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S02E36: Quickly Chatting Costa Rican Star Wars
35 Plays1 month ago
Pura Vida! We are live from Costa Rica with our good friends Sherri and Zack to chat about their lives as ex-pat Star Wars fans! You'll hear about how Costa Ricans stay looped into Star Wars with a little scoundrel spirit, why howler monkeys sound like angry wookiees, and more guest appearances from insane jungle wildlife than were frankly expected! It's the true Yavin Four experience on this episode!
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Transcript
Greetings from Costa Rica and Podcast Setup
00:00:00
Speaker
We're in Costa Rica talking Star Wars, Pura Vida style, and nothing happens real quick here. But this podcast does. We'll see you in a second. Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short?
00:00:11
Speaker
Aren't you a little short for a star trooper? Hello from Costa Rica. We are kicking it vacation style, but getting this podcast to you as promised and on time. It's just that I know I sound a little file funny.
00:00:27
Speaker
That's because this is all coming from my AirPods right now. But we were just visiting with our good friends, Sherry and Zach, not to be confused with my wife, Sherry, although they both spell their name the same and their middle names are Anne.
00:00:42
Speaker
I call this one Sherry too, because my wife is Sherry one. Anyway, we're gonna talk about Star Wars. ah we We go a little bit long, but hey, you flew thousands of miles to be here.
00:00:53
Speaker
You wanna get the full Costa Rica experience. This is a fun one, I hope you enjoy it. Well, here we sit on the shores of Lake Arenal in Costa Rica with our huge, short for a stormtrooper fans, Sherry Klippowitz, Zach Klippowitz, thank you for hosting us here.
00:01:14
Speaker
You are so freaking welcome, Zach. I mean, Zach. Zach's the one you're married to. That's okay. He's so welcome. No, Bob. Con gusto, as we you say in Costa Rica. Con mucho gusto. Con mucho gusto. With pleasure.
00:01:28
Speaker
Yes. So great to be here. So Sherry and I have been coworkers for a long time. and good friends for a long time. And um Zach, this is actually, I realized this is just the second time I met you.
00:01:43
Speaker
Yeah, you should say hi, Zach. Hi, Zach. That's true, Bob. And I think the last time we met, it was also at a brewery. It was at a brewery. So we we got off on the right foot. Yeah, it was. Yeah.
00:01:54
Speaker
And now you're hosting us here. We're here for a few days. It's great. But Sherry, like why the heck are we in Costa Rica seeing you as opposed to Colorado where we originally saw you?
00:02:05
Speaker
Oh,
Life Changes: Moving to Costa Rica
00:02:06
Speaker
yes. So we've had a ah big move. So in December, Zach and I moved from our cabin ah high on the mountain in Evergreen, Colorado, to the tropics of Costa Rica, rural Costa Rica, on the southern shores of Lake Arnall. It's beautiful here.
00:02:25
Speaker
It's absolutely gorgeous. We love the country, and we just decided to take a big adventure. We've always wanted to live abroad, and so we... both left our jobs. So I left Accenture after just over eight years and made a big pivot to see what's going to be next. And I'll give Zach a little bit of that. I had most recently worked in ah manufacturing in the federal government and have about 20 years of manufacturing experience overall.
00:03:03
Speaker
And, you know, while that was good, I just felt like it was time to try something new, a new challenge, um you know, time to really expand just our horizons yeah and our options and opportunities. And I found that Costa Rica is a perfect place that has a lot of potential and opportunities.
00:03:27
Speaker
And, you know, ah in a lot of ways sets you up for success. yeah And those are all things that we just, we're drawn towards. Yeah, I love that.
00:03:39
Speaker
And we're happy you're You guys were basically just like peace out America. We're moving to Costa Rica. Yes. Which was great. It's great for us because, and i should I should comment on a couple of things as we're doing this. First off, yeah not my normal setup, right? We've got our remote mics and and Sherry and Zach are passing the mic back and forth. So,
00:03:56
Speaker
um You might hear a little bit of of difference in the audio quality. You also might hear some wildlife going on because we're out we are literally like out on the patio overlooking the lake. It's absolutely beautiful.
