The Quack Attack!
Costa Rica was a quick country for us. Not because it doesn’t contain awesome adventures, because it does! And not because it doesn’t have awesome food, because it has that too! I’d say, if I had to put my finger on one specific reason, that it was because, compared to the rest of central America,…it…is…expensive!
Bethany thinks that I’ve been ruined with Southeast Asia prices, and while I did enjoy them, I definitely wasn’t ruined by them. Costa Rica, no matter which way you cut the pie, is expensive. Sit down for a meal and it cost 20 dollars, which is what I’d be paying back home in the states! Luckily for us we knew it was going to be expensive and luckily for us we found an awesome couchsurfer to stay with!
Bethany’s first 220V experience!
It was pretty obvious that Kim was going to be our next host when I saw her profile. Nothing specifically jumped out at me but a calmness came over me as if I was picking the perfect destination. I just KNEW that she was going to host us. I quickly took a look around her blog and that certainly sealed the deal! Kim was, at one time, a struggling single mom with three kids. Now she’s just a single mother, with three kids, who lives in Costa Rica and chills! Her two daughters, Aubrie and Tayler, live with her as well as their three dogs, Booker, Baby, (my favorite) Bear.
It might have been the awesomely warm hug she gave us as soon as she met us or the “this is the house, crash where ya can and stay as long as you’d like” brief we were given after we walked through the door. They had literally just moved into the house. It was their second night so it was nice that all of us were getting a feeling for the house together.
The Walters!
That meant during my 3 day, two night, stay, that I would, build a 220V electrical extension cord for the washer and dryer, track down and explain their circuit box, twist a few wires and miraculously get their outside light to work and of course give my opinion on theoretical solutions to the gutter situation. Oh ya… and I also taught the youngest one how to “properly” (that just means do it MY way) close the gate so that it wouldn’t accidently open while we/they’re gone.
The town had some good food too!
I enjoyed my day of work and it was extremely rewarding that night as I sat down for dinner in the kitchen. It wasn’t really the fact that I had done anything seeing that doing anything to begin with was merely helping someone who gave me a free place to stay. The reason I enjoyed it so much is that, within 24 hours, I felt like I too, lived there! It was almost a sad feeling to be leaving but Kim and her kiddos left Bethany and I with a great realization.
…and Tayler!
We (Bethany and I) have always talked about moving to another country and meeting Kim and her family made us realize that we’re not crazy for wanting to do something like that. It made us realize that it’s not as hard as other think and that we just have to… well… “DO WHATEVER IT TAKES!”
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