Nothing is Certain until it is

So this phrase "Nothing is Certain until it is" has just popped into my mind all of a sudden and I felt the need to share. I know it sounds pretty redundant so I guess I should explain my train of thought. In the past, I've heard people say, " I know for a fact that we are going to get married, I just know." And then a couple of months later they break up. Or someone says, "I just know I'm not going to get that promotion" or "I know that we are going to have a great season this year" (aka clemson fans). I myself have often said, "I know that I am going to fail this test," based on the lack of studying I had don't prior to taking it. but how do we know these things? No one can ever know something with certainty until the event actually happens. You can never know that you are going to marry someone until the moment you actually marry them. I mean think about runaway brides. Their husbands were probably pretty certain that they were going to get married since the wedding had already started, but things didn't turn out that way did they. and i for one have never failed a test that I thought I was going to fail. People always think that they can't do something, like pursue something they love, go to faraway adventure, or tell their objects of affection how they really feel all because "I know it wont work out." How do you know that peoploe?And if in fact it doesn't work out, well what have you really lost. I mean you'll just start back at the place you were before you ever did what you did. So people, nothing is certain until it is. And no matter what the circumstances look like, it doesn't mean it's gonna happen. Just because it looks like the odds are against you, it doesnt mean they are. And if things change, like you lose the job you planned to retire at or your boyfriend who gave you a promise ring breaks up with you, don't be surprised. Move on and do something you were always afraid to do like audition for American Idol or interview for that job that you may not think you are qualified because NOTHING IS CERTAIN UNTIL IT IS.
-From the mind of an American college student. Pura vida.

5 hour energy

Well I made it through Heaven week (oh yeah its opposite day didnt you know) as it it was the worst week of the semester. Yeah, for all you college peeps, I think we can all attest that the last week of classes and exams are the WORST weeks ever. All of my professors decided to make 10 and 15 page papers due the last day of class. How dumb. dont they realize they are going to have to read all of those in a week's time. and that my friends is why I will never be a teacher. I also had a group project, and not hating on people, but many I hate working in groups. they seriously are more painful than having to write a 15 page paper on human trafficking-talk about depressing. I seriously worked more in the last two weeks than I did the rest of the semester combined. Not even kidding. Its not saying that I did much, its just saying i did absolutely freaking nothing the rest of the semester. Two diseases rage within me at the present moment: senioritis and procrastination. a deadly combination for sure. Well with all that done, I am just two exams and a take home away from the end of this semester. PRAISE THE LORD. Im not sure how well I need to do on any of those things and considering I dont even have the books for one class, I'm not sure how its going to turn out. I honestly dont even care. I do have to give a shoutout to 5 hour energies. and yes some of you may know my addiction, and yes there is a patent pending, and yes "they may be bad for my health"- but I DONT CARE. they honestly are the only reason I was able to write approximately 30 pages. and they arent as bad a cup of coffee that makes me act like a freaking crack addict after one cup. Literally, my hands will be shaking so bad that I can even type. I just press all the keys as fast as I possibly can, making quite a ruckus I might add, just to appease the caffeine coursing through my veins. Its really awful. So for me, ill take my Vitamin B12 boost and my daily fulfillment of folic acid in a 5 hour energy. Ah how I love thee. Dont worry, i'm not addicted. After tomorrow I probably wont take another one until next he77 (turn the 7's upside down) week in April. and by next he77 week I mean, two weeks before I graduate HOLLA Playas. Woot woot. this one is checking out of this forsaken thing called college. I cannot wait. Super excited about the future as I'm kind of figuring out something I may pursue. Its definitely under wraps for now, and probably until I have some sort of success. Anywho thats all I'm saying for now. For now, I guess I'm just living the life of an American College Student. Peace out.

Zipper Troubles

No I'm not climbing volcanos or petting monkeys in Costa Rica BUT I am still an American College student and I feel the need to share the reality of college with those who are thinking about going. Things aren't like they are on t.v. No, quite often they are the complete opposite. Or if things are like they are on T.V., then most of the time you are just that shy girl in the background that no one knows rather than the main characters. Yesterday, as well as a few other days recently, I was walking back to my car from class [It was a yucky, rainy day yesterday so I was rocking out my new rainboots- I am very thankful that somehow rainboots have crept onto universities nationwide and become socially acceptable to wear them even though they are just downright ugly] but anyway as I was walking, somehow I realized that my zipper was down. How long had it been that way? Good Lord, I'm honestly starting to think that alzhiemers is setting in. I'm literally digressing as a person. How old am I? five. because it sure seems that way. I tried to remember if I had gone to the bathroom and then forgotten to zip my pants but I couldn't even remember that, so I zipped them up as inconspiculously as I could, which is an impossible feat, and proceeded to my car. When I got there, the zipper had come down again! Which was a huge relief to me considering that meant that it was the pants not me that needed the fixing. However, instead of changing the pants I proceeded to wear them the rest of the day, Mainly because I wore a long tshirt. I feel the need to remind you that that has happened to me on several occasions. Figures. Anyway, Let's see. Oh yeah. Basically my schedule goes like this. I only have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays GLORY. I have spanish, boo, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Biology, an even bigger boo, immediately following at 11:00. Then I have a break from 12:15 to 2:00 and a Sociology class about something, the biggest boo of all, from 2:00-3:45. I normally go home on my break between bio and sociology and eat lunch. Then I go to my sociology class and struggle with everything in me not to fall asleep or want to bang my head on my desk and then come home for a couple of hours GLORY!!! However, dont let that fool you. There is something even more awful than the three of those combined that lurks every tuesday night. NIGHT BIOLOGY LAB duh duh duhhhhhh!!! It really is as bad as you think. Luckily last night was my LAST ONE, that is until my lab practical in two weeks which I'm probably going to fail considering my lab partner takes it on himself to do everything. Anyway, yesterday after my Sociology class, I relaxed and watched t.v and ended up taking a nap, which I a regular occurance. Well, I can't quite remember when I fell asleep but I woke up disoriented and unsure what day or time it was. It was dark outside so I didnt know if I had slept through the night and it was time to go to work, or if it was nighttime. I had no idea. I then proceeded to check my clock, which was about the only thing I had the mental capacity to do at that time, and it said 6:30. That doesn't seem so bad until i tell you that My lab starts at that exact same time. Awesome. Needless to say I rushed around as if I cruella devil and proceeded to say things that no small child should hear. There was no parking, obviously. but I parked somewhere else and got to my lab like 20 minutes late. Whatever. The less I'm in that lab the better my life is so whatever. Anyway, that is all for now. Hope you all have a better day than me. But I guess this is just the life of an American College Student. I'm out. PURA VIDA!

El Ultimo

Welp, this is it. The bags are packed, closet empty, bed made, bathroom clear. Now all thats left to do is wait. Wait on the shuttle thats coming to take me to the airport. such a surreal feeling. Cant believe its all over. Yesterday was a great day because I got to spend a lot of time with my tica family. Some of my friends wanted to go out for our last night but I am really happy with the decision I made to stay home and just spend time with my tica family. I had one of the best meals yet. chicken with mashed potatoes, rice, veggies, and this homeade gravy that was off the chain. After dinner, they gave me a gift. They gave ME a gift, after everything they have done for me, they still got me a gift. They gave me a tshirt which I was very excited about, some homeade earrings that my mama tica's sister had made and a keychain. Also included was a homeade card. I couldnt even read it because I knew I would bust out in tears. I read the card later in my room. I was just so overwhelmed by their kindness. I never once felt uncomfortable from the moment I entered their home or like they didnt want me there. I bought some flowers and chocolate and a card, where I tried to write in words what they meant to me, but really there arent any. So I did the best I could to express my gratitude for all they had done for me. I cant believe how fortunate I was to be placed with Ligia, Pame, y Nicol. I will never forget them and they have such a special place in my heart, and I know that without doubt if I ever came back, they would open their home to me again. After dinner, Nicol and I watched some FRIENDS and then Pame joined us to watch my sister's keeper, which is not what I needed to help me NOT bust out in tears. It was great to spend time with them. I wanted to share a few things I learned here to sum up my experience in this last blog:

1. PURA VIDA: it means living day to day, enjoying life and taking advantage of every opportunity, not worrying about things that dont matter or that you cant control. To not rush through life or always be in a hurry, but embracing and enjoying every moment

2. Take the time to sit down and talk with people. Getting to actually know someone is such a wonderful pasttime.

3. You dont need that many things to be happy. There are very few things that you actually need. Simplify your life. Not having a cell phone was actually kind of nice.

4. Appreciate the things in your life. Going to church every sunday is such a privilege. You are blessed not entitled to having a car to drive around.

5. Complaining is an American Habit. As is slamming car doors-FYI. and what you considered closing a car door is considered slamming here.

6. San Jose is not as dangerous as everyone makes it out to be-in my opinion.

7. Eating healthier makes life better and can be as tasty

8. People everywhere are essentially the same. I became part of a family from a completely different culture although I was from a different country and do not speak the same language fluently.

9. Smiling means the same thing in every language.

10. Even if you dont believe, agree, or understand something, you should still respect it.

11. Put yourself out there. Embarrasing and awkward situations make for GREAT stories. never let fear or pride make your decisions for you.

