Settling in to Being Settled

Hola Amigos -

So life is feeling good, and we have more of a routine these days. It's an early alarm for both of us at 6:00 each morning. However, we wake up together at the same time; Tyler makes breakfast while Ju gets ready for the day. Then at 7:00 we head out to the bus stop, and Ty gives Ju a nice send-off to work.

Since starting work, Julianna has been doing two jobs: one as a cleaning lady and one as a waitress. There is a shift of employees going on right now, and the restaurant's owner and manager Jammin' Joe is out of town visiting family. When he returns, Ju will turn into a full-time waitress, making better pay and working more comfortable hours. The work now is from 8 am to 4 pm, making $1.80/hr cleaning and $2.40 serving, both before tips. These wages are actually pretty good for low end jobs in Costa Rica, and are above minimum wage. Once Joe comes back, Julianna will work a regular schedule of noon to 8 pm, Thursday through Monday.

Last weekend  was a tough first days for Ju at work. Her respect for cleaning ladies has changed entirely, and she wants to let everyone know to leave a tip from now on if you appreciate the cleanliness of a hotel. People tend to be dirty, and on just the third day of work, Ju got to clean poop off the walls of the bathroom. She felt like quitting and vomiting at the same time, but hung in there and got through it during the busy holiday weekend.

While Ju slaves away, Tyler sits at home and lives life as a kept man. Not really, but kind of :) Ty has been not only helping to move us in, but also to make a home for us. He has been doing all of the shopping and making the best of the space in the house. Regular cleaning around the house, preparations for dinner, trips to the beach, and the continued job search are what Ty's days are like. He has also made a routine to have breakfast at one of the two favorite spots in town (Cafe Rico and Pan Pay). Cafe Rico is a home away from home - the place where we do laundry, use the internet, get a morning coffee, and also a place where anyone can spend the night, rent bikes or snorkel stuff or surfboards, and eat breakfast and lunch.

On Ju's first day(s) off work, we spent this past Wednesday and Thursday riding the bus to Quepos and back. In Quepos, we stayed with Ty's host family - Mirna, Carlos, and Jimmy for one night. There, we picked up our bags and said hello/goodbye to our friends there. We brought up the rest of our clothes and suitcases, which is way too much. Tyler will have to build some sort of dresser, in addition to a dinner table for us to sit at!

There is much to do, and we better get off to doing it. We hope everything is good and well at home. Thanks for reading, and commenting too! Nos vemos amigos,

-Ty & Ju

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures this post. It's just that we haven't spend much time together during daylight, and the house needs to be cleaned a little before good pictures can be taken. Don't worry though, you'll see soon enough how we're living. Keep it real guys, and have a good one. Pura Vida.