Oh boy...

Today I feel like a Looney Toons cartoon...I have the hiccups, and I am slightly drunk thanks to some Costa Ricans. This morning I went to the "zoo" for a tree planting, where I met a bunch of retired Americans. One was going to my favorite bar, Bar Amigos, and let me ride in his taxi with him so I could use the free internet at the bar. At the bar, a couple of Ticos kept buying me beer and tequila, and fanning my ego so much that I could not refuse. By 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon, I was toasted. One of the men promised me a diamond ring and a year of free Spanish lessions if I stayed, which I declined, although I graciously accepted the two tequila shots he sent me. All this on an empty stomach (for once!), and I am in love with Costa Rica!

Last weekend was even more fun since Kathy and I were able to get out of Santa Ana and go to the beach. Being a Missourian, I feel totally out of place at the beach. It is way too boring and hot, but we made the best of it. We stayed in Cahuita, which I actually loved. They had black sand beaches and it was much less tourist-y than Puerto Vieho (sp?) where we visited last Sunday. Our hotel also had the cutest dogs I have ever seen (besides Stewart, of course), and broke a major Costa Rican rule by letting one sleep on my bed. Oops. On both Saturday and Sunday nights Kathy and I visited with guys from Europe who were traveling through Costa Rica. Saturday night there were six of us total, all from different countries and from three different continents, and I was the only native English speaker. The four guys were all from different European countries, were incredibly nice, and gave us advise on where to travel. We even travelled back to San Jose with the guy from Switzerland on Monday (we had Cinco de Mayo off from school, for some odd reason).

This weekend we spent in Santa Ana (pronounced "Santana" by the locals), with a brief visit to San Jose for Chinese food. It was totally random, but Kathy and I met up with a man that we had met at the Obama fundraiser for Dim Sum in San Jose. It was amazing! I was so full and happy after our lunch that I went to bed before 8:00. This morning I had a bit of a freak out when I saw on CNN that tornadoes had hit Oklahoma and Missouri, and that 20 people were dead. Since my entire family lives on the Oklahoma-Missouri boarder, I had reason to be alarmed, but after a call to my dad I found out that the tornadoes went all around Joplin. For the first time I missed home, although I am glad I do not have to worry about tornadoes.

I am sorry if this blog does not make much sense. I blame the tequila.

My first Tico and Tica friends

On Tuesday I witnessed a major change that is slowly spreading through Central America. People here generally tend to accept each other as they are, and women rarely worry about weight issues. Now, however, women are starting to worry accessively about their bodies and are buying diet products to help lose those extra pounds (or kilos) by any means possible. My host mother has been on a diet ever since I arrived in Costa Rica, although basically it means she wakes up at 5 am to go walking. The only thing she needs is a lesson on nutrition and stop eating bread with rice with pasta at every meal. Her newest kick began on Tuesday, when I was herded into the apartment next door for what I thought was just a tour of our neighbor's home. I ended up in the middle of an Herbalife sales pitch, much like a Pampered Chef party but for juices that will help you lose weight as well as supposedly preventing cancer, heart disease, etc. The juices tasted terrible, so there is no way anyone would want to drink them for the hell of it. I was having to take them like shots just to get them down. Anyway, my host mother thought it was the best idea in the worlds, especially when the sales woman showed her own before and after picture and the weight she had lost. One of the charms of Central America is that the people are so accepting and do not obsessed with their weight, but sadly American culture is pushing its way in. Most of the Americans we have met that now live in Costa Rica do not speak a word of Spanish, and it is easy to feel as if you have never left the States at all with all the American stores, restaurants, and entertainment.

To combat this American-izing of Costa Rica, I have tried to make friends with a few natives, known as Ticos and Ticas. After the Herbalife party, a woman approached me and began to speaking in broken English. She said that she loved learning English, but after the birth of her daughter four months ago (who is still in the hospital in San Jose for an enlarged heart), she has not gone to any classes. She invited me to come to her house this weekend to practice our English/Spanish, so now I have my first Tica friend that is in no way related to school.

My first Tico friend was discovered yesterday when I tagged along to a coffee tour with a group of students from Simpson College who are attending my school for the week. Their tour guide was a man that reminded me a lot of Adam Sandler, but Latino. He told me that next week when he was finished with the Simpson group, he would take Kathy and me to the local hotspots in the area. I'm excited to get out of the tourist areas and meet the locals. I feel that there will be a great upcoming blog after we meet up with him, since I'm pretty sure he was snorting something while we were on the tour of the coffee plantation.