Well those are just a few things. I have changed a lot this summer. Ive grown up. I detatched myself from everything I had ever known and learned to live without them. It was not always easy. Change never is. But it makes you into the person you always imagined yourself being. And that is an amazing feeling. I have no idea what the next step for me is, but I'm excited about it. I'm optimistic about the future. and as much as I love and will miss Costa Rica Im looking forward to starting my life. Because I feel that the end of this summer is the beginning of something new. This summer, as much as I dreaded it, was completely necessary. I needed it. So for that I thank you Costa Rica. and thank you Lord for bringing me here. You always know what you are doing. Well I guess that is all from San Jose, Costa Rica. A great quote that my roommate merri told me is the attitude I am going to have as I head home, although it still might be difficult not to cry. But it is a good cry. The best kind of crying you can have, the one that makes you realize how great of an experience you had. Dr. Seuss always had the best quotes, He said, "Dont cry because its over. Smile because it happened" And that is what I plan on doing. Adios. Costa Rica. Te amo. PURA VIDA

Here are some things I just realized. One, I have not used a brush or a hairdryer the entire time I've been here. Two, I ran out of body wash, I dont know, like a month ago so I've been using my shampoo as body wash because toiletries are so dang expensive. Life of the American College Student in Costa Rica let me tell you. Actually, its kind of funny/embarrassing/ the usual for me because about a week ago I realized that using our hand soap might be an alternative than using my shampoo (which ironically I dont think is true. the shampoo foams up more) So I used the hand soap like 2 times, but somehow my mama tica must have realized my schemes because a couple of days ago, two bars of soap just miraculously showed up in my shower. oops. whatever. Yesterday was a really great day. I got up and ate breakfast (which is always one of the highlights of my day) My mama tica and I talked for a little bit. Then she took me to see the university of Costa Rica (UCR) which is pretty close to our house. UCR is huge and its just like a little college town. It reminded me a lot of clemson. However, it has no dorms interestingly enough because I've said before, students dont stay on campus. thats weird to them. they live with their families. Also, they have pharmacy, medicine, dentistry etc all in this one school. Its not like you do undergrad and then go to pharmacy school, or med school, you just do one 6 or 8 year program all together. pretty good if you ask me. We walked around and then went to eat lunch at this amazing place that made crepes. It was pretty funny, because I've only eaten crepes with fruit in them or ones that are sweet. Well they did have those, but they also have ones filled with chicken or mushroom, basically real food. I got one with bananas and strawberries covered in dulce de leche and powdered sugar. Yum. My mama tica got a mushroom and chicken one. I told her that I had never seen crepes that werent sweet before and she told me "yeah, Ive never seen ones that were sweet before" haha. She paid for my meal too. She is so sweet. She was like "I invited you" when I most distinctly remember asking her if she would show me around sometime. After we had our little date, we went back and I went to go see Despicable me at the Multiplaza-which is a fantastic movie. one of the best animated ones I have seen in a while. It was so incredibly sweet, and actually pretty funny. I would recommend it. After that I came back and my mama tica gave me a mini cooking class, which is much needed. It was cool to learn how she makes our food. It takes some time and preparation but its not too hard. After dinner, I just chilled around. Last night was my last night at castros :( sad day. it was really fun. At the end of the night, I danced with this guy who was the best salsa dancer I had danced with yet. He was spinning me in ways I had never been spun before. Like seriously, sometimes he spun me using my head. It was crazy. I didnt know what was going on half the time, but you just have to surrender yourself to the music and just let it go. It was really fun. Its my last day. weird, sad, exciting, overwhelming, nostalgic and more all in one. I cant believe I get to see my sis tomorrow and then the rest of my friends and family the next day. its crazy. I may or may not be writing anymore from Costa Rica- I want to but we will see how the time goes. I havent even started packing, it looked like my closet threw up all over my room. So I guess I should get on that. Im literally the last one in my group to leave tomorrow because my flight is at 5 pm. Anyway, this could be the last one. ADIOS. and gracias to all those who read my blog. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I will see you all soon. PURA VIDA

Gosh, have I told you guys lately how much I love my mama tica and my tica family? cuz if not I'm going to tell you now how amazing they are. (dont worry Mom, Dad, Justin, and Laura-No one can or ever will compare to you guys. Being down here has made me realize how amazing you all are-even more than I thought before. No one can replace you all and I am so unbelievably thankful and blessed to have you all in my life. I cannot express in words-written or spoken- how much you all mean to me. I love you all so much) However, being here I have been so amazingly blessed to be placed with such a wonderful family. My tica sister and I played basketball yesterday in the court right beside our house. I havent played basketball outside my house since I was little, so it took me way back to the summer nights that my family and I would play until it was dark. Dad, we played around the world. I thought you would enjoy it. It was fun, but it wasnt the same as playing with you :) My mama tica and I just had this 2 1/2 hour conversation after breakfast. It was great. I love learning about her life and her viewpoints because believe it or not we are very much alike in the way we think. Our personalities are very similar, so despite the fact that she is 45 and I am 21 we can have a conversation on the same level. She is such a giving, funny, tranquil person who always puts others first (very much like my own mother, whom I cannot rave about enough) I've been trying to find her a boyfriend since I've been here because she's divorced and on the market, but after what I learned about the Ticos, I told here I would find her a gringo haha. She is just such an amazing person. we had a long convo about "religion" well faith really this morning at breakfast. My mama tica is catholic and before you rile up of your pre conceived thoughts and judgements about catholics let me just inform you what she told me. she said "I dont really care about religion. To me, your relationship with God is what is important, not religion" and yeah she's catholic-I couldn't have said it any better and quite frankly I have said that a few times and have heard that from practically every "evangelical" pastor I know. We talked about how its more important to respect someone even if you dont believe in what they do rather than tell them what they are doing wrong. To be honest that is one of my pet peeves- you can tell someone what they are doing wrong because what you believe is OBVIOUSLY the right thing. ugh, get over yourself. The best way to show that what you believe is the truth, is to actually live it and not worry about what everyone else is doing wrong. (sorry for the soapbox). Anyway the other night, I did this think called the romeria. Basically, its a pilgrimage that catholics from all over costa rica and other parts of central america make to this catholic church in Cartago called the Basilica (a city in the mountains 30 minutes by bus from san jose). They do this to show their devotion and to pray to La virgen de los angeles. Yeah, whether you agree with it or not, you have to admire and respect their devotion. I will be the first to tell you that it was beautiful and yes, I'm not catholic and dont necesarrily believe in what they do, but I do respect them and admire what those thousands of people did. Some people walked for days. We walked 35 km or 20 miles. It took us about 5 hours. Once we got to the church there were sooooo many people. craziness. after walking for 5 hours we had to wait another hour and a half just to get in the church. most people who are catholics go the entire length of the church on their knees. okay I dont know if you have ever tried to walk on a tile floor on your knees for an extended period of time, but let me tell you it doesnt feel very pleasant. I knew this big girl would not be able to get up at the end if I did that, so I decided to do the walking thing. Honestly it was one of the coolest things I've done here. My roommate merri left yesterday and I am seriously so sad to leave now. When she was in her cab, honest to goodness it all hit me and I teared up. It surprised me bc I really didnt think I would cry at all. But now there is no doubt. Im almost crying now as I write this. Last week I was so ready to go, but now things have changed. Cant wait to see my family and friends, but at the same time, I really do love my tica family and Costa Rica. I have had such a wonderful experience and I am going to miss it so much. Gosh, this is going to be way harder to leave than I had expected. Only four days. Yup, the tears are blurring my vision now. Well I love you all. I will see you all so very soon. PURA VIDA!

It makes me happy to realize that people everywhere are the same. No seriously, no matter what country you go to people are all essentially the same. Yes there are cultural differences, but in the things that really matter, like family, love, and laughter people are all the same. For example, today I went downtown, and I was walking back instead of taking the bus (1 because I like to walk and 2 because I spent all of the colones I had in the market. I had to eat ice cream for lunch because it was the only thing that I could afford and unfortunately I realized that the banks are not open today or TOMORROW because its a national holiday AFTER I had spent all my money-son of a..so I guess I'm living off 200 colonies or about 37 cents for the next two days haha)Like I said I was walking and my mom and dad will be happy to know that I saw a minivan with a luggage carrier. Not kidding. I guess its a universal concept to rock something that points you out as a tourist from miles away and prevent you from parking in anything even remotely close to a parking garage. Also I was walking up this hill, a pretty steep one at that, and I saw this minivan at the top gun it over the hill. But then I heard these two little kids laughing so adorably in the back seat as they passed me. Apparently their dad had sped up so they would go airborn a little bit. It was so cute. I laughed to myself. I remember riding the bus when I was younger and there was this one hill right by the public library and everyone would tell the bus driver to speed up so we could go airborn in the back. It was serious though. Like you would have to brace yourself if the bus driver went through with it and there was no chance in heck that the kids in the back of the bus were even remotely staying in their seats. SO MUCH FUN. See people are the same everywhere. As I was walking today, I realized how much I'm gonna miss this place. The sights, the smells, the sounds, the people. Im gonna miss being the only white person walking down the street. I wont however miss this dog that is barking shrilly in my ear right now err. But no seriously, this place is amazing :) I really do love it here. Dont get me wrong, I cant wait to see my family and friends, but this place has really grown on me. The hard part is that when I got here it was a hard transition because I had to uproot myself completely and plant my self back down again. Change isnt easy. Its uncomfortable. So I had to go through the whole process of getting used to everything. Now that it feels normal and confortable to live here, I have to uproot myself ALL over again and get used to living in America again. and let me tell you, it will probably be a culture shock going BACK to america. Where taxes arent included in the prices, people are alwasy in a hurry, and being late just isnt acceptable. Where guys arent going to tell me how pretty I am when i'm walking down the street, and where and umbrella isnt going to be a 5th limb. Driving...yeah what does that word mean again, and where the food is fresh not fried, preserved, with high fructose corn syrup and sodium included. And where I wont hear spanish unless I choose to. A place where people dont want to dance, and there isnt anwhere to dance. Yeah its gonna be a reverse culture shock I think. But I assure you, I do love America, and i do look forward to some good SC air. I have had an amazing summer. i took advantage of every opportunity I was given. I met so many amazing people with so many amazing stories. I did things that I didnt have the confidence in myself to do. I was humiliated all the time, but it helped cultivate my humility. I learned how to slow down and relax and do the things I wanted to do. To somewhat put myself first and be independent. I learned a little bit more how to have a personality and be funny when Im speaking spanish (you wouldnt realize that that is probably one of the hardest parts of speaking a language) I got to invade someone elses home and I went to another country while I was here. It was not always easy, but this experience was necessary. I've grown up so much, and I've learned so much about myself, life, and other people. Its been good. i dont regret it one second. Not that i would necessarily do it again, but I enjoyed the experience that I had. Well I love and miss you all. PURA VIDA.

