Day 25 and 26..Last day of school

Second to last day here at Forester. It's been fun, but I'm ready for Chuck and my Dad to get here so we can go raise some Cain around the country. I'll miss the folks I've met here, but it's all good! I'm ready to get home, go to some weddings, and perhaps have a few cold ones and shoot some birds.

Nothing too terribly exciting going on. Last night I was playing with the two little kids that live in my house. Board games. I was going to let the 8 year old win, but not before putting a little scare in him that the big stupid gringo was going to wipe the floor with him. He eventually started blatantly cheating, so I told him that I don't play with cheaters. I was trying to teach him a lesson, but I don't think it worked, because he took his game piece and claimed the victory. In 2 different games actually. I guess I can chalk that up to the language barrier!.......

So another day here, I got side tracked yesterday and didn't finish that blog. It's now the final day of classes here. I just had a good conversation with one of the ladies who works here about Spanish, and the school. It's run really well, and is a professional place. I was telling her how I was frustrated about a week ago because they gave us 4 new verb tenses in 4 days and we didn't much get the chance to use them. Now though, we've had more chances, and things are going better. I feel more confident at least.

Again, I'm nursing a hangover. It wasn't planned, it just kind of happened. It's actually only the 3rd I've had since I've been here, so I've been relatively good! Out of the people who went out last night, I'm also the only one at school this morning, so I must be the best off. Chuck and my Dad get here in 2 and a half hours. I'm super excited about them coming. I hope I can entertain them well enough. I could really use a nap about now.

One of my classmates made a list of things she's learned in Costa Rica, and as soon as I can get my hands on it, I'm going to post it. Pretty funny stuff.

Last night we went to the Jazz Cafe again. I've written about it before. It's a neat place, but it's always like 85 degrees in there. Last night they had a girl named Sasha Campbell. She sings R&B, and several older songs in English. She was really good. It was a very entertaining night to say the least. Before she started singing, she was talking to a guy on the side of the stage who was dressed up like a Amish person (sans the beard). We thought he was just some random person, but he was the highlight of the night. After Sasha's first set, the guy gets on stage with a bongo drum and starts playing and singing. Only you couldn't understand anything he was saying. It was in Spanish, but even if I was 100% fluent in Spanish I wouldn't have been able to understand. Between his two songs, he stopped and told jokes. He was laughing at his own jokes so hard that everyone in the cafe was rolling out of their chairs. Afterwards, he came around with his hat and was asking for tips. He made over $10 US from our table. One of the girls got a picture of him, as soon as she sends it, I'll post it. Very entertaining.

It would be impossible to top that, but one of Sasha Campbell's dancers came close. He got on stage and was shaking his groove thing. The girl next to me said, "he's REALLY enjoying dancing, like he's excited to be dancing". Then everyone at the table died laughing. The guy was doing his dances and was visibly excited, in front of the entire restaurant. He was a professional though, so he didn't stop, he pulled his shirt down and kept on dancing. Good stuff, classic!

2 quick sports notes. I miss my sportscenter for one, but thanks to this wonderful internet chunchee (the word that Ticos use for thingy) I am able to keep up with the 'Stros and Tech.

As of right now, the Astros are 1/2 game back of the Cardinals. They need to win out, and hope the Cards lose at least one. I still don't think it's going to happen, but wouldn't it be special? I'll be searching for the box scores in the newspapers down here, but I might not know for sure until I get back to the states. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the 'Stros do it...

Tech plays our most hated rival this weekend. Texas Friggin' A and M. Even though my Dad is a die hard Aggie, I despise them, and hope we beat them by 50. Not gonna' happen though, I don't think we're all that good. We'll see.

It cracks me up that probably one of the most exciting sports weekends of the year, I'll be far away from any type of tv. If I can have just one of the two, I'll be a happy gringo. If both win, I'll be the happiest gringo in the world...

I won't be posting again while I'm in Costa Rica. That means over a week. Unless I get to use a computer somewhere, but it's highly unlikely. Next time you see me, I'll be back in the states, missing Costa Rica, and trying to use my Spanish on anyone who'll listen...

