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!