Yeah, Yeah I know its been a while...but school has been crazy. Okay people I literally leave in a week from tomorrow. How crazy is that. And yes I am ready to leave but I will say that this has been such an incredible experience. I dont regret coming. I was really excited about leaving until today, because some people in my program are leaving tomorrow and when I had to say bye to them, it hit me that Im leaving in a week. Let me just tell you guys. Costa Rica is awesome. You really cant complain about anything. The only thing I've found to complain about is the rain. But it does make everything green, so I guess it serves a purpose. whatever. I mean the people are amazing, the country is beautiful, and the way of life here is awesome. I'm basically done with my classes. My spanish class is done!!!!! Wooo Hoo. I have to say undoubtedly that my spanish teacher, mila, was the best spanish teacher I have ever had. Had I had her as my spanish teacher the entire time, I would probably be fluent by now. actually, I just completely made that up bc I doubt I will ever be fluent BUT she was the best spanish teacher I have ever had. I learned so much from here, not just about spanish, but just about life. so yeah, like I said this week in school has been crazy. Wednesday, I had my final exam where my partner and I had to be a doctor and nurse (only in Costa Rica does your final exam consist of role playing and make believe). We had to have a consultation with a patient who had hypertension and tell them what they needed to do to control it. Well Mila had told us that our patient was going to be this older woman who really had hypertension. So I was preparing myself for that. I made all my adjectives feminine and I practiced what I was going to say alot-with that little old hypertensive lady in mind. So I get there wednesday morning and I was pretty nervous (which I always am when I have to present something in spanish). So my partner meg and I are just roaming anxiously about, and Mila comes in finally (you know, tico time) and informs us that our patient was here. Well guess who walks in. It sure wasnt the little old tica that I had been imagining. It was HOT 26 year old Esteban that works for Veritas. So on top of being nervous about having to speak spanish, my brain completely stopped working once I saw him. I got so nervous, and I was tripping over all of my words. I had to take his blood pressure, when someone clearly should have been taking mine at that moment. And guess what our "hypertensive" patient's blood pressure was...126/83 which is about as perfect as you can get. He asked me what that number meant and I had to make up some bull that it was a little elevated even though normal was 120/80. Sheesh, cant a girl catch a break. Of cours young sexy esteban wouldnt have high blood pressure. After that, I had to give him a speech on how he should be eating better and exercising more although I could tell from his perfect physique was completely unneccessary. After he informed us that he went to the gym several times a week, Meg and I were completely done for. Fortunately, we finished and Mila said we did fine. That was a miracle considering my brain had stopped working and my heart was literally about to burst out of my chest. Well the next day was interesting as well because I got to be the patient for the beginner and intermediate students. I had diabetes at one point and the girl proceeded to tell me that I ate too many greasy foods and was overweight. Confidence booster for sure. Well before class let me tell you guys what happened. Right before I was heading to class, I went to use the bathroom and brush my teeth and stuff. Well when I went to shut the door to the bathroom, the handle literally broke off. from the inside. Yeah. I kept trying to put it back on but it just wasnt happening. so there I was Locked inside the bathroom. I had class in like 20 minutes, and it takes 15 to get there. So I kept trying and kept trying to put the handle back on because I really did not want to have to start screaming my mama tica's name. Of course, this WOULD happen to me. So I looked up and remembered there was a windo you could see out of. I climbed on the shower so I could peer out like I was a freaking convict. My mama tica was nowhere around. Right beside my shower is a mirror and when I saw my reflection in the mirror, I just busted out laughing at how funny the situation was. After this moment, I just decided there was no way out so I started screaming my mama tica's name and beating on the door. She still never came! so then I starting thinking she had left the house and I was just going to be stuck in my bathroom until she came back. I kept screaming her name, which was interrupted by my own laughs at how ridiculous this situation was, until finally I heard my mama tica say that she was coming. She came downstairs and I literally had to say "I cant open the door" to which she proceeded to turn the handle like it was nothing, she kind of just looked at me like I was someone retarded to which I tried to explain the handle was broken (which in spanish was kind of a fail) I then just got my books together and marked that as another random situation that would only happen to me. Well after I was a patient for some of the beginner students, meg and I had ANOTHER presentation about contraceptives. that was fun. And I finally got to put a condom on a banana. I was deprived growing up in Walhalla. We never got to do that. It was a fun and entertaining way to end the class. Only in Costa Rica. Well this has been really long. Hopefully I will have more time this coming week to blog, since it will be my last week to blog about my costa rica experiences. I hope you all have enjoyed them. I'm glad my humiliation can bring you all entertainment. Well Love you all. My return is so imminent that I'm not really even that homesick anymore. mainly just because I know I will be there in a little over a week. PURA VIDA

Okay so remember last post how I told you all the derogatory terms they give to things related to marriage, well today i learned that Costa Rica has a SEVENTY percent divorce rate. Thats 20% higher than in America. And its only about the size of West Virginia (or so they say all the time). My profesora also informed us that about 90%, yes 90%, of men are unfaithful here. I guess we girls dont have it too bad in America huh. My professor is married to a gringo. She made gringos sound like princes compared to ticos. She says all the men here are "machistas" which literally translates to "male chauvinists" in English. Okay in costa Rica, people, guys and girls, live with their parents until they are married. So there are literally lots or thirty plus guys that still live with their moms, not only live with their moms...their moms do EVERYTHING for them. clean, cook, give them money to do things. So they basically never grow up, or thats what my professor said anyway. She even said that when a man gets divorced, which happens a lot, a majority of the time he will GO BACK and live with his mom. I literally said this in class today, "okay in America, if a guy doesnt have a job and doesnt do anything and expects his mama to do everything, he AINT gonna have a girlfriend" To that, my professora responded that it doesnt matter here. Okay ticas, if a guy doesnt do anything and expects his mama to do everything, when you get married hes probably gonna expect the same to you. And then he's probably gonna cheat on you. and then you are probably going to get divorced. My professora said the only friends of hers that are still married are those married to gringos. Interesting. She said mainly bc gringos are more respectful, dont mind when a woman is independent, and tend to be more faithful. Although Im sure a lot of gringas might disagree, compared to ticos, I think she's right. Guess I wont really complain about guys in America anymore, not that I really did in the first place. I really enjoy my class, because out of the Four hours of class we have everyday, we talk for about three and work/learn for about one. And we talk about interesting things, like cultural differences, and relationships, and what we think people are going to look like in the future (yeah we actually talked about that today). Its all really interesting things and we laugh a lot. We also talk about lots of spanish words that have bad connatations that a lot of gringos dont realize-so when they say them its pretty funny. One thing that I found funny today is that sometimes women here call their husband's television "la zorra" which is the word for "slut" haha. meaning that he spends more time with it than with her. well technically "La zorra" means "the fox" which in english is traditionally a compliment to be called a fox you know. Like my mom, she's a fox. And shannon Hamilton. She's a foxy lady as well. I dont think either of those ladies would get offended if I said that. Its a good thing. however, here calling somone "a fox" has a totally different meaning that could potentially be offensive. Yeah, I think thats one of the hardest parts of learning spanish. There are so many different sayings. so even when you think you can speak spanish, there is always more to learn, because every country has different sayings. tonight I'm going to a cooking class...woop woop..because this girl needs to learn how to cook. En serio. Well I guess thats all for today. I'm going to an awesome beach called Tamarindo tomorrow for the weekend. We are staying in this BOMB hotel. I'm excited. I hope and pray that I can get some sun because this is my last chance to get anything that is even remotely close to a tan. Seriously you guys, dont expect me to be tan or to be able to speak spanish fluently when I get back. NOT GONNA HAPPEN. I promise you that you all have seen the sun WAY more than I have. The sun is like a distant cousin that you only see on holidays down here. And just because you go to a country that speaks spanish doesnt guarentee that you are going to be fluent. I can GET BY. thats about it. and to be honest, i think I'm okay with that. So dont hate when you ask me how to say something in Spanish and I dont know. I'm still a gringa after all, which I wouldn't change for anything. Well love you all! countdown: 16 days until im in the US. 17 days until SC-the best state EVER! PURA VIDA

