48 Hours

In the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, I will fly South for the remainder of the Northern Hemisphere winter.  In fact, this will not be the first time an important day of my life has coincided with the Superbowl, as I was born on Superbowl Sunday in 1990.  I guess it's a good thing I don't care much about football (I mean...Go Steelers...yeah!)  I am approximately halfway packed.

An Abridged List of Items I Have Packed

• 1 Energizer headlamp
• 4 waterproof field notebooks (i didn't know they even made waterproof paper)
• 2 pair of quick-dry conversion pants/shorts
• 1 Crystalaire sweatshirt (though the tropical days are hot, apparently mountain evenings can get cool)
• The Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace
• 1 trusty pair of Chaco sandals
• 1 hiking boot (unfortunately, my other boot is down the street at Sonny's Shoe Repair after losing a lacing hook.  fortunately, although Sonny was rather grumpy about the whole situation, he agreed to fix my boot by Saturday.  As I opened the door to leave, he emphasized that he closes up shop AT 2PM and I was in for a rough surprise if I showed up even A SECOND AFTER)
• 2 packs of black Uniball Vision Needle pens (I am including this hopelessly nerdy item in the interest of unbiased disclosure)

An Abridged List of Items I Have Decided Not to Pack

• 1 Macbook laptop (sayonara Nicco 2.0 + his virtual life)
• Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (it's just too damn long)
• 1 pair of rainbow suspenders (since i'm unsure of even their cultural acceptability in the U.S., i'm not taking any chances abroad)
• The Collected Journals of Hernan Cortes
• 1 block of Yoder's Hot Pepper cheese (despite its sentimental value as a kind of totemic Homestead symbol, I'm not too sure it would survive the flight; also, I apparently won't be suffering from dairy withdrawal anytime soon...see below)

One of the folks in my program recently emailed everyone a bare bones map of the Monteverde region.  Some notable features: 

El Unicorno Disco: Need to refuel with some tapas and drinks after donating blood at the Red Cross?  No problem, it's only a five minute walk to El Unicorno Disco!  Drink too much at El Unicorno Disco?  No problem, it's only a five minute walk to the Red Cross!

Bajo Del Tigre Nature Trail: Want to get away from it all?  Take a scenic hike on the Tiger Hollow trail, certainly better-named than the neighboring (I kid you not) Natural Valley Nature Trail

Johnny's Pizzeria: Feeling homesick?  Eat a slice or two of New York style pizza at Johnny's!

The Cheese Factory: Just what it sounds like.  "We bring da Monterey, da Chedda, da Gruyere and da Feta!"  yum

Friend's Meeting House: Lost sight of your inner light?  Come explore questions of faith and community with local practicers of humankind's most historically peaceful religious denomination.

Trapp Family Lodge: Remember the end of the Sound of Music?  Apparently those family singers didn't stop for long in Switzerland before carving out a piece of tropical paradise for themselves in Central America.  No Nazis here, Julie Andrews! (most of them self-exiled further south to Brazil)

Laundry La Amistad: Ever wash your jeans and feel like there's something missing?  Add some authentic historical flavor to the usually mundane task of laundering your clothes at La Amistad, which might be named after the famous slave ship that caused politico-legal uproar in 1839 when the crew mutinied and steered it to the U.S.  (Disclaimer: Amistad also means "friendship" in Spanish, so this could just be a regular non-historical laundry establishment called Friendship Laundry, but which one is more fun to believe?)

Meg's Stables/Bat Jungle: "Meg" sure is a shrewd businesswoman, cornering two unrelated market niches at once like that.  Who knew bats, horses, and humans could live symbiotically and profitably in such close quarters?

On a more serious note, the map also shows a cemetery, butterfly gardens, a post office, and a bullring.  This map seems to show that I'm headed to a region that is characterized by a weird mix of colonial/imperial influence (Johnny's, Meg's, Friends Meeting House, bullring) and a thriving ecotourism industry that manages to be profitable and conservationist/preservationist at the same time (butterfly and orchid gardens, numerous ecology centers, nature trails).

I am excited to be on my way to San Jose, and then Monteverde in two days.