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04-11-2003 1:19pm What a wonderful day in Costa Rica. LOL, a wonderful day but here I am in front of the computer. I'll make it fast. Finally free because the unwanted guest is finally out of the house. Now I feel so much better being at home since I don't have to worry about her anymore. Went for a walk earlier today to take a few pictures. Here is what I got:
3:46pm Well, just go back from the bank. Needed to change some money and what a pain in the butt. Today is more or less the start of Semana Santa which is a Tico holiday for a week. You can call it celebrating Easter for a whole week. During this time, most of the Ticos are on vacation for one whole week and most go to the beach. Also, on the not this weekend but the next one, they will not sell any beer. Ouch, that is tough. The point of telling you about this is that most of the banks were closed so I had to wait for a bit of time just to change some U.S. bills into colones which is the local currency. So now, I am waiting for my laundry to quit spinning so I can go do some grocery shopping.
04-10-2003 1:52pm Hum, I was doing a bit of reading about all of the anti-war demonstrations and peace rallies going on around the world and I was a bit disturbed but how the police, riot control forces, and other agencies handled the protesters in the U.S. The U.S. is suppose to be the land of the free and even though I may not agree with what you say I will cerainly fight for your right to say what you want to say. The thing is that it is fine to demonstrate peacefully but when the law enforcements start to shoot at you with so call "non-lethal" weapons to disperse you without first telling you to disperse it seems like there is something wrong with that. So then, I ended up going to a website that sells these "non-lethal" weapons and goodness, those things are certainly dangerous and can even be lethal if not properly used. I dont know why they just didn't use other means like a water hose or stink bombs. I mean wooden bullets hurt and are only suppose to be skipped off the ground and they have to be shot at a certain distance otherwise it can cause serious damage like ruptered internal organs and so on. Anyway, don't take my word for it and go to this website that manufactures those things.
Going back to the situation in Iraq it seems like the Arab nations are getting a wake up call. From the looks of it, the neighboring countries of Iraq seemed to think that the U.S. had never even entered Baghdad and that Saddam was still in charge due to the Iraqi propaganda and also because of the Al Jazeera news network. The thing is that when they were shown videos of U.S. troops in Baghdad tearing down the statue of Saddam Hussein with a bunch of applauding Iraqis, that is when they realized that something was wrong with the regime. Take a look at the stories by clicking on the link below:
Another trend that I have noticed amongst several pro-war and anti-war people is that they do not seem to really understand the other person's point of view not care to do the research necessary to understand why another person would disagree with them. For example, it seems like many warmonger think that the anti-war people did not want to see the Iraqi people free which is far from the truth or at least, for the majority of them. Of course everyone wants to get rid of Saddam but the two groups in general only want to do it using different methods. We live in strange times. P.S. the U.S. soldier who put the U.S. flag on the torn down statue of Saddam Hussein was asian. Keep in mind that shortly afterwards he replaced it with the Iraqi flag 04-09-2003 6:25pm
 What is life in Costa Rica from an American living there? I often wonder about it myself since I am presently living here. I have more or less adapted a daily ritual but somehow, it feels like I am rather living the life of an upper class Tico. Yet, I am by no means rich. I guess that it is the little things that make such a big difference. For example, when I go grocery shopping I usually go to a supermarket and I am able to get anything I want. Whether it comes from the U.S. or not. So when I go grocery shopping, the only difference is that they are many U.S. brands available but the majority of the stuff seems to come locally. Sometimes I do go to the market but that is only on the days that I am bored and looking for something to do
 The nice thing though is that not everything is part of a corporate chain. Don't get me wrong, I am not anti-corporation or anything but there is just a certain charm when you go to a local pulperia(like a convenient store). The people that work there are usually part of the family or close friends and you have but to go there twice and everybody from the workers, regulars and owners treat you like a friend.
 I remember about a month ago when I went to the pulperia that is 50 meters West and 50 meters North from my house. I am considered a regular there even though I have only been there perhaps 20 times in a 7 month stay in that neighborood. I just went there to buy a few things like chips, bread, and some juice and I only had U.S. dollars on me. He said he would take them but I only had 20s on me. The owner said he did not have enough change to give me so he just said to pay him back next time I am here. Pretty cool eh? I mean, I know that they are still some stores in the U.S. that do that but they are rare and few. In Costa Rica however, from talking to other people it seems like this is the norm and is considered good business. You got to love this way of life where it is based on the honor system of trust. I am sure that many other countries are like that but since I am coming from Atlanta, well, it's a different story.