This weekend, Kathy and I are going to the beach since it is a three day weekend. More later.

Zip lines and volcanoes

Apparently I am not much of a blogger, cause I really hate updating this thing. Anyway...

Last weekend Kathy and I went to San Jose for most of Saturday. We left early and took a bus into the city, then went to a Democrats Abroad meeting (we love them, and they love feeding us great food). After the meeting, which lasted 2 1/2 hours, we toured the city and shopped. San Jose is really not a very exciting city. It is poor and dirty, and everyone warns you to keep your purse guarded at all times. Since I tend to ignore information like that, we toured through the Market as if we owned the place. The market is a little like the Market in San Antonio, but with less order and tighter hallways. We ordered a crazy dessert (for lunch, of course) that was made with a cherry slushy mixture, powdered milk, and a thick sorbet that tasted a little like pumpkin pie. It was an odd combination, but amazing.

Sunday we took a tour of an active volcano, then drove through the rainforest. They showed us a couple of waterfalls, including the one in the opening of Jurasic Park. We had a breakfast in a little restaurant in between, then drove to a river and put us on a motorboat after serving us fresh fruit (they really worry we are going to starve). The boat took us to a farm where we had lunch, then with a full stomach they suited us up for zip lining and plopped us on horses that took us to the forest. Kathy and I ended up with a huge group of guys in Costa Rica for a joint bachelor party, who screamed and swore more than Kathy and I put together as they glided through the trees. We had two guides that amazingly safely hooked us up to the lines considering that neither spoke a word of English. One guide was a little too worried that my chest strap was not tight enough, but since he was sharing his water bottle with me I didn't mind the constant adjustments. The day ended with Kathy and I taking a public bus from one of the worst areas in San Jose after dark, which was a little unnerving but we made it back with all our money.

I really must just brag for a second and say that I am living in absolute paradise. Every morning I wake up and go downstairs to find a plate of fresh Costa Rican fruits, along with freshly squeezed orange juice and Costa Rican coffee. I am pretty much running on Costa Rican coffee by now, and I do not think I will ever be able to drink anything else when I return to Missouri. By mid-morning, after our second breakfast, I am on cup #3. This is necessary in order to stay alert for 5 1/2 hours of Spanish class, especially since I am the only student in my class. During the lunch hour, I lounge in a hamock and look out over the valley to the mountains. I am now a firm believer that every school should have a hamock break at some point during the day.

Next post I will try to make more interesting. Hope everyone is enjoying school and work!

I'm here!

Sorry I haven't updated since I got to Costa Rica on Saturday. My password has an ' in it, and apparently the Spanish keyboards do not. Anyway, I got in on Saturday afternoon and met my host family. The husband speaks English, so I can talk to him and ask him questions. They have two little kids: Marie and Federico. I am at about the same level as Federico since he is just learning how to talk, although I think he still understands more than I do. Another student in my program was also there to greet me. Kathy speaks English, but is actually from Taiwan. Saturday we went to downtown Santa Ana for...get this...an Onion Festival!!! For anyone who doesn't know, I have a bit of an obsession with onions, so I took this as a good sign. I am slowly learning enough Spanish to at least understand my host mother, which I guess is the result of 5 1/2 hours of class a day. It goes by fast since every two hours we have a meal. They eat all the time here, so now if I got longer than 3 hours without eating I feel like I'm starving. Ugh. Last night, Mark, one of the other students (there are only 3 of us right now, it's awesome) invited us to an Obama Fundraiser hosted by Democrats Abroad. Kathy and I got there an hour before Mark showed up, so it was totally awkward since you had to be on a list to get in. The group consisted of a bunch of middle aged and retired Americans, mostly from the East coast, that had moved to Costa Rica in the last few years. I heard someone say that the gathering cost $3000, and there were no more than 20 of us there. Needless to say, I'm sure my donation was the smallest of all. We got to drink lots of good wine and eat amazing food, watch the PA primary results roll in, and chat (in English!) with Americans.

My First Blog...aw

I have never blogged before, but I figured this would be easier than writing emails to everyone while I am in Costa Rica.

I leave for Santa Ana, CR, on April 19th, and return to Missouri June 14th. I'm hoping it will be eight weeks of living in paradise. The reason I am going to Costa Rica is to earn the language credit needed for my masters at Baylor, and I figured it would be a lot more fun than sitting in a classroom in Waco for the summer. From what I hear, it's a pretty laid back program and country, which is what I need right now. Tortillas and tequila, here I come!