Adios...

Day 23 & the Astros

Yet another exciting day here in Costa Rica. I've got 3 and a half days left until the classes are all over, and then it's time for a little traveling. I found out last night that my Dad is going to come down with Chuck. Which is cool, because he needs to get away for a little vacation, and it also means that Chuck and I won't be relying on my Espanol alone. I've decided that we're going to start our vacation with a trip to Puerto Viejo. It's in the extreme southeast of the country. I've never seen the Caribbean before, so I'm pretty excited about it. After that, we'll come back to San Jose for a day or so, my Dad has to leave to go back to the states, then Chuck and I will either do one of two things: go to Arenal Volcano, or hit up Manual Antonio. I've been to Manual Antonio, but as most of you have seen in my pictures, it's a beautiful place and definitely worth a second trip. If we're both tired of beaches though, we might go to Arenal Volcano instead. We shall see I guess.

These past four weeks have flown by so fast. I can't even begin to explain it. This week the group that I've met down here has decided to do something every night! That'll be fun. Last night we went to the bar that's down the road from the school. One of the girl's husband is in, and he's from West Texas. It was good getting to talk to someone who knew a little about the drive out west. We talked about what a shock it is when you're driving west from Austin and all of the sudden hit Eden. You hit Llano, and Brady, which aren't Austin, but have a different feel than Eden. Once you hit that 87 and 83 intersection, it's like you are thrown back in time 50 years. I guess it's a neat thing for some, I find it funny though.

Tonight I think we're going to go to the Jazz cafe. I don't know who'll be playing, but it's a neat bar regardless. I'm sure even if I knew the name of who'll be playing, I still wouldn't know who it is...

So I've tried my hardest to ignore this late season surge the Astros are trying to pull off. I've actually tried to ignore the last couple of months of Astros baseball because it's been so disappointing. I can't do it anymore though. I'm not saying my hopes are up high, but the little sliver of a chance there is that they might make the playoffs has me a little excited! The last few seasons have been so exciting coming down the stretch. I think they started too late this year, but at least they aren't rolling over and nose diving.

I'm not saying the 'stros WILL make the playoffs, but I like their chances if they do...

1)Roy Oswalt
2)Andy Pettitte
3)Roger Clemens

wait wait wait...
1a)Lance Berkman

No one wants to face those three...

Now that I've completely ruined any chance they have, I'll shut up!

Hasta Luego!

Day 22

Hello all...It's Monday morning here, and I'm about to start classes. I realized I haven't written here in a few days, so I thought I'd drop a few lines while I had the time to do so. Nothing too exciting has been going on since the last past. Just classes, and studying. I still wouldn't say I have a grasp on the language, but Friday was a pretty good day for me. At least in my morning class. I was speaking very fluidly, and afterwards both the teacher and the other student in class told me so. The afternoon class was a bit different though. The hangover I'd been fighting from the day before had finally caught up to me, and I was having trouble staying awake.

The night before we went to a bar called the Jazz Cafe to watch a band called Editus. I'd never heard of them, but they were supposed to be really good. It wasn't exactly my kind of music. It was all instrumental, and pretty slow. Don't get me wrong, I really like and appreciate that kind of music, but not in a bar. The second half of their show they had a lady come on stage and sing some songs. She was really good, and knew all the words to the 10 or so Carpenters songs she sang. Who would have thought I'd come to Costa Rica and hear the locals singing the Carpenter's greatest hits? The next day I was telling the teacher about the trip, and she told me that Editus is the band from Central America with the most Grammy's. So I guess I appreciate it even more now. The best part was that the beer was cold, and the company was great...

I'd always known that Latin America is heavily influenced by what's going on in the states. After listening to this singer belt out songs in English it became even that much more solidified in my mind. It's very evident in day to day life here that the states has such a grasp on these people, as well as the people in the other (Mexico) Latin American country that I've been to. Perhaps one day I'll write a book on it..Or not, just a thought. I'm sure there's been plenty of others who have done it already.

