We are truly thankful for the donation that was received this month!!!
THANK YOU D & RS
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Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Supplemental money to Sully
Sully was given 22,000 colones (about $38.00) today for her roundtrip (to and from school) transportation, food and drink at school and allowance. Of that, 3,000 colones was to buy textbooks.
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Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The September trips to SJ per Frank
A Day with Sully
Actually it was on two different days. When I heard that Sully had to come to San Jose to get some paperwork for her re-registration at Ulatina in Palmares, I decided to be her chauffer for the day to help her get around and maybe get things accomplished a little faster. A little wishful thinking!
I met her at Hospital Mexico about 9 AM, not knowing where we were going. It turns out that we had to go to the INS facility to get the first set of papers. We walked around the corner on a really nice sunny day. We all know what ‘around the corner’ means here in Costa Rica. This office is behind Hospital Mexico. INS has a huge complex of medical care for those injured in a vehicle accident. While she was inside getting the proper form I waited outside and spoke to everyone I could find that didn’t mind talking to a gringo who was attempting to speak Spanish. In a short hour I learned a lot about how the INS system works as well as discussing with the Newspaper/fruit juice vender about the state of business in Costa Rica. He was glad to hear that his bananas were cheaper that the supermarket Pali.
Now for the ride to the east side of San Jose to the University of Costa Rica. There is no easy way to get from Hospital Mexico on the west side of San Jose to UCR on the east side. On my first visit to UCR I was reminded of the hectic scenes of a large university. It has been 40 years for me and there is still no parking on a big university campus. After getting the official visitors parking pass, we drove around for a while before finding a spot to park. I am still not sure that the spot I chose was actually a defined parking spot, but the car was still there a few hours later. When in Costa Rican do as the Costa Ricans do.
First line was to pay to receive a transcript. Standard line of maybe 10 people or so. On the line next to show receipt and request a transcript. Then off to the general studies building to get the next paperwork. No line there, but they were short staffed and could not get the request until maybe the next day. As she walked away from the window I could see the frustration on her face and suggested that she get the name and phone number of the person she just talked to. At least she could find out if the paperwork is ready before she made another trip from San Ramon.
Next to the window to get the info needed to show that she had a scholarship previously at UCR. This was your normal line of 12 people ahead of you. Another face of disappointment was shown after she found out that she could not get the paperwork until the following Monday, but we plodded on. On to the school of Nursing for more papers. On the way through the maze of streets in the University district, we stopped for lunch a little soda and had a burger. I guess I am not used to Tico style burgers.
The School of nursing is about a mile from the main campus and in a fairly new multiple story building where all of the nursing courses are taught. She was gone in the back of the office for some and emerged after an hour with a smile of accomplishment. It turns out that the office staff couldn’t get the paperwork for her on that day, but she met a teacher she once had at the Nursing school who remembered her fondly. That teacher helped her get the necessary paperwork.
We made it back to Hospital Mexico by about 5 PM, so she could catch a bus back to San Ramon. She still had hours ahead of her before she returned home and I was exhausted.
The following Monday, she returned to Hospital Mexico, where I picked her up and headed to the east side again to UCR. I had learned my lesson about overstaying the 1 hour rule of parking on campus as a visitor. It turns out that you are placed on a blacklist of having overstayed the 1 hour rule, so we parked just off campus. After 3 strikes on the blacklist that placa number is banned forever from parking on campus. She picked up the paperwork relatively fast at UCR, but first she had to write a letter from herself for Ulatina. So off to the internet café to write a letter. The internet café just off campus only had competition for students’ money from the copy shops that lined the street.
After the letter was written and signed by her, we went to Ulatina not too far away from UCR. First we made copies of all of the accumulated paperwork. As this was the 3rd set of the same paperwork to be given to the school, we had the lady receiving the paperwork stamp and sign the copies that she had received this paperwork. The process will be simplified if they need another rest of paperwork, as the ‘certified’ copies will suffice. Mission accomplished!
Next we inquired at the scholarship office about getting her a scholarship for her future studies, to find that the person in charge was not in the office that day and she would have to come back another day. Get a name and number and make an appointment. She was told chances were not good about a scholarship as this is a private school and it would be minimal. But you have to ask.
On the way back to Hospital Mexico for the bus, we stopped and had lunch at the Gran Hotel across from the National Theater. It is always a special treat for me to have a cup of coffee and see the hustle and bustle of the heart of San Jose. You can imagine what treat it was for her. We talked about the high prices for a sandwich at the Gran Hotel and visiting the museums in San Jose. She had been the Gold museum on a field trip years before from the school she attended and that was it. We hope to remedy this situation and visit some other museums in the future.
She is now registered and attending class at Latina.
What did I get out of this adventure you ask---a lesson in determination, another lesson in patience, a finer understanding of the culture here, an understanding of the challenges that Costa Ricans face everyday, and why I live here. It’s all an adventure.