Volcanos and other things

Okay, so valuable vocab I learned in Spanish Class today. The word for wife "esposa" comes from the word "esposas" which means handcuffs. A wedding band is called "El Cancer" which is exactly how it sounds, and the title given to one's "mother-in-law" is literally "La Serpiente" or the snake. So yeah, I guess you get the gist of how they feel about marriage here in Costa Rica. We also talked about politics, and our teacher told us that most people in Costa Rica didnt think the Clinton Scandal was a scandal at all. They thought that the most powerful man in the world should be able to have as many women as he wanted. That's an interesting perspective huh. This weekend was the most amazing weekend of my time here in Costa Rica. It was awesome. Okay saturday morning I woke up at like 5:30 to get all my stuff ready because we had to leave at 6:30. I had no idea my mama tica was going to get up to make me breakfast but when I came out of the bathroom, she was in the kitchen and she said she would make me sandwich and a coffee. When I came out of my room, she had already gone back upstairs and had left me a note that wished me a good trip beside my sandwich. She got up super early JUST to make me breakfast even though she didnt have to. She is SOOO sweet. And did I tell you guys she washes my clothes BY HAND! Yeah, I feel so bad now. I didnt know that until I went up there one day and she was scrubbing my clothes in this sink on the patio. And she does our laundry twice a week. We left at 6:30 saturday morning and all 70 of us gringos piled onto two large buses. We made a pit stop to eat breakfast (pancakes YUMMY. I've eaten eggs every.single.day since I've been here so pancakes tasted amazing). On our bus we watched FRIENDS the entire time. Lets just say that I was one happy camper. Its funny cuz on our bus rides they just literally hand out dremamine to anyone and everyone who needs it. Im proud to be a part of an organization that hands out drugs freely. Go ISA. We went to this waterfall called La Fortuna. It was so pretty. The hike down should have been called "La Muerte" or the death, because the stairs were so steep and between my clumsiness, the fact that I was holding a freaking umbrella [cuz obviously it was raining. Ive decided that wherever I go, the rain feels the need to accompany me. Its like a lost puppy looking for a home and feels the need to find whatever location I'm at as its home] and trying to hold on to the rope that was only like a foot off the groung (yeah that did a lot of good) The chances that I was going to slip and die far outweighed the posibility that I was going to make it down safely. Somehow by the sweet grace of God I made it down without killing myself or any of the other 70 kids with me. The water was really cold so I didnt swim even though most people did. We left there and stopped for lunch. This was the first time I could behold the magnificence that was called "Arenal Volcano" it was awesome. There was smoke coming out of the top. I know this sounds bad but I really wanted to see lava. I realize that had their been lava, it could have potentially destroyed the hotel that we stayed at, but whatever. It still would have been awesome. Okay, can I just tell you guys that we stayed in the most pimp daddy hotel that I've ever stayed at. Like I said, it was directly in front of the volcano, there were freakin natural hot springs, pools, slides, a swim up bar, a spa with massages, and a restaurant that fed us buffets for breakfast lunch and dinner. The food was so delicious. Buffets call to me. We speak the same language of "yum" Its quite funny, because our group really is like a big group of cattle, roaming about in search of food. Everyone is always asking what time we are going to eat next, and where we were going to eat. Yesterday, I went canyoning. We got to repel down 5 waterfalls. in three of them we were literally in the waterfall. It was really awesome. I didnt take any pics because I didnt take my camera, but we all bought a disk with the pics on it. the first waterfall i went down, I was zoom zooming, but by doing this I didnt get to put my legs out in time and I just banged into the side of the mountain. Dont worry, it didnt hurt at all. Whats better is that everyone in the group who has already gone, is looking up watching every move you make, and basically just staring at your butt essentially. But its all good. When we were canyoning we had this harness with this harcore hardware that would clang together when we walked, and seriously guys we sounded like a bunch of cattle with cowbells on. Everyone like our directors or tour guides just have to herd us along. Well thats about it. Sorry this one was so long, but I figure if you guys want to read my blog you wont mind how long it is ( I still cant believe anyone wants to take the time to read anything I have to say, but whatever) You guys are amazing. I love you all and Miss you. 20 days. thats it!!! then I will be in good ol SC. I miss that place. well PURA VIDA!

It's Friday!

Okay so I'm using a spanish keyboard to write this so if it looks like I need hooked on foniks just ignore it. Man these keyboards are tricky. Its like when you go into Walmart and for some really retarded reason they have decided to change the entire store around and you cant find ANYTHING you are looking for. Yeah its kind of like that. Why do stores do that? yeah it might look asthetically pleasing, but you are confusing your poor consumers. We are like lost puppies just trying to find where the darn toilet paper is. Sheesh. Yeah none of the keys are in the right spot, all of the punctuation looks like someone just ate all the keys and threw them up back onto the keyboard. They are all in different places. I am trying to avoid writing questions or things that need anything other than a period. Well like the title of todays blog implies ITS FRIDAY baby. And although fridays arent quite as sweet as they were when I didnt have to work because now I have school, they are still pretty awesome. I just finished my first exam! phew...i was super nervous because we had to do "patient simulation" as our exam (this class is all about application). So basically we had to be doctors and we had to diagnose a patient (who was some random person that our teacher somehow convinced to volunteer.) My patient was one of the cleaning ladies. She was super sweet. The part I was so nervous about was that we had NO idea what symptoms the patient was going to tell us. We had to take what they told us and then decide from all the medical expertise we have (yeah my medical expertise is at about a negative 2) what lab tests and exams they needed. Then we had to give them recommendations about what they needed to do. First of all, IM NOT A DOCTOR. Im not even studying medicine and quite frankly i dont really want to. and how the heck am I supposed to know what tests you need when Im not even quite sure what some of them are. But whatever. Luckily my lady had the symptoms of high blood pressure, so luckily I had somewhat prepared for that. Thank you hypertension. I am so relieved thats over. I only have TWO weeks of spanish class left that consists of 2 presentations and one final exam, which is similar to the one I did today and then I'm done!!! woot woot party over here. Last night I went to Castro's (that salsa club I go to every week) with none other than my mama tica. My mama tica is so cool. Seriously, she is so pretty, I was so excited that she wanted to go with me to castros. She looks so young and has the cutest style. You would never guess she has a 17 year old daughter. And she is an amazing dancer. I loved watching her dance. There were a lot of people there last night. It was pretty fun. This weekend we are going to Arenal Volcano. It was erupting when I first got here, so there may be a chance I could see some lava. When I was younger, I used to be obsessed with the movie Dante's Peak. The volcano movie with Pierce Brosnan so this is like fulfilling a huge dream of mine. Hopefully this trip will be better than my nicaragua volcano experience. Hopefully there wont be any sulfuric gases to burn my corneas. (fingers crossed) Okay guys I come home in 3 more weeks from this sunday. I can totally do this. This is like the last couple of miles in the marathon. My legs are basically moving by themselves as if independent from my body like Micheal flatly lord of the dance (thank you chandler from FRIENDS for that quote) Well I love and Miss you all....Also a big shoutout to the group going to Colombia today!!! Im going to be so close (only panama seperates us) but so far away. I cant wait to see what God is going to do through you guys. Be fearless and do great things!!! Love and be Loved. Im so proud of all of you for the sacrifices you made to go on this trip and for what you are doing. We are ALL the church and I'm glad that although I am not there, you guys are there loving the people of Colombia. It doesnt matter who does it, just as long as someone does. Cant wait to hear stories and see pics! You guys are awesome. Ill be praying for you guys :) love you all

McDonalds, Movies, and Monkeys

Well its been about a week since I've written. Between school work, traveling, and homesickness I just havent really felt like blogging lately. So the power just came on a little bit ago. I was in McDonalds drinking some coffee when all of a sudden the power went out. It started raining soon after that so I decided to sit in McDonalds and read the only thing I had brought with me, my bible. Let me just tell you guys, I am one of those "new testament" gals that normally just flips to one of the "ians" (corinthians, galatians etc-yeah i call them the Ians) to find something encouraging or something that intrigues me, but I decided that I wanted to investigate the old testament. So I literally skimmed through the ENTIRE old testament. I stumbled across some interesting passages to say the least. I want to highlight one for you guys' entertainment. Its in Judges 3: 12-30. Its about this guy named Ehud. He was one of the judges or leaders of Isreal. Basically Ehud made this really awesome sword and strapped it to his right thigh (yeah if I was a guy, I dont think this would be the first place to put a sharp sword but whatever). Anyway there was this king named Eglon, who the bible literally says "was a very fat man" they didnt try to be nice and say big boned or anything. they just said it like it was. Anyway, Ehud approaches this king when he was sitting by himself in his room and grabs his big machete that is strapped to his leg and plunges it into this dudes stomach (awesome). it says he didnt pull the sword out because the king's fat closed up over it (jabba the hut anyone) Anyway Ehud leaves the dead king there and locks the door. It then says that the kings servants found the door locked and just assumed the king was relieving himself. It says, and I quote " verse 25: They waited to the POINT OF EMBARRASSMENT, but when he did not open the door of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor dead." okay first of all Ehud is awesome. Second, what is this point of embarrassment that they are talking about? What is the appropriate amount of time to stay in the bathroom before it becomes "embarrassing" I guess its that point when you come out of the bathroom and everyone else in the room knows exactly what you have been doing, and any excuse you may try to make up wont work anymore so you should just fess up to the dirty deed you've been doing. Anyway, there are so many random stories like this in the bible. Well after i had skimmed through the entire old testament, the power was still out in McDonalds. I looked up and realized that there were mostly only workers there. I decided to leave despite the fact that there was literally a monsoon outside, as I went to leave, the door was locked. I thought the sign said 24 hours but whatever. But seriously, why did no one tell me that I was the ONLY person in there?! All they had to do was tell me they were closing up, jeez. so then I had to stand at the door while they were all yelling "the key! the Key!" to let me out. Yeah, so typical. "White Girl needs out. She doesnt speak spanish, so we are going to yell Key in english so she knows we are trying to get her out." whatever. Well school has been...well school. Its definitely been a little intimidating. I mean in my medical spanish, some of the stuff I dont even know in English. How in the heck am I supposed to tell someone what to do for a gastroscopy if I dont even know what that is in English. it can be frustrating at times. Luckily in both of my classes I have already watched a movie so thats good. We watched the Movie Sicko last night. It is very biased, liberal, yes, but it is very eye opening. Why is the US the ONLY country in the western world with a jacked up medical system that is costing billions of dollars and sending thousands of people into bankruptcy. I dont know what the answer is but I have to say, seeing the healthcare system here has opened my eyes to a lot of things. I mean, EVERYONE gets healthcare. for free (well people who work pay money out of their paycheck so technically its not free). Yeah its definitely not perfect, and I'm not saying its what we need to do, but it works for them, and they are healthier than we are soo yeah. Not even gonna get started on that cuz we will be here a while. Just ask Josh haha. Anyway this weekend I went to Manuel Antonio. Its this really popular beach here in Costa Rica. It was seriously like Paradise. Lost. For real. We had this amazing beach practically to ourselves and we stayed in a beach front resort. I tried surfing a little, and I really want to try it again. The waves were kind of brutal. Everyone who tried to surf had some kind of battlewound, or at least a ton of salt water in their sinuses. I didnt really do much. Other people did different things like horseback riding, or night canopy tours, but honestly I didnt feel like spending $70 to do them and I just wanted to chill. Manuel antonio should be called MONO Antonio. Mono being spanish for Monkey. There were monkeys EVERYWHERE. Especially when we were eating breakfast. They would literally try to steal our food- mainly our bananas- how cliche huh. Most people thought they were cute, but I know the truth behind their beady eyes. They have alterior motives and I can see right through their cute faccade. they are just constantly coordinating with one another how to attack and take over the gringos and steal all of our food. Oh I know. They are not sweet and innocent. Lets just say they creep me out. Well this has been extraordinarily long, but i love you all. Sorry I kept you all waiting. MISS YOU GUYS sooo unbelievably much. Beyond words. Be home soon. PURA VIDA!