 Ok, before I log off here is an amusing depiction of today's event in Baghdad that I saw on this person's blog. Just click on the link and enjoy.
2:12pm
Finally a sense that the war is getting closer to an end. As I was reading several articles from different websites about the U.S. troops entering Baghdad and taking control of most of the city with cheers of liberation from the people of Iraq, I felt a sense of pride for being American. A sense of pride because even though it was certainly not a popular war throughout the world, our American leader George W. Bush made a decision and stuck to it. He had a choice between inaction in the face of U.N. political bureaucracy or risk everything to bring an end to a regime that enslaved and tortured its people. He chose the latter and whatever his motives may have been he proved himself to be a leader in this disgusting war.
Unfortunately, the war is not over but the capture of most of Baghdad was certainly a morale booster to the coalition forces and to all who supported the war. Especially when Iraqi people started coming out of their houses to cheer on the U.S. troops in Baghdad as well as the British forces in Basra. Everyone in the world knew that the Saddam Hussein's regime was evil and cruel to its people yet no one really did anything about it until now. How ironic that the world thinks of the U.S. as an evil empire trying to control the world and that the war is not right when they hear about the civilian casualties. Whether you like it or not, this is a war to get rid of a tyrant. In all wars there will be casualties. I bet that none of the anti-war people would have the guts to tell the 100 children that were held prisonners and tortured in Basra because they protested against Saddam that the coalition forces should have never entered in a war against Iraq. They might as well tell these prisonners to just wait until Saddam and his henchmen die of old age before they are free. What we are seeing is the beginning of the birth of a nation. As is the case in any birth there will be blood and there will be pain. Look at the many countries where the U.S. have had military excursion there to free its people from tyrants. Look at how well Panama is doing now compared to before. I am not saying that the U.S. is always right when it decides to use military force against any country but what I admire the most about the U.S. is that it learns from its mistakes. As to the reasons it uses military forces in other countries, well, it is obviously not because it does not have certain economical interests in certain places but in general, they have good intentions. The issue that is now becoming more and more a topic of conversation and the news is the lack of food, medical supplies, water, and electricity. Many people will die because of it and even though it is difficult to tell the doctors that have been working aorund the clock since the war started that the medical supplies are on the way, it is on the way and the roads have to be clear and the transports escorted before it can reach them. Anyway, just check any news source and you will see what is up. 04-08-2003 7:30pm I hate people sometimes. Actually, let me rephrase that. I hate mean people. You know the type that lie and basically do things just to be mean or to get what they want without caring whether it will hurt someone else or not. yeah, you know who you are out there. Does this has anything to do with a story that happened to me today. Damn skippy it does. Still debating whether I should write about it but what the hell. This journal is meant for all who know me to see what's going on in my life right? So here goes the story. I have this friend of mine that I like to hang out with and party because whenever I go out with her, I don't feel pressure to do anything nor act a certain way. I can just be myself without any type of repercusion. Sounds like a great friendship no? I mean, some people that are friends are more like drinking and partying friends. Other friends are more like acquaintances that you run into once in a while and talk the talk. Other friends are friend for life and those are rare. I have such a friend. Other friends are people that you can be comfortable with and it doesn't matter what you say or how you act because they just accept you for who you are and are fine with it. This particular friend, is the latter one or so I thought. Here is what I heard today from my best friend. A week or so ago, I was with some friends and we were waiting for her and her friend to come join us at this bar/restaurant/entertainement place. They came, we had a great time, went dancing and went home. I thought nothing else of it since we just hung out and had fun. We even hung out maybe twice or so since then. Now, here is the story that someone told her. It takes place before she and her friend arrived at the bar. And while we were waiting for them to show up, I was supposed to have bragged about her to my friends saying that I had sex with her and that I was quite detailed about my description of the whole encounter. Yeah, right is what I told myself. I thought I knew her and told my best friend that I wasn't worried about it since I know that she knows who I am and that I wouldn't do that. Wrong. She