Spending time in Costa Rica isn’t exactly difficult: The past three months I haven’t stayed more than 5 minutes from a beach, I have the best tan of my life, and I’m feeling strong and secure in my meditation and yoga practices. I’ve learned tons about myself, what I love, and have met spectacular people. While I do work hard for the work trade programs I’ve been involved in–for which I’m so grateful–I’m working much less than the 40+ hours I was working while in Chicago. I’ve quickly acclimated to the warm weather, gorgeous views and slower pace of life.
There are, of course, things I miss dearly about the States. Friends and family, obviously, but also more subtle minutiae that you take for granted: that first sweet caress of air conditioning, the cold, rank air of the Logan Square Blue Line, running into friendly faces while out and about. There are little moments of recollection and nostalgia, and I actually surprise myself with the inane things I long for. Here are a few more of what I’m looking forward to when I get back to ‘Merica:
- Drip coffee
- Wandering aimlessly around Target
- Flushing the toilet paper (you have to toss it in the garbage here in CR. It took me an embarrassingly long time to get used to this.)
- My little garden
- Food: frozen yogurt, good beer, and health geek stuff like nutritional yeast and spirulina.
- Texting
- Cooking for myself in an actual kitchen with my trusty Vitamix at my side.
- My bike
- Going to the library
- Not being constantly eaten alive by mosquitos. I just want five minutes where I’m not itchy, for the love of God.
- Wearing liquid eyeliner and red lipstick–getting dressed up. Makeup in general doesn’t do well in the jungle.
- Not having language as a barrier
- Teaching yoga to my students in familiar studios
- Topo Chico
- Handling American money
I fly back to Chicago on July 1st. It will be late and an hour-long L ride is in store for me, and I can’t wait to see the city from the window of a train car.