00:04:09
Speaker
ah You might hear some howler monkeys. which What Star Wars creature do howler monkeys sound the most like?
Embracing Costa Rican Wildlife
00:04:17
Speaker
As if the Wookiees had a pet. was going to angry Wookiees.
00:04:20
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I'd say Wookiee because it's the... one third of the size, but yes. Yeah, they're like, don't they have the largest land call? What is it, Zach?
00:04:34
Speaker
The loudest land mammal in the world or something. You can hear their call up to five kilometers away. That's incredible. Yeah, they're insane. They're insane. Yeah, so that that's 58 miles.
00:04:45
Speaker
fifty eight miles 58 miles. Yeah, right. No, but they're very loud. Yeah. And also we we do have a live studio audience. My wife, Sherry is also sitting out here.
00:04:57
Speaker
You might hear her chuckle. I don't know. She doesn't want to be on the podcast. It's all right. Um, so let's talk about Star Wars because you guys are, are quite a bit younger than
Exploring Star Wars Across Generations
00:05:09
Speaker
me. And lately I've been talking to a lot of people who are close to my age and we talk about our Star Wars journeys they usually started like in the theater in the seventies and all that kind of stuff. You weren't even born back then. So how did you fall into it?
00:05:24
Speaker
ah like Yes, so i'm I'm almost, I'll be 40 next week to set the stage for the audience. And so, yeah, I missed out. Return of the Jedi had already been out for two years when you came out. Exactly. yeah Exactly. I followed up. The Return of the Jedi yeah inspired, I think, my birth.
00:05:42
Speaker
that' That sounds like a story for another episode. No, no, no. That's a whole other episode. No one's ready for that. no um So for for me, I have older siblings. They're 12 and 13 years older than me. And my brother um was born in the early 70s and so kind of was into Star Wars as a kid.
00:06:03
Speaker
I think I told you he had the the Star Wars sheets on his waterbed. So I don't know if he's going to be embarrassed of that. That such an amazing picture. The old Star Wars sheets on a waterbed. In the original waterbeds. Yeah, one of those like 70s boom chicka wow wow. Boom chicka wow like as a teenager. So that was, I remember seeing, cause I would sit on the waterbed and it'd be Chewbacca and Han Solo and Luke and Leia. Splashing. C-3PO and loved it. So it was through him and watching the films on VHS, you know, originally. And so, um, being able to see the first ones live where the prequels, you know, started the Phantom Menace. And so my brother would take me to the movies. So,
00:06:48
Speaker
you know, seeing Jurassic Park for the first time, seeing a lot of these great movies. And I loved seeing the prequels because it was a chance for me to experience live yeah the journey. And I think that's what's so neat about the Star Wars universe that as it expands, because it gives...
00:07:07
Speaker
Different people, different generations, a chance to experience it new and also the past canon, too. And so that's. Yeah, that's the journey for me, starting with, you know, picking up on the hype from my brother, being inspired by the sheets. And then.
00:07:23
Speaker
Yeah. but But that's actually what I liked about having like the bigger gaps between movie releases, because same with my two kids. They never saw a Star Wars movie in the theater with me until the sequels came out.
00:07:38
Speaker
yeah Right. And so, you know, that's what they wound up going to with me in the theaters. And they never quite were as passionate about it as I was. But still, you know, that's where they really came to enjoy it. Yes.
00:07:48
Speaker
Yes. yeah And I'll leave with Zach because with being then getting to share with my husband, yeah the sequels, right? Like that we get to enjoy together, you know, and watch that, which is awesome. Yeah. So Zach, how did you originally find your way to Star Wars?
00:08:03
Speaker
Yeah, i was also a child born in the eighty s And so I didn't have opportunity to watch the first several movies in theaters.
00:08:15
Speaker
And I was like, oh, this is a great like trilogy. Great. I watched VHS also when I was a kid. yeah My family you know my family was were big fans. I used to have like little toys, little action figures for sure.
00:08:30
Speaker
Probably too many action figures. um But yeah, at first was introduced through VHS. And then into my later teens, we had the sequels.
00:08:42
Speaker
Yep. And I was able to experience those in the theater, which was just like nuts because it was so long between releases, like, right you know, whatever, 20 years or something. And I was like, out I'll never see a Star Wars, like a new Star Wars movie or whatever. But um that I was proven wrong time and time again.
