Should You Hide Your Head in the Sand or Set Yourself On Fire?

Lisa
so what are your reflections?
why do you not wish to post them here?
why do you repeatedly post one liners with a link to your site?
Lisa, this is called "spam", it is very poor form.

I have no issue with your writings (if a bit wordy), if you wish to contribute here - please do so.
I too have thoughts on this subject - but I am NOT going to go to your site to post such.

Please stop spamming us.
If you like this site, post here and show YOUR support.

Bill

Is there a place I can post a 1500 word article on this site? Id did not see one or I would have done so.

I am sharing my writing with everyone I can. I do not consider that spam. I'm not selling anything when I tell of an article I wrote. If there is a different way I can post an article on this site just tell me what it is. I am a writer. I write articles of 1500 to 2500 words.

I also make a post here and answer questions once in a while.

If the site administrators feel I am doing something wrong, why don't they tell me so or just ban me. I do not wish to be where I am not wanted. However, I have gotten good responses from various people on this site. They like my writing. They write to me and ask me questions about my life here in Costa Rica.

If there is a better way for me to share my articles, tell me how to do that. Otherwise complain to the administrators.
Lisa

Way to go Lisa. You know I'm your biggest fan.

Gary

LisaValencia wrote:

Is there a place I can post a 1500 word article on this site? Id did not see one or I would have done so.

Well, actually there is the guide section

There is absolutely no reason to ban you Lisa (I never thought about this), but yes, of course we would appreciate if you would post more information on the website

Thanks,

Julien

Thanks Julien

you might consider how to make the guide section a bit more visible (I had not known of it)

Lisa, I would enjoy corresponding with you on this site,
and your current topic is a barn burner - put it up
- I an not in CR by accident, and I know I have company

Bill

spook835 wrote:

Way to go Lisa. You know I'm your biggest fan.

Gary

Thank you, Gary.

Julien wrote:

LisaValencia wrote:

Is there a place I can post a 1500 word article on this site? Id did not see one or I would have done so.

Well, actually there is the guide section

There is absolutely no reason to ban you Lisa (I never thought about this), but yes, of course we would appreciate if you would post more information on the website

Thanks,

Julien

Hi Julian,
     Thank you for your kind response. I found the section to post my article and just did so. The other thing I found was a previous article I had posted there (Called Motorcycle Angel)! Whoops! That is embarrassing. It was posted over a year ago so maybe I can be forgiven for forgetting. Any way. I hope you like the article.
     And I will get more involved in answering questions on the Expat.com website.
Lisa

BillA wrote:

Thanks Julien

you might consider how to make the guide section a bit more visible (I had not known of it)

Lisa, I would enjoy corresponding with you on this site,
and your current topic is a barn burner - put it up
- I an not in CR by accident, and I know I have company

Bill

Thank you Bill. So you read my article and you liked it. Thank you. I just replied to Julian that I had found the place to post an article and and I also noticed an article I posted there a over year ago. Sorry... I forgot. Any way, my article is now posted on this site.

I am a writer. I write for myself - on my website. I am too young to receive Social Security. I have a monthly income of $500.00 from my rental property in Montana. I cannot scrape by on just that. In order to be able to write and live here in Costa Rica, I must create more of an income. I have written a book on my first two years experiences moving here, a woman alone. I offer a small guide service in which I use my experience to help others coming here for the first time, alone, as I did. Those two things help a little bit.

Writing is what I love to do and it is my goal to achieve an income from this. In order to get the most possible people to read my work I talk about it on every forum I can. People respond well. Some forums will not allow me to mention anything about what I do or my writing because they do not want anyone to be lured away from their site. That is fine. Those places are not for me. But I want to tell you that forums like this, where I can tell about my work, are really appreciated and I want to give back. I do not want to exploit anyone.

So that is my situation. I hope to continue to add a new article once in a while. My other articles, I will simply make reference to with a link to my website as I have done before. I can't post them all here. And I will make an effort to contribute what I can to help others with their Costa Rica questions.

Sand or Fire (Lisa’s title, an old man’s ruminations)
Why do gringos come to live in Costa Rica?
Getting away is the Head in the Sand, making money is the Set Yourself on Fire
(others might define these differently).