So today was my first Official day of class at Veritas University. For the past two days, I have had to attend long rear-end orientations about safety, health, and the differences between Costa Rica and the US. [let me just tell you guys there are SOOOOOOOOOOOO many students in my program. With ISA there are 67 of us. Yeah all 70 of us will be going on all of our weekend excursions together. Lets just say its gringo ville. then there are several other programs in addition to ISA that were at our Veritas orientaion yesterday. Soooo many gringos. To be completely honest Im almost having a reverse culture shock. Its strange for me now to be in a large group of short-wearing, LOUD english speaking, white people. I almost feel a little uncomfortable. I guess seeing large groups of gringos when I would walk downtown by myself when I was working at the clinic made me realize truly how annoying we really are.] Okay back to the orientation, had I only been there for three days like everyone else, it might not have been too bad. but sitting two days in a row for at least three days listening to things I've already heard (I had an orientation the day after I arrived here) and learned on my own after being here for six weeks, I might not have wanted to shoot my brains out. Just kidding, it wasnt that bad. And I got some great food on Sunday. Sheesh, its raining here as I type this. Like downpour. As usual. And I have to say, in class today we had to tell the things we like and dislike about Costa Rica, and I have to say that the constant rain is one of the only things I just dislike about this country. I am soooooo over the rain. Please dont be raining in SC when I get back in a few weeks. Please, oh please Mother nature, spare me this. I feel like having to deal with rain everyday for twelve weeks is enough to merit me a favor from Mother Nature. so over it. Sorry, dont like to complain, but yeah. Okay so anyway, my class schedule looks a little something like this. I have medical spanish class everyday from 8-12 and then on mondays and wednesdays, I have a Costa Rican Healthcare class from 4-8 in addition to my spanish class. Yeah Mondays and wednesday, I'm basicallly in class from 8 to 8. its gonna be pretty intense, but I guess a one month program is always a little intensive. And from here on out I have excursions every weekend until I come home. so I'm gonna be pretty busy from here on out. Which honestly I dont mind. Because I think I'm in that past-6-week-blues-zone. Im getting a little more ready to come home everyday, but i'm hoping my studies and excursions will keep me occupied until August 7th. Dont get me wrong, its been a wonderful experience, and I've learned alot, I guess the newness has somewhat worn off. Anyway, yesterday we had an oral interview to decide which level of spanish: beginner, intermediate, or advanced, that we were going to be placed into. I was literally second to last in our program to go. yeah remember 67 people. Anyway, somehow I got placed into the Advanced class. I seriously asked the interveiwer "Are you sure?" at the end, but apparently it wasnt a joke. I wanted to be in intermediate but whatever. Well today I got to class, and there are about 12 of us in my class. Let me just tell you that 5 of them are hispanic in some way or another. Yeah, completely fluent. so basically, I'm the handicapped gringa because of the fact that my darn lineage is from europe. such a disadvantage. There is one dominican girl, two mexican girls, the other kid from clemson who I just realized was colombian and salvadorian, and then this other girl who is half cuban. But you know, you just do the best you can. I know I'll never be as good as the spanish speakers, but you know what, no one in my family speaks spanish, I dont really ever have opportunities (like close friends) back home that I can just blab away in spanish, and I havent been speaking spanish my whole life. So I'm just going to do the best I can do you know. I feel like I am going to learn a lot of spanish though. For real, I found out in my class, I have to teach adolescentes about how to use a condom (yeah, i'm gonna have to get up and do a whole discussion in spanish about this to young people). I mean considering the pregnancy rate, its probably necessary no matter what my level of spanish is. I also have to do a presentation to little kids about one of the systems in the body (yeah, try explaining the nervous system in Spanish to small tiny children). for one of my two "exams" my teacher is going to bring a "patient" in and I have to have a complete consult with them. And our last, exam is that we have to research a disease, and our teacher is going to bring a patient in with those symptoms and we have to tell them what to do. HOLY CRAP. Yeah its gonna be pretty intense. Today we learned what questions we need to ask like if we were a doctor and we were talking to a patient. I think its going to be a very "application" type class. We are actually going to apply what we learn, not just cram more information into our tiny folded brains. I feel like I'm going to learn a lot in this month though. I go to my other class for the first time tomorrow. Its in English. thank the lord. Because for four hours in the afternoon after I've already been in class for four hours that morning, Im not even going to want to think in spanish. Well just wanted to give you guys the DL on what my classes were like. I love you all and MISS YOU SOOOO MUCH. Cant believe I'm in my SEVENTH week here. After this one, I literally only have a month. phew. I feel like i'm running a marathon. I'm hoping that I might get my second wind soon. cuz I need it to get through my classes for sure. Anway love you all. PURA VIDA!

Extra! Extra!: Big White Girl Takes Tumble

Well before I explain the story behind the title of today's blog, let me just tell you guys. I am in love. Completely head over heels smitten. Sigh. I'm really considering staying here because of this newfound love. And who may you ask has completely swept me off my feet between yesterday and today. Well I'm not ashamed to proclaim my love for the Banana Hawaiana from Pops. Yes, I said it. I just got back from a rendevous with my lover at the central comercial del sur. Let me just tell you guys how we met. First of all, you all know that I LOVE SWEETS and pretty much eat some kind of pastry or ice cream virtually every day (yeah we already discussed how I'm going to look like free willy when I get home). Well today I was trying to decide what I wanted for lunch. I just could not think of anything that I wanted. That was until I remembered the banana hawaiana. Okay, normally when i go to Pops i just get an ice cream cone because everything else is pretty expensive. Well the other day when I was in there, these two girls had the banana hawaianas and they looked so delicious. So I decided that is what I wanted to eat for lunch today. Just that. Nothing else. nothing nutritious or even remotely lacking sugar. So I got up and made my way to the comercial center. All i could think about was how amazing this was going to be. As I entered PoPs, i saw it on the menu. I knew that we would soon be meeting. I ordered and paid in all coins (1500 colones-yeah thats like $3.00 BUT that was the only thing I ate for lunch and it was TOTALLY worth every colon that I spent). So there I was waiting to meet my sweet, sweet love. I watched the girl create every part of it. I was seriously entirely too excited about this, but being in Costa Rica you learn to sincerely enjoy the most simple things. I ordered it to go, and she packed it up and handed it over to me. I walked out of there with such an anticipation that could not be measured. I sat down and opened the bag to reveal the holy grail of ice cream. Let me just describe to you what this is. First, obviously there are bananans right. Well the hawaiana part means there is pineapple (you know hawaian pizza?) So basically on the bottom, there is a scoop of pineapple nieve (thats sort of like sherbert. its ice cream made without milk) I had no idea what all was in this thing when I ordered it, but the more i discovered what was in it, the more i fell in love. AND THEN Along with the pineapple nieve, there was two scoops of some kind of fruit sherbert (I think it was guava and some kind of awesomeness that was a tiny bit tangy) AND THEN...on top of that she placed a scoop of vanilla ice cream. around the vanilla ice cream was a carousel of bananas...AND THEN [all these AND THENS are for brandi :)] on top of it all she drizzled a mixture of fresh fruit in their syrups. SWEET MOTHER. With every bite, my heart skipped a beat. It was the perfect mixture of sweet and sour and banana and fruit goodness. Like every bite was so bittersweet because it was so unbelievable amazing, but at the same time with each bite, i knew that our time together was coming to a close. I watched it start to dwindle, but even as I ate the last bite, I was okay because i was completely satisfied. My taste buds and stomach were so unbelievably satisfied. I was super content with the decision I had just made in my life. I dont feel like that all the time but, this was one of the few moments that i felt completely content with the decision I had made. AHHHH it was sooo good. I am sad that there are not Pops in America :( but its alright. If I'm never able to eat another banana hawaiana again, I feel okay because of the amazing day we shared together today. Well enough about my love, let me just tell you guys on the way home from the center, i saw a convenience store with an advertisement for TANG. en serio. I was like "you do realize its not 1970 anymore, right?" anyway, to explain todays title, let me start by saying that I decided to go for a run today. It hasnt rained today, the sun was out, and I havent gone running in a really long time. So all the conditions of today added up for a perfect day to run. I went to this amazing park by my house that I had never been to before, but my roommate merri had told me about. Its really big, and there were a lot of people running, flying kites, selling things, playing soccer etc. It has a great little track around it, and there is this PERFECT field for some ultimate frisbee (I'm going to try and convince some of my classmates to go with me someday). So I started running around the track and it was going really good. Well I decided I was going to run around it three times and then run around this other smaller inside track. Well as I was making the last turn on my third lap, the inevitable happened. And fact of the matter, I saw my demise before it happened. The pavement got a little yacked up at one point and I had made it past there twice before, but it got me that last time. You know its interesting when you fall, because there is this point when you trip that once you go past it there is no hope that you are possible going to stay on your feet. But its kind of interesting because once you go past that point its like everything goes in SLOOOOOWWWWWW motion. Its like you are watching yourself fall and you know its happening but there is absolutely nothing that you can do to prevent it from happening. Needless to say, this happened to me and I fell flat on my face. Yup, this big white girl took a big ol tumble. Well actually right before my face hit the pavement, i somehow managed to like slide on my belly like I was sliding into homeplate. Either way I'm sure it was frickin hilarious. But I'm so used to being clumsy and awkward that it was totally normal to me. There were only three people who saw it, so to me, thats a success. I just got up waved my hand casually and told them i was okay. You know in the way that you are trying to be funny so you arent quite as embarrassed. Long story short, I got a skinned up knee and elbow, but that was about it. I kept running for a few more minutes and then decided to go home. Such a typical Heather move. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I hadnt tripped up until this point (which is really quite miraculous) so my fate decided that it had been too long since something insanely embarrasing happened to me. Quite honestly, it happens so frequently that I'm kind of used to it and dont really get embarrassed anymore. Well just wanted to share that with you all. Love you all and MISS YOU! PURA VIDA

