Wow....that really went fast.

It's Friday, and I have just finished my last class. Like the title implies (or directly says), the four weeks have really gone fast. Hard to believe that I am about to head north already.
In fact, I am about to leave Tamarindo for good. I'll be spending the last weekend back in Monteverde and then catching an early flight out of Liberia on Monday AM.
Not really ready to leave the area, but I am feeling like I am ready for a break from school.
Better go.....I have only two minutes remaining on this internet account.

Sunday Snoozer

It´s Sunday again, and since I wasn´t traveling this weekend, I decided to check out the church in Santa Rosa. It´s a Catholic church, and the only one in town. So how was it? Well, let´s just say I´m still a little drowsy, and the service was 9 hours ago. Yea, it was pretty dull. Not to be critical or anything (as if I haven´t been thus far), but things were certainly dead. dead...dull....sleepy....boring....all words I would use to describe the service.
So, it got me thinking. I have talked with several people in and around the town of Santa Rosa about the church scene, and they have all had a similar response. Church? Yea, we used to go, but not much anymore. I mean I believe in God and all, but that´s about it. In fact, out of the 2000 or so people that live in and around Santa Rosa, there were about 20 or 30 at the service this AM (about 1 percent). AND quite honestly, if I lived in SR, I don´t think I would be one of the 1% either. THAT, I find to be sad (not the ME part). I mean I´m certainly not one to be stuck on church dogma (or the dogma of going to church for the sake of going to church), but I find it sad that the spiritual center for the area has died seemingly long ago. God, along with Elvis, has apparently left the building.
The GOOD news is that He seems to be taking up residence in La Fortuna (God, that is.....not sure where Elvis is living right now.......and yes, he IS still living). So perhaps it really isn´t any different from any other place in the world.....certainly no different than parts of the US. Maybe I have simply grown a bit attached to Santa Rosa. Maybe I´m feeling a bit sensative toward MY town. On the other hand, maybe I'm still a bit tired from the morning service.

That´s it from Tamarindo (no internet cafe in SR). I hope you all enjoyed an excellent Sunday, wherever you may be.

I'm building an ARK

Well, the rainy season showed up yesterday making quite the entrance. wow....I ended up walking to a nearby town with a guy from school. He needed to pick up a package....it turned into a wild goose chase......I'm still drying out.
BUT, the sun is shining again this AM, and all is well.
Maybe I'll hold off a day or two on the ark.

AAAAhhhhh.....raining on roosters

So last night was much better in the sleep dept. Although it is officially the rainy season here in CR, I haven't seen a drop. Well, perhaps I should say I "hadn't" seen a drop.....until last night, that is. It wasn't much, but it was a brief shower (OK sprinkle) nonetheless that seemed to cool things down a bit. The OTHER thing I noticed, though, is that the roosters seemed to be dramatically subdued last night. Perhaps because of the rain? I don't know, but I certainly wasn't complaining.

...and speaking of rain.....it continues to rain mangos as well. Yep, the new place also has a large mango tree in the backyard, so, once again, it's "all the mangos I can eat"! Yes, I DO love Costa Rica.

A Weekend in Santa Cruz

It's Monday, and I am about to begin week #3. The weekend went pretty well. I ended up going to a town just north of here called Santa Cruz. It is a medium sized town and is about 1.5 hours by bus. I think I may have mentioned it before, but I had to go up there to get a police report from the GREAT TAMARINDO HEIST OF 04 (April, that is). Anyway, I went up there with a couple of friends from the school on Sat. AM, and we stayed up there until Sunday AM. Overall a good time. We were certainly the only "non-locals" in town, so it was a nice change from "Tamagringo". Also, on Sat. night, we met up with one of the teachers from the school, so that was fun. Interesting thing about Santa Cruz?.........LOTS of Chinese people! SO, lots of Chinese restaurants, etc. Interesting.

Other than that, I have moved again, and hopefully it will be the last time. Yea, I left the comforts of my air conditioned room with the TV to spend last night wondering why roosters don't sleep. Wow, those are some LOUD animals, especially when they are RIGHT outside the window. Oh well, I suppose a little sleep is a small sacrifice to make. The new family is great, and I think it will be a good experience. In fact, it already is. hmmmm.....maybe I'll forsake my vegetarian ways to just get rid of a few roosters.

