Costa Rica is different. People on the streets aren't crude. There're no open sewers to be seen. Transit buses are actual transit buses rather than old school buses. And it's expensive. A refreshing change, but not what I left home to see. It is, however, a good place to reflect on 100 days on the road.

I've adapted now. No longer do I wake up each day thinking "Glory Be! I could be at work but instead I'm in Costa Rica!" No. I wouldn't say it feels like work, but it definitely feels normal. It's like sleeping till eight or nine before going to museums or lakes or volcanoes is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. That said, I still have moments where I have the sudden realization that Wow... I'm in Nicaragua or wherever.

"I'm not as failure-prone..."
I think I've picked up some self confidence from somewhere too. In situations where I might previously have passed on taking a chance or opportunity, it feels like I'm much more likely now to just jump in and try. Whether with events or people, fears of failure aren't quite as terrifying as perhaps they once were. Or maybe I've just figured out that I'm not as failure-prone as I might have previously believed.

It's been mentioned before, but I've also seen how obscenely lucky I am. In financial terms,

Environmental Mural in San Jose

the difference between me and Bill Gates is negligible when compared to the difference between me and many of the people living in the places I've visited. I can't take credit for that particular wording of the idea, but it's entirely true. And worse is when you consider the fact that to some extent, our wealth requires the poverty of others. Can you imagine if everyone on earth demanded our quality of life? There aren't enough resources on the planet to provide that. So whaddya do? Sadly, I think of something else.

"Making it worse by dumping stuff on the streets."
Ever drive through a ghetto-like urban area and wonder why people don't take pride in their neighborhood and keep it clean? Of course it's a mindset of things being beyond hope and that there's no point in trying. I think people who live there probably stop seeing the trash and don't even realize they're making it worse by dumping stuff on the streets.

Now imagine that in a whole country. On a large scale it involves such things as raw sewage running directly into water reservoirs. On a smaller scale people casually toss whatever trash happens to be in their possession on the street, out the bus window, or onto the floor. This isn't the careless litterbug from the US. It seems deeply ingrained that it's just what you do with trash. It belongs out the window. I once had someone on a bus tell me how much they loved the US. Everywhere is so clean, he said. Then he tossed a Coke bottle and plastic plate out the window.

Other things I've learned are more mundane.

• Peanut Butter is hard to find and expensive in Central America
  
• Urine can yield a surprisingly varied array of different scents.
  
• Everything is louder here. People. Buses. Car horns. Televisions.
  
• Sometimes the hot water is on the right. Often both knobs are cold.
  
• If a store has change, always... always use your largest bill. The next place will have nothing. I recently bought 7 cordobas worth of food and the woman was stunned when I presented a 10 cordoba note. The transaction took 10 minutes.
  
• I think people in El Salvador would still love the US even if it bombed their capital.
  

Finally, I'm considering a color-coded system that will inform you of my current gastro-intestinal condition and the precautions I'm taking as a result.

Normal	Purify water. Avoid street food. Wash Hands.
Elevated	Avoid spicy foods. Drink fluids. Keep duct tape and toilet nearby.
High	Lock self in bathroom with lots of toilet paper. Locate powerful antibiotics and insurance card. Tell someone to keep tabs on self.
Critical	Pop Cipro like Chiclets. Warn guests in adjacent rooms of powerful, repulsive noises that will be coming from next door. Consider arranging medical evacuation.

Tommorow is on to Puerto Viejo on the Carribbean coast and on into Panama shortly after.