Wheels!!

Last night Enock and his friend showed up with our scooter.  They put it in the back of a Hyundia so they had to take it apart a little bit to fit it in there.  They drove about 5 hours from San Carlos which is near La Fortuna.  Having no address to give them made it difficult to give them directions to find us.  I kept telling them to take the road that says Playa Paleda.  They kept calling and saying they did.  What I didn’t know at the time is that there are three roads that say this.  It took them about an hour of just driving around this small area to find us and as it turned out, they just parked by a nearby restaurant called La Luna, which we knew was fairly close to us.  I send Jacob running down the road, in the dark, pouring rain, lightning flashing, to go to La Luna and show them where we were at.  This was after Jarred had been standing up by the main road for about an hour in the rain and lightning too.  It was very frustrating for all of us.

Jacob brought them to our place and luckily we have a covered, lighted garage area where they put the scooter back together.  They forgot to bring a wrench or something to tighten bolts so they did their best to hand tighten things but warned us to tighten them with some tools.  Ok, then we had to deal with the payment issue.  I tried to write his friend a check.  The friend worked for the guy we were buying the bike from.  He said no, his boss would rather have cash because it takes a check 20 days to clear.  Hmmmmm, I don’t have that much cash on me and the bank is closed.  Now what?  Ok, how about this, we drive to the bank, which has an ATM.  I can withdraw the cash there.  So we head out to the bank.  I put my card in and start to make the withdrawal.  I am given a choice, US dollars or Costa Rican Colonies?  I run to the car real quick, I think, and ask them.  His boss would prefer colonies.  Ok, how many colonies do I need to get.  They pull out their phones and start calculating.  Time is ticking.  They finally figure it out and tell me how many.  I go back into the ATM and the timing has timed out.  So that means, yes, you guessed it.  The machine ate my card.  No amount of hitting the cancel button makes it spit out my card.  Great!  I have only one ATM card with money in it, having had to cancel my other one since I lost it, and now that one has been eaten.  Not to mention, I have no idea how to pay the guy for the scooter.  I call the customer service number and tell them what happened.  They tell me to go back to the bank in the morning with my passport and I can get my card back.  That is good to know.  I was afraid I would have to go to San Jose or wait weeks to get it back.

Now we are back to how do I pay for the scooter.  Enock tells me his friend, who speaks no English, says that we can do an internet transfer from my online bank.  I have never done this before but we go back to the house to try it.  I don’t find any way to transfer money from my bank to theirs but I do find a way that US bank lets you pay a person via email or their phone number.  I ask if this will work.  No, the friend does not like this idea.  I am lost at what to do.  I propose they stay the night and we go to the bank and take care of it in the morning but his friend is insistent they go back tonight.  Now his friend is saying he needs some cash because he thought I would have cash and he needs gas.  He has no money.  I do have some colonies and pull out approximately $60 US in colonies.  He is happy with that, writes me a receipt for that amount and writes down instructions for the bank so that I can transfer the money to the boss’ bank account in the morning.  It is 9:30 pm, dark and pouring rain when they head out for their 5 hour drive back.  Enock is not staying this time but promises to come back with the bill of sale and tools to tighten stuff on the bike in a few days.  He is also going to bring fishing gear and teach us how to fish here.  He is a very sweet guy. 

Our scooter is very cute.  It is lightweight, yellow and black.  It has an electric start but the battery needs a good charge so for now we have to kick start it, which I can’t do because of the hip surgery.  Both the boys are able to start it this way though.

The next morning Jarred and I ride the scooter to retrieve my debit card and make the money transfer.  I am so grateful for the scooter because the bank is about 2 miles away.  It is very difficult for me to walk that far as I am still healing and gaining strength.  The bank has two security guards standing inside the door.  They unlock the door for each customer coming in, wand you down, patted my bag down and then admitted me into the bank.  Very different than just walking into our banks in the United States.

In anticipation of the bank teller not knowing much English, which he doesn’t.  I have prepared a statement on my translator app on my phone.  “The ATM machine took my card last night.  I need it back.  It is purple.”  I show this to the teller and he chuckles.  I give him my passport and he says wait a minute, “Uno momento”.  Comes out from the back room in a couple minutes with my purple, Go Vikings, debit card.  Shows it to me.  Si, that is it!!!  He has me sign for it then gives it back to me.  Yay!!  Ok, now I need to do the money transfer.  I give him the slip with all the information.  He must have experience doing this which is a relief because I couldn’t have explained what I needed if he hadn’t already known.  He takes a receipt thing, rubs and impression of my card on it, does something on the computer and says that my bank is declining the transfer/funds.  I know I have enough money in there.  I checked it online just this morning.  Hmmmm, maybe the bank put a freeze on the funds since I am in Costa Rica. 

 We rode the scooter back to the house and I call the bank.  Yes, that is the issue.  I should have told them I was going to Costa Rica.  They will release the funds.  We drive back to the bank and go through the security guards again.  We do the paperwork again and this time it goes through.  What a relief!!

I also decide to try the card in the ATM machine and make sure that works ok and the machine does not automatically eat my card just because it doesn’t happen to like the Vikings.  It works fine and gives my card back.  Another victory!

We buy some fresh fruit at the fruit stand, throw it in my back pack and we are off.  We lose the muffler cover on the way as it is not bolted tight.  Ooops, forgot about that.  We grab it and make it home without further incident.

How am I dealing with all of this you may be wondering.  I have to be honest and admit that sometimes it is tough.  Nothing is easy but also, nothing is taken for granted.  The language barrier is not to be underestimated.  However, it is kind of a fun challenge too.  It is sometimes surprising to me how much you can communicate just making motions and using what we TEFL teachers call “realia”.  J   Most people are very friendly and patient as you try to express yourself.  In fact, everyone has been very helpful so far and there are actually quite a few people who speak some pretty good English here. 

If you put yourself in their place and say someone back in the US is trying to speak English and know a few words.  Well you know you would try to help them any way you could and try to figure out what then needed.  Just like my floor soap vs. laundry soap issue at the grocery store a few days ago.  Most people want to help other people and want to promote good will between cultures.  I have to say it is very challenging and fun to be on the other side of the coin though. Despite the doubts and anxiety I sometimes have, I am adapting and it is pretty cool learning to live in a different culture.

I have decided to name our scooter “Abejorro”, which means bumblebee.  It is yellow and black and buzzes us around this little town so I think it is very fitting.