Boulder and D.C. Couldn't Be More Different

Differences between the D.C. area and Boulder, CO:

1) "Recycling" is not a familiar term to inhabitants of the nation's capital. Whereas those who do not compost are generally subject to scrutiny form the environmentalists comprising Boulder's population, I'd bet that the majority of D.C. residents do not even know what composting is, nor have the option to do so.

Yeah... you're not getting these options in D.C. 

2) There is this crazy thing called "diversity" in D.C. as opposed to in Boulder where everyone is a slightly different shade of white. Pale white, slight olive-hued but still white skin, white with freckles...Here, I am often the only Caucasian on the bus or in a restaurant or in the gym and I love it. Variety is the spice of life, after all.

This is diversity in Boulder... I guess the guy in the front is slightly tan?

3) Sidewalks randomly end. It is seriously perturbing, especially for runners like me. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why they end, but right when you least expect it, the sidewalk just disappears, perhaps into some other dimension comprised entirely of the last portions of D.C. and Northern Virginia sidewalks.

That looks about right... 

4) Gluten free? Dairy free? Huh?? I've sporadically seen some gluten free items along the shelves of markets here, but asking for dairy free in a restaurant receives an eyebrow raise from the waiter and a completely baffled look. Chances are, if they say it is a dairy-free dish, you're probably going to get some anyway.



5) Pedestrians beware! In Boulder, anyone traveling on foot can basically step in front of an 18-wheeler without even glancing both ways and the truck will come to a screeching halt. Here, a pedestrian can be mid-intersection DURING a WALK SIGNAL and still provoke honk after honk from angry cars trying to turn right and having to wait a whole ten seconds for someone to cross the street. You could easily get struck by a car and it would not be a big surprise to anyone. 

Living the Frogger Life

Costa Rican drivers play their own version of Frogger called "Hit or at Least Attempt to Hit Thus Scaring the #%^* Out of the Pedestrian". Yeah, I admit that game title could use revision- for that reason I am staying away from that industry. The scoring system seems pretty basic- hit a pasty American, 10 points. Hit a ballsy Costa Rican, 5. Wobbly old Asian lady with a dog tucked under her arm? 100 points. You get double points if you ambush them by turning a corner without a signal super fast as they attempt to cross thus making them scamper in terror to avoid your bumper.

My life in a nutshell...

Hailing from a city where pedestrians rule the roost to the point of pushing drivers to the brink of insanity, I find it impossible to adjust to a place where the opposite is true. My naive mind likes to think the cars won't actually hit me, but I'm not so sure- they've pushed the boundary so much its more terrifying then the cinematic love child of The Exorcist and The Ring. The other day my mind switched back to United States mentality and I stepped in front of a taxi thus incurring the wrath of the driver who didn't hold back his feelings and laid on the horn while actually driving closer to me. Not an obituary I want- Marisa died suddenly last weekend, squished on the bumper of a red San Jose cab. Silly gringa American....

Tied neck and neck for which is scarier are riding in a car in San Jose and trying to cross the street. I learned that following stray dogs or sticking with packs of locals are the best ways to ensure a safe passage across the road. From living a life on the street, those canines developed a keen sense of street-crossing knowledge and I trust them far more than I do myself. Almost every car ride I take here has me white-knuckled in the back seat, digging my own nails into my palm. I is similar to riding a Disneyland roller coaster except you are far less sure of your survival. Last night, the rain cascaded out of the sky onto the taxi driver's windshild as he stopped behind a huge truck carrying poorly secured lumber in bumper to bumper traffic on the highway on a hill so steep he had to use the parking break (they drive manuals here) so as not to go careening backwards. My life flashed before my eyes as I recited a few Hail Mary's. Thankfully we survived that one...Next time, I may not be so lucky.