This is my last week of classes. I can't believe how fast it flew by. Friday Chuck, and maybe my Dad are going to come in. I don't know for sure what we'll do, but I've got a couple of tentative plans in the work. A lot of it depends on if my Dad comes or not. There's only so much time I can spend at a beach. I also want to see the Caribbean side of the country!! I'll update as more news on that front comes.

I don't have too much planned for this week. I'd like to spend a lot of time with the folks I've met here though. They're a very nice group, and we have a lot of fun together. I don't know if we'll get the chance to do so or not, but I can always hope I guess.

That's all for now. Have a great day! I'll update as soon as something is worthy of being written down! Adios!

Day 17

Not too much to report today. Last night a group of us went to see King Lear at the National Theatre. It was a traveling group (troupe?) from England that was putting it on. They did a good job, and it was entertaining to watch because it was 7 people putting on the whole show. I needed my High School English teacher there to translate for me though. After so many thee's, thou's, and other fun words like that I was worn out. I remember reading it in High School, and remembered most parts of the play, so I was able to follow it a bit. It's a sad story, a tragedy I think is what it's called. Very interesting. There is a book called 1000 Acres that is the present day version of it. I read that too, but don't remember too much.

It's thundering and lightening here. Like everyday, but it looks like the rain is going to hold off for a few hours. I wish Kerr County could get about a 10th of the rain that we've had since I've been here. It's somewhat annoying because everyday that we leave school, it's raining. Luckily, I live right around the corner, so I don't have to travel too far. When I want to go anywhere else though, I get soaked. This rain isn't umbrella or rain jacket rain, it's stay inside 'till it dissipates rain!

I've started crossing the street to the super market (Automercado) every day to get my lunch. Today I had a big sandwich, a bag of chips, and a big bottle of tea (not good tea) for less than 3 bucks. I wish I could find food like that in the states! One of the administrators here at the school said this morning that it's hard to find a bargain anymore in Costa Rica. I've been really impressed with things though. Sure paying $55 for a canopy tour was a little too much, but where else am I going to be able to do something like that? The tickets for the play last night were 1,500 colones. With my student discount it was 1,200 colones. That works out to be a little more than $2. I paid more for my lunch!

Well I've been thinking about what I'm going to do when I get back to the states a lot lately. I kind of wish I could just stay here for longer, like a couple more months. I really want to get this Spanish thing down. I need to get back though. I'm frustrated with the Spanish right now because they're throwing about 6 different verb conjugations at us at once. I don't know when I'm supposed to use them all. I wish we could focus on one, get it down, and then move to the next. Maybe I'm just a slow learner though. Anyway, when I get back I can't wait to dove hunt. I'm looking more forward to that than anything. As for work, I'll have that figured out real soon...

So tomorrow is the season premier of Grey's. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it starts at 9 here because that's when the black out ends. Otherwise, I'll be frickin' miserable. What a great show...If anyone wants to tape it for me, well...that'd be....just special..

Hope everyone is enjoying their day. See y'all soon!

Pictures from Costa Rica

Here are some photos from my weekend in Manual Antonio. Just copy and paste and you can see them (hopefully)!

Photos <--Click Here!

Enjoy!!!

Day 15...Back in San Jose

Back to school again. Today is the 18th of the month, and I've been here for 15 days now. I really don't feel my Spanish is getting much better, but perhaps it is. I need to attempt to do less in English, and do more in Spanish. This past weekend was a blast. We went to Manual Antonio, which as I'm sure I've said before is a town on the Pacific Coast. It was a wonderful trip, but my Spanish was non-existent because everyone spoke English.

We left from school at about 4:00 on Thursday to go catch a bus and ride the 4 hours to Manual Antonio. Having traveled by bus in Mexico several times, I was telling my traveling partners what the buses were going to be like, and what to expect. When the bus pulled up, I found out that traveling by bus in Costa Rica, and traveling by bus in Mexico are a tad bit different.

One difference-The price. A bus from Laredo to Monterrey, MX costs like 20 bucks or so. It's a 3 hour trip (sometimes longer). The bus fare from San Jose to Manual Antonio wound up being less than $5. Nice 'eh? Gotta love Costa Rica...

