall unemployment rate for recent graduates of 7.9%. These facts can be easily circled back to the olympic-sized pool of applicants I referred to earlier and the push our generation felt to walk down the collegiate path.

Now, some of you might be thinking "at least you have a job," or "$12 per hour is better than nothing," and you would be correct. However, with the rising costs of college tuition and the declining dollar amount of wages, many of the jobs these college-educated applicants are able to obtain are not worth the price of their degrees.

A January 2013 report by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity states that increasing numbers of college graduates are ending up in positions that require less than a four-year college education. In addition, about five million college graduates are in jobs that the Bureau of Labor Statistics says require less than a high school education.

How are college graduates suppose to cover the cost of their four-year education or pay off their student loans with wages from jobs that don't even require that education? Similarly, how are college graduates suppose to pay off those debts with unfair wages in the positions they worked so hard to obtain?

Employment, and everything needed to be offered employment, (education, experience, training, etc.) is not cheap, especially for Gen-Ys and Millennials. Those who put the work in should be compensated fairly.

Although I respect opposing opinions, please do not mistake this for an entitled rant about low wages and tough jobs. This is about working hard and earning our right to a position we deserve and making a fair wage.

Why I Hate the Gynecologist: Part 2

It was a normal day, just like any other, when my phone buzzed atop my desk. I picked it up and read the dreaded reminder I had set a few weeks prior: Gynecologist Appointment - 2 Hours.

Dammit. As if this week wasn't bad enough already, I now have to drop what I am doing (which has a deadline of basically yesterday) and drive across town to the visit the wahoo doctor. Although I switched doctors a while back, these appointments aren't any more appealing than giving a stranger a foot massage or sharing your toothbrush.

Anyway, as requested I showed up to my appointment 15 minutes early to complete the same paperwork I do every year. They claim that "things change" in a year and I silently think to myself, "yeah, well my hate for you and everyone in this office hasn't."

I smiled, sat down and completed the paperwork.

A woman opened the door that leads to the exam rooms and announced a name that I thought was "Katie." I have never been called back so quickly and was pleasantly surprised.

Another woman and I both stood up, looking quizzically at each other. The woman who opened the door said, in a very cheerful manner, "OH NO! Heidi?" Smiling very widely at us both, she wondered who would pull the short stick.

I did.

Looks like I've been listening to the Texan accent for far too long. Heidi sounds a whole lot like the Texas-accented "Katie." I returned to my seat. Looks like they are on their usual time schedule - late.

I scrolled through emails and messages as I waited to be called back. I was also doing kegels (or one really long kegel) in hopes of warding off a trip to the bathroom so I didn't miss my name being called - if they ever decided to call it.

"Katie."

FINALLY.

I walked through the door and the first thing I see is the scale. Crap. Should have gone to the bathroom.

I stepped on the scale, cursing at myself in my mind. This scale must be a magic, physicians-assistant-only scale because my weight appeared and she recorded it without me ever seeing it.

"Did it work or did I break it? haha!" ... She didn't think that was funny.

"It got your weight. You're 131."

EXCUSE ME. I have my boots on, a scarf and a full bladder so you can go ahead and remove 5 pounds. Seriously though.

For some reason I don't think she took me seriously.

We proceed to the exam room where she asks me if I need to use the restroom. I do. I excuse myself and release the two cups of coffee and one bottle of water that I had before the appointment. See - 5 pounds.

When I returned, she took my blood pressure and asked me the same questions that I just answered on the paperwork in the waiting room. I answered with a dull voice.

"This is so fun isn't it?"

I could tell she was being sarcastic but I still didn't appreciate it. No lady. This isn't fun. It's miserable. Is it fun asking patients if this is fun? Do you and your coworkers laugh about it on your lunch break?

Just for that, I'm leaving my socks on even though you told me to get completely undressed. Take that!

When she leaves I am left to sit there in the cold exam room, naked under the gown, thinking and having day terrors about what's going to happen when the doctor comes into the room.

Lucky for me, 45 minutes more minutes passed and the doctor was no where to be found. Frustrated, I stood up, got dressed and left the room. I walked out to the waiting room and up to the front desk, passing 4 employees on my way who all failed to realize I just walked out of the exam room they left me in.

I told the woman at the desk I needed to reschedule. Her response?

"Ok. Are you too early?"

I yelled at her in my mind. "No, broad! You checked me in an hour ago and I still have yet to be seen."