Jason

Two Weeks Down

Well, another week is complete, so I suppose I have officially hit the half way point. To be quite honest, this kind of "bums me out". Yea, life here is pretty good, and I'm really enjoying the language study. I just enjoyed a light lunch on the beach, so I figured I would BLOG a bit. I was was also thinking about my education. Although I haven't really learned any new topics, I feel like my Spanish has improved greatly. The first day of class, I basically understood NOTHING the teacher was saying. Since the classes are taught completely in Spanish, this was pretty overwhelming. After a couple of weeks, although I don't understand "every word", I am able to follow what's going on. Also, when I talk to people around town, etc., I am generally able to understand and communicate. The other night, I sat and talked with one of my neighbors for about an hour in Spanish. Now, we certainly weren't discussing the intricacies of the universe, but hey, it was a conversation none the less. QUE BUENO!!!! Anyway, I am certainly learning, and right now, I'm wishing I was here for another few months.
HMMM.....who knows when I will return, but it may be in the "not so distant" future.

Another weekend is upon us. No major travel plans as of yet, but I think I will spend a day or so in a nearby town called Santa Cruz. It's about an hour by bus, and I need to head up there to get a police report (from the great Tamarindo heist of 04......April, that is). I'm thinking I will spend a night and check out the town a bit, and I'll probably be accompanied by a friend or two from the school. Anyway, I hear it is pretty much American-free, so it should be a good experience.

Que tengan un buen fin de semana!!!
PURA VIDA

Another Day In Paradise

Yep, although it's the rainy season, there has been NO sign of moisture. It's actually very hot/sunny today, so the thought of rain is quite appealing. BUT who's complaining?
I think things are going to work out GREAT with the new fam. I went over to their place last night and spent some time hanging out with them. Yenci and Gorge (not sure of the apellido...last name) and their 4 year old son named Andreas. Actually they are a lot of fun, so it should be a great two weeks with them.
Also, I tried to tell my current family this AM that I wouldn't be living with them after Sunday. On my end, there was certainly an attempt to be as tactful as possible, but who knows what the "word on the street" is. It's a very small town. They ALL know each other, and they ALL talk. Oh well, in the end, I figured that the POTENTIAL offense was outweighed by the TWO WEEK experience. After all, I AM here to learn. HMMMMM......I AM going to miss those Mangos though.
One more day of class this week....not sure what the weekend will consist of. The new family invited my to the beach with them, but we'll see.

PURA VIDA

Big Night Out

In my last post, I wrote about the great accommodations at my new place in Santa Rosa. Nothing has changed. BUT, I do have one single complaint, and that is that there is very little conversation. Like I said, the people are very friendly, but they are very reserved and "say" very little. Being as though I am there to speak/hear Spanish, that creates a bit of a problem.

So last night after dinner (very short, albeit VERY good, dinner), the family headed to their room to watch the news for the rest of the night. I figured that since the TV is in their room and that they probably wouldn't want an extra buddy with whom to snuggle, I should probably not watch the news with them. Anyway, I headed out in Santa Rosa looking for some action (i.e. interaction). Long story short, I ended up in the grocery store talking with a guy who works there. He invited my back to his house, where I spent the evening hanging with his family. It was a good time had by all (OK at least me), and I petitioned the school to allow me to move to "that" house. Unfortunately, that didn't work out, by I AM going to move to a neighbors house on Sunday. I'm trying to do this diplomatically without offending the current family.....hopefully everything will work out OK. The new family lives two doors down from the family from last night and are supposed to be very similar in their enthusiasm/interaction. Also, they have a little boy, so maybe my Spanish will be up to a 4 year old level....maybe.
Other than that, things are pretty status quo around here. More swimming in the ocean yesterday, but so far, no surfing. Not sure if that is going to happen or not. We'll see how it goes.


That's about it from Tamarindo. I'm off to the coffee shop for a bit of studying.

Hola mis amigos (y familia).
I´m back in Tamarindo from the weekend of travel, and all is well. After leaving Arenal, my friends and I headed to Monteverde to visit the rainforest via zipline. It was certainly a good time and a great weekend overall.
BUT NOW I HAVE MOVED!!!!!!
Yep, living at the beach was great, and I certainly enjoyed hanging out with the people in the house......BUT.....I felt like I really needed to immerse myself in Spanish to truly learn. So, I have moved to Santa Rosa. Santa Rosa is a small town about 8km from Tamarindo, and I am now living with a host family. Actually, I am living with the Gutierrez family. I arrived last night, and, so far, all is well there. I have my own room and bathroom, and the room even has AC (swamp cooler that sort of works) and an old TV (all channels in Spanish, of course). BUT, it is great! AND, perhaps the best part is......Duee to the mango tree in the yard, I CAN EAT MANGOS UNTIL MY HEART IS CONTENT!!!!!! Yea, they seem pretty nice, and the town is very small and quiet which should lend itself to much reading, study, and Spanish immersion.

So that is about it from Tamarindo. I think I will do a bit of studying and swimming before catching the bus back to Santa Rosa. My goal is to catch the right bus and avoid ending up in Nicaragua.

Yason