At least until you see the bus...

People always asked me why I traveled on buses in Mexico with chickens. I would reply that the buses in Mexico that I took were way better than any bus I'd ever seen in the States.

Second difference-Quality of buses. Mexico has nice big comfortable seats, air conditioning in the bus, at least one movie during the trip, adequate (not quite enough) leg room, and a clean restroom. Costa Rica has small uncomfortable seats, no air conditioning (unless you count the windows that opened (and let rain in )), no entertainment, enough leg room for a newborn, and no restroom.

It's the company that counts I guess though.

Third difference-sane drivers. Mexico has professional drivers, who wear a suit and greet you as you get on and off the bus. Costa Rica has drivers who wear a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. they jump on the bus when it's full, and wisk you away to your tropical paradise.

It's not all bad though. While the ride wasn't smooth, it was enjoyable being able to see the sites of such a beautiful country. I think I also figured out that you can take private buses here too, and get the same treatment that I'm used to in Mexico. For the price difference, I'll take the cheaper of the two.

The way there, it was dark, so I couldn't really see too much. I did know that we crossed several one way bridges that crossed over some rivers, or valleys. I was looking forward to the ride back though so I could see everything.

The first bridge that we crossed left about a foot for error. I looked down out of my window (air conditioning) and could see through the slots in the bridge that the water about 100 feet down was going by very quickly. The second bridge left about 6 inches for error. It was a bit unnerving, once we crossed you could see the relief in everyone's face, but the driver (at least all the Gringos were happy). San Jose is up in the mountains, so you have to make the trek upwards from the coast. The views were amazing. Everything is so green and full of foliage. The drops without guardrails were quite interesting as well. I think there were several of them that we'd still be dropping down right now 24 hours later!

Enough of that. Manual Antonio is a beautiful place. The views from the hills are amazing. The first day we walked down the road to the beach. It turned out to be like a 5 mile walk, but the sites were amazing. When we finally got the beach we walked down to one end where we pretty much had it to ourselves. We swam for a while, and I got a little sunburned. It's so much prettier than any beach I've ever seen before. Out in the water several hundred meters out there are huge rocks that have trees growing on them. I have pictures that I'll put up whenever I figure the best way to do it from here.

The truth is, that words can't really explain the beauty of the place. Evidently (from what I heard) they shot a big movie in the Manual Antonio national park where we were. They were saying Jurassic Park, but I thought that was filmed in Hawaii. Regardless, they could film any movie here, and the viewers would enjoy the beauty of the place more than the actors acting.

Manual Antonio the town is also a neat place. There's a public beach where the majority of the people are. We were at the private beach in the park itself. On the public beach though, there are vendors selling all kinds of things. There are restaurants that dot the road, as well as surf shops and other little souvenir shops. We went to several of the restaurants and were very pleased with their food. I miss my Tex-Mex though.

We stayed in a Hostel. It was the second time for me. I stayed in one in Vienna for new years a few years ago, and now this one in Manual Antonio. The view from our hostel was great. There was a porch that overlooked the pacific. The sunsets were phenomenal. I've got pictures of those too. The hostel was really nice. It was comfortable and clean, but it was loud. I prefer having my own bathroom (or shared with folks I know). I also like being able to go to sleep when I want and not having to wait on others to be quiet. Friday night we were all up late, playing card games and enjoying a few Imperials. Saturday though we all wanted to go to bed a little early, but everyone else at the hostel wanted to party it up. It was loud, but luckily I had my I-pod so after a while I finally got to sleep.

So my thoughts on hostels, I'd rather pay a little more for privacy!

We saw monkeys, we saw iguanas, and we saw a lot of other things I've never seen. I'll definitely be making the trip back when Chuck gets down here! I'm also looking at planning a trip to Arenal Volcano.

So that in a extremely condensed nut shell was the weekend. We went to a bar a couple of nights and had a good time dancing to the American music they were playing. The beers I think are a little bigger than the 20 oz bottles we have in the states, so that was a plus as well.

