My First Doctor's Appointment At The Caja

I had my first appointment with a Caja doctor, and everything went swimmingly. I had heard horror stories of having an eight o'clock appointment and not getting in until eleven or later. Everything with my appointment went off like clock work. My appointment was for 8:00 AM. I weighed in, had my blood pressure taken, saw the doctor and was out at 8:45.

My new doctor's name is Dr. Carolina. She looks like she might be 25 years old but, of course, she is older and so sweet. She is a general practitioner but wants to go into internal medicine when she can. She has to work in the Caja for at least a year first. She asked me a little about my history, but told me she would talk more in-depth after she got my blood tests and mammogram back. We went over the medicines that I take on a regular basis. She was able to prescribe everything except medicines for menopause until she gets back the mammogram. In the mean time, she told me to just go to an outside pharmacy and purchase my Estradiol. No prescription needed! After our visit was over I went to a check out window where they stamped all the prescriptions she had written for me three times with dates and other information. I took these to the pharmacy in the CAJA, and they were all filled for three months for FREE! When they handed me the bag full of my medications I had the urge to run just in case they made a mistake in giving them to me at no charge!

Dr. Carolina also gave me prescriptions for blood tests and the mammogram which I was to take to another building called CISA and make my appointments. It also turned out to be a very easy process. Luckily I ran into my friend, George Lundquist, who speaks Spanish. I would have been in a little trouble with this part of the process if he had not been there. In the end, I now have appointments in November for all my free blood tests and mammogram. In January I return to my doctor to go over all the results and finish my physical.

Yesterday I ran into my new doctor in the grocery store. It made me so happy. It was such a warm feeling like being back in my small home town of Greenville.

Doctor's Office and Free Pharmacy

Pura Vida!

How To Make A Doctor's Appointment In Costa Rica

I did it! I guess it is silly to always be amazed when I accomplish things here, but I always am. It is a different country with a language I understand very little of. It has different customs and the medical system is Social. It is the opposite from what I am familiar with. So, today I walked into the Ebias, found the window for Ebias number One which is the area I live in, and made my first doctors appointment.

I thought I could just walk into any doctor's office, hand them my Seguro Social (Caja) card and make an appointment. Wrong. First I had to find out what area I was actually in. I called my neighbor, Manuel, and he told me I was in Ebias number one. From there I found out I had to go to the Seguro Social office, find the number one area, and make an appointment with a doctor. Then there's the problem of trying to ask if there is a doctor that speaks English. The guard at the front door did not speak English, so through my terrible broken Spanish he finally understood I was needing area one to make an appointment. The girl at the window for my area did not speak English, and I could not get internet service on my phone for Google Translate. Somehow, again with my words not sentences in Spanish, she figured out what I wanted and started making the appointment for me. As she was almost finished she called a very pretty and very young girl over. She was asking her something, so I asked the girl if she spoke any English. She said yes, some. I told her what I was trying to accomplish, and she said it had been understood and my appointment would be on Thursday with her. She was the doctor! I would have guessed her at 18 years old. Seriously, the Ticos really age well here.

I am not sick. I need to first see a doctor so I can start getting my medications through the Caja for free. It has not been the smartest thing on my part having not taken care of this 5 months ago when I first got on the country's insurance program. I think I was just exhausted from all the other legal things that have to be accomplished when you first move here. I've spent money I did not need to on meds. I am really excited to start getting them FREE!

If you did not read any of my past blog posts my full coverage medical insurance with free medicines and free doctors appointments is $44.00 a month. That's correct, $44.00 a month! I may not get in to see the doctor as fast as I want, or may not get into a surgery right away if it is not an emergency, but it's free when I do. If there is an emergency, and you cannot wait to make a doctor's appointment, you just go to the emergency room and are taken great care of. I can live with this!

I will let you know how my first appointment goes and the thrill of receiving free prescriptions.

Pura Vida!

Effects of The Rainy Season in Costa Rica

I am still pinching myself and in awe that I actually live in this beautiful country called Costa Rica.

We are deep into the rainy season. October is supposed to be the wettest. Last week we had 3 full days of non-stop rain. No sunshine that long is not fun, and I am one of those people that needs the sun. The country, however, is lush and green from all the rain. I have not heard last weeks rain totals, but the week before was 43".