sure took it to heart and wants nothing to do with me anymore. Pretty nice eh? Am I upset? Of course I am. I believe that anybody in my position would be upset. The problem now is what should I do about the whole situation? I mean, since she is going to believe that crap from other people then I really don't want to have anything else to do with her since friendship is about trusting another person right? But then again, it sucks to lose someone you thought was a friend. I suppose that you just can't force friendship. It will either happen or it wont. So all I have to say is this, to the someone that said this to her, FUCK YOU AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN and to my suppose to be friend, FUCK YOU AND YOUR FAKE FRIENDSHIP. I am better off now because this little situation has helped me get a better fix on my real friends and who I can trust and who has trust in me. Yes, I am sorry to be using this kind of language and I do apologize to all of my real friends and family for being so crude but I did have to get it out of my system. 12:30pm Good afternoon everyone. I can't believe I forgot to call my dad again for his birthday. Argh, what is wrong with me?!! Do I have that much on my mind that I keep forgetting? OK, need to call right after I am done wit this journal entry. In other news, not much really. Last night I got home around 11pm and just watched TV with Sandra and shot the breeze. We were watching this stupid movie about this girl that wants to be a boxer. Looks like Sandra has been working for a while which is great but I tihnk that she gets lonely since Derek and I are always out of the house. I think she needs to get out of th ehosue more often and make new friends. I have a million things to do today like clean my room and do my laundry but I keep putting it off. I spent the weekend at Meg and Brian's place so I wasn't able to do any of that. looks like it's going to be a busy day. I was browsing through the net(don't I always) and ran into this nice comment about what patriotism is all about. It was written by this blogger called Michelle and copied it here so all of you can read it. So read it here and check out her site at:
Anyway, I liked what she had to say. 04-07-2003 11:04am Good morning everyone. It is the 7th and I totally forgot that yesterday was my dad's birthday. Ouch, Uh, if you read this dad, happy belated birthday!!!! Looks like I'm gonna have to call him today but I think he is Canada right now. I spent the weekend at a friend's house because I needed some time alone. You know, peace and quiet from the house. It went by quite well and I even took there dog out while they were gone at the beach.
Here are some pictures of what I did this past weekend. Yeah I know, not much excitment but then again, I wasn't looking for excitment. Oh and here is an interesting weblog that I ran into while surfing the net and looking for information about the war. Isn't the internet just grand? Especially with the advent of blogs since now you can have access to other people's opinions from countries all around the world. It is through understanding other cultures, people, and countries that peace is achieve. I mean, if you get to know other people from other cultures and get to like them, why in the world would you want to fight them? Would you not rather help a friend? Anyway, this weblog is called http://iraniangirl.blogspot.comSo check it out and tell me what you think. 04-03-2003 12:35am I hear the buzzing of the elctricity as its energy travels to the street light charged with enough power to light the streets and enough power to kill a man. Where is the trust in this world? Can you really trust anyone? Sometimes I wonder what I am doing here? I feel that I am not accomplishing anything and that I am wasting all that was given to me. That I am a sorry carcass of meat that should have been better left to the carrions. Perhaps it would have been better if another child was chosen instead of me. Perhaps another child should have been saved. A child who would have taken advantage of the opportunity of life. The nights are cold and I shiver in my bed. I wake up in the morning and my pillow is damp and salty. I am hurting and I am tired. I don't want to write anymore or try. I want to write my last chapter. It takes strength to take the last call and I am a coward. Curiosity killed the cat and perhaps the cat was just too curious about life. I think that I need to make a change and just get it over with because the fire that keeps me going is in need of more fuel but none is to be found. But then again, it is not the place, it is the person. I am tired of being the pillar and the core. The turtle and the Atlas. The reliable guy and the nice guy. The cool guy under pressure and the friend to see. I want to be Frederick Anh Khoa Ngyuen Saint-Jacques. Good night everyone. Promises will be kept... 04-02-2003 8:47pm Nothing much happened today. Need to do some major house cleaning though. Did a bit this morning but D and I had to do some other type of house cleaning. Will write more later. Just wanted to add a few more pictures to yesterday's entry. 