American Dream: A Job

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My American Dream: A Job

Going to job interviews in New York City, I often take pictures of  happenings and views. I hope that my longing for this job search to be over gets transmuted into the pictures. 

A shot of the roofline of New York City, taken just before a job interview. I was nervous, that's why the picture is tilted : )

Juggling in Bryant Park.

The lobby of Bobst Library at NYU (my recent alma mater).

A bulletin board for NYU students in the basement of Bobst. Think of all the activities you could go to and learn from, held in all the interesting meeting spaces of NYU!

Outside, in nearby Washington Square Park, a man played Tchaikovsky in 30-degree weather.

My son and his friends from Costa Rica with the lions outside the New York Public Library on 

Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street.

The trio from Costa Rica with an American icon.

Times Square truly is the crossroads of the world. The artist was from China. What do you think of the likeness of Abraham, from Costa Rica? 

Beaches, Nighttime Frogs

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My Upcoming American Dream: Finding the Exceptional Near Home

Here you'll see my last day in Costa Rica.  

Up next in my blog:  great photos from the Mid-Atlantic states and tiny bits from my book-in-progress, "Quest: In Search of the American Dream."  Each person I interview defines the American Dream differently.  Stay tuned and learn what your fellow Americans aspire to.

The beach at Manuel Antonio.  White-faced monkeys and raccoons are a constant threat to swimmers' backpacks, if left unattended on the sand.

We took a jungle tour at night.  Saw alligators' eyes gleaming in the beam of a flashlight, saw moths, lizards, a huge spider that could walk on water, and this frog.  I can't recall now whether this is a gladiator frog or not.  Does anybody know?  Please comment.

Here I am, neat and tidy after a swim in the Pacific.  My compadres are Marta and Milton, who are the parents of my son's girlfriend and who take good care of my son, who has emigrated to Costa Rica.

Pacific Coast of Costa Rica

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American Dreams Come with the Night

Nighttime in Costa Rica was dreamy and wildly exotic.  To be able to go there was a dream come true.

The sunset over the Pacific Ocean from the beach at Manuel Antonio.

Another sunset scene.

The next day, we took a nature hike in the Manuel Antonio national forest with a guide who spotted wildlife for us.  He took pictures with our cameras through his telescope, mounted on a tripod.  This picture is of the Jesus Christ lizard, I believe, so named because it can run across water.

In the center is a three-toed sloth and its baby.  Sloths move so slowly, moss begins to grow in its fur, making a greenish cast.

White-faced monkeys take tourists' knapsacks off the beach and high into the trees, where they taste each item and throw it down if it isn't edible.  After a hot hike in the forest, we luxuriated in the Pacific waters of the adjacent beach, with one person remaining on the sand as designated knapsack-watcher.  Costa Rican raccoons were another threat to our snacks.

American Dream: An Inexpensive Hotel in a Gorgeous Spot

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One of my fans wanted more pics of the Monteverde Inn.  I highly recommend it (http://www.monteverdeinfo.com/maps/monteverde.htm#monteverde-inn).  

It was difficult to find at night, because our GPS didn't have the inn in its database (it kept sending us to the Monteverde Lodge, unfortunately).  I nearly had a meltdown, I was so tired from driving all evening on unpaved roads.

But our  travails to find it--driving down rocky, one-lane roads at night in the cloud forest--were worth it.  The inn had a tremendous view of the Gulf and Peninsula of Nicoya (see previous post).  One of the best things about it was the manager, Anthony, a cheerful, helpful host.

Anthony outside the office, which had internet access.

The building our rooms were in.  We were on the edge of a cloud forest (see previous post with me in the center of a fig tree, and a tree covered with epiphytes).

Anthony helping my son with his iPhone.

Outside the breakfast room, a strange creature lurked.  We never were quite sure what it's name was.  It seemed related to raccoons.  

Last Views of the Cloud Forest at Monte Verde

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Our last hours in the Monte Verde cloud forest were spent admiring hummingbirds and epiphytes, plants that thrive in air, not soil.

