Election Day

This is it, the day we've all been waiting for. Ticos follow our elections almost as closely as we do, since U.S. foreign policy has such an important effect on Latin America. This morning, local news stations were covering our elections intently, even stationing reporters in various cities around the U.S.

The Costa Rican economy seems very intertwined with ours. American tourism is such an important part of the local economy that many if not most tourist goods and souvenirs are priced in U.S. dollars, and almost all places around here accept greenbacks. The cars for sale in the newspaper, the tour packages that Intercultura offers, the tickets to tour the National Theatre and Gold Museum, the bags of coffee at Café Diriá, the horseback ride we took on Sunday, the lessons at Sámara's three surf schools, even the leather sandals I bought last week – all quoted in dollars. I'm sure Costa Rica's inflation rate of 16.3% also figures into why so many places prefer quoting in dollars. I'd read about this before, but had no idea how widespread the custom actually was. If I'd known, I would've kept more of my spending money in dollars instead of converting it into colones. Even places that price goods in colones will often times accept American currency near the mid-market rate of around 550 colones to the dollar; in contrast, a bank or forex such as Travelex will typically offer you a rate of only 500 to 1. A good tip for any compatriots planning to visit Costa Rica.

I submitted my final essay for Advanced 1 to Viki yesterday and she gave it back to me today. As mentioned before, we were to write about the effect of mass media on our lives and the relationship between mass media and the rest of the world. She noted only a few minor mistakes, such as some of the more obscure por/para distinctions, a few misconjugated verbs and an error in word order. ("Cosas ciertas" means "things that are true or certain" while "ciertas cosas" means "certain things in particular.") Viki enjoyed reading my essay and thought it was clear, coherent and insightful.

I've started Week 3 with my new professor, María. Yesterday, we began our first class talking about what I did over the weekend and the places I'd lived in. So far the subject matter seems less intense than last week, although María told me we'd be watching a film on Thursday so that could be a big test for me. This week we're studying the subjunctive, which is a source of dread for many English speakers. I have a little bit of a grasp on the subjunctive, but lack a lot of everyday practice with it. I'm the only one in the class, so I've got a private lesson every day this week. On top of that, we churn through each day's material in three hours instead of four, and we've got a big panoramic window that overlooks the ocean. It's been a great start to the week.