Frank
Read more Entry>>
Actually it was on two different days. When I heard that Sully had to come to San Jose to get some paperwork for her re-registration at Ulatina in Palmares, I decided to be her chauffer for the day to help her get around and maybe get things accomplished a little faster. A little wishful thinking!
I met her at Hospital Mexico about 9 AM, not knowing where we were going. It turns out that we had to go to the INS facility to get the first set of papers. We walked around the corner on a really nice sunny day. We all know what ‘around the corner’ means here in Costa Rica. This office is behind Hospital Mexico. INS has a huge complex of medical care for those injured in a vehicle accident. While she was inside getting the proper form I waited outside and spoke to everyone I could find that didn’t mind talking to a gringo who was attempting to speak Spanish. In a short hour I learned a lot about how the INS system works as well as discussing with the Newspaper/fruit juice vender about the state of business in Costa Rica. He was glad to hear that his bananas were cheaper that the supermarket Pali.
Now for the ride to the east side of San Jose to the University of Costa Rica. There is no easy way to get from Hospital Mexico on the west side of San Jose to UCR on the east side. On my first visit to UCR I was reminded of the hectic scenes of a large university. It has been 40 years for me and there is still no parking on a big university campus. After getting the official visitors parking pass, we drove around for a while before finding a spot to park. I am still not sure that the spot I chose was actually a defined parking spot, but the car was still there a few hours later. When in Costa Rican do as the Costa Ricans do.
First line was to pay to receive a transcript. Standard line of maybe 10 people or so. On the line next to show receipt and request a transcript. Then off to the general studies building to get the next paperwork. No line there, but they were short staffed and could not get the request until maybe the next day. As she walked away from the window I could see the frustration on her face and suggested that she get the name and phone number of the person she just talked to. At least she could find out if the paperwork is ready before she made another trip from San Ramon.
Next to the window to get the info needed to show that she had a scholarship previously at UCR. This was your normal line of 12 people ahead of you. Another face of disappointment was shown after she found out that she could not get the paperwork until the following Monday, but we plodded on. On to the school of Nursing for more papers. On the way through the maze of streets in the University district, we stopped for lunch a little soda and had a burger. I guess I am not used to Tico style burgers.
The School of nursing is about a mile from the main campus and in a fairly new multiple story building where all of the nursing courses are taught. She was gone in the back of the office for some and emerged after an hour with a smile of accomplishment. It turns out that the office staff couldn’t get the paperwork for her on that day, but she met a teacher she once had at the Nursing school who remembered her fondly. That teacher helped her get the necessary paperwork.
We made it back to Hospital Mexico by about 5 PM, so she could catch a bus back to San Ramon. She still had hours ahead of her before she returned home and I was exhausted.
The following Monday, she returned to Hospital Mexico, where I picked her up and headed to the east side again to UCR. I had learned my lesson about overstaying the 1 hour rule of parking on campus as a visitor. It turns out that you are placed on a blacklist of having overstayed the 1 hour rule, so we parked just off campus. After 3 strikes on the blacklist that placa number is banned forever from parking on campus. She picked up the paperwork relatively fast at UCR, but first she had to write a letter from herself for Ulatina. So off to the internet café to write a letter. The internet café just off campus only had competition for students’ money from the copy shops that lined the street.
After the letter was written and signed by her, we went to Ulatina not too far away from UCR. First we made copies of all of the accumulated paperwork. As this was the 3rd set of the same paperwork to be given to the school, we had the lady receiving the paperwork stamp and sign the copies that she had received this paperwork. The process will be simplified if they need another rest of paperwork, as the ‘certified’ copies will suffice. Mission accomplished!
Next we inquired at the scholarship office about getting her a scholarship for her future studies, to find that the person in charge was not in the office that day and she would have to come back another day. Get a name and number and make an appointment. She was told chances were not good about a scholarship as this is a private school and it would be minimal. But you have to ask.
On the way back to Hospital Mexico for the bus, we stopped and had lunch at the Gran Hotel across from the National Theater. It is always a special treat for me to have a cup of coffee and see the hustle and bustle of the heart of San Jose. You can imagine what treat it was for her. We talked about the high prices for a sandwich at the Gran Hotel and visiting the museums in San Jose. She had been the Gold museum on a field trip years before from the school she attended and that was it. We hope to remedy this situation and visit some other museums in the future.
She is now registered and attending class at Latina.
What did I get out of this adventure you ask---a lesson in determination, another lesson in patience, a finer understanding of the culture here, an understanding of the challenges that Costa Ricans face everyday, and why I live here. It’s all an adventure.
Frank
Read more Entry>>
Volunteering
Sully started her mandatory 200 hours of volunteering in the community today and needs to finish before she receives her Bachillerato. She is ‘working’ at P.A.N.I.(Patronato Macional de la Infanic). P.A N. I. is utilizing Sully’s psychology skills in different situations – from educating parents to phone contacts with abuse victims.
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