Now for a little warning. I noticed at the beginning of last year's rainy season I was coughing. Then I came down with bronchitis. That is not unusual for me. I had it chronically as a child, but out grew it. I did get it occasionally the last few years in the States, but it seemed to be viral not just me with bronchitis. Now this year...shortly after the rain started I began that little hacky cough off and on. Then I came down with a light case of the flu followed by a 5 week hard episode of bronchitis. I am beginning to think the rainy season may be the culprit. We all know with a lot of wetness comes different molds, and some people are very allergic to mold. Some nights, not many but some, I step outside to let the dogs out and it is so foggy/cloudy in the mountains that I almost feel like I'm breathing water, and my lungs are not in favor of that. So, I will see how it goes next rainy season. I am going to beef up my immune system during the months of April and May to get ready. My warning would be if you are a person with lung issues you may want to think about this before moving to Costa Rica. Since I am in the mountains where the air is cooler and the clouds, when it rains, are at the same level. There may be other areas of the country you would want to consider.

As a side note, my daughter, son-in-law and his whole family were here in August. We spent five days in a beautiful mountain top villa overlooking the Pacific in Manuel Antonio. We had the most wonderful time and visit. On the sixth day my daughter, son-in-law and two friends that came with the family came back to my house with me. I immediately fell sick with the flu. Before they got out of here to avoid the plague my son-in-law hooked my Roku up and loaded Netflix on it for me. My I just say, that may have been the best gift I have ever received. It saved my sanity during those weeks I was shut in trying to get over bronchitis.

View from our villa pool

Look who came to play

The girls snorkeling in the Pacific off the catamarin

The whole family on the catamaran off Manuel Antonio

That being said, I still love it here. I love the lushness, all the incredible birds, nature nature nature, and the sweet Costa Rican people. I still recommend it as a great place to retire.

Plants growing on the trees

Living level and above the clouds

Pura Vida!

The Rainy Season in Costa Rica Is Here

We are now heavy into the rainy season. Costa Rica really has no seasons like the US. Our rainy season runs from May-November and the dry season December-April. Of course this is not precise. The rainy season this year started early in April.

Last year it almost never started raining until 2:30 and only lasted anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours. I could almost set my clock by it. The skies were always clear by 9:00 at night when the Central Valley lights came back into view. This season has been different. The last few days have been very gloomy with little sunlight. The only time I remember it being like this last year was when hurricane Nate left us with a tropical storm for two continuous days.

The vegetation growth in one month has been startling. Things had begun to get a little brown through the dry season, and I discovered I had a pond of water in the pasture right behind my house. It had been hidden by all the growth. In just a few weeks of rain it is hidden again. Living in the tropics is amazing. You really see Mother Nature at work and quickly!

I have been told we are supposed to have a much wetter season this year. I loved it last year, but there was much more sunlight. I do hope it does not continue like this. Otherwise, it's going to be a long six months. It is a good thing I have a lot of friends here that like to get out and do things, rain or shine. That will help!

Pura Vida!

My First Year

I cannot believe it is one year today that I moved to Costa Rica. At this time I had finished taking my precious victorian home apart and packed everything up with the help of my friends Bobby Trad, Dodi Macias Lasovich and Mary Jane Morris and daughter Jena. The shippers had come with a 20 foot cargo container and trucked it to the Gulf of Mexico for shipping to Costa Rica.

With all my papers in hand to obtain my legal status in Costa Rica, my dogs certificate of good health along with my daughter Meleese, her husband Drew, my two dogs and 5 suitcases I boarded American Airlines for the flight to take me to my new home.

It has been a very busy year. I found out shortly I needed a car. Luckily my veterinarian had just put her car up for sale, and I bought it. After waiting five weeks for my container to arrive with all my home furnishings I settled into my darling rent house with the million dollar view.

The people of Costa Rica call themselves Ticos, and they are the sweetest people in the world starting with my next door neighbors. They have taken me in as a family member. I've been to numerous large family events with them, birthday parties and their wedding. I do not speak Spanish and every place I have gone the person trying to help me has been patient and kind. I have yet to meet an unfriendly Tico.

It has been very busy socially. I have had ten friends come to visit, and we went to different interesting locals around the country. There is a large American community in Santiago and the surrounding area. I've made some wonderful new friends. Most of them really like to have a good time. My new friend, Carol, had a party at her home for the 50th Anniversary of The Summer of Love. Everyone was to dress up like the 1960s. We had a groovy time.

Shortly after arriving I employed an attorney in San Jose, Roberto Umana, to help me obtain my legal residency. I delivered all the paperwork I brought from the US, and he translated everything into Spanish, filed the request and paperwork with the Costa Rican Office of Immigration. In the mean time I applied to the Caja for my medical insurance and was set to go. In December I received a letter telling me I had been approved, but because of the holidays I would have to wait to go to the immigration office to receive my sedula (license of legal residence.) The appointment was finally set. On April 25th I became a legal resident of Costa Rica!

I have flown home twice in the year to visit my family and friends. It has truly been an amazing first year. I still cannot believe I did it!

Pura Vida!

