It’s been a bit since I’ve last posted and honestly, I don’t have too much to say but will instead offer a few observations about my current state of mind and a few highlights from the past week.
Last weekend we took a spontaneous road trip to Ciudad Quesada. It was a 2 hour adventure on one shuttle from the ranch and a public bus. I realized when I got onto the bus how much I had missed public transportation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m completely head over heels for my yellow car, but it is nice to be able to freely move from place to place and not worry about parking, gas, insurance, etc. Memo, a Tico friend who works in the kitchen, has family in Ciudad Quesada and grew up there. It was refreshing to travel away from the ranch and away from the tourist atmosphere of La Fortuna and finally gain a taste of the “real” Costa Rica—away from the crowds, the English, the extortion. Isaac, Andrea, and I decided to go to the movies while we waited for Memo to go run some errands. Harry Potter 6 was playing so we paid 1800 colones, roughly 3 US dollars, to enjoy the 2 and a half hour flick dubbed entirely in Spanish—no subtitles. I’m happy to report I paid attention the whole time and didn’t even fall asleep once! I think this was because my brain was excited with the challenge of trying to understand everything that was being said. I’m also happy to report that I understand nearly all of it, minus the wizard words and a few voices here and there. Andrea and Isaac had a bit more trouble, but I filled in the blanks and Andrea had read the book, so she had a general idea of what was to happen before the movie even began. After the movie we met up with Memo for dinner at a random little Tico place that was nothing special. I had a cheeseburger and well, it was better than rice and beans, but not great. After that we took an incredibly bumpy ride to Memo’s house that overlooks most of the town on top of a nearby mountain. Awesome. The view at night was incredible, as was the view the next morning! Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures—fail on my part. We decided to go back into town as it wasn’t that late and check out a karaoke bar we had seen along the way. The bar was absolutely packed and the majority of men that filled the place were extremely excited to show off their skills. The best song we heard sung was some song none of us had ever heard about America, belted out with such gusto that it was all we could do to not absolutely burst into laughter later. Our next stop was some bar that apparently has dancing on Friday and Saturday nights, but apparently no one felt like dancing when we were there. However, we didn’t let that deter us and Isaac, Andrea, and I danced anyway, not caring what the Ticos thought about the crazy gringos. (Note that Memo did NOT participate—maybe it’s not really a dance club and the joke was on us, who knows). The next morning I enjoyed sleeping in until 9am! Memo’s mom made us coffee and we had some delicious bread, then headed back to the bus station and then back to La Fortuna.
The rest of the weekend was uneventful, though we did have an awesome fire on the island Sunday night and I stayed out there way too late. Oh well though, it was definitely worth it, enjoying the evening, staring up at the stars and listening to the river flow by. I’m obsessed with that place—it’s so tranquil and I always feel so in touch with nature while down there.
Cleaning and inspecting for mold continues to be a chore. It ensures that our room, and stuff, stays clean though! However, all forms of organizational containers now prove ineffective as instead they are incubators of mold.
I’m used to the rain by now, and somewhat enjoy it. It makes getting up in the morning hard sometimes though, especially when the rain is absolutely POURING. For whatever reason, rain falling is such a soothing sound and does not promote motivation.
Costa Rica is changing me. Most likely, these changes are only temporary but I suppose time shall tell.
First of all, I am up by 6:45am every day, even on my days off. With the exception of the past few days, I am in bed by 11:30pm, if not earlier. The necessity of going down for breakfast before it ends at 7:15am motivates me to get up. Though I will admit that on Monday, dragging myself out of bed at that hour, even for breakfast, was too much. So I skipped the first meal of the day and it really wasn’t that bad…it may happen again. Even though I am most definitely a night person, I can appreciate the early morning and the stillness and expectancy a new day brings.
I no longer crave sweets. I know, right? I do still definitely enjoy them, from time to time, but after being unwillingly weaned off of them, a cookie once a week or so is a nice little luxury to be had. I can’t afford to crave something that I can’t get whenever I want, as it is back home in the States. Even when there are extra cookies, if I’ve already had one that day, I don’t really have any desire to eat another. I suppose this is a good thing, and I have no doubt that my sweet tooth will return come September 18. I did enjoy a bowl of chocolate, coconut, and peanut ice cream at Pizza John’s over the weekend, along with a Coke Zero. It’s truly amazing the things you miss, often items you never thought you would.
I’m getting used to the simpler lifestyle, though I’ve never considered myself to lead an overly complicated life. I do miss my cell phone from time to time, mostly because I love to stay connected to all of you fine folk.
This weekend should prove exciting, another Pizza John’s night tonight, which is turning into a weekly tradition. I hope to go on an awesome hike one of the days this weekend, and overall enjoy life as usual. It’s nice to have a break from sitting on the computer for 8 hours a day and enjoy la naturaleza all around me.
Signing off for now, more to come! As always, thank you for the emails, photo comments, wall posts, and the like—they encourage me and brighten my days. :)
Love you all, wish I could be there with you this weekend, or that you could be here with me. Enjoy the weekend!
Cheers,
Katie
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