Lunes, Agosto 31ish

The fotos are of Saturday dinner, a castle that Gabriella (Rosemary's Daughter( I know) is artistic and was making it for her nephew) made, half of cake that Rosemary made for her birthday, Sunday dinner (awesome fish and shrimp made by Rosemary's son Francisco), and tonight's dinner (notice the camera angle change for EBeth, is that better or worse? the soup was a type of squash, guava juice, you cannot really see the tuna).

Today was long; I was tired and I did not feel well. Listless might be a good word.

(I put little thought to remind me. I had planned to erase them, but they seemed amusing so I am leaving them...)

Chinese guy:

I met this Chinese guy when I went to Jaco 2 weekends ago. Well, he showed up at the language school. His Spanish is pretty good (he also speaks English, French, Mandarin, and Shanghai). I took him to my soda, and we talked. He is going back to Spain next week because he prefers learning Spanish in Spain. I get the impression that he is more affluent than I.

Rosemary's birthday:
the 30th was Rosemary's birthday so the whole house was a buzz. I have not seen Marcella in a few days. I found out that she is in Utah getting treatment for her back problems. Please say some prayers.

her husband:

Rosemary's husband surprised her by flying in on Saturday from where he lives in Arizona. He seems nice and speaks a little English (that is not why he seems nice though). She said she had not seen him in like 9 years. I do not understand the situation, at first I thought that they were divorced, but now I think that he works and sends money back home. But he is kind of old. It strange, and I don't want to pry, so invent you own mystery. he told me this story where he applied to a Wells Fargo with a fake green card, was hired, but then fired when they found out his forgery. Then he applied again and was hired in Utah (apparently this is impossible for Wells Fargo to hire anyone with a fake green card). then the Utah people were all laid off, but some were called in to work in Arizona. He even got a raise int he process (even though this is impossible). Apparently, he had a stroke, but is fine (which is impossible, are you detecting the pattern of his stories yet?). He just kept saying how this or that was impossible except through God and that I wouldn't believe him, I couldn't believe him. He kept winking and then pausing and staring. I want to say it was the language culture barrier, but it was just weird, almost creepy.

Monse:

She is the adorable granddaughter of Rosemary that visits me usually in the evenings. She always has to get into my stuff. She is so precious. She does listen when told. And she has started climbing into my lab and blowing a strategically placed kiss every once in a while. I told her that she is melting my heart. I asked her mom why she was so mature for a 2 year old. her mom started laughing. She told em that Monse tells everyone that she is 2, even though she is really 3 and a half. What a stinker.

I am leaving for Guacimo Thursday. I need to pack and ship some things off tomorrow. the prologue of my adventure is almost over.

I sent my family in Washington state post cards. I had a nice talk with the parents. I talked to Paul for a few minutes to get an address to send him a book I bought him.

God is good. God is good. God is good. God is good.

I don't know if that's for me or you.

Tortugero

This past weekend was pretty cool. I went to Tortugero and saw some animals. The highlight was seeing a giant Green Sea Turtle give birth to like 100ish pin pong ball looking eggs on a beach in a national park.

I took a bus and then a boat to Tortugero; I will post fotos in the next week hopefully. I saw caimans, White Faced Capuchins, Howler Monkeys, Spider Monkeys, many birds, and turtles from hand sized to 100+ kilo sized.

The Howler monkeys were loud, but neat. I am sure they would irritate me if they were no longer a novelty. I traveled with two Germans Martin and Kristin. At one point I yawned one of my massive yawns and a Howler Monkey retorted with an angry howl back. My two companions thought it very amusing.

I love meeting and talking with people from other countries. It is so very interesting to hear what their country is really like, to hear their opinion of America, Costa Rica, and the events we share. Germans do love David Hasslehoff, that is not a stereotype, but it is an older fad.

I meant this nice older lady. She lives in California, but she is from Colombia. She was nice company, and I was able to practice my Spanish on the trip.

I came home early to go to church. That was nice. I visited with the preacher's family as we drove around to little towns around San Jose. I was again reminded the difference between developing and developed countries.

I am offiicialy in at the El Chante Soda

The pictures are of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday dinners.

Earlier this week I accidentally over paid by 1000 colones (less than $2), and the son from the soda chased me down and made sure I got my change. I know that that family could use the money more than I (I gave them half as thanks, I would have given them the whole thing if I didn't think that would just look like I didn't appreciate the act). Plus, since I was raised by an almost obnoxiously honest man (in a good way), I really appreciate that in people. Plus, today the son and the father both asked how I was doing all personable like. And the son gave me the bro bump, or at least the Costa Rican approximation thereof.