Legal Resident of Costa Rica

It is official...I am now a legal resident of Costa Rica! My standing is good for two years then all I have to do is submit a request for another two years. After that I can request to be a permanent resident.

Now that I have been through all the hoops it does not seem that it was all that hard. At times during all of this I was almost overwhelmed. Especially at the end when I had to make sure I had all the receipts for all the deposits I was required to make. Sounds easy, but not so much. Some were requested in colones and some in dollars, but all the receipts were in colones. I finally went to a friends house, and she and her husband helped me figure it out. Thank goodness every thing was there!

One of the receipts was for joining the Caja which is the Costa Rican medical system. It cost about 1/16th of what it cost me in the US, and my doctor visits are all free and most of the meds are free! This is a huge benefit to living in CR.

Some people say it was very fast. It would have been even faster if not for the fact that the immigration approved my request in December. It was the holidays and everything comes to a stop. Then I received a four day notice in March that it was time to go to immigration and become a resident. I, unfortunately, was on my way to La Fortuna and Arenal with friends visiting from Texas. I was not going to be near San Jose on that date. We had to request another appointment date. So on April 25, 2018 this little Texas girl became a legal resident of Costa Rica with my sedula in hand.

At times during the appointment with immigration I was a little nervous. I don't speak Spanish. During the first part my attorney was with me, and he took care of all the legal parts. Then when he took me to the office where I go in and give them the paper work to receive my sedula (Government card showing I am legally in this country)my attorney, Roberto Umana, told me he was not allowed in that area and to listen closely for my name because it would be pronounced as "Clla-de-a Sujens." Oh my gosh I don't speak Spanish! I heard the new version of my name, but not the number of the cubical I was to go to. I went to the first one and pronounced my new Spanish name. He looked at me like I was crazy and said something to me in Spanish. Oh my gosh I DON'T SPEAK SPANISH! Why did I not learn more before now? I went to the second cubical, said my new name and got the same reaction. Finally a guard came over to me (I think I am about to be thrown out!) and I said my new Spanish name. He looked at a clip board and told me numero siete! Yes, I know my numbers! Now I am at the correct cubical. Paulo starts speaking to me in Spanish. "OH NO! Why wouldn't they let Roberto in here with me?" This man took pity on me and used Google Translate on his computer to tell me to sit outside and in 40 minutes they would come and deliver my sedula to me. Almost to the minute out came a man calling for Clla-de-a Sujens! I had it!!!!! I was almost jumping up and down leaving immigration.

THE PROCESS IN A NUT SHELL:
Before coming to Costa Rica
1. Obtain your birth certificate with your mother's maiden name on it
2. If you are married your marriage certificate
3. Document showing either monthly income from Social Security, or you have made a deposit in a Costa Rican bank that satisfies the requirement, or you have made an investment in CR that satisfies the requirement.
4. FBI Federal Police Clearance (Background check within one month of filing.)
5. Up to date Passport
6. Send all to the Attorney General's office of your State to have an Apostil attached to each document and sent back to you.

When I had all this ready I gave it to my attorney to translate into Spanish and submitted to the immigration office in Costa Rica.

Next: All these deposits go into a special numbered Government account with your name
1. Warranty Deposit $300 (This is to insure the Government that if something goes wrong while you are in CR there will be money to buy a one way ticket back to the US)
2. Cost of Residency Credentials $48.
3. Cost of Procedures $50
4. Application fee $250.
5. 2 year Residency $98.
6. Join the Caja and pay your first months payment

Hold on to all these receipts because they will need to be presented when you go to immigration for your final paperwork and receive your residency (Sedula).

Pura Vida!

Earthquake 4.8

We had another earthquake at 1:30 AM this morning. It was a 4.8.

I have had trouble sleeping, as usual. Been a night owl my whole life. Last night I stopped reading around 11:00, took a sleeping pill about 30 mins. before that and turned the lights out. The last time I looked at the clock it was 12:35. I was finally sound asleep when suddenly my two little dogs went crazy charging the foot of the bed barking. I barely woke up, looked at them and at the same time heard my bird downstairs flapping her wings like crazy. I took for granted the dogs were barking at her, even though she's never done this in the middle of the night before, and laid back down and went instantly back to sleep.

Today I went to a ladies luncheon at a friend's house. One of the gals asked if anyone felt last night's earthquake. They all responded, YES! That's when I realized my dogs and bird were going nuts because they were hearing and feeling the earthquake. Those sleeping pills work great once they finally take me down! In reality, the earthquake only lasted a matter of seconds and was not strong like the 6.8 I experienced in November. I'm sure if it had been the reality would have hit me. But it was really nice to be able to go right back to sleep oblivious of what had happened. I'm not a fan of earthquakes.

Pura Vida