Natalie Vartanian's Blog

Gypsy Life here I AM!

Well my beautiful people … we arrived! We are in Costa Rica and loving it so far. Our journey was smooth, so so smooth. Our layover in Phoenix was super short and the flight to Costa Rica was under booked so we had a whole row to ourselves. It was wonderful! We got in around 6pm and had a cool taxi driver that gave us a deal and interesting conversation on the way to the hostel. (You know me, I love to ask questions!) What I learned about Sandro: He grew up in a town in CR where horses were not recreation, they were TRANSPORTATION. At 18, he took off to Toronto and lived and worked for four years. (Inspiring really … I cannot imagine moving to a big city after farm life, let alone to a whole other country.) Two of his brothers live in the States. He now lives near San Jose, in the town close to the airport.

Shortly after arriving at the hostel we met Cole, from Denver, Colorado at the downstairs bar. Cole has been touring around Costa Rica for two months and has another month to go. He figured he’d take time off before going to get his Masters in Nutrition, then starting Pre-Med. Smart guy and a great resource right off the bat as he filled us in on his own adventures and suggested some places to visit. We spent most of the evening with him and he even accompanied us to dinner where Sally and I tried Gallo Pinto for the first time. Gallo Pinto for those of you who don’t know is the signature meal here – black beans and rice cooked together. You can add whatever you want to accompany it: eggs, beef, chicken, avocado, cheese, etc… So delicious! Especially with this super good salsa we are addicted to now. Sally said to me after we had our first couple of bites of the Gallo Pinto: “Looks like we know what YOU’LL be eating most of the trip.” My response: “I could definitely survive off of this!”

The next morning we got up at 4:15 am (yes, FOUR A.M.) to make sure we got to the bus station in time as the “Montezuma Directo” left San Jose at 6am. From there it was to the Ferry in Puntarenas (the kind where they drive the cars, buses and trucks right onto the boat) and it was an hour ride to Paquera. Got back on the bus to Cobano, which is the small town close to where are living. Short taxi ride later and we are HOME! Took about six hours total to get to Delicias, which is where our apartment is. Of course the rest of the afternoon had its own adventures like having to go in to town to sort out the Broadband card issue, that didn’t work, and figuring out how we are going to do our work if we can’t GET IT to work! Thankfully our neighbors are super sweet and let us use their phone and offered their internet as well if need be. I’m proud of Sally for not freaking out … I saw the possibility was there for a complete meltdown since she had a full day of work today, yet she remained firm and calm. Way to go lady!

Today was our first full day in our new home and glorious is an understatement. We worked throughout the day, went for a walk on the “main” street near our place, ate lunch outside with nature as our scenery, laid out to tan in our front yard and napped, played with the neighborhood puppies, chatted it up with our neighbors and ultimately … relaxed! Tomorrow we head to the nearby beach, Montezuma. FINALLY!! The beach has been a callin and it’s time we answer!

So as I bring this post to a close – my first post in beautiful Costa Rica – I want to leave you with some lessons learned. On our bus ride to the ferry, Sally mentioned a friend of hers asks her regularly “So what did you learn this week?” and we proceeded to dialogue about our own version of the question: “What did you learn yesterday?” What an awesome way to be present to all that is happening and be active in your growth, learning and stretching! Here are some of the items on my list. Read up and appreciate the fact that it took a bit of effort to get the internet connection that is bringing this post to you today! Oh yeah, and enjoy. ;)

1. Pack light. I packed for the two and a half months that I am going to be away (going to Reno for a month and a half after Costa Rica) and for some reason thought I should bring all that with me on my trip to CR. What the hell was I thinking? I don’t need most of it. Actually I probably only needed a third of it! Big time lesson learned.

2. Design with your travel buddy. It’s a definite coaching skill, but applicable in all arenas. While Sally and I were at the airport waiting for our flight, we designed together what the next couple of weeks would be like. It’s not a onetime thing as situations will come up to continue the design conversation or redesign but starting off on that note is a great one! Examples of design items: sharing things like toiletries, sleeping preferences, alone time vs together time, extracurricular activities, places to explore, frequency of meals, etc.

3. Get to know your neighbors. Whether at the hostel or hotel or apartment, making friends with your neighbors is ALWAYS a good idea. So far we have gotten some great tips, had our butts saved and feel much more comfortable having folks to show us around. Tomorrow’s beach trip is with the family that lives upstairs as they invited us along! So sweet!

As for PERSONAL learning, the following is what I am realizing about myself and this journey so far:

1. I LOVE my life! This is how I’ve always pictured it: Take off for a month or two at a time to different countries and be able to work and play! Bonus is I am accompanied by an amazing friend to share the adventures with and write home about, which speaks to the family I have yearned to create my whole life. It IS possible and available NOW as opposed to sometime in the future when X, X or X happens. This is MY life and it is a gypsy’s life and I would not have it any other way!

2. Closer you are the scarier it is. Just because it is what you’ve always wanted, does not mean it won’t be scary as hell. Up until the day before we left I would feel the inklings of homeostasis. Thoughts would pop up in my head and they mirrored the feelings of wanting to just stay home, be comfortable and not rock the boat. Yet I KNOW those thoughts came up and with more frequency because I was getting close, like REAL close to the life of my dreams. So many people quit right before the jackpot, not realizing one more pull on the slot machine will lead to the big money! Thank goodness I didn’t listen to the voices and the emotions that wanted everything to stay exactly as they have been.

3. Be Present! I’m guilty of this as are probably 90% of the population but we’re either rehashing shit that happened in our past, good OR bad, and/or dreaming about the future. Today more than ever I learned to simply be here now. This is my life, in all of the ups and downs, celebrations and disappointments … it is the only one I have and I get to make the best of it. Besides, some amazing stuff is happening lately. I have literally been waiting my whole life for this moment so being present and enjoying it is the least I could do! No time like the present to get present.



The view from our living room (aka my writing chair)

March 31, 2011 - NV

posted by Natalie Vartanian @ 10:34 PM