Nomadic Narrative

It all started when I realized I was wearing my house slippers as I was jumping into a taxi on my way to work. I ran back into the house, put on appropriate footwear, and left without grabbing my umbrella, after all that. (read previous post)

I always tell the taxi driver that I want to go via the carretera when they ask the route I’d like to take. Most taxi drivers take me exactly as I explain. Speeding by unfamiliar storefronts, I ask the driver where we’re headed. “Oh, two people were murdered last night, probably because of drugs. These people standing around on street corners with cell phones all day, what else could they be doing? The road is blocked by the museum.”

I said that we didn’t have to go by the museum. Too late, he takes me through San José on what he describes as the “carretera.” It’s a popular route also, but it’s not the “rotunda” as I learn he calls the carretera. Any trip through the ratty city is unnerving. I arrive frazzled.

Leaving the brand new, 15-story marble building I work in, I attempt to take a bus for the first time in this area. I quickly find myself walking down a busy street with no sidewalks, seedy storefronts and yards full of chickens. I meet up with a woman in her forties on her way to the bus. We walk together and she kindly signals the best places to cross.

I catch what turns out to be the slow bus. I’m now thinking that this just isn’t my day, so I start to think about the great opportunity I have to see the tiny streets that wind through the mountains of Escazú. I arrive at the center of town, and weave through the streets to the bank. It isn’t raining, so I feel lucky.

Leaving my second class, it’s sprinkling. I still feel lucky because I’m not venturing off into a torrential downpour as is often the case. I get on the bus home, but it starts backing down the street. If you’ve been here, you know what an amazing feat it must be to actually back up a bus in the downtown area. We make a giant loop through downtown and finally begin a familiar route.

Today was all about alternate routes. Somehow, I was able to remain completely calm—except for exchanging a few words with the cab driver. The city really felt chaotic today, yet I find myself at home with it. When I reflect back on the day, I really feel alive. Is that nuts?