The List

Yesterday was my last day at the Clinic. Can you all believe it?! I sure cant. I did it...I really did it. The thing I was dreading so much is already over. I am now over halfway done with my time here. Although I'm not really gonna miss "the clinic" and the long butt commute, I am going to miss the people there. I have to say that the relationships and friendships that I made with the people there were the best part of my experience. I mean I did learn some things and spoke a little spanish, but getting to know those people and share six weeks of my life with them was the best part about it. Well yesterday, since it was thursday, I helped Ligia with the Pregnancy Class again. Now let me tell you guys, I really dont do that much here. Pretty much I just get all the stuff from Ligia's office and take it to the auditorium and thats about it. Well, one thing that has somehow become my responsability is "THE LIST." This list is the attendance sheet for all the Embarazadas "pregnant women" and acompanantes "Their companion-whether its their mom, boyfriend, or husband" I'm going to stop right here and tell you all that I LITERALLY loathe this list. It is like my worst enemy. Now you wouldnt think that passing around an attendance sheet would be such a nuisance, but oh, it is. Okay first of all I brought the clip board into the auditorium and just sat it there because there were only like 5 or six people when I got there. i was going to wait until the class started to pass it around because thats WHAT WEVE DONE EVERY SINGLE OTHER TIME, and people always come in late and they get skipped. And then at the end when Ligia asks if everyone has signed it, there are always like a million people who raise their hand that they need it and ligia just looks at me like "Why have all these people not signed it. What is your problem. you are supposed to make sure they sign it?" Im always like okay first of all YOU DIDNT TELL ME I WAS SUPPOSED TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE HAS SIGNED IT. i guess you just assumed that and i didnt READ YOUR MIND. Anyway, I waited until the class started to pass it around, and at the beginning of the class (before I had passed it out because I didnt want to disturb the whole class) someone asked about it (ERR. these people are obsessed with this stupid attendance sheet) and ligia just looked at me like "wheres it at" and i told her I wanted to wait until everyone was here and she was like "no, you cant do that." I was like, okay, so how was I supposed to know that this time was different than every other time. Im a creature of habit gosh darnit. Second, I have NO FREAKIN WAY of controlling how these people pass this dum freaking clipboard around *even thought ligia apparently expects me to produce massive MIND control to make sure everyone signs it). Let me tell you. There is no order to it at all. you know to me it makes sense just to pass it down the rows, then when it gets to the end pass it back to the next row, you know. OHHHH NOOO. they just pass it wherever the heck they want. Back, front, side, three rows back to some random woman in the middle. Sometimes they just punt it to the back of the auditorium and see who can catch it (haha just kidding, they are pregnant they cant punt that well. if they could though, they seriously probably would) I was getting so frustrated yesterday, because of my past experienced getting looked at like I was a pure RETARD because not everyone had signed the list (even though it is completely out of my control) I watched that thing like a HAWK yesterday. I was making sure that every single person was gonna sign it. I just stood at the back of the auditorium and stared at it with a burning fire in my eyes jaja. And when someone didnt pass it the right way and people got skipped, I got so mad haha. I was like "what is your freakin problem. why cant you just pass it in somewhat of an organized fashion?!" I pretty much felt like my whole life hinged on this tiny list. And let me tell you, they take FOREVER to signt. I dont know what this "list's" issue is, but is has some serious issues. It takes the ENTIRE class for everyone to sign this thing...like THREE FREAKIN HOURS. whatever. Also, another issue it has is that there are TWO lists not just one. there is One for the embarazadas and one for the acompanantes. they are both clipped to the same clip board, the one for the acompanantes is just behind the other one. But somehow, NO ONE ever sees the one for the acompanantes, and then they ask for it like A MILLION TIMES. Okay well today, I took it upon myself to ask ligia to explain about the TWO list thing. She just looked at me and said "you can do it" I was like "uhh, okay" because that would mean I was going to have to make an announcement IN SPANISH to about 50 people. Basically I just did the best I could to convey that there were two lists. After I did this, Ligia asked them if they understood and basically did it in a way that was like "they totally understand about that, that was retarded that you had to explain that. No one needed it" so yeah, Ligia always makes me feel bad about this thing. Anyway, I just sat down, well actually stood up the whole time so I could watch the clip board like I was smeegal (spelling) from lord of the rings and that board was "my precious" Well even after my unnecessary explanation. Guess what I got asked like 6 or seven times? "where is the sheet for the acompanantes?" SEE, I told you Ligia. I knew that was going to happen. Whatever. When Ligia asked this time, there was only ONE girl that hadnt signed it. HALLELUJAH! WOOT WOOT. I felt like I deserved a freakin prize for getting everyone to sign that thing. Does anyone else other than me think this attendance sheet is more trouble than it EVER should be? Anyway, so thats what I did yesterday. But now I'm done :):({that means its sort of bittersweet, the smiley and frowny face being right beside each other} I'm gonna miss the people but I am super happy that i'm done with my work, and got 140 hours, not just 135-go me haha. Clemson will be happy with me.psh they probably wont even look at my hours. whatever. Well thats about all for now. I'm just chilling in san Jose this weekend after my EIGHT hour journey last weekend. i'm kind of bussed out at this moment. I get to meet all my classmates Sunday and start classes on Monday. :) it should be fun. Well I love and MIIISSSSSSSS you all :) only 5 more weeks and Ill be home. Love yall. PURA VIDA

Total Slacker

Okay guys completely sorry it has been a REALLY long time since I last blogged. My bad. It has been much too long, especially since so much has happened in that time. Lets see last week I was sick most of the week, which I do feel better by the way. Luckily, I didnt hack up my entire lung, just small parts of it. Tiny thoughts of tuburculosis entered my mind at times, but only when I sounded like a smoker with emphysema. But luckily since I havent lost any weight since I've been here, I think tuburculosis can be ruled out (and the fact that I'm better now). I basically didnt work any last week (which I didnt really mind :) so anyway, this past weekend I went to Nicaragua. I would love to write about it but honestly this blog would be longer than the state of Florida so I'm going to try and sum it up the main points

• I went to a foreign country with only one other gringa and we really had no idea where to go (this was not the original plan. Our tico friend got denied access into Nicaragua at the border)
• Nicaragua is HOT. I was basically a puddle the whole time
• It takes 8 HOURS by bus to get there
• Things in Nicaragua are much cheaper
• Grenada is NOT a beach town as I was told and the reason I wanted to go. It is on Lake Nicaragua and the sand part that might be considered a beach is covered in Trash.
• Nicaragua in relation to Costa Rica is very similar to Mexico's relationship to the US
• It rained the ONE day we were there. Seriously, the rain freakin followed me because it doesnt normally rain that much in Nicaragua
• Grenada is sort of like charleston
• We went to a volcano. There was a mixture of rain and sulfuric gases that prevented any possible viewing of the volcano. Awesome
• We had to wear gas masks because of how intense the gas was from the volcano. Otherwise, you got light headed. Also the gas made your eyes sting.
• We also got completely soaked trying to climb to the top just so we could see the gas from a higher elevation.
• 8 hours is entirely too long to go for a weekend.
• Immigration SUCKS

Anyway, If you would like to know the whole story, I'll tell you. Needless to say, it was an adventure and quite interesting.

