Lair Davis (Our Man in Costa Rica)

I’ve Arrived!

The move to Costa Rica went like clockwork. The best part is that America West Airlines in San Francisco forgot to charge me for my extra luggage (7 pieces!!!), each of them overweight and oversize. Just a little $450 mistake on their part, but I didn’t mention it, and they probably still haven’t realized it. All the luggage arrived none the worse for the journey.
 
I treated myself to a $150 upgrade to first class for the flight down! Hey, how often does one retire to paradise?
 
My friend David Calderon was waiting at the airport and brought me to the hotel where I’m staying for the first month. I have cable internet access here, which I just figured out how to make work with my new laptop computer. This morning I enrolled at the the Intercultura Spanish language school. The woman who tested me to decide at what level I should begin ranked me as “intermedio” after our conversation in English and Spanish. She then introduced me around the school and to the teachers and told them I was “cute” (whatever THAT was supposed to mean — as “cute” as her abuelo, I wonder.)
 
I then went grocery shopping for the first time and was able to find about one-third of the things on my list.
 
Tomorrow I’m going to the Association of Residents of Costa Rica, the organization for expats, and pick up my mail. My Internet-based bank has sent me a back-up debit card. If some ATM machine somewhere decides to eat my current card for some reason, I will have a way to access my fortune.
 
It’s time for the afternoon shower (it is the rainy season), so it is also time for my nap.
 
Pura vida!

(Pure life! — this is how a Costa Rican answers to another they pass on the street who asks, “How’s it going?”)