I liked the epiphytes (a plant, such as an orchid or stag horn fern, that grows on another plant, upon which it depends for mechanical support but not for nutrients).

We visited a hummingbird station.  There's a dark blue one just to the left of the feeder.

A sculpture, I think of Don Quixote, at the hummingbird center.

A Funny Little Hotel in the Forest

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American Dream: A Zipline thru a Cloud Forest, a Simple Hotel to Recover In

The Monte Verde Cloud Forest was beautiful.  We saw Arenal, the volcano, from the zipline, but my camera didn't capture it.  It was too focused on the zipline I was about to force it to take.

Would you trust these two wires to hold you up as you flew 75 feet above the treetops?  Not to mention the treetops are probably 100 feet above the ground.  One, two, three and you're off!

A banana tree grew on the grounds of our little hotel in Monte Verde.  The purple thing is part of the banana plant.  Looks like a plum line.

The view from the grounds of our hotel in Monte Verde.  The pink and grey clouds are hiding the Gulf and Peninsula of Nicoya and the Pacific beyond.

The hotel office.  I told you it was a little place!  Rustic and simple, deep in the cloud forest, almost impossible to find at night (we learned that the hard way), but it got the job done.

Monte Verde Canopy Crawl & Zipline

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The American Dream: Adventure and Fun

The Monte Verde canopy crawl and zip line was a very fun day.  Why can't all days be that fun?  I can't help asking that question; I think adventure and fun is what we were created for.  On a work-a-day sort of day, it's an adventure to think of ways to make people laugh.

More exotic foliage and flowers on the canopy crawl.

Me, left front, with my family on one of the canopy bridges.  We were happy to see miniature orchids and tons of weird-looking growth.

Getting ready for the zipline.

The view from the zipline tower.  I'm glad I did it once, but I have no interest in doing it again.  It's off my bucket list. 

An American Dream in Monte Verde, Costa Rica

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One Type of American Dream:  New Experiences

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We drove to Monte Verde to make a dream come true:  to experience a cloud forest, a completely different type of forest than a rain forest.

Up in the mountains, we felt tiny stings on our bare arms.  It was the tiny, cold droplets of the clouds that drifted over the mountaintops.  This moisture collects on leaves and runs off to the roots, creating a unique eco-climate.

Look closely in the center of this fig tree, you'll see the silhouette of my head.

We took a canopy tour.  You're now looking down 50 to 100 feet at the tops of trees growing below.

My brother, in the blue jacket, said to the guide of the canopy tour, "We're all plant nerds, so please go slow."

A plant that looks very weird to my eye.

More strange plants.

We really are plant nerds!

San Jose, Costa Rica

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The American Dream of Time with Family

Family is the most important thing to Costa Ricans, I think it's safe to say.  We saw people sitting out on their porches, just hanging out in each other's company.  Costa Rica is one of the happiest countries in the world.

My family took a day trip to San Jose, under my son's adopted family's wing, to explore the capital of Costa Rica.  Sculptures of birds accented the parks and pedestrian malls.  We had ice cream, a nice cap to a warm day.  

My son and his girlfriend Indira with a bird sculpture.

Will's adopted mom, Marta.

A theater.

The whole family (except me, thank God).

Another bird.

Indira's sister Sheyla and her boyfriend Abraham.  He turned out to be a real caballero (gentleman).

Heredians Love Their American Dream

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The American Dream in Heredia

My son's adopted city, Heredia, is twenty minutes from San Jose.  I felt lost mostly, since, as a foreigner, every street looked the same to me.  Small shops line every street, and Heredians love to shop apparently, playing out their "Americas" dream.

Heredia is a delightful city.  Its high elevation means great weather.  The Parque Central in Heredia has an historic fort, an art museum, a beautiful fountain and a lovely historic church.

The fort.

My son and adopted family on the steps of the art museum.

The fountain at sunset.

 La Inmaculada Concepcion, a majestic church built in 1796.

Interior of the church - side entrance.

Rear door.

The altar decorated for Christmas.