04-01-2003 1:42pm Happy April's Fool day!!!! By now Frank and Kris are on the way to the airport and I certainly hope that they have a good flight back. As promised, I shall write about the last few days to give you the censored version of all that has taken place since then. So here goes. So Frank and kris arrived if I remember correctly in Thursday. They got here sometimes in the afternoon and once they got settled in, we went to the mall so I could make a copy of the house keys for them and get a bite to eat and a cool beer. It was my duty as there tour guide to let them experience Imperial. So we sat for a while at this bar talking, drinking, and eating some boccas. I think they enjoyed themselves and we were just trying to figure out what they wanted to do while they were here. Of course they said the beach and they also wanted to see some of the Costa Rican night life and so I had to oblige. The sleeping arrangements were a bit crowded since we only have two bedrooms in the house and Sandra has also been staying with us. In the end it worked out and we moved Sandra upstairs to the sunroom while they took over the living room. After we ate, I took them to the grocery store to get some beverages for the house and they went home to take a nap. At least Frank but Kris was not tired. He just wanted to see the sights and meet the local people. I'm not exactly sure when we left to hit the night life that night but it was probably after 9pm is what I am thinking. All I know is that we got back home around 4 or 5 in the morning after Kris had a nice little adventure with a person he met at El Pueblo which is a local place that has a bunch of lie bars, dance clubs, etc... We ended up running out of there from the fury of Kris' friend. No more needs to be said. He he he. As to the sleeping arrangements, Frank ended up sleeping outside on the balcony under a mosquito net while Kris got the couch and I got my bed. Anyway, here are a few pictures from that night.
The next day, we headed to downtown San Jose. Since we had decided to go to the beach for a couple of days we had to go the Coca-Cola Bus station. Somehow, we ended up at the mall because I had to run an errand and to get some food and ended uprunning inta a friend of mine and she decided to go with us downtown. In total, we were 5. Frank, Kris, Sandra, Tamela, and of course me!!!! We got our bus tickets no problem and our departure time was for Saturday at 7:30am!!!! Oh yeah, Frank ended up getting a tico haircaut at this little market right next to the bus station. unfortunately, Tamela had to go back and so we went our own separate ways and it was now time to get some refreshments. We ended up in Manolo's a nice little restaurant/bar just chilling for a while. However, it was now time to get to work!!! So we started getting some film footage on the streets. So we would just interview people at random getting some feedback as to what they thought about different issues. Got to meet some very interesting people. Even a group from Europe comprised of people from Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, etc... Just your average college students here working on a project. Frank was feeling tired so he went back to the house to get some rest while Kris and I decided to hang out with the European connection. What happened is just too long a story to tell so I'll skip over that. That night we decided to splurge though and went to a seafood restaurant called "Blue Ocean". It was all good except that all they had was fish and since I am allergice to fish, we just had a beer and went to a mexican restaurant that was right below the seafood restaurant. Oh yeah, great food and I even got a picture of my burrito for you to enjoy. That night, we ended up just chilling at home. That night, I watched this Vietnamese documentary called, "Precious Cargo" that Frank kindly brought for me and that was about it. What a great documentary by the way and no Marita, I haven't had a chance to send it to you yet but I will soon I promise.
Wake up call on Saturday at 6:00am. Got a good night's rest and we are ready to catch our bus. No time for breakfast at home so we end up eating a quick something at a little soda next to the bus station. In my mind, I am praying that we will get a nice bus and not one of those run down school bus that they often use here.
 Yes, it's a decent bus and we are on the move to Jaco!!!! Alright, after a 2 and half hour ride we end up in Jaco around 10:00am. Beautiful weather, hot but pleasant. We were at the beach!!! We got this little cabina just a minute away from the ocean for $30 and all was good.
 Got settled in our little cabina. No air conditioning but its all good. We plan on spending most of our time at the beach and we are certain that by the time we sleep, it will be late at night so the heat won't bother us. Hum, no beach towels. We stop at a store. Kris and I each buy a towel for almost 5000 colones. Kris buys a hat while Frank abstains from buying anything and decides to go without one. We are there an we get 3 beach chairs for 700 colones. Kris just bought a pair of sunglasses. We get some beer and buy some empanadas from this kid and enjoy the sun, the waves, and the view. A boy stops in front of us and he is selling towels for 1000 colones. Nice towels so of coure, Frank can't help himself but buy one. Getting ripped off sucks.