This morning, I was craving an Iced coffee like none other. I have never craved iced coffee in mmy life, but i guess there is a first time for everything. I went to McDonalds and got a Cappuccino Frappe. Sweet Lord. It was totally worth the three fifty I paid for it and the mountain of whipped cream they put on it (Dairy is basically my arch nemesis and I would NEVER pay 3.50 for a drink in America). It was so delicious. I seriously looked like a savage eating it as I was walking to my bus this morning. But to be completely honest I just didnt even care. I was using a combination of spoon and straw action to eat it. I'm pretty sure there was whipped cream all over my face, but like I said, i didnt care. Today, was the first day that my roommate Merri was coming to the clinic. The next two days we get to go together :) Its crazy that I only have two days left. Honestly, its been cool. but I'm kind of ready for a change. Today, I did absolutely nothing. I got to the clinic and I was supposed to meet Ligia at some school. Okay side note, in costa rica, they arent too specific. They will just tell you "meet me at the school in the morning" and forget to tell you things like I dont know the name of the school, or even maybe where its at. So this morning I spent an hour wandering around trying to find "the school" After wandering around for an hour, i got to the school pretty much for Ligia to tell me that they didnt really need me. So I went back to the clinic and basically just sat outside to wait for Merri to come so I could ride back home with her to show her which bus to take home. Anyway, we went home together and then we both needed to go to the DUM DUM DUM BANK!!! The horror. Let me just tell you guys that I went to the bank last thursday and was in and out in literally five minutes. Today, however was like that one day and it took forever. It was even worse than that other time. We were FIFTY behind when we walked in this time instead of just TWENTY. luckily this woman beside Merri gave us her number which was like thirty ahead of ours. What a saint. I just dont understand what is up with their banks here. We were there for an hour. At one in the afternoon. What were all these people doing here at ONE in the afternoon. Does nobody work around here. obviously you are if you have money to put in the bank...whatever. Anyway, that was about all. Sorry it has been so long. I will try to be more consistent. I start classes on monday and I get to meet all my new classmates on Sunday. Yippee :) Who knew I would EVER be excited for school to start. Weird. Well love and MISS you all. I am a little homesick but its all good. I miss english, a lot. haha. but I really do LOVE you all. Pura Vida

Okay, the raindroplets here are like water balloons. seriously. its like the omnious dark clouds are like fighter pilots in World War II releasing tiny bombs on top of you. Yeah, I just ran back here down the street because I was wearing WHITE shorts. Yeah, could I have looked any more like a gringa? dont think so. white girl + white shorts, a tank top + running with an umbrella=gringa. I did not however have a large camera hanging around my neck, a t-shirt, or tennis shoes on, so I didnt look like a tourist. just a gringa. Yup, the heavens just opened up just now. Err, there are freakin ants crawling all over me and my computer right now. Ugh, ants are the spawn of satan. Curse you you tiny little demons. Anyway, let me just tell you guys about work today. Well price and I got there and Ligia wasnt in her office, so we just went to breakfast and watched the first half of the USA and Algeria game. Okay, I was talking to one lady from work and we were discussing how USA is so systematic and play like robots. Its really the truth. Whereas when Brazil plays, they look like they are dancing. They are really fun to watch. so anyway, after the first half ligia still wasnt in her office and David informed us that she wasnt coming today, so Price and I looked at each other really quick and basically had a five minute conversation of "well if you wanna go home, I'll go home." David helped us make the decision to go or stay with a coin toss (I love how they "officially" decided things here) well lady luck was in our favor for once so we left the clinic at 9 haha. We went to pequeno mundo and then went and had this amazing lunch and watched the first half of the germany/ghana game. Okay guys, I'm not sure if this is TMI or not, but whatever. OK, my room smells AWFUL. I mean after you are in it for a while you get used to it, but right as soon as you walk in you initially think "man, I dont wanna be here anymore" but you just have to press through. It just smells really moldy, but its because it FREAKIN RAINS ALL THE TIME. Everything I own is basically wet, and no I cant hang anything outside. you know why, because it FREAKIN RAINS ALL THE TIME. ugh. So everything just kind of sits in my room and now the moldy mildew smell is starting to become suffocating. And I bought this Dr. Scholls foot spray that is supposed to prevent this very thing. IT ONLY MADE IT WORSE!!! Curse you Dr. Scholls. You are supposed to absorb the moisture, not mix with it so the smell you create makes me nauseated (which I really am...I took some medicine last night for nausea and I looked at the ingredients and basically I was just eating liquid sugar) Anyway, shoutout to my bro for finally getting a skype. Woot Woo. yeah, skype is the stuff :) Well, i have my FINAL meeting about my internship. wow only 5 more days of work. HECK YES. and shoot if next week is anything like this week it may only be like 2.5 more days. who knows. I think I may be going to see Toy Story 3 tonight. Yup its in spanish. Most movies here are in English with Spanish subtitles. Most of them except animated ones. anyway, im sure it will still be fun. approximately like 5 hours later...okay guys, I just got back from seeing toy story 3 in 3D at the San Pedro Mall and it was really cute. You got a friend in me is way cuter in spanish. Okay the reason I wanted to write about it was that when we were leaving just now, there were a bunch of taxis lined up outside the mall, like they always are. Well the first dude we walk up to is like "2500 colones" we were like "what?!" because it was only 1500 to get there. So we walk to the next guy and he says "3000 colones" like he is giving us a good deal. PSSSHHHH. Then I was like "um, this dude over here just said 2500" and he was like "its only 500 more" um 'scuse me, you might can rip off every other American Gringa but daggum I'm Lynn Wilson's daughter and us wilson/harpers dont take that crap. Merri also pointed out that the taxis werent even official. So we try to find an official taxi (ones that are red with a yellow triangle on the side) and we saw one, and I walked up to the guy and asked him to take us to veritas and the first thing this mo fo says is "Dont slam my door!" I was like "okay, weirdo. Can you take us there or not" I didnt really say that but I wanted to. I mean he acted like he was having to go out of his way to take us to our house. Excuse me sir, this is your job...we are going to pay you money, we arent a charity case. And why the heck are you parked in front of the mall standing beside your car like you are waiting to take people if it is SUCH an inconvenience?! I mean honestly, What the crap was up with these dudes. They were all getting on my freakin nerves. So anyway, we drop caitlin off and when she closes her door the cab driver is like "I told you not to slam my door!" Merri and I just looked at each other. What the heck was this dudes problem. There if physically no way to shut a door without it somewhat slamming, otherwise, its not closed you big reeeee tard! Err. So then he takes us to our place and I try with everything in me not to remotely slam my door. UGH...weird. That whole experience was just weird and quite frankly I dont know if I even want to go back to that mall now. You bunch of Jerks. Well that was my little rant. Sorry. I just had to get it off of my chest since it JUST happened. Anyway its really late now and I have to get up early :/ I love and miss you all! PURA VIDA

Hi guys Sorry I didnt post yesterday, but the progressing sickness in my throat and chest has put a damper on my blog writing. I have now moved from man to mute. And swallowing has become somewhat of a difficult task. It takes a lot of effort. There isnt much to tell about work today because this morning I went all the way to work (like an hour and a half) just to get there and have my boss, ligia [thats pronounced -lee he a- in case you were wondering] tell me that I needed to go home. So I was there for a rousing ten minutes and turned right around to make the commute back. On the way back, I started like burning up on the bus. I was like a woman in menopause having a hot flash. Seriously. I like started breaking out in a sweat. And I got super sleepy all of a sudden. And of course the one day that I felt like the I was about to experience internal combustion first hand, the bus took forever to get home. There was construction and so much traffic. I mean, really? Luckily, I made it home finally at like 10:00 and pretty much went straight to bed until 3:00. Ahh, its amazing how sleep can make you feel better. Don't worry mom, as much as I wish you were here to take care of me, my mama tica is doing a pretty good job. She made me some soup and some tea. But she doesn't compare to you :) You are the best. Okay yesterday I meant to blog since it was both my sister's birthday and Father's day. I wanted to give a shoutout to two of the most important people in my life. Dad, you are such an amazing man of God, father, role model, and husband. I am so thankful for all that you have done and all your love and support in my life. I have loved being able to skype with you, but it's definitely no substitute for seeing you in person. I'm sorry I wasnt able to be there with you yesterday but I hope that you always know how much I love you and how thankful that I am to have you as my father. you are the best. SISTER. We just talked but i want to let you know that I meant everything i said. I love that we get closer as we get older and farther apart. You are so amazing and I am so thankful for the love and joy that you bring in my life. I cant wait until we are reunited again but until that point, know that I HEART YOU SO MUCH. adl;ajdflasflknefrnevasndfkjasdf. (yeah thats our secret language that my sister and I share. Jealous? yeah you should be haha).

Well yesterday I went to Cartago all by myself to see my friend Kelsey. Kelsey and I were two of the Six spanish majors at Anderson. [yeah there were only six of us. people at Anderson thought it was weird to study spanish and would look at you like you had a strange disease when you would tell them were spanish major. Can anyone see any reason why I might have transferred?] I rode the bus by myself all the way there even though I had never been there. Luckily, I made it safely. Kelsey is staying with this family from SC who are missionaries here. I crashed their family dinner and we ate at this pizza place called Oteros [i think haha]. The pizza was good despite the fact that I almost NEVER eat pizza. And this morning, i remembered why haha. But its all good. After dinner, we drove around trying to look for some ice cream. Luckily the family had their own car, which is admirable since people who drive here seem to be on suicide missions. Lets just say we drove around the same block two or three times trying to find a Pops [curse you, disappearing Pops] and almost got pulled over by a policeman in the process. Everyone just tried to not make eye contact with the policeman in hopes that he would just drive on by. for once, it actually worked. We finally made it to this other ice cream place [okay, i am officially diagnosing myself as an ice cream addict. I guess I will have to attend ICA when I get home. thats Ice Creamers Anonymous for those of you that weren't familiar] After Ice cream, I decided to go back home so that i would get home before dark and I'm sure you guessed it...IT WAS RAINING. I guess the kids here dont sing "rain rain, go away come again another day" enough. I found out that there is an amusement park somewhere near my house so maybe i will get to do that soon. Once again, sorry if today's post is pretty bland, but yeah I slept half the day and the other half, Ive done absolutely nothing. Anyway, I love you all. PURA VIDA!

