What I look forward to the most about being back home in the good ol US of A

There's been plenty to like about Costa Rica over the last four months, and I'll be posting soon on what I'll be missing the most. But it's also time to look forward. In just over a week, I'll be touching down in San Francisco and on North American soil for the first sime since the early hours of 2009. Here's a small sample of what I've missed and am looking forward to the most:

1. Baseball

Reading the box scores and catching the occasional highlight on TV hasn't done much to whet my appetite for sports. And now that the Kings' season is over, it's time to move on to baseball. Since I'll likely be in Sacramento for a little while after I get back, I'm especially looking forward to River Cats Games. Biking along the river, catching the cool Delta breeze, hot dogs, burgers and beer at Raley Field... it doesn't get any better than that, does it?

2. Barbeques

Speaking of food, I think the single cooking item I've missed most is a barbecue. With the warm weather down here, it's been torture having to cook meat on the stove or with the oven. If I had it my way, I'd be grilling meat and vegetables every day.

3. HDTV

I try not to make a hobby of watching too much TV. Down here, that hasn't been hard. But I'm really looking forward to plopping down on the couch and catching up on some of my favorite shows like Lost, The Office and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Even better, I'll be able to catch the later rounds of the NBA playoffs, on HD to beat. Awesome.

4. Mexican food

There's a soda down the street from my office called Tacos Tumbres where I lunch frequently. It's ostensibly Mexican but basically serves up the same casados, albeit tasty ones, as anywhere else. For my first meal in California, I'm going for some real good, down home Mexican food. Los Jarritos, Oscar's, Caballo Blanco and (only after midnight) Carolina's. I get hungry just thinking about it.

Hmmm, everything seems to be revolving around food and sports. There's got to be more than that, right?

5. Seeing friends and family

Ah, ok. Much better now. Sorry for getting sentimental. But there should be some fun times ahead, ranging from visits to friends at Stanford and my sister at Santa Clara, Avalon and my cousin Jon's graduations, and hopefully a trip to Vegas and climb of Mt. Shasta. All in a couple month's work.

And now, a brief foray into what I'm not looking forward to: using a cell phone again, driving (although it was fun driving again for a while when we rented a car for Arenal and Monteverde, but that was mostly because the roads were deserted on Good Friday), lunching for more than $3, listening to Laker and Dodger fans gloat about their teams' success, inane politics, and, finally, not having amazing flora and fauna right next door...

Oh wait, I'll be in Northern California. I still will.

What I'm reading: Obamanomics

If you're got some time to kill, check out this captivating piece from The New Republic on Obama's economic policies. The authors, TNR editors Franklin Foer and Noam Scheiber, find many similarities between Obama's philosophies and the central tenants of the behavior economics book Nudge, which I've been meaning to read but haven't gotten to yet.

The key point is that, despite all the histeria of Obama's alleged "socialism," his economics are in fact decidedly market based; instead, Obama and his team aim to tweak incentives so that while people still have freedom to choose, the most favorable decision is what fits the public, as well as individual interest. Here, Obama neither fits the traditional definition of big-government liberal nor the mold Clintonion New Democrat centrist. Foer and Scheiber summarize:

As a theory of government, this approach has much to recommend it. It's resolutely liberal in its ends, ambitious in its means, but also respectful of individual freedom. It is, in other words, a government that is activist but distinctly not socialist.

I stumbled upon this article via the New York Times' new "Idea of the Day" blog, which also includes a number of "must-reads" (the TNR piece was one of these). I'm not sure who has time to read all of them, though!

SMF airport 2nd in US in animal collisions

Maybe it's a good thing I'm flying back to SFO next month. The AP reports:

Airplane collisions with birds or other animals have destroyed 28 aircraft since
2000, with New York's Kennedy airport and Sacramento International reporting the
most incidents with serious damage, according to Federal Aviation Administration
data posted for the first time Friday. And the problem appears to be growing.

The reason? The article explains that Sacramento International "lies beneath the Pacific Flyway used by millions of geese, swans, ducks, cranes, raptors and other birds that migrate with the seasons and stop to feed on crops in the farms that abut the airport." Maybe putting the airport in the middle of nowhere, far from downtown, wasn't the best idea after all.

