Playa!

Written:
9:15pm Sunday August 27, 2006

Ok, so much has happened since Friday night. I got really sick between midnight and 4am so I didn’t sleep much. Then my mom served me “gallo pinto” (spotted rooster) which is rice and beans mixed together and a fried egg and bread for breakfast. The food is so good, but I was still feeling sick (maybe because of travel or the malaria pills) so I only ate half. I felt terrible that I couldn’t finish it all, but they were such huge portions! My “mom” (from now on I will refer to my host family here by “mom”, “brother”, “cousin,” etc—when referring to my family in the states I will say “my real mom”) asked me what kinds of foods I like, and I told her anything but fish. Fernando came to walk me to where I was to meet the group for a city tour. He told me that as soon as breakfast was over my mom called him because she thought that I didn’t like the food. She told Fernando to ask what I like and she will cook anything for me. I told him that I loved the food, but I am a little person and need smaller portions! We met another USAC (University Study Abroad Consortium) student who lives near me. His name is Ryan and he’s from U. Mass. His host mom was explaining the directions in Spanish and he was very confused so he walked with us. The city tour wasn’t very helpful, but I learned where the red light district is! Also, I lied in my last blog about the humidity and the heat not being bad. My tank top was SOAKED in sweat, but most others were too. I thought I was going to pass out a few times. My cousin (Fernando) came to pick me up. We ran into some other students that were planning to go to the beach. About 17 of us went to a beach that was 18 minutes away by taxi. There were 11 people in one taxi and 8 in another! It was crazy but very cheap. About 10 of the 17 brought surfboards, and the rest of us swam and body surfed. The beach was so beautiful and secluded and the water felt amazing. We swam/surfed for 3 hours then dried off so the cabs would pick us up. When we walked back to the meeting spot, there was a torrential downpour and we were dripping wet and DIRTY. My mom was very nice about it and wanted to wash my clothes right away. I think my mom was still worried that I didn’t like rice and beans so she served me a big plate of watermelon, mango, and pineapple for dinner. It was funny. Sandra (mi mama), Fernando, Fernando’s sister Maria Jose (9 years old and VERY bright) and Fernando’s mother talked with me and taught me many things in Spanish. They are so kind and fun. Sandra gets frustrated that I don’t understand her very well, but I told her that I will learn very soon. Later, about 25 USAC students met at a local bar. It is fun meeting everyone. I am learning many names. We went dancing too. It was so hot, but a blast. My mom told me that a male must walk me home at night, so since Ryan lives close I asked him to do it. I also learned that another boy, John from Point Loma, lives across the street. All the guys here try to make sure that none of the girls walk home alone, so don’t worry, I will be protected. I slept like a rock after my late night! Today, my mom made me the best omelet I’ve ever had- I have no idea what was in it, but it was GOOD. We also had fruit and fresh bread that she gets daily from a bakery. Today was orientation in a very hot building with 84 students. 3 students were from Australia (including Sophie, a friend of mine) and 2 students from Germany. Very interesting. Orientation was boring, but I added a Latin American Cuisine class. One of the main office workers here in Puntarenas, Sebastion, was a professional chef in Uruguay, so he will be teaching it. I may also audit Conservation Biology (taught by an ex-pat from NY) or a Culture class. I think it would be fun to sit in on a couple extra classes, we are only allowed to take 6 for actual credit. Finally we all went to a Chino (Chinese) food place for dinner. It was buffet style and very very good. The fried rice tasted a little different, but the sweet and sour pork was very similar and a chicken dish also very similar but had cilantro too. I met a bunch of students from Reno, which is cool since I didn’t know anyone before the trip.
Talked more with my mom tonight and Fernando came over for a bit. We spoke very little English and I am learning so many Spanish words. It’s still hard, because they teach me words, but not full sentences, so I can say “beach” but can’t say; “I’m going to the beach.” So tonight I tried to learn phrases. It really helps me when it is written down. I have been reviewing new words every night and the Spanish-English dictionary that Kale gave me has helped so much. Ohmygoodness! I just had a visitor in my room, a little lizard about the size of my finger! He’s running on a walls, and I hope he doesn’t crawl on me when I go to bed! Yesterday I had some creature run behind my backpack, but I didn’t know what kind of creature it was so I was very scared. I moved my bag to reveal a little mouse which promptly ran out of my room. I was relieved to see it was something I recognized. Other than that, there are less bugs than I expected. I’ve seen ants and flies, but no mosquitoes really.

Sorry I am writing so much, there is so much to say- everything is new and exciting right now and I want to tell you everything! My stories should get more interesting and less informative as time goes by. If you click the link to the right that says, “See my photos HERE” you will see a few pictures of my room and the beach that is 2 blocks away from mi casa.
Buenas noches!