00:09:04
Speaker
But I would say that the first way I was introduced was um with VHS. Probably like a dubbed copy off of like, you know, a rental of somewhere. Bootleg. Yeah, definitely a bootleg VHS.
00:09:19
Speaker
um But between that and i was just having action figures as as a as a kid. Yeah. um that That was kind of like how ah how I had brought up. But, you know, for my entire existence, the Star Wars story.
00:09:34
Speaker
world has been around in pop culture. So I've kind of been and immersed in it, you know, since, since a baby. Yeah. Well, you know, gosh, before I go on, it's like, i hope it's picking up some of the soundscape here because it almost sounds like what I thought that Disney completely imagine here to be the soundscape in star Wars galaxy's edge, you know, with all the animals that come out of it, but like they might've just come and set up a microphone here in Costa Rica.
00:10:04
Speaker
That's actually what I was thinking this week is how much Costa Rica and seeing all just the wild, yeah not just like the animals, but the crazy looking insects.
00:10:14
Speaker
It is like a imagineered universe yeah that it that could be right out of Star Wars. Yeah. Yeah. And the craziness you hear now is their cat Clemson jumping at the the screen, trying to catch a bug, I think. Yeah. it It's exciting times.
00:10:32
Speaker
We are. And it's it's not Star Wars, but it's close. I mean, we are. Well, we're in the middle of Costa Rica. Sherry and I are going out to the ocean tomorrow. And we'll only be miles away from Jurassic Park.
00:10:44
Speaker
Yes. You know, a small island off the coast of Costa Rica. Or so I hear. Yes. But so how do you guys stay plugged into Star Wars now that you're here in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica Meets Star Wars
00:10:54
Speaker
ah You know, I think.
00:10:56
Speaker
There's the Star Wars universe. And then I find myself with more time on my hands, not having like a formal day-to-day job yeah of wandering in ah and an imagination at just the the landscape and the creatures big and small. And so it's funny. I find myself thinking of the Star Wars oh world yeah a lot, just in my day-to-day, not as part of a, you know, a Reddit thread or,
00:11:26
Speaker
watching on Disney plus the series or the news, but it's sort of that, i think that, that sense of space and depth.
00:11:36
Speaker
And I'm like, this is, this is what it feels like, or walking through Disneyland, a place that you're just so immersed in. And I think that's so much the jungle of Costa Rica. So it's just funny to me how much Star Wars actually just comes to my mind, like having those similar emotions. But as far as like tapped into the universe, I find I've been read having the opportunity to read the the fan fiction. So starting Bob Wetzley with the mask of fear was so good. And I think such a good setup for kind of prepping for and or season two. I love getting into that depth and,
00:12:11
Speaker
E.K. Johnson, the Padme books, as she calls them. i I loved that. And so I've found myself turning towards the reading. yeah And then especially when, um you know, sometimes Disney Plus gets cranky here with the VPN blocker, you know what I mean? So sometimes it just doesn't work. And so need to find other ways to tap in. So it's been the reading and we are going to watch the upcoming season of, of Andor season two. I wanted to actually get some of the books read before. wait, you haven't watched Andor season two Not yet. Our Disney plus has been all on the fritz here. It is not, has been misbehaving. And so it's been hard. Oh,
00:12:56
Speaker
so Actually, i'm I'm kind of glad that I didn't realize that until now, because otherwise I would have like sat you down in front of the TV and we would have watched eight hours straight, eight hours hours straight of it. Exactly. Which is what we can do now that it's working again. But that's why sometimes just run into that. Like, oh, the TV is not working. The Disney Plus isn't working. So, OK, I'm going to read.
00:13:18
Speaker
tap into imagination and awe and and not tell bob so he doesn't have a heart attack that's right right right right yes and that crazy noise you just heard was some mysterious insect just landing on my lips that is oh my gosh she case my perfect i'll hand it with zach to chase with bugs i dropped you know the news about haven't had a chance to watch the second season of andor down here in the tropics Yeah.
