Samara

I've noticed that people in Samara REALLY love Samara. I appreciate this. As someone who can fall deeply in love with places, this makes sense to me. I got the city of Chicago tattooed on my arm for crying out loud. I fell in love with Chicago, and then I fell more in love as I made some of the best friends of my life there. Samara is so different than Chicago, but the love for the place feels very similar. For example, we have told people here that we might go somewhere else after this to live in Costa Rica, and they always say, "You won't find anywhere better than Samara."

Samara does have a lot to offer. My favorite thing so far is the Saturday market, the Feria. We even get up early to go, which for us, used to not be a thing, like ever.

life music each Saturday at la Feria

They have amazing produce, freshly cost fish, homemade yogurts and juices, as well as art and other goods. We do most of our grocery shopping at the market.

One of my other favorite places so far is Chaki cafe. Chaki is a lovely coffee shop in the center of town. The baristas are super kind, the cafe has good vibes only, and it is a great space to work. I love that they know my order--the usual (latte frio grande con un poco caramello).

inside of Chaki cafe

Another spot we have frequented so far is Las Olas. Las Olas has an amazing location right on the beach and they have special events most nights. We have done karaoke two times now.

view from just outside of Las Olas

Our goals now are to settle in a bit and meet more people. My personal goal is to get more established on different sites online. I have started doing some online teaching through a company called Unlimited English. I hope to get started on Preply soon too. If you know anyone in need of an English tutor, please check out my profile.

So far I love the creativity that comes with teaching English and how it involves a lot of the skills I have already used in my past jobs.

In addition to all of that, we are loving the new place we moved into. It is close to Samara (a 10-15 minute walk) and is 5 minutes from the beach. It has an amazing view too!

view from the deck

Stay tuned for more adventures!