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Just a Little Bit About Myself

November 24th, 2006

If I may take a moment of your time, I’d like to properly introduce myself. My name is Susan Carmichael.  Tim said he erased the last introduction I did, but oh well, there’s always time for a second chance.

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Costa Rica Cell Phone Update

November 22nd, 2006

The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) – our friendly local state-run telecommunications monopoly has decided to purchase an entirely new GSM cell phone network rather than expand the current network.

Why is this a big deal? Because with this announcement, we know that it will be at least another year… more likely two-three years before cell phone (telephone) numbers can again be purchased. Believe it or not, this is probably good news.

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You’ll Probably Find Me at the Mall

November 21st, 2006

I’ve lived in Costa Rica for eight years, and know exactly what I need from the U.S. when I travel back for visits. Tap shoes were high on my list one year. As I first time parent, I figured this is what we do: enroll our daughters in tap classes. I’d bought a pair at a used clothes store in the U.S. for $1 in anticipation that my daughter would want to take tap class. The shoes were too big.

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Prostitution Growing

November 21st, 2006

The daily Spanish newspaper Al Día reported that there are now about 9.000 prostitutes plying their trade in Costa Rica. The number of prostitutes has increased mainly to the increasing numbers of Dominican, Nicaraguan and Colombian women.Medical authorites are concerned because they have under their medical control only one third of the prostitutes, meaning there are about 6.000 prostitutes out there who are “outside the system”

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Funny thing, I’ve Become Accustomed to This Place

November 18th, 2006

Hello, I’m Susan Carmichael, and this is a little bit of my story.

My contact with Costa Rica began as a tourist. Helen Keller said that life is a daring adventure or nothing at all. So in 1998, I took the leap and moved here in search of a less hectic life. A few other reasons may have swayed my decision. Perhaps living in the United States left me a little sour, prickly around the edges. My physical health a wreck, I hoped paradise would deliver me a little closer to fine.

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New Author for This Blog

November 18th, 2006

Susan Carmichael will be our newest contributor.

Susan lives here in Costa Rica and busies herself raising her two kids. She will provide readers with an expatriate mom’s view of Costa Rica that may well be of interest to other parents planning to move to Costa Rica with the younguns. She will address all the hot topics of interest to moms in general i.e. vomiting and diarrhea, schooling, bugs… etc.

Actually, Susan already submitted her first two posts, but like a bonehead, I managed to erase the first one, so you don’t get the intro post until she re-submits it.

Susan will have her own Category, so keep up to date by checking it regularly.

Welcome Susan!

Alive & Kicking…

November 13th, 2006

…and stressed beyond belief! While I am not buried in the backyard (though I am sure hubby has been tempted a few times and vice versa) I AM trying to hold it together. I cannot believe we are really doing it – moving out of the country in 19 days! We are both on overload – still working on the house to get it ready to sell, dealing with shutting the remainder of my old business and working on my new one and slowly but surely getting things crossed off The List! Instead of focusing on what is not done yet, which literally wakes me up at night, it will do me good to focus on what we have done… Continue reading »

Where is Nora?

November 8th, 2006

That is the question being asked by some of our regular readers. Nora Schild is moving to Costa Rica… VERY soon… and has been contributing posts detailing her adventure.

The problem is… she has suddenly stopped writing! I have called her home in Missouri and chatted with her husband on several occasions. She is NEVER home! Now this is odd! For a woman only weeks away from the BIG MOVE, she seems to never be in her home!

This makes me wonder if she has been the subject of foul play! Perhaps her husband, driven loco by a woman bent on the expat lifestyle, has done away with her! Perhaps she is buried in the cold, cold Missouri soil behind the house!

Thus, I am making one more plea… Nora? Where are you? If alive, please write or call.

(signed)

Yo

New Traffic Laws in Costa Rica

November 1st, 2006

Now THIS otta be fun! For those of you who actually live (and drive) in Costa Rica, your eyes must be doing a 360 about right now. Mine sure did. For those of you who have not had the ummm… pleasure… of interfacing with a Tico on the roads of CR… well… I bit of explaining may be in order.

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Central Bank Changes and the Effect on Currency Exchanges and Interest

October 29th, 2006

A couple of weeks ago, the Central Bank of Costa Rica decided to stop the ages-old policy of setting a daily buy/sell rate (exchange rate) for converting dollars to colones and vice versa. This daily exchange rate was known as the tipo de cambio, and was generally a very small spread, maybe 2.5-4 colones. It changed every day, increasing a fraction of a colone and thus devaluing the currency against the dollar… daily.

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