I have been doing really well in the dance classes this week. I was even told to go to the intermediate class today. It is actually pretty neat. Apparently Salsa and Merengue are really fluid cool looking when you don't keep stopping or messing up. I still have problems staying with the beat, but improvement is always nice.

I am going to Tortuguero (a remote town in NW Costa Rica where you can see all kinds of wildlife). The main attraction is that I will go on a turtle tour to see the giant sea turtles beach and then lay their eggs. Plus, there will be a canal tour to see all of the wildlife.

I have been having some nice talks recently. I have continued my habit of calling the rents a few times a week that I started this summer. That is pretty nice. I think my parents and I are very different people, but we love each other very much, and our relationship is pretty awesome recently. Plus, I had a nice chat with Paul and Kirsten. I video chatted (well half video chatted because I don't have a web cam) for the first time so now I know what the future is like.

Yippee!

24 Agosto. Lunes

Today was nice. I stayed up too late, so I did not work out in the morning. I learned a great deal today and my teacher said I would be finishing up the Intermediate book this week. I am in level 2 (beginner, intermediate, advanced) at the language school. My goal was to advance to the next level so I look forward to working with the advanced material next week. I went to Soda Chante, this nice little cafe type eatery that I mentioned before for lunch. I had a great meal for less than $3. The people are nice, and I like supporting the little family that gives such fine service.

I worked out after school. We only had one dance class so I left at 4ish instead of 5ish like normal (school till 3 and then 2-1 hour dance, conversation, or cooking classes). I bought a small lock because the ones i brought are too big to fit most places, so that kind of defeats their purpose.

I had a nice talk with, goodness, I forgot her name. The somewhat distant relation and housekeeper. She told me how she has two sons. One, 28 fell at some point and hurt his head bad enough to be completely mentally retarded. the other son, 20 Andres, is apparently brilliant and taking 2 degrees on scholarship from 2 different universities. He also works and plays the guitar. She was talking about he uses the computer a lot, but has an old one. He is wants to get a "new one like mine" (which is 4 years old), but it is too expensive. Humble pie alert. Anyway, it was nice visiting and playing with Monse.

Goodnight.

Jaco made me Red

These are fotos from yesterday, (24 Agosto). I had a fun weekend. On Friday I went rafting through a jungle. It was very scenic, and a lot of fun except for the obnoxious raft instructors. They were not that bad, but they did not have an off switch.

I woke up at 4:30a.m. on Saturday to catch a bus from San Jose to Jaco. I played at the beach, took surfing lessons, and biked to another beach. It was pretty fun, and pretty. The surfing lessons were fun. It was very exhilarating. I want to rent a board and try again. I really just want to be like Logan. There were a lot of people selling drugs in Jaco and a lot of property for sale. The drugs was sad, but now I really want to buy property in Costa Rica. Too bad I am poor.

I traveled with a lady I met here. I call her Cassia due to a misunderstanding, but I don't really care to learn her real name since I will most likely never see her again. She is British. I don't think we are really compatible per se, but it was nice to travel with a likable person, and to get to know someone from another country. She would tease me about Americanisms, and I would tell her how we always win against them.

We had Pizza Hut for dinner. Rosemary was at a cousin's super elaborate 50th party in the North West part of the country. I jokingly told her daughter, Gabriella, that I was going to tell everyone that this is a typical Costa Rican meal.

I got a little red this weekend.

Rafting Tomorrow

No, don't feel bad. Spaghetti and tuna seemed like a strange meal to me also...

I have started to get back on a better schedule of getting more sleep at night and getting up early. I went to the gym today before and after class. That was nice. I have been walking to and from the school when it is not too wet or dark out. So I'm not morbidly obese when I return...

I went to a little Soda (that is what they little food stands that are not restaurants in Costa Rica. Normally, they do not have places to sit like this one did though. Restaurants have a tax imposed on them by the government, so they are significantly more expensive then going to a soda). It was like a 10 minute walk each way. It only had four tables and looked like it was a shanty with electricity run to it, clean though. The parents cooked and the son took orders and served between flirting with some girl. The food was delicious. It was also a large plate full with a choice of drink for slightly less than $3. I got fish (with lime), beans, rice, glazed plantains, vegetables, and a drink called Chang. It was some kind of fruit that looked clear with a bunch of black seeds that you could see but not feel really. It tasted like sugar water.

