Much to catch up on have we!

Hey y'all! Sorry for the delays on my posts! I actually just now posted the previous post although I'd started it a week ago, but I've been so busy with school lately and have had scarce internet time so I haven't been able to update my blog till now. Hope you're in a reading mood! I love to hear your comments : )

Saturday, August 14: Las Ferias

So the second day I was in Costa Rica was a Saturday, and I remember the family telling me that David was sleepy because he had gotten up at five in the morning to go by fruits and vegetables from the farmer’s market in Heredia. I had mentioned I would like to go with him sometime, so finally my friend Corrylee and I woke up at 5:30 in the morning to go see the market. We were amazed. It was huge, probably equal the size of all of Kauai’s farmer’s markets combined with almost all the different tropical fruits and vegetables you can imagine!

The smell of it was wonderful – pineapple, cilantro, bananas and all kinds of aromas swirling in the air! Corry and I helped David carry the bags the he filled up. We had to go to the car and unload three big bags and then went back and filled them up again. David was so nice; whenever we’d ask him what something was, he would always say, “Do you want to try it? I’ll get it for you!” Corry had never had a coconut before so the three of us drank coconut milk, which Ticans call "pipas." David also bought each of us a fruit called sapote (I think), that I’d never seen before. Outside it looks like kiwi, but it’s the size of a small papaya and football shaped. The meat is dark orange and has a papaya-like texture except thicker and richer, almost like custard. It was good, but weird – it was so rich I couldn’t eat it all in one sitting, but later I craved it! So the reason that I was reminded of this outing was because, while at the market, David bought a bouquet of purple roses for Xinia for Costa Rican Mother’s Day which was the next day.

Running Outside!

After breakfast I went with David, Xinia, and Sebas to a recreation center. I played some one-on-one basketball with Sebas. I think I was winning two to one, but he got tired. So then I taught him and Xinia how to play Horse or "Caballo," rather. After that, David showed me the path that he likes to run, so I took three laps around the whole center, avoiding loose rocks in certain spots, passing by cows and barbeque-ers and a fútbol scrimmage, and finding the first Kauai-type pink guavas since I’ve been here. Then I joined the family at the pool for a while and we went back to eat our Mother’s Day meal.

August 15: Costa Rican Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day in Costa Rica is a huge deal. I’ve seen stores advertising for it since I got here. I asked if Father’s Day was as big a deal as Mother’s Day and apparently Mother’s Day is a much bigger celebration. I asked my host dad David what people normally do for Mother’s Day and he told me that the streets are packed, as well as every restaurant, because EVERYONE likes to go out to eat, but of course waits till the last minute to decide where to go instead of making reservations ahead of time. My host mom Xinia wisely decided to avoid the zoo in the streets and let David cook dinner. So he made a lasagna while she told him what to do. Then the whole family, minus Gidgeth (big sister who was working) plus Xinia’s oldest sister (out of her seven sisters, I think – Xinia is the youngest) sat down and had a delicious chicken lasagna lunch. As far as gifts, each family member gave her stuff before the actual day – son Sebastion (Sebas) got her a “Te quiero Mamá” mug, daughters Gidgeth and Nohelia got her a shirt, I gave her some chocolates I had bought the day before, and I’m not sure if David made lunch and gave her the bouquet of roses I already mentioned.

Tuesday, August 17: More Marchas

All classes before four o’clock were canceled again on Tuesday due to another protest. Except this time, instead of the four public universities having their own individual protests, they all got together in San José. This was good for me, because I needed more time to finish up a paper for my literature class for Wednesday!

Friday, August 20: Homework and Drizzley Evening

Today I met with Corrylee and Abby to work on our group project for Spanish class on “Danceable Rhythms.” We are each writing two of a six-page paper and then have to present our work for twenty minutes in class. The topic is a lot harder than it seems, because so much of their musical traditions aren’t written down, but rather are orally handed down from generation to generation. So it’s coming along. By the way, it started dumping rain this morning and throughout or whole homework session in the school library and a coffee shop…After dinner, Corrylee and I took a taxi to the next neighborhood over called Barva where there was a tiny little “festival” in the central park. We walked around with our umbrellas, browsing in the different stands, bought some yummy tortilla thing stuffed with beans and pork and salad. Then got ice cream and sat and talked and watched people play (dakine…the name is escaping me…not pool…that table soccer game…can someone help me out?). It was a good rainy evening!

Saturday, August 21: Ballet de Kiev
On Saturday, I met with my friends Corrylee and Abby again to work on our Spanish project. Then in the evening the three of us plus another friend Callie took a taxi together to San José to watch a Ukrainian ballet show. We had bought the cheapest tickets for about $28 dollars, so our seats were wooden steps up at the very top of the theater. Nevertheless, we had a perfect view of the stage and all of us loved the show. There were about ten different dances which were all snippets of well-known shows or plays, like Don Quixote, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty. It actually didn't rain at all today (okay that's a lie, it drizzled for like ten minutes), but it was the first relatively dry day in a while!

Sunday, August 22: Church!

This morning my friend Holly and I went to Taja’s church, which is called "Vida Abundante," (Abundant Life). Holly and I walked twenty-five minutes to a park downtown, where we caught a bus for about a ten-minute ride to a barrio called San Josecito and got off at a hotel where the church holds its services. There were probably about a couple hundred people, of which, Taja, Holly, and myself were the only gringas that I saw. They started off with worship, which was a more contemporary style that I really liked; they had a whole band and sang the Spanish version of songs that I knew in English, for example a couple of Hillsong songs and “Yes, Lord.” Then they took offering and there were announcements in a little video powerpoint presentation up on two screens. Afterwards, the pastor, who was probably about thirty, gave a sermon from the first chapter of Haggai. I liked the pastor a lot – he was really energetic and into his message. The sermon was about fulfilling your dreams (for the Lord) and really focused on fulfilling their communal dream as a church. After the sermon, they had a special time of prayer to ask for God’s guidance about buying a property for the church, so everyone held hands in a big circle around the room and prayed together. I will probably be attending again in the future.

Random fact you might not know about Costa Rica:

Ticans brush their teeth a lot. Pretty much all the students carry toothbrushes and toothpaste in their backpacks, so after lunch the girls’ bathroom is full of girls brushing their teeth. We talked about it in our Spanish language and culture class and our teacher told us that it’s typical for people to brush their teeth from 3-5 times a day, depending on personal preference and the thickness of your toothbrush’s bristles. It’s not uncommon to brush after each meal and morning and afternoon coffee!

Well, you are now officially back up to date on the haps in my life here in beautiful rainy Costa Rica. Just FYI, though, normally the mornings are sunny and gorgeous and I work up a good sweat walking to school in the morning. But then it usually starts to get cloudy and one o'clock and can rain at any point from that time on, and the evenings have been relatively chilly, which is actually refreshing.

Bye now, friends. I'm off to work on my report on beets and cucumbers! Love and aloha to all : )