For an older person there is a lot to dislike about the US, most will have memories of locales and communities that no longer exist, and the replacements are seen as considerably less attractive. Quite often it is the tenor itself of the micro-society we inhabit that evolves in a direction not to our liking. For some it is the loss of companionship or the desire for different friends that leads to the conclusion that its time to move on. And the transition from a representative republic to a democracy is a sorry spectacle indeed. Goodbye US, and for some . . . Hello Costa Rica.

So why would I equate moving to Costa Rica with having one’s Head in the Sand? Most of us are creatures of habit, and the older we are the more entrenched the habits; habits that we bring with us to CR. From our activities to our beliefs, customs, desires, expectations, faith, goals, hobbies, interests, etc. etc.; like tin cans tied to our tail they are always with us. Given all this baggage, how many of us are actually “getting away” – or are we just changing the scenery with our Head (Still) in the Sand?

Expat ‘communities’ are a letter perfect example of a club whose common denominator is being foreign to the local culture. (“Expat” is used loosely as very very few actually renounce their US citizenship.) For some this expat status is how they forever remain, while a few will integrate over time into the local community; but a gringo in a Latin society will always be a foreigner - despite a spouse, children, grandchildren, whatever. There are real cultural differences between gringos and ticos, but with our heads in the sand we can concentrate on just being real people.

The other motivation for moving to CR is money, Set Yourself on Fire; do something, be something. Note that A Noble Cause can be substituted for the goal of money, combined as well even. Oldsters will recall the Robert Vesco joke: How does one make a small fortune in CR? Answer: Come with a large one. The typical exchange is that the gringo comes with capital and utilizes the Costa Rican (natural) resources to make something happen. And if the gringo is adaptable, and doesn’t run out of money and/or energy, good things can result for all involved. As no gringo will ever be a part of the ruling oligarchy, success will be only for a time.

The Noble Cause notion is beguiling, rooted I suppose in the idea that the expat knows better than the local. Somehow, despite the massive mess we’ve made up north, we still think we know how to tell others the way to do it ‘right’. Pardon me if I pass on that notion. That being said, for sure there are always ways that one can contribute to a society; but what was the specific need to come to CR to make this contribution? Yes, I too like the scenery.

That Costa Rica is for Costa Ricans is worth remembering, as expats we are strangers in a strange land.

Lisa
where is your article?

Bill

Interesting take on my article heading. I was referring to the guy in Tunisia who set himself on fire which started the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. We are talking about very different things.

Hi Bill,
  I posted my article under "Guide Articles" where my other one called "Motorcycle Angel" is. I just looked there and it is not shown. Maybe the administrators simply did not get to reviewing it yet. they do not post it until they review it first. We can check tomorrow.
Lisa

Hello Lisa,

I think by latest tomorrow your article will be online

Regards

LisaValencia wrote:

Interesting take on my article heading. I was referring to the guy in Tunisia who set himself on fire which started the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. We are talking about very different things.

understood, quite intentional, local color

Bill

Yud wrote:

Hello Lisa,

I think by latest tomorrow your article will be online

Regards

Thank you, Yud.

BillA wrote:

LisaValencia wrote:

Interesting take on my article heading. I was referring to the guy in Tunisia who set himself on fire which started the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. We are talking about very different things.

understood, quite intentional, local color

Bill

Hi Bill,
     Just thought I'd get back to you on your question of where is my article. They won't publish it on this site. They sent me a notice saying it did not fit their criteria. They will not add my website to their blog sites, either. They say it is "much more than a blog."

     That's me. I have to be different - don't do it on purpose, it just happens that way. But I tried.

     I appreciate them letting me announce my new articles (I don't like calling them "blogs" any way). Hope it doesn't bother you when I do that without posting them on this site.Like I said, I tried.

Hello Lisa,

Can you resubmit your article please. I think an error occurred while your article was being reviewed!

Regards

looks like there may be hope Lisa . . . .
- and you could always put up the first page (mine was ~600 words)

Bill

Yud wrote:

Hello Lisa,

Can you resubmit your article please. I think an error occurred while your article was being reviewed!

Regards

Certainly, I'd be happy to!