I also did a canopy tour. Which was awesome. They strap you in to a harness, and you fly from tree to tree by using cables. One of the cables was around 900 feet long. I imagine I was like 300 feet up or so. Absolutely amazing, and breath taking. I'd love to do another one in another part of Costa Rica. The guides were all telling me that I was going too fast and I needed to break more. I told them that I'm big so I got way faster than anyone else. They said, ayy, si, pero necisita usar sus frenos. My frenos are my brakes. My Brakes were the padded gloves I was wearing. So the more brakes that I used the hotter my gloves became. I got a couple of pictures, I'll put them up when I get a chance!

Uhh yeah..That's a long one, I'll quit there with the trip...

I'm pissed Tech got beat by TCU. I don't like TCU, they weren't good enough to join the Big XII. Evidently though, they are good enough to beat Tech. How disappointing!

Until later all! I hope everyone is doing great!!!

18 days till I return to the states...It'll be a bittersweet day!

Day 10

Another beautiful day here in Costa Rica. It actually only rained for like an hour yesterday. I'm sure today it'll make up for that! Some of my classmates and myself are in the process of reserving hotels and busses for this upcoming weekend in Manual Antonio. The three day weekend will be taken full advantage of! It's the Costa Rican independence day on Friday. I imagine it might be interesting to sit around and see what goes on in the city, but probably way more fun to hit up the beach.

Not too much exciting news to report. I've started talking a lot more to the maid at the house where I live. I think she's from Nicaragua, that's the vibe I get. She cracks me up because sometimes she'll just start laughing for no apparent reason. Like yesterday, I was in my room reading, and I hear her bustin' a gut in the kitchen. I don't know what could have been so funny because we were the only 2 in the house! Another funny thing is, when she talks to me, she yells. I guess she thinks that talking louder will help me understand better! She's a hell of a cook.

So on the news down here I've been reading about this mass poisoning they had somewhere up north in the country. They have an alcohol down here called Guaro. It's like a vodka made from sugarcane. Well, there were some moonshiners making their own Guaro and they ended up killing more than 35 people. It's kind of a sad deal because the news here doesn't really edit too much. They were showing the hospital where the people were, and some of them were on the verge of death, and some were already dead. Just not something you see on American television.

Welp, I've got class here in a bit. I might not update again until Monday or Tuesday of next week. I hope everyone has a great week!

Adios

fin de semana! Day 8

Today is 9/11, one of the most notorious days in the history. As for me, it's a bittersweet day. I don't think I need to elaborate too much on the bitterness of the day, but it's also my Dad's 54th birthday. What a great day to have a birthday on now huh? I recall that day 5 years ago very well. It's one of those things that I guess I always will remember. I know a lot of other people, who are older remember exactly where they were when they heard that JFK was shot, or when the Challenger went down.

I was on my way out the door to a philosophy class. I was going early because we had a test, but I sat down to catch a quick bite and turned on the television. It didn't really sink in that it was an attack at first, I thought it was more of an accident. As the newscasts progressed though, things started coming together. Even after I realized it was a terrorist attack, it didn't really hit me because I still had to go to school. I didn't realize the magnitude that those events would have on the world later that day, or even now 5 years in advance. I'm not sure that I've gone a single day since without thinking of that day, or hearing some piece of news on it.

Five years later, I still don't know what to think. I'm a conservative cat, and a staunch supporter of our President, but there are so many questions I have about the way things have been handled. Last night on Headline News (one of the few English channels I get) there was this guy who said he was conservative, but felt the same way as I do. He said he was not shocked and awed by our campaign in Iraq, and truthfully neither was (am) I. We're arguably the most powerful nation in the world, but we're not fighting to win, we're fighting not to lose. We need to get people home, and get that over with. However, we need to finish what we started first.

Just my thoughts on that....On the lighter side....

Happy Birthday to my Dad.

So the weekend...

