San Jose, Costa Rica -- night

Although I'm feeling quite lethargic (I've been doing nothing all day but either sleeping or lying around), I wanted to write a bit.

I failed to mention earlier that I have been driving a lot since I've been here. It seems bizarre, but Carlos and Marlen have a car, a white Geo Metro, but neither one has a license. And so, since I'm the only one with a valid driver's license, I have been doing all the driving. It had been a while since I had driven a car, let alone a stick-shift. But thankfully I polished the rust very quickly, even succeeding in starting in first gear on an upward slope. Through all this Carlos has been my navigator. It seems so strange to me that the streets in Costa Rica have no name; very reminiscent of a song by U2. But to give someone clear directions about how to get from one side of the city to the other seems a quite difficult task. Everything is predicated on landmarks, of which there aren't always any on-hand or on-site. For someone not born and raised in this land, who has become familiar with landmarks and directions and geography and distances, the goal of driving with confidence by oneself seems a highly dangerous, Herculean one.

Well, be that as it may, let me now try to quickly re-cap last night. Carlos, Andrea, Marlen, Marlen's boyfriend and I went to a bar/club in the center of San Jose. There was a cover charge of 1500 colones, which is approximately 4 dollars. I paid for Andrea and myself. Marlen became very angry very quickly with Carlos because there was really no one there, yet we had to pay the entrance fee. From my perspective, I really didn't care since I've been to clubs in New York City where the cover charge is $20. But I did understand the principle. And in fact, aside from the money issue, I was more concerned about going somewhere where there would be more people.

Carlos decided we would leave to go to a popular area for clubs, before which time I pounded 3 Imperial beers, the national beer of Costa Rica. I figured it was my birthday and it was a good opportunity to loosen up.

When we arrived at the next club, minus Marlen's boyfriend and plus one of Carlos' friends, I was a bit surprised at the atmosphere. The couple of clubs on this street were both packed with a college-type crowd. I felt like I was back in the United States, and moreso when I went inside and they played a lot of American music, mostly hip-hop. I kept drinking Imperiales and soon began to feel pretty good, to the point where I began dancing and even singing along with some of the songs. I'm sure the latter had to have marked me as a gringo, but at that point I really didn't care; I was looking to have a good time. A little bit before we left there, I bought everyone a round of beers.

From there, we went to a complex of bars and clubs called El Pueblo, which I remembered going to my last time here four and a half years ago. Now it was just Carlos, Marlen, Andrea and me. We were hanging out by the bar. Soon after we got there, Carlos bought me a gin and tonic, presumably as a birthday gift. Somehow, while standing there waiting for the bartender to mix the drink, I spontaneously began a conversation with a girl right there. She was a Tica, so I had to give my Spanish a serious try; our conversation was a good one. She said I spoke Spanish very well but that I had a slight accent and that my pronunciation was a bit choppy. I think the latter had more to do with the alcohol, but who knows. Regardless, our conversation kept rolling along until she invited me to the dance floor. Carlos came along since I had introduced him to her. By the way, her name was Raquel. We started dancing, then she introduced me to her younger sister, Noemi, who had a very shy beauty. I danced with her for a while and was really enjoying it. Then Carlos suggested that we go to the bar where he sometimes works, located in the same complex. We invited the girls and they actually came with us to my pleasant surprise. We continued our conversation, but soon the girls wanted to leave because of the lack of atmosphere, wihch I really didn't blame them. Before leaving, Raquel asked me for my phone number, which I readily provided after getting it from Carlos.

After they left, Carlos had his bartender-friend mix up this blue alcoholic drink. I took one sip and nearly puked from its nastiness. I told Marlen and Andrea to finish it for me. Shortly after that, perhaps empowered from my encounter with Raquel or perhaps empowered by intoxication, I tried starting a conversation with three girls at the same bar. From what I can recall, it went ok but couldn't really develop since the bar was closing. I returned to hang-out by the bar with my cousins and periodically succeeded in making eyes with the girl that was most attractive. Nothing more came of it except for a few smiles. But I was quite content.

We took a cab back home. Next thing I remember is waking up face down, fully clothed on the bed with the bedroom light still on. I got up in my groggy state to close the door, take off my clothes, turn off the light, and get in bed. With that as the final note of the night, I'd have to say it was a good one. I have to say with pleasure that my first birthday spent outside of the United States was a positive, clean experience. I couldn't have asked for anything better.