The Adventures of Kris & Clara

On Monday March 8th I was on GMail chatting with my friend Kris who is far away at business school.  We started talking and before I knew it we were discussing the possibility of going to Costa Rica.  He was going to be on Spring Break and I need to get out Chicago's cold weather.  After several minutes of contemplating I booked my flight for March 19th!  Kind of crazy considering I can count the number of conversations I have had with Kris on both hands.  Only after I booked my flight did I stop and think "That was impulsive.  This could turn out badly."  As per usual I called my step-dad to discuss my decision.  We had had a discussion two days prior about where to go about finding the 'right' person.  He told me I needed to start trying new things.

I told him what I had planned on doing and his response was "Clara!  I told you to try new things but I didn't think you would be jumping into lake Michigan when it was 30 degrees out or going on trips with guys you don't know that well!"  I could see his eyes popping out and head shaking.  After he told me that he was sure I would have fun no matter what then asked where each of us would be sleeping.  Hmmm not the response I was looking for so I decided to call Alex my girlfriend who is a bit like me and well SUPER fun.  We went to dinner prior to my departure and she said "Just have fun!"  I liked this better so that's what I advice I packed with me.  Our first day it was like a get to know you session although I did most of the talking.  I don't think Kris knew what he was in for until our first day on the trip when an Asian man from another tour was walking towards me and he lunged at me and almost took me down.  As it turns out he had tripped and I just so happend to be there ready to catch him.  In his very thick Japanese accent he said "SO sow-eee....so so sow-ee" I just looked over at Kris and he shook his head in disbelief and said "Woah, you're like a magnet for this stuff"  Thus began the Adventures of Kris & Clara!

There were a ton of fun moments and hilarious stories but I will stick to the highlights which will have to be in a series of posts because the stories are pretty long. 

White Water Rafting Trip
Our first day we decided to go White Water Rafting 5min before the guide came to pick us up.  We ran in a mad dash to change into swimsuits and acceptable clothing.  We jumped in the van to hear "HELLO & WELCOME!" As we sat into our seats we saw that in front of us there was a heavily freckled blond woman about the age of 55 or 60 greeting us.  She shouted her name "HI!  I'm Paula!  You can call me pretty Paula" and then introduced the rest of her family Carly & Mike.  As the rest of the bus started filling up she repeated the process and was determined to get to know everyone.  When two Aussies joined us they asked where she worked and she said 'a library' to which I thought was an odd job choice for someone so incredibly loud but I was also fascinated so I asked her what her favorite book was and she replied "Books are boring!  I read the magazines...I am a pop culture know-it-all."  The Australians gave the "oh these dumb American's look" to which she confessed that she knew it was ridiculous to love pop culture and celebrities that much but she lived in California which somehow made it an acceptable hobby. She then went on to name Australian TV shows that the locals had not even watched along with 4 or 5 Australian celebrities.

By the time we got to the Torro river we were all a bit sick of Party Paula and her inability to speak at a normal level.  I'm thankful that we were not in her raft not because of her constant WooHoo-ing for no reason but because her entire family was incredibly uncoordinated and unable to paddle not only in synchronization but even in the proper direction. The highlight of the rafting trip was after we were back on dry land and drinking beers she proclaimed that this was "the most bitchenest time" she has ever had. 


Depth Perception Problems
This will be a short story and might not translate so well since it was one of those had to be there moments.  Kris & I put our passports and valuable items in an electronic safe in our hotel room and when we needed to get them out we found that it was broken.  Kris called and got the front desk to send someone over.  While we were waiting for them to come we decided to sit on the rocking chairs of our patio and just hang out before our Canopy Tour.  While we were waiting I had remarked that their gutter system and the ability to remove rain water was pretty efficient.  The gutters drained into what looked like a very deep square hole that was dug out and coated in concrete and the drain inside led down to the river at the edge of the hotel property.  The square looked like it was full of murky water with a mossy coat on top it was hard to gauge the depth of the hole.  As we were sitting there waiting, and I was getting more and more restless by the moment I said "Kris, how deep do you think that water is?"  He just shrugged and kind of looked at me.  Then I said "I wonder how deep it is?  I'm going to find out."  I grabbed one of the volcanic rocks and tip toed over to the edge of the square which was circled with exotic flowers.  Kris said nothing but watched.  I threw the rock into the square with force and....CLANK!  My rock tumbled around into the empty dark 2ft deep square.  At this point Kris was laughing almost to the point of tears and I couldn't help but laugh at myself.  So for the rest of the day Kris teased me by asking "I wonder how deep this is?"