Friday after class we all met at the mall San Pedro, which is about a 10 minute walk from where I live. All the others can ride buses that drop them off there. It has pretty much become our central meeting place, other than the school. One of the teachers here gave us the name of a bar that we should go to. We got a cab and were on our way to the Longhorn bar. It was supposed to be a place where everyone could dance to latin music and have a few cold ones. When we got there it wasn't really what we expected. It looked a little like a Texas themed barbecue joint from the states. Only not in Texas, somewhere up north where all the stereotypes were present. We didn't even end up going inside. We got another cab, and went to a place called Moomba in Escazu.

Escazu is a little like Garza Garcia in Monterrey. The more affluent part of the city. The bar was 2 storied, and had a 3500 colon (+/- 7 dollar) cover. When we walked in, they gave us a cup. I was thinking it was going to be like a keg party in college where you paid for the cup at the door, then could drink all the beer that you wanted. As we walked up the stairs I was expecting to see keg after keg. When we got to the bar though, it was all the mixed drinks you could drink for free, until midnight. We got there at about 9:45, so we had plenty of time. They played a good mix of music, and after a while, we went downstairs where more people were dancing and did a little dancing of our own. It was a good experience for all of us, because we got to cut loose, and get to talk about things other than Spanish class. I got home at 2:30.

We decided the night before that we were going to hit up downtown San Jose the next day. We met at the mall again the next day at noon. We all looked a little rough I'm sure. I bet all the ticos were laughing about the hungover gringos! We ate in the food court in the mall, and afterwards took the 10 minute taxi ride downtown. The taxi driver dropped us off at the Central Theater, and from there we did a little exploring. The first stop was the Theater itself. It's a great big building, when we walked in I was surprised how small it looked from the inside. They had a piano concert that night, so we bought tickets. They were around 4 dollars a piece.

After leaving the Theater we went several other places. We went to a plaza where they had some kind of weird architecture. I still don't know exactly what it was dedicated to, but it was neat to look at. After that we went to the Catholic Church. It was huge, not anywhere near as big as St. Peter's in the Vatican, but maybe a 10th of it (Which is still huge). The ceilings were very high, and there were a lot of unique features in it.

After leaving there, we walked some more, and ended up in the Museum of Gold. It's all underground, which was pretty neat. They had an expo on pre-Colombian natives in Costa Rica. Then we went into the Gold part. It's amazing how much gold these people used to wear, or have access to. It was an awesome exhibit. After a while though, it was like we were looking at the same thing over and over again. Our favorite part of the whole thing was the air conditioning though. It felt great in there.

Before heading back to our part of San Jose, we stopped for a little drink in a cafe that's right on the square in front of the Theater. It was interesting to sit there and watch the people walking by. After a quick drink, we went back to our respective homes to rest up, and get ready for the concert.

Now for my least favorite part of the night. For me to get a cab or anything, I have to walk to the mall. Like I said earlier it is a 10 minute walk. We were going to meet at 6, so we could go get a bite to eat, and be at the theater before 7:30.

The fun part, it rains EVERY DAY in Costa Rica. Saturday it rained especially hard, and of course never harder than when I needed to go to the mall. So I put on my rain jacket and left. By the time I got to the mall, I was soaked. Actually soaked is an understatement. It was like I went swimming in my shoes and pants. We grabbed a cab, and returned to my house, where I changed. I had to wear the same shoes to the concert though, because sandals are not permitted.

We went and got dinner. I had a little steak, and a few other things. The food here isn't magnificent, but it's better than par. Afterwards we went to the piano concert. That's not really my kind of deal, but it was enjoyable. I was thinking the whole time about the Ohio State vs. Texas game, but it doesn't look like I really missed anything.

Afterwards, we all went home, and that was it!

Yesterday was lazy. I studied, watched some football (americano), and read a bit.

Today, I'm about to start class. I'm wearing my crocs because my shoes are still wet. I'm also ready for the weekend. We've got a big trip in the works.

So that's it for now! I'll catch up with y'all later...Have a great day...