00:13:44
Speaker
Well, my secret shame has been exposed. are we Are we paying for Disney? Or is that like a pirated... like You know, we're... Should I legally complain? or is it No, pirated.
00:13:58
Speaker
Maybe we shouldn't use your last name on this. No, we haven't. as i I didn't. I did. Well, edit that out in post-production, buddy. Yeah, no. This isn't a live feed. This is getting dumped right into the... No, this is no live feed. Come on. No editing on this episode.
00:14:11
Speaker
It's going right in. think not legal writer. Yeah, because it's irony. Yeah, you know, which is what it's very. Well, i would i would wager. solo I would wage wager that the majority of of Star Wars fans in this country watch it in ways that are maybe less than legal. Sure.
00:14:28
Speaker
ah But as I've said before, if if the laws are not enforced, are they really laws? Well, it's a good question. It's kind of Andor Season 2 question, I think. so but so the and or But to get back on to Andor Season 2, now that I know we're not editing it, um it's going to be a nightmare for you, Bob. But I'll give you a chance here with a slight pause.
00:14:50
Speaker
Yeah. Either way, no, we haven't been able to watch it. So it's kind of been like a withdrawal. It's been really... like a Like, we've known it's out, and like but also you're trying to resist any spoilers. So am I'm not, like, looking at it up or anything.
00:15:06
Speaker
Yeah. And it kind of was, like, a big gap between seasons, so, like, the hype kind of... Yeah, honestly, my memory is not as good as it could have been. I remember when it ended, i was like, all right, I probably went to watch an episode or two or recap before i get into season two.
00:15:21
Speaker
um But but, you know, to get back to the initial question, ah you know, the main way that I stay connected with Star Wars is that we have a a a porg stuffed animal that's on our window.
00:15:35
Speaker
And we also have a baby Yoda ah that is in my room. And so actually both of those, I see those on a daily basis. And so, um you know, I'm constantly reminded of of the Star Wars universe with plushies, I guess.
00:15:52
Speaker
And the droid painting. And the droid painting. The droid painting. I noticed that in the laundry room. Yes, very very good. R2-3PO and BB-8. Yep. Very good.
00:16:02
Speaker
And, you know, Bob, I haven't listened to many of your podcasts, and maybe you've had a whole episode about who's your favorite, droid or not.
Favorite Star Wars Droids
00:16:10
Speaker
But those three are like the finalists. Yeah, for sure.
00:16:13
Speaker
They all have their pluses and minuses. Honestly, R2-D2 has really... He's come through in the clutch so many times. Yeah. And like, don't ever like overlook that guy. But you know, BB-8 at first when I saw him, I like, Oh, i don't think I'm going to like, like this one, but like also very endearing.
00:16:32
Speaker
He grows on you. But yeah I think R2-D2 is like, he's kind of like a sleeper. I mean that guy, oh yeah he's cold. He's a cold ass motherfucker. yeah No, R2-D2 is my favorite ah character in the whole Star Wars saga.
00:16:48
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Amazing. Yeah. And yeah I always felt connected to R2D2. He's deep. He's reliable. he's like He's like a little dog. He just wants approval. And at the end of the day, he's very faithful and in winds up saving the day.
Closing and Farewell with Pura Vida
00:17:03
Speaker
Yes, always, all the time. wants to be petted on his head. You know what? 15 minutes is up. We're actually you know we're this well over, but that's okay. Oh, my gosh. So it's 15 minutes plus or minus a few. Yes. So thanks again for hosting us. Thank you for listening. You're so welcome, Bob. And thank you for being here. Zach, thank you for being on the show.
00:17:22
Speaker
Yes, Bienvenidos. Grateful to have you here. and just want to give all your listeners a warm Pura Vida welcome. Buena Vida. And ciao. Con mucho gusto.
00:17:33
Speaker
Okay. Bye-bye, everybody. Bye. Hasta luego. So hit subscribe, hit like. Need force to with you. Love you guys. Bye. Who's got mindless toys to do? Podcasts, hope you see them through.
00:17:46
Speaker
Star Wars is your favorite in it. Let's chat for 15 minutes. Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short? Aren't you a little short for sporn trooper?
00:17:58
Speaker
Aren't you a little short for us?