The sun is setting and it is now dark. We have enjoyed the water and my feet are sunburned. I have no idea how it happened but they are very sensitive. We meet this girl from London and she kindly takes a picture of us. Too bad she didn't know how to use it. We take a few pictures of the sunset and we are heading for our cabina to get ready for fun, adventure, and of course food!!!
We get cleaned up and go to the grocery store to get some beer, water, and rum. You never know what might happen later. Dressed like a bunch of beach bums we go out looking for food. Wandering the main street of Jaco we fall upon this little restaurant and get a pizza. As we drink our beer and talk about where we should go next, our attention is taken away by the table next to us. One man, about 6 women. All speaking French and I get to use my French on this gorgeous girl that is 1/3 Tica, 1/3 Chinese and 1/3 something else. Nice.
I will let the pictures speak for themselves as to the rest of the night. And yes, we did meet a lot of people that night from Ticas and Ticos to Europeans.
 We are up at a decent hour but Frank is up even earlier and gets breakfast by himself. But then again he went to bed earlier and Kris did go out by himself after Frank and I decided to crash for the night. kris and I are hungry. I go to the store to get something real fast and when I come back, Frank is still not there. He finally arrives and we go to the bus station to get our return tickets. Our returning bus returns to San Jose at 3:30pm. Tickets in hand, we then leave for the beach and breakfast. Kris and I stop at a soda that is almost right next to the beach while Frank heads for the beach. We have plenty of time to relax until our bus leaves. All is well and we enjoy breakfast until boom!!! kris' chair collapses under him and he goes down. Being a good friend I refrain from laughing until I am sure he will live. Yes, that was Frederick humor!!! We spend the rest of our time at the beach even though we do stop to get some food before the bus leaves for San Jose. Back to San Jose We are back at my house and we are hungry. It is now Sunday. Sandra offers to cook us dinner and that is fine with us. I do a quick wash of the towels and make a few fun calls and we will have Karlita Karen meet us at the Jazz Cafe for a night of entertainement. It is an AIDS benefit and they have different shows from comedians to bands. I can't quite remember what time it is but Frank and Sandra are tired and they decided to go back home while Kris and I are just getting started. We end up once again at El Pueblo with Karen and Karlita to do a bit of dancing.
The last full day for Kris and Frank and we certainly want to make the most of it. We actually have a late start because of a few things going on at home but it all good. Frank and Kris want to take a look at the different types of internet cafe's available in San Jose so we go hunting for them. We eat lunch at this little soda in the middle of downtown San Jose. I think that this soda is in a garage. The food is cheap and there is plenty of it.
We end up at Parke de Sabana and have fun just taking pictures and enjoying the day. However, our time is cut short due to the rain so we head home but first we stop at the grocery store so Sandra can get some food because she wants to cook a Colombian meal for there last dinner in Costa Rica. We have a feast of a meal and Ismeralda ends up eating with us. Good time and good people. What else can you ask for?
Dinner is over and it is time to go out. Frank is not feeling up to it.(If you read this Frank I still say that you whoosed out on us!!!) So Kris and I leave to go meet Karlita and Karen at the News Cafe. We are there and we wait for them just talking about this and that. They show up but the place is about to close so we go to a different place that is about 2-3 blocks away. As we leave, we are invaded by a bunch of bums. What a pain in the butt. The first one is a woman saying that she got robbed and needs money. Karlita tells me that this woman has tried the same line on her before. I laugh and the woman gets offended asking what is wrong with me. Karen not knowing the ful story gives her money and the woman leaves us alone. Oh no, another one. This one is scray. He is straight out of a horror movie. He limps and starts talking in a very low voice to help him out and is walking straight for Karen. Karen freaks out as he tries to approach her but Kris is a knight in shining armor and takes care of the situation and the man goes away with nothing. We make it to the other place and have a nice time just talking around and joking like there is no tomorrow. I feel a bit bad though because it is 2am and Karlita has a mid-term exam tomorrow. But she is a big girl and I know she can handle it. It is now 4:17pm and Frank and kris are probably very close to Atlanta. As to me, I am hungry and I think I need to go eat.
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