Observations DAY 6

Here I am, one week into classes, and still not real sure of what I've learned up to this point. I do know that last night was the first night that I was able to carry on a conversation with my "ticamama" (lady who owns the house where I stay). I'm sure I sounded like a bumbling 3 year old, but I think I got my point across. Classes continue to get a little harder each day, and the list of new words is piling up pretty fast. I spend about an hour before and after classes studying, but don't really know if it's getting me anywhere. It's funny because there are several words that I know from Mexico, that the teacher says just won't work here, or are archaic. Like yesterday, I used foco for lightbulb and the teacher said that's a flashlight, then I said I thought a flashlight was a vela. She said a vela is a candle, which is also the word that I use (the word here is bombilla). Small things like that, different words for the same things that I've learned in the past and am trying to learn now are what's frustrating me a bit.

Things are well though. I really enjoyed being able to hold a conversation. Granted, it was a low level conversation, about pets, animals, and insects, but none the less, it was interesting. I also learned that the family is about to open a restaurant somewhere near the college here in San Jose.

This weekend a few of us are going to go out and do several things. Tonight we're going to hit up a club, and do some dancing. I don't know how much dancing I'll get accomplished, but I'm sure I'll have a few Cervezas Imperiales. Then tomorrow we'd talked about getting together at a coffee shop and studying a little. I'm not a big coffee fan, but I also don't want to sit in my house all day. I am excited about getting to watch some college football though. I am hoping I get the Texas, Ohio State game. For some reason ABC blacks out during primetime here. CBS and NBC come in fine, but ABC is gone for a couple of hours. Which also ticks me off because it's during the time that Gray's will be on!

Sunday, I'm going to go to downtown San Jose with a couple of girls that are in my classes. I guess we'll go check things out, and do the touristy thing. I'm looking forward to that. I'm gonna' try to find a couple massage parlors that I can take Chuck to when he gets down here. Naa, I'm joking...or am I??? Yeah, I am..

Next week we have Friday off, so we're going to go to Manual Antonio and Quepos and hit the beach and maybe do a canopy tour. It should be fun. I've read that I'm too heavy for the canopy tour, but the teachers here say it's your body type, not necessarily your weight, and that I should be able to go on them. I think the teachers are trying to say I they like my body! 'eh? That'll be a lot of fun, because it's the place I want to go when Chuck comes down.

So, ANOTHER reason that I hate cats. 2 nights ago, I was eating dinner, and the maid was outside looking for the cat. Well the cat was stuck on the roof, and the maid couldn't get it down. So I went outside to try to help her. She was standing in a chair and still about 2 feet too short to reach the roof. I told her that I'd help. I got in the chair and stood on my tippy toes, and grabbed the cat by the back of it's neck and brought it down. About halfway down, she decided to wrap around my arm and claw and bite me. Now I have a nice bite mark on my hand, and two scratches on each side of my arm from the dang cat. To make matters worse, I went back in and was eating, and looked down at my shorts, and I'd managed to get blood all over them! Que Triste!

So those have been the going ons as of late. I won't be around the computer much this weekend. The family has one, but I don't like asking to use it because someone is usually on it. Besides, part of this "vacation" is to get away from the computer. Monday, I'll update.

I hope everyone has a grand weekend! Talk to you all soon!!!

Adios

Another thing that I miss from Texas:
Dove hunting of course...
WATER PRESSURE!

Day 4

Here I am again, the noonish break that we have most everyday. I'm about to bash this computer I'm using because it's an Mac, and I don't understand how the heck to use it. It took me 10 minutes to figure out how to sign off of AIM.

So my schedule it pretty easy, but I've been really worn out the last couple of days after classes. I have class from 10-12, then 1-5 pretty much. I really enjoy the 2 hour class, but the four hour class is a little long to be sitting in one place. We get a 15 minute break, but still, it's somewhat of an information overload. I'm putting all the new words that I learn in one notebook, and I've already got 6 full pages. Tonight, even more. I'm the dummy who forgot to bring a spanish --> english dictionary too.