Okay, so I think I may have laryngitis. I just looked up the symptoms and yup I match all of them. No worries though...I dont feel bad at all. I just cant talk. Well this will give me a reason not to have to make a fool out of myself when I try to speak spanish [score] Last night I went to this party with a bunch of my coworkers. super fun. It was fun to see everyone outside of work not dressed in scrubs and gavachas [thats what my awesome jacket is called]. Price and I were the only gringos there. We actually got invited by the cool kids :) sweet. we are totally in. Its kind of strange that all the people at work are like friends. Like they enjoy hanging out with each other..outside of work. It makes work funner since everyone pretty much gets along. There was some dancing, but not as much as like castros or anything. It sucks I'm finally getting to know everyone and i'm leaving in two weeks but whatever. I cant believe I've almost been here a month. Thats crazy. time really has flown by. I know the rest of the time is gonna fly by so I'm just trying to make the most of it and take advantage of every opportunity. Ive met some really amazing people and made some really awesome memories. Today Caitlin and I were supposed to go to jaco, the closest beach to san Jose, but guess what people. When we woke up this morning it was RAINING. big surprise there. We decided to just forgo the beach trip this weekend. We went and ate lunch at the center near my house. I got some empanadas and a glass of water which were delicious. There were also some random clowns at the center and they were selling cotton candy [ which is called algodon de azucar or sugar cotton hehe] and churros! have I mentioned yet that I LOVE CHURROS. okay at Anderson when I went there [which was like a million years ago] we used to have churro day in the caf and I used to get entirely too overexcited about it. I got a churro from one of the clowns and let me tell you. I feel like this churro was filled with the nectar of God himself because it was so unbelievably good. Churros are like a Hot krispy kreme donut, mixed with a funnel cake, coated in sugar filled with liquid melted caramel. Yeah. Is your mouth watering yet. Because mine is just remember what it tasted like. I may or may not have just drooled on myself. Anyway, despite how good the food was that I ate today, either the empanadas, water, or churro caused world war three in my stomach. I'm not going any further with that conversation, but yeah. But at this moment its all good. Well I really hope that I can go to the beach soon. I'm pretty sure that i'm paler than I was when I left. For real you guys, I never see the sun here. I've almost forgotten what sunshine is like. Vampires would fit in quite nicely here. Hey Edward, where you at? Next month when i start my classes I get to go to a couple of beaches so its cool. Once again its raining now. it stopped for a little bit but everyday at 2 it normally starts up again. Being here I think Ive decided that umbrellas are the best. thing. invented. EVER. Im glad that the thailand team made it back safely. Hope you are all are getting adjusted to the time change and you arent waking up at like 2 in the morning like my bro did last year. Well I think thats all for now. Love you all and PURA VIDA!

If anyone would like to know, I sound like a man right now (even more than I normally do). Tuesday night I had a tiny tickle in my throat but I thought it was because I had been talking a lot that night. Well wednesday morning I woke up and went to say buenos dias to my mama tica and well nothing came out! it was really strange. i didnt even know that my throat was sore at that point. my mama tica made me cafe (coffee) and it felt a little better. Still a little scratchy. The same thing happened yesterday morning and by last night it moved to full MAN mode. This morning, I've now become Heath. Anyway, as I was writing this just now I almost just cried because I'm watching the American team play Slovenia in the World Cup and they were playing the National Anthem of USA. Out of nowhere, I really almost just cried. Okay, I didnt realize I loved America that much. Man I have really loved watching the world cup. Im kind of sad that no one gives a crap about soccer (yeah we are the only country in the world that calls it that) futbol I guess i should say. The world cup is bigger than the olympics here. Its always on all the tvs. I normally just cheer for the underdog but I think I've decided that I like Argentina. And no I'm not bandwagoning, because although they are good, no one here is really going for them. A lot of people are going for Germany. There is this weird relationship between Costa Rica and Germany. There is a lot of German influence here. its kind of strange. I wonder if they have oktobeerfest here. Might have to introduce them to the most exciting event of the year [insert sarcasm] also known as Walhalla's High School reunion for every single person that has ever graduated. End soapbox now. Yesterday, I helped with the pregnancy class again. Price helped too and we mainly just ended up talking the entire time so essentially I didnt do anything the entire day at work. I really like working now. I almost thought about working today but i just decided to take a chill day because Caitlin and I may be going to Jaco this weekend. Last night I went to dance class with the other 5 people that decided to show up. seriously there were only like 6 of us. But let me tell you its quite comical, trying to get a bunch of gringos dancing salsa. Its also really fun when all the tico students sit around and laugh at you, but who can blame them really. There was this guy there who claims he is from Costa Rica, but hes a student at Veritas, his name is Giovanni and he has like this random french/ German accent. And sometimes he doesnt respond to spanish. So I'm not sure that everything he is saying is entirely true. Also, he thinks that he is like the best dancer that ever lived on the planet, but this dude should be called "I spin girls so much that I make them so dizzy that they want to throw up" Seriously this guy would do like 20 spins in a row. I was like "dude, I gotta stop. I'm super dizzy" then he would look at me like I was this horrible dancer and tell me I was doing it wrong. Okay, not that I'm like this amazing dancer, but Im pretty sure spinning someone until they are about to lose conciousness ISNT right. Whatever Giovanni, you arent even Tico. I dont really care what you think. And I know he wasnt tico, because one of our tico friends wasnt allowed to come to the class because it was only for gringos. pssshhh. Anyway, after class we went to Castros. It was super fun as always. The first person i danced with was actually this guy from Arkansas, but he was by far the best non-tico that I have danced with yet. He was really good. The good thing about being a girl, is that you really dont have to be a good dancer. As long as the guy is really good, they can make it look like you know what you are doing. And most people [excluding the spin master] that I've danced with have been very good dancers. Gosh, dancing is like this surreal experience for me. Not kidding. UGH SLOVENIA JUST SCORED. see this is what happens when you call futbol soccer! just kidding. Oh btw for those who dont watch the world cup, the fans are like super crazy and get all dressed up and paint themselves. Some of the American Fans were completely painted and covered in an American flag with large pictures of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Also some other guys were dressed up like Elvis. is elvis really an Iconic symbol that represents America. Wow thats kind of sad to me. I like Elvis, Im just sad that that is the only thing we can dress up like other than the president twins. Like I stated last week, I love fridays. Ill probably just chill around the house. Maybe go for a run or something. but I love you ALL sooooo much! Miss you all but I really do love it here. All of you should come visit :) PURA VIDA

Yep, I'm defintely not qualified to do this

Today I worked in Urgencias again. When I got there it was SUPER slow. There was seriously only like 2 people in the entire place. I got pretty excited because this meant that I could just do whatever the heck I wanted while not really having to do anything. I sat around for a while and just read the newspaper. There was a doctor there who I hadn't met yet and after about an hour of sitting directly across from him, I decided to introduce myself and tell him what I was doing. He was wearing a gold chain and traditionally [im gonna be honest with you all] I always sort of think guys with gold chains are kind of creepy. (especially if they are wearing a wife beater and/or leather jacket with it). Turns out that he was by far the coolest gold chain wearer I had met. I was only planning to stay in Urgencias for like an hour and then leave for the day because my boss wasnt even at work today, but gold chain doctor decided to make me his apprentice. I learned and proceeded to do an EKG. He let me observe him the first time and then the VERY next time he just pointed at the machine and let me do it. (Insert todays title) Like I said, Costa Ricans are SUPER laid back so I mean i guess as long as the woman who I was doing it on didnt know that I had just learned how to do an EKG about 2 seconds prior I dont guess it mattered. I also learned how to put an IV in and take one out (luckily I didnt do either of those, someone could really get hurt) but I have a feeling I may have to the next time i go there. That same doctor would always just motion for me to follow him everywhere, even though I had no idea what I was getting myself into. One time I walked into this tiny room and this woman was just lying on the table with part of her booty showing (she was getting a shot in her butt) Little did I know that as soon as I walked in the Doctor was going to hand me the shot to give to her (yup once again insert the title of todays blog) but all went fine and dandy I guess. Another woman had ripped her toenail off and was just waiting in one of the rooms for one of the doctors to help her. All the doctors kept ignoring her because a toenail I guess is not top priority, so I went and just talked to her for a while to entertain her. She told me how she had had breast cancer and that she didnt really like clinics or hospitals very much. Its amazing how people here will just open up to you. They love getting to know you and sharing thier lives with you. I really do love the people here. Eventually, one of the doctors helped her out :) I left around 12 because something apparently happened with this older lady and all the doctors and nurses rushed into this one room and closed the door. I really hope she didnt die. I'm not sure if she did or not :( anyway, I ate lunch and tried to tell some of the single tica ladies about all my single friends at home. they were all pretty excited :) So world cup update for those of you who dont know: Spain lost to Switzerland today. BIG UPSET. I mean it is Spain we are talking about. However, I always love when the Underdog wins. Ive been cheering on the underdogs so far and its worked out pretty well. On my way home, the bus was pretty full so i had to stand up for a little bit. After a few stops it had emptied out a little bit, and this older man offered me a seat, which was really sweet. HOWEVER, im pretty sure he strategically planned for me to sit there because his CROTCH was in my face the entire time. Dont even get me started how close it got to my face whenever we made a right turn. And somehow even when we made a left turn, he got closer to me. Perv. Luckily I made it out alive without any extraordianary traumatic experiences. When I get off at the bus stop there are always like a million people walking around. Its hard to manuver around sometimes. Well, as I was trying to make my way out of the jungle, I felt someone hit my butt. I was like "oh sookkky" when I turned around it was a man with a huge box of AVOCADOS bumping me to get out of the way. Really? I mean there were like 50 people directly in front of me. What was I supposed to do? and then probably two seconds after he bumped me, he set down his box and started selling them. sheesh. Anyway, i walked all the way back to my house instead of taking the bus and made it home before the heavens opened up as usual around 2:30 and it started pouring down rain. Overall, it was a pretty good day. I really enjoyed work today. LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL!!! PURA VIDA!

A275

Wow, well guess who just returned home from a ROUSING FORTY FIVE minutes at the bank? THIS KID. Not even kidding- I really wish I was. That little trip to exchange my dollars to colones turned out to be WAY more exhausting than expected. [and my mama tica just informed me that the 15th and 30th of every month are the WORST possible days to go. That was very useful information I could have used about I dont know FIFTY minutes ago] Anyway, I didnt think I was going to have anything to write about today but oh how the times have changed. Okay, first of all despite the fact that costa rica is a pretty laid