On second thought, I'll take the minuscule risk of hitting a bird any day over having commercial jets fly over Land Park. Although perhaps they should consider extending hunting season around the airport.

The Final Countdown

Time flies. My internship at The Tico Times ends in a week, after which I'll join Avalon in Panama for a few days before flying back to California May 6. Over the next week. I'll be posting some reflections on my four months in Costa Rica, as well as lists of what I'm looking forward to the most about being home. Once I head to Panama next Friday, however, posting will be few in far between.

It's also one month until the NBA draft lottery, so expect more basketball posts in the near future.

Finally, if you don't understand why I posted the picture at the top of this post, do yourself a favor: go to Hulu and watch "Arrested Development" immediately. Do it. Now.

Blago Blog

While the possibility of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich participating in an NBC reality show "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Outta Here!" setin Costa Rica created a lot of buzz, it was not to be. according to the AP, Blago needed a judge's approval to leave the country, and Tuesday, he didn't get it. Here's what I whipped up for The Tico Times Web site:

Rod Blagojevich, the indicted governor of the U.S. state of Illinois, isn't coming to Costa Rica any time soon.

According to news reports, a U.S. district judge on Tuesday denied the
former Democratic governor's bid to travel outside the country in order to appear on NBC's “I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!” reality TV show that will begin production in Costa Rica next month. The judge said Blagojevich, who pled not guilty to federal corruption charges last week, must remain in the United States to assist his attorneys in assembling a defense strategy.

The show, however, will go on. Other rumored contestants include Geraldo Rivera (now doing his thing on Fox News), Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman, and some other lame quasi-celebs from reality shows like The Hill and American Idol whom I've never heard of before. If the rumors are true, my money's on Dog to win (how could you not pick a bounty hunter to survive best in the jungle? Bounty hunters are definitely more qualified to survive the jungle than a mayoral campaign)

NBC will confirm the cast next week, and I should be interviewing an executive producer for more about the show. Tune in next week for updates.

If you must go to Jaco...

While we only spent a couple hours there Sunday, Jaco was pretty much what I expected--hot, dusty, and not the least bit charming. To be fair, we didn't go to the beach at all, and I would have liked to take some surf lessons there, but we ran out of time. I understand its appeal in having a built-up surf and tourist infrastructure (if you're into hotel towers and condos instead of small boutique inns) and being only a couple hours away, but I wouldn't recommend it for the top your itinerary.



If you're in Jaco for whatever reason or another, however, be sure to check out Taco Bar. On Sunday, we were stuck deciding between a soda and a Subway, but wandering down the streets, past the myriad surf shops and blatantly overpriced eateries, we found the open-air Taco Bar around a corner. Its prices were reasonable (4,400 colones, or a little less than $8) for either a heaping burrito or two tacos, along with free reign at the salad bar. Filling options include chicken, fish and seafood--both Avalon and I went with the mahi and were not disappointed. Niether was my appetite, as I was almost full already from the burrito before I even attempted to tackle the salad bar. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.

Did I mistime my European vacation?

Via NYTimes's Frugal Traveler, who took a 3-month European "Grand Tour" last year:

One year ago, the dollar was in the dumps. ... Today, however, a long European vacation is, in relative terms, far more affordable. The exchange rate is hovering around $1.35 to the euro, not necessarily because the United States economy has gained strength but because the global financial crisis has weakened the Continent’s currencies. Were I planning the trip today, I’d be in much better shape.

So, was my timing bad? Nah. My trip was "only" a month, and I got to visit my sister when she was studying abroad in Copenhagen. I wouldn't have missed that for the world.

It also helps when the parents are coming, too, and helping foot the bill. Thanks again, Mom and Dad!

More on Friedman (pun intended)

Thomas Friedman's column on Costa Rica, which I blogged about last week, elicited a lot of comments from friends and colleagues here, many of whom were more angry about his positive slant on Costa Rica's environmental record. I thought I'd share some of the responses here.

This blogger (who I don't know) offers a more in-depth smackdown for Friedman than my modest rebuttal. Here are some highlights:

Tom Friedman has to be a better fiction writer than he is a journalist. I prefer to believe that Friedman was just sloppy and not totally dishonest, but honestly for starters, Costa Rica has no municipal sewage treatment plants. The capital of San Jose, two million people, pumps everything into the rivers.

