gaia.plateau Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 (edited) I've had my tubes installed here in my modest Tican apartment, and two of my hookahs are all ready to go. Unfortunately, my shisha stash is dwindling rapidly, so if anyone knows of any kind of shisha shop in either Costa Rica, Nicaragua or Panama, let me know!Apart from that... sup?Edit: Oh, and I have a blog now. Except I hate that word, so I call it a "welo". Edited August 7, 2009 by gaia.plateau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColibriDon Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Glad to have you back. Keep up the posts...always provide a good laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny_D Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Welcome back Gaia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1v3th3ad Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 great to see your face around again, you were missed(in a non gay way and maybe a lil bit in a gay way too) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balthazar Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Good to have you back. Costa Rica ... What were you studying again? International conflicts, or something like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaia.plateau Posted August 8, 2009 Author Share Posted August 8, 2009 This is my programme ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balthazar Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 You got into University for Peace? No small feat, congrats (might be a bit late, but still ...). Sounds like an interesting line of study (also: expensive ), especially if you're thinking about doing something related to journalism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaia.plateau Posted August 8, 2009 Author Share Posted August 8, 2009 Haha, thanks. It is indeed expensive, $50k but I have a partial scholarship so it's somewhat lessened. Combined with my undergrad debts though, I'm still going to be in the hole for a while.But yar, journalism is probably where I'll start out, either an independent media organization somewhere or maybe a big operation like Al Jazeera. If I don't get work right away the plan is to head to Gaza with some recording devices and put together a portfolio of sorts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balthazar Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 That sounds like a good plan. This might sound a bit strange, but it's a relief to see someone going for a profession that won't lead to buckets of $. Best of luck to you, and keep us posted whether it's through your blog welo or this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaia.plateau Posted August 8, 2009 Author Share Posted August 8, 2009 Yar, money has never been important to me, as long as I can keep myself in booze and smoke I'm happy. I fear owning property like most people fear death.The nice thing about starting out in journalism, given that I find a decent operation to work for, is that there are really no expenses; your shelter, transport and food are generally all provided for- meaning that I can put virtually 100% of my earnings toward paying off my loan asap, without bullshit like a mortgage to juggle. I'd like to eventually work in peacebuilding workshops at the participatory, community level in places like Sri Lanka and the Congo, where the ideology of using violence as a solution is culturally engrained. (Also paying next to nothing, of course). If I ever got into mediation (my end goal) or diplomacy, or publishing or even stuff where I get honourariums for expertise and etcetera, I could stand to make a fair bit of dough, which would be appealing if I ever decide to settle down one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cotsi95 Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 welcome back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balthazar Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 About the payment to the university, apart from the partial scholarship, how do you finance it? I'm curious because it seems like you, unless you have a rich family or has saved up a lot of money, would have to apply for a loan to be able to pay such a high amount of money. Don't know how it works for Canadian citizens, but in Norway you get a student loan that has no interest rate and you're not obliged to start paying down the debts until you've finished your studies. However, it would not even come close to $50k over two years (basically it'll cover living™ and maybe a bit more, probably get you further if you study abroad because of lower costs of basic necessities). So, have you applied for a "regular loan", with interest rates and the whole shebang, or does Canada give out awesome student loans? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaia.plateau Posted August 9, 2009 Author Share Posted August 9, 2009 We have the same deal as you for loans, except there are low interest rates (I pay around $50/month to maintain it), until you're done school.I've always worked during school, making pretty good dosh as a DJ and other things, but I'm still around $8k in the hole for undergrad. I got about $15k knocked off my grad tuition, so overall I owe around $42k or so. And it's actually 50k over 1 year, including the cost of living, rather than two. But yeah. I sold my car for $4.5k, so that's basically in charge of maintaining my loans, and all I have to worry about is paying it off when I'm done here next July. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balthazar Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 (edited) Not too shabby. My annual student loan is $13000, so I'll be down a fair bit after my bachelor degree (and even more if/when I get a master), but since there's no interest rate at all it's actually a better investment to save as much as possible on a savings account rather than to pay back (until you're finished with your studies). Although that also makes is easier to spend more than you would otherwise ...But if it's 50k a year, you've applied for a loan in a private bank, right? You don't get a student loan that big?Sorry for all the financial questions. Interested in this because I'm pondering how I'll pay for my own masters degree, if I decide to get one (probably will). Edited August 10, 2009 by Balthazar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaia.plateau Posted August 10, 2009 Author Share Posted August 10, 2009 We can get student loans through banks here, but I have the 8k on a loan through my undergrad school in Canada, plus a line of credit through the federal student loan fund that gives me 15k every 6 months, beginning last May, for my MA tuition installments.It's all too complicated for me, I mostly let my old man do my number crunching as he's a banker and I'm numerically and financially retarded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balthazar Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Haha, okay. Might have to do the same thing some day (luckily my father is an economist). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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