CR: Communications « A Broad In Costa RicaA Broad In Costa Rica

“It’s how we do it.”

I am posting this morning via my new hi-speed internet service from Amnet, one of the two cable companies here. YAHOO!!!! We have been using WiMAX, a wireless signal shot from a huge tower on the mountain behind us. The plan is to provide WiMAX to the entire country, which is way better than no internet. Which is what the majority of the country has now. In a country thick with mountains, rainforest and jungle, wireless is the answer. Stringing cable and phone lines is problematic for obvious reasons. What we from developed nations don’t . . . → Read More About “It’s how we do it.”

The Bad News Just Keeps Rollin’ In

Saturday morning, 8am, checking my email with the CBS News on… so far, a young man fell thru a hole in the ice while snowboarding and they can’t find him, another guy was caught trying to kidnap two young boys (’cause he saw how well it worked out for the other guy?), a travel company went out of business losing all the money for a school trip. A Catch Me If You Can wanna be just got sentenced to 303 years in prison. And, of course, ho hum, more people dead in Iraq.

Now, I’m watching that commercial . . . → Read More About The Bad News Just Keeps Rollin’ In

You Can Be Landline-Free!

If you have hi-speed internet and are using any phone service other than a Voice-over Internet Protocol, like Skype, you are throwing money away.

If you are moving to or just visiting a foreign country where hi-speed internet access is available, you really do need a VoIP service and a headset. You can plug into any computer and make calls to anywhere in the world. Or carry your laptop, even better.

If you don’t have a VoIP when traveling outside your country, calls cost 25¢ to $2 per minute. Or more. During our first trip to . . . → Read More About You Can Be Landline-Free!

The Cel Phone Bill

The difficulties associated with living in a developing nation is rich fodder for sarcasm and humor. It puts the "frustrating and hilarious" in our daily lives. As much as we are frustrated by these little difficulties, we’ve chosen to happily suffer them in exchange for the peace of mind and quality of life we’ve found in Costa Rica.

This morning, however, I am humbled by the common sense and ecologically-sensitive manner in which I was presented with my cel phone bill.

We got our cel phone at the end of August. The entire process took less than two hours . . . → Read More About The Cel Phone Bill

Operator, Give Me Information…

Information Give me long distance Long distance Give me heaven…

But I digress. The point of this post is to share my new discovery: there IS information here in Costa Rica: dial 113! Today I got Pizza Hut’s number and ordered pizza. Man, this is living. And why did I think there was no information number? Because the last time I asked a group of Expats In The Know, they pointed and laughed hysterically, shaking their heads "No!" Laughs on them. They gotta drive to pizza hut and get the number. "HA."

(Two, three) Operator, Information Give me . . . → Read More About Operator, Give Me Information…

Thing 2: Hablando Español!

In the great landscape of Things To Know When Moving to Costa Rica, you start with Thing 1 and Thing 2. I have heard people say you do not need to learn Spanish to live in Costa Rica. They must be selling real estate. You absolutely DO if you are going to thrive here.

Can you get by without it? Yes, particularly if you live in an area heavily populated by expats. Will your expat life be satisfying? No, it will be hellishing frustrating. You will miss 90% of the adventure because you won’t know what . . . → Read More About Thing 2: Hablando Español!

Who Thought of This?

The Spanish word esposo [e-SPO-so] means husband. One meaning. The Spanish word esposa [e-SPO-sa] means wife. It also means handcuffs. You KNOW a guy thought of this.

***********

OKAY OKAY: I stand corrected. Fortunately, I’m used to this living with teenagers. But shoot! It was funny to think esposa means handcuffs! I thought it did, but in rechecking my yahooligans, I see that the plural of a word can make ALL the difference:

Ticogrande says:

"Actually Spanish fans… it goes more like this:

Esposa is wife (but never handcuffs)

Esposo is husband

Esposas is Handcuffs . . . → Read More About Who Thought of This?

Muchachos Grande

Wherever we go, everyone assumes the boys are ticos. And wondering why these great looking tico kids are dragging around those dumb old pasty-faced gringos… Pretty amusing.

It gets really hysterical when the local doing the assuming speaks rapid-fire Spanish to the boys, with a head nod toward the ‘rents. Ryan gets it for the most part, and can answer back. Watching realization dawn that these boys are not ticos AND we are their parents… Well, it’s confusing enough in the states. Here, there’s another layer of assumptions . . . → Read More About Muchachos Grande

No One To Bribe

Guess what? There is NO DSL at the new house. Notice I’m not calling it "our" new house anymore, am I? In my conversation with I.C.E. (Eee-say, the government monopoly that controls ALL the phone lines and ALL related services), when the Customer Service rep told me installation would be "in 45 days", what she meant to say was "not in your lifetime". It turns out there is no DSL service in that area. Anywhere. No clue as to when it will get there either. We are talking Big Time mañana land here. . . . → Read More About No One To Bribe

Mañana Land vs The Type A

THE PLAYERS The Type A is played by me. Mañana Land is personified exquisitely by I.C.E. (eee-say), the government monopoly that controls the phone lines and – tears are streaming down my face – access to the World Wide Web.

THE PROBLEM We were supposed to move into our new house today, BUT no internet. I can GET internet at my new home, dsl via the phone line. As opposed to cable which is faster and what we were promised by our . . . → Read More About Mañana Land vs The Type A

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