And, from the comments:

Mr. Friedman, if you are still in Costa Rica, please use your real journalistic talents and ask some people about what is happening in places like Crucitas (the gold mine), Sardinal (where the local water supply is under threat to serve coastal hotels), and the fila Costena in southern region of the country where luxury homes have caused serious deforestation threatening downslope mangrove swamps. With all due respect (and regard) Costa Rica needs Tom Friedman the journalist, not Tom Friedman the well-connected columnist on vacation.

The best of both worlds

Sorry for the lax posting of late. Work has been busy, but we've been lucky to have lots of visitors, so I really can't complain! I'll try to get a Semana Santa summary up soon. But first, a little blurb about this weekend while it's fresh in my mind:

The Los Suenos Marriott in Herradura, on the Pacific Coast, lives up to its "dreamy" name. It's by far one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in, and one of the top luxury spots in Costa Rica. Thanks to generosity and connections from my friend Chris who's visiting us this week, we were able to stay there this weekend. And, I'm not going to lie, it was nice.

The pool is a giant maze, the beds are huge and comfy, and there's a swim up bar. The service is great; my only only quibble would be the quality of the food at the hotel, considering the price(We walked over to the Marina area, however, and had two great meals). I wanted to jet down to Jaco Saturday to take some surf lessons, but, sadly, it was too tough to leave the pool.

Which gets me to my next point: it was amazing having two days off at a luxurious resort, but I worry that many of the people staying there don't go see the real Costa Rica. Yes, it's great chilling at the resort, playing golf, perusing the marina and nearby gift shops--but you can do that in Mexico and Hawaii.


Just a quick drive up from Herradura, however, is the Carara National Park. Unassuming, the park is not one of Costa Rica's big names and is easy to miss driving past on the highway. But, paying close atttention, you can spot the macaws soaring over your head on the freeway and get a little glimpse of what lies ahead.

I thought nothing would beat the macaws I saw at Osa. But seeing flocks of them flying over from a nearby lagoon, with giant lizards and crocodiles also within view, is tough to beat. And Carara is easy access--we hadn't planned on going there, so we only wore flip flops and didn't hire a guide. I wouldn't recommend it, but you can handle it in your beach wear (while getting odd looks from the head-to-toe-in-REI-gear "aventure vacationers"), and if you're lucky, see what we saw, all in only a couple hours.


Then, feel better heading back to luxuries of Los Suenos having "roughed it" a little bit. Our friends, however, are heading to Monteverde, which I'll blog about soon.

Friedman on Costa Rica

First it was Rick Steves. Now, it's Tom Friedman's turn. Two of my favorite columnists come to Costa Rica and neither gives me a holler? Rude.

That aside, here's Friedman on Costa Rica in his Sunday column in the New York Times:

More than any nation I’ve ever visited, Costa Rica is insisting that economic growth and environmentalism work together. It has created a holistic strategy to think about growth, one that demands that everything gets counted. So if a chemical factory sells tons of fertilizer but pollutes a river — or a farm sells bananas but destroys a carbon-absorbing and species-preserving forest — this is not honest growth. You have to pay for using nature. It is called “payment for environmental services” — nobody gets to treat climate, water, coral, fish and forests as free anymore.

Friedman paints a pretty positive picture of Costa Rica's environmental progress, which, while essentially true, definitely glosses over some of the less glamorous goings on of recent years--has he not been reading the Tico Times? He lauds the fact that Costa Rica has a minister in charge of energy and the environment, but doesn't mention that the most recent minister resigned under fire, and his ministry has neglected the country's second-most popular national park.

Yes, despite its problems, there is still much the United States can learn from Costa Rica, especially in the realm of environment and energy. But I'll leave you with this line from the introduction to the "Working Paradise" chapter on the environment from Steven Palmer and Ivan Molina's 2004 Costa Rica Reader:

"No program of ecological protection or conservation alone can solve this extreme and dreadfully ironic coexistence of dense natural diversity with postmodern humanity's limitless capacity to despoil its environment. The indicators point to political struggle and some very tough sacrifices for all contenders if Costa Rica is to remain an ecological jewel in an increasingly degraded and deplted global treasure chest."

