San Jose, Costa Rica -- night

So it's actually been a while. I'll start by recounting the recent.

Yesterday I went with Carlos to the Museum of Jade in San Jose. Although the museum wasn't very large, it was surely interesting. Jade seems to have been one of, if not the most popular substance of art in pre-Columbian and post-Columbian indigenous culture. The green color of the jade was usually a symbol of fertility. Much of the art was anthropomorphic and zoomorphic in nature, the most common characters being the jaguar, the alligator/crocodile, the bat, the snake/serpent, and of course, the human. Also striking was the predominance of phallic symbols; apparently the indigenous males of the region were very proud.

It was also interesting to observe one skull displayed among the other artwork and artifacts. The front eight teeth of the skull, four top and four bottom, had vertical grooves of perhaps half a centimeter. I surmised that the skull must be that of a male indigenous warrior, as the artificial grooves in the front teeth would be visible in a battle, and would effectively serve to present a wild look to any opponent, thereby instilling fear in him. Interestingly, it was remarkable to see the good condition of all the teeth.

Finally, the Jade Museum should be mentioned for its location on the 11th floor of the INS (Instituto Nacional de Seguros) building. Because of the building's location at one of the lowest points in the central valley, the rest of the valley appears to steadily rise in all directions to the heights of the surrounding mountains. This set-up affords an amazing view of the valley in two directions: the two sides of the building that have windows.

From there, we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which really had nothing worth mentioning, except perhaps an exhibit of a U.S. dollar bill recreated on a scale of about four feet by six feet. The large dollar was taped to the floor and visitors were encouraged to walk on it. It was the artist's response to dollarization in Latin America, along with the cultural baggage attached to it.

Today, Carlos and I tried to go to the National Library, only to find out that it is closed until June 2003! Absolutely ridiculous. I guess it's fortunate that one can still have access to books by specifically requesting them from a librarian, who then goes to retrieve the books for you, after which time one can peruse them in a special room, but not check them out. With this system, my research method is shot. I requested a couple of books about social movements in Costa Rican history and a book of poetry by the Nicaraguan poet, Ruben Dario. But in the pressure of the small viewing room, along with the time pressure of keeping Carlos somewhere I didn't think he wanted to be, I wasn't able to do more than just read a few pages. I want to learn about Costa Rica's post-World War II economic development and its apparently weak 1960s and 1970s social movements, to determine why Costa Rica has such a poor record of socialism as compared to other Latin American countries.

Well, prior to these past couple of days, I had been in Pital, near San Carlos, for most of last week. I stayed with Tio Elmer. My reason for not writing, or doing anything for that matter, is that I was quite ill. It was very much inevitable for it to have occurred. First of all, I was run-down when I first arrived in Costa Rica, after several weeks of working late at the office as well as heavy doses of the counter-balancing social activities, which often included late nights. Then upon my arrival here, it was as if I was a politician on campaign, that is, constantly in motion. Again, the nightlife activities continued. But now, the completely unpredictable schedule threw my body for a loop. This, in combination with a brand-new diet, also at unpredictable hours and in an unpredictable schedule, finally gave my body and my health just a bit more than it could handle. I got a fever and a headache, along with a congested nose. It took me a couple rough days and then a few more additional days to completely recover.

Now that I've been back in San Jose, I think I'm as healthy as I'm going to be. Although my last few days have consisted in too much sleep, I'm sure it has helped to bring my health, physical at least, back to equilibrium. My psycho-mental health, on the other hand, has probably suffered. Too much free time without action leads to contemplation, sometimes of the obsessive order. That, however, is another entry for another time.