I think I am going to to go back to that place for lunch while I am at the language school. I liked the people, the food, the price, and the walk before and after.

I am going rafting tomorrow, and I leave at 5:45a, so I better go to bed. I love you all.

Things that Remind me that Regardless of how Bright I think I am, I'm still kind of Dummy

I accidentally deleted some pictures of dinner and Monse with my sunglasses on. That was my seconf dumb thing that I did today.

My first was locking my keys (lock key, and two house keys) into the locker (with all of my ID and cash, etc...) at the gym after school. I was also in my muscle shirt and gym shorts. So I ran home only to remember that Costa Ricans lock their well fenced housed up quite tight. So, I ended up going to a dentist's office next door where my host mother's niece works. The nice niece called Rosemary and I got into the house and got my extra key. So I walked back to the gym and everything was dandy.

I imagine that me running home in gym garb destroyed the image of Americans in Costa Rica for the next 10 years.

Since I lost my intended pictures I put some up from a night at James that I had the pleasure of spending right before I left. I had a great time. I love my family and friends.

Ebeth, I lost a great picture of a salad that I was give you via Facebook. Sorry.

Mailing the first Gifts

Well, Rosemary had a church function that she made food for, and I got to share. She made crepas ( I think like crepes). They were tin pancake tortillas with cheeses, chicken, broccoli, and seasonings. They were quite yummy. Oh yes, and Monse is just adorable.

I went to try and mail some gift for people (Kirsten, Nick, Murray), but I was only 2/3 successful. I had bought Murray a shot glass, but I could not find anyplace that would sell me a box to ship it in. Finally, I bought one of those hard plastic cases for children's school supplies from a book store. I then packed that with newspaper into an envelope that I will ship tomorrow. Shipping was very reasonable. It was like $5 to ship a T shirt and bag of coffee to the states. However, I have no idea how international shipping works, but now I am kind of interested...

I spoke with mom,dad, Patia, and my friend Yolanda (from New Mexico) tonight. It was nice. I miss my friends and family more than I thought I would. I am excited for this weekend. Goodnight all.

These are fotos from Sunday night dinner and the chicken from last night. I went to meet a friend from the language school at the local mall last night. We made plans for traveling this weekend. We are going rafting on Friday. Then on Saturday and Sunday we are going to go to the Jaco area to play at some beaches. There is also surfing and a nature preserve. There are a few beaches spread out, so we want to rent a bike and go to each of them. I am excited for sunshine and swimming.

Coffee Plantation 08/15/09 (63 photos), by Daniel Cox

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Casa de las Mariposas 08/15/09 (43 photos), by Daniel Cox

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de Poas y Almuerzo 08/16/09 (25 photos), by Daniel Cox

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Poas Volcan 08/15/09 (24 photos), by Daniel Cox

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Grecia_IronChurch 08/16/09 (27 photos), by Daniel Cox

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Sarchi 08/16/09 (23 photos), by Daniel Cox

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Mothers Day at the Volcano

Today I went to the Poas volcano. It only emits sulfurous gases, no lava. The area was pretty, but it was super foggy, and the crater (the second largest in the world) could not be seen. However, there was a cool secondary crater that was smaller and had a lake that I took I put at top.
I went to another town and saw an all Iron church. That was pretty neat.

I went to an artisan town and saw all those carts that Costa Rica is famous for. I even saw the biggest cart in the world. Apparently, people used to bring goods like produce and coffee beans to market in the carts. However, the people got their carts mixed up so they started painting them. Then the painting became more and more elaborate. Eventually, the farmers traded the oxen drawn carts for more advanced means and the beautifully painted carts remained as a souvenir and national icon.

The other fotos are of a butterfly house I went to, an amazing lunch (it was served on a wooden platter with a big banana leaf instead of disposable paper. It was chicken, fried/sweetened plantains, that delicious salad, vegetables, and a fudge coconut thing. Plus fresh fruit juice) I had, and the nice ladies that served it to me.

Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day is Costa Rica. It is a big deal with flowers and such. Apparently they have a father's day too but mothers are revered in Latin culture. Which is weird because young, single women and ogled and jeered at...So I bought Rosemary those pictured flowers. I bought myself that beautiful jersey from the mall for like $5.

Their clothes seemed to be of similar quality, but were a lot less expensive. Logan will have a heyday if he decides to come visit. They check you out weird: you pay, then the cashier hands your items to another person to be wrapped up nicely, you have to cross over and wait till you number is called, then give them a paper with your number on it to get your items.