Semana Santa Claus may not come to town

Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is huge in Costa Rica. From what I understand, the country completely shuts down, and everyone heads to the beach. As such, it's a critical week for the country's tourism industry, which is having a tough year with the economic slowdown. As I wrote earlier this week for The Tico Times, Semana Santa may be a disappointment for many tourism outlets this season (sorry for the brutal pun in the headline, but I couldn't resist):

For many tourism outlets throughout the country, Semana Santa, or Easter
Week, is traditionally a final shot at full hotel rooms and busy restaurants,
before the heavy rains of the green season wash away the crowds.

This year, however, the economic slump has hit the tourism industry
hard. With an eye on their wallets, many travelers have elected to stay home in
order to save a couple bucks, and Easter Week is shaping up to be no
exception.

According to the National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR), 71.2 percent of
tourism-related businesses report that reservations are down compared to last
year's Semana Santa.

The chamber, which surveyed 52 tourism outlets, said that 19.2 percent
of businesses reported similar numbers as last year, while 3.8 have seen
reservations rise.

Those that reported a decrease saw reservations decline by an average
of 38.1 percent compared with last year. Hardest hit were tour guides, car
rental agencies and hotels, the chamber said.

Sue Kalmbach, owner of La Paloma Lodge in Drake Bay, on the Southern
Zone's Osa Peninsula, says reservations are down 50 percent compared to last
year's Easter Week. More and more tourists are waiting later to make
reservations, however, so she hopes that things will pick up over the next
week.

“We are exceptionally slow this year,” Kalmbach said. “I think people
are waiting, and I hope that, little by little, they keep coming.”

A business perspective on newspapers

While the tide of doom-and-gloom, self-loathing articles about the demise of newspapers has slowed down, I thought this article by Daniel Gross in Slate, examining the industry from a business perspective, was a unique take. Here's the money line:

While newspapers have serious problems, the recent failures of several newspaper
companies shouldn't necessarily lead to visions of the apocalypse... the
failures may say more about a style of capitalism than an industry. Each company
was undone in large measure by really stupid (and in one case criminal)
activities by managers.

I think it's a bit oversimplistic to simply blame "a bunch of private equity types," although clearly capitalism and newspapers aren't a good mix right now. But while Gross thinks its a certain type of capitalism that caused the demise of newspapers, I'm inclined to believe it's more of a general, growing perception that information should be free. And I'm willing and able to admit my generation is guilty as charged.

Hey Joe

In case you missed this, Joe Biden made a stop in Costa Rica Sunday and Monday, meeting with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and various other Central American leaders. Since the paper's political reporter left a couple weeks ago, and the replacement just started this week, I, the lowly intern, got to join one of the staff reporters and cover the event.

I'd actually covered a Biden event before when I was at The Hill two summers ago. Biden was chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committe and I covered one of his hearings on Iraq. He was just as charamatic now as he was then, although it looked like the campaign and responsibilities of the new office had aged him a bit more.

While Biden's often criticized for longwindedness, I'm somewhat fond of his speaking style. He may say a lot, but he'll eventually get back to answering your question by the end. He says what he thinks, sometimes getting himself into trouble, and his candor is refreshing for a politician. For example, on Monday he told the Central American leaders that his primary concern was getting the U.S. economy back on track (which in itself would be a big help to the small countries of the region which do depend on the economic fortunes of the big brother up north) and said concerns such as immigration reform would have to wait. I may not agree with him 100 percent, but that he was willing to be frank and honest was impressive, and hopefully bodes well for U.S.-Latin American relations.

Speaking of answering questions, no, I didn't get to ask one. Only five questions were permitted by the Costa Rican government press officers, and the themes and questioners were decided beforehand. Two went to local press (taken by the daily paper La Nacion and business daily La Republica), two went to wires (AP and AFP) and one to an international paper (we thought we might have a shot at this, but it went to a reporter from Guatemala instead--and yes, there were other countries there than Costa Rica and the U.S., although all the questions were addressed to Biden).

All in all, it was still a very exciting day. Since Leland, the staff reporter, was also covering the event for The Miami Herald, I got to write the story for the daily page (read it here). We also collaborated later this week for the print edition story, and editorial, which I'll post tomorrow when they are published.