A funny thing happened yesterday. We were supposed to pick out 5 adjectives that described ourselves. Also, we weren't allowed to use the obvious, like alto, gordo, etc. I picked a few, then looked on the internet for a few others. One that I found was gastado. It's literal meaning is worn out, so since I've been feeling that way pretty much since I got here, I used it. Well the teacher laughed when I used it. The teacher by the way is a fairly attractive woman probably in her early 30's. She said that machines get gastado, not people. She said that sometimes women will describe men as gastado if they've been around the block. Needless to say I was a little averganzado (embarrassed). I didn't bother to tell her that my nickname is Sancho either, she might have really thought that I was gastado! I also used the word juevon for lazy. That obviously is slang.

Yesterday after school a few of us went out and had a couple of pitchers of the local Costa Rican beer. It's called Imperial. From what I could understand, it's like our Natty Light. Still though, it was palatable. We only had a couple of pitchers, then all returned to our respective homes. It was nice to go out and do something. I think we're going to make that a daily happening.

Nobody in Costa Rica wears shorts. I brought a few pair, but hadn't worn them yet. Yesterday though was so hot that I said screw the trend and will be wearing shorts from now on. It wasn't really hot, but humid as heck. Like %160 humidity. I'm sure I'll stick out like a sore thumb when I'm walking down the street, but I think I do a good enough job of that already!

This is post 100 for me...plus I've had exactly 1300 hits. I did the math, on and that's 13 people per posting...Maybe some of you people do care what I think...

Hasta Luego...

Day 3

Well I'm here at the school again. It's almost 10:00, and classes start at 10:15. The sun came up AGAIN at 5:30, guess I better get used to it. One good thing though, is that on ESPNDEPORTES (spanish ESPN), they have an english sportscenter on at 7 in the morning. I can't believe what Tiger Woods is doing.

I didn't figure I'd have homework, but I was assigned 2 different pieces of it yesterday. Sheesh, that's why I was in college for 10 years! Oh well, it shouldn't be that bad. We have a 3 day weekend in a few weeks, and I think a few of us here at the school might get together and go to a beach, or maybe go to Arenal (volcano). Whatever, just as long as I get out and see a little bit!

Welp, that's all for now. Maybe more later...

Oh yeah, WTF happened to the Crocodile Hunter, it's all over the news down here. I guess if you play with fire enough, you're eventually going to get burned!

Adios

Pura Vida

Well, I made it without incident. Here in Costa Rica, and at the school for my first day of classes. Yesterday was an extremely long day. I woke up at 3:00, left Kerrville at 4:00, and was at the airport a little after 5:00. They say you are supposed to be at the airport at least 2 hours before international flights. I say BS to that. I got there 2 hours prior to my flight, and ended up sitting in the terminal for an hour and a half. The flight from San Antonio to Houston took about 35 minutes. We were supposed to leave there at 9:20 but ended up getting delayed until almost 11.

They had the televisions on in the terminal in Houston. It was on the news, and of course everything that they were showing before I hopped on the plane was about terrorism, and the 9/11 anniversary coming up. That sure makes me feel a lot better.

I was so tired on the flight that I couldn't really sleep. It was in a daze for the majority of the flight. I read my little situational spanish book for the majority of the trip, but kept forgetting what exactly I was supposed to say to the taxi driver. Luckily though, my skin and bones espanol was enough!

Addresses in Costa Rica are different. Instead of it being this number on this street in this city, they start you off on a place where most everyone knows. For example, the place I am staying is in the neighborhood of Los Yoses. Once you get to Los Yoses you go to el Automercado, then go 100 meters south, then 20 meters west, to a yellow house. I figured there'd be know way that my cab driver could get me there, but sure enough, he knew exactly where to go. I probably shouldn't second guess the system if it's worked for this long.

I requested a homestay that was within walking distance from the school. As we were making the 100 meters south from the Automercado, we passed it. So it's within a couple of minutes walk from the place I'm staying. The family seems to be real nice. They speak NO english, but that's what this immersion thing is all about. The food has been really good so far. This morning we had a bunch of fresh fruit, some of which I've never seen or heard of.

So here I am. Just wanted to write and let everyone know what's going on. I hope you are all enjoying your holiday. I'll be able to update pretty regularly, so be looking for it!

Adios