Although, in reality I said, "No, I have been waiting for an hour and can't miss anymore work. I'll need to call later because I don't have time to schedule something here. Please make sure I'm not billed."

I walked out. Frustrated that I drove across town, wasted my lunch hour and time I needed at work to complete projects. The worst part? Now I have to go back in a week or two.

It's just not right that the wahoo doctor can cause this much stress without even using the speculum.

I hate the gynecologist.


Alternate ending:

Katie storms out of the office, frustrated at the situation. On her way back to work, she has nothing to do but think.

You don't have to go to the wahoo doctor unless you have at least one sexual partner right? That means (in my case) a man attached to the equipment.

Hmm..

Before returning to work she stops at Susie's Adult Store and leaves with her new and improved equipment and a "take that wahoo doctor" kind of attitude!

Here's to the single life - a life of pure happiness and no gynecologist appointments.

Four ways to Focus Your Mind

If you are anything like me, your mind looks like an internet window with 2,356 tabs open at once, all the time. I am always thinking about something that needs to be done, someone I need to call, something that needs to be picked up, or sometimes I think about being anywhere other than where I am at the time of the thought. It's like a never ending to-do list and it stresses me out.

I wish I could shut my mind down for 24 hours - just 24 hours. Is that too much to ask? I would even settle with it being shut down for the 5-8 hours of sleep I get at night. That is, if you can call it sleep, when I am constantly waking up worrying about whatever is on my mind. It's not healthy. Not to mention, I get cranky when i'm tired and stressed. No one likes to see my cranky.

The worst part? When all of these things are on my mind, it's hard to focus on just one. (Go figure!) There have been times when I am mid-thought on one topic, my mind jumps to another one and I lose track of where I was in the original thought process.

Now, before I start to sound like I'm losing my mind, I understand there is a level of difficulty that comes with trying to completely free your mind of worries and thoughts, especially when you have legitimate things to worry and think about. Therefore, I have been trying to find ways to at least channel my thoughts and focus on one thing for as long as I feel necessary.

In the off chance there is anyone else out there dealing with something similar (my guess is most women), I am going to share them with you.

1. Write
Multiple studies have been linked to writing things down and better memory. Often times it seems that what is on my mind is something I either don't want to forget, or can't seem to get out of my mind, regardless of how hard I try. The act of writing something down, therefore, frees my mind from keeping it at the forefront of my thoughts because it is recorded elsewhere.

Think of it as mind deception. Even though you may not ever want to read that thought again, you are tricking yourself into thinking you will, at some point, be able to return to that thought, and you no longer need to keep it at the forefront of your mind. If it's something you do want to remember, you have it written down so that's possible without having to remember it in that moment.

Writing also helps focus my mind by challenging me to remain faithful to one topic. When writing about just one topic, all of the thoughts in the forefront of my mind must be related to said topic, therefore keeping me focused.

2. Exercise
"Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't shoot their husbands. They just don't."

Whether it be a walk around the neighborhood or an intense session of cardio kickboxing, exercise helps free and focus my mind. Generally, the slower-paced exercises help focus my mind and the intense workouts help free my mind. When I am in the middle of a kickboxing combination like jab, cross, low kick, high kick, I think about nothing other than mastering the combination to the best of my ability. When I am walking at a nice, slow pace, enjoying the scenery and taking nice, even breaths, my mind slows down with me. I guess this is why I am going to try yoga. Yes - I said it. I am going to try relaxing with yoga. I have always thought of it as something you need extreme patience for, and since I severely lack that virtue, I never mustered up the courage to try it. I have heard it does wonders for the mind though, so it is on my to-do list. (…irony?)

3. Talk to a Friend
As long as you have a friend who is a good listener, this is a must have tool in your mind-focusing box. Talking to friends helps me let off steam, laugh about things I thought I wanted to cry about, gain an outside perspective, hear advice and above all, it comforts me knowing someone is willing to listen. Having someone who is willing to listen to the stresses of your life (and who is willing to share their stresses with you, in hopes of also having someone to listen) is one of the greatest gifts. I call it friend therapy. It's cheaper than clinical therapy and better for your soul. I am lucky enough to have a few absolutely wonderful, therapeutic friends to talk to.

4. Listen to Music and Sing Along
This one is simply awesome because if the music is loud enough, and I throw in some dance moves, I can hardly hear myself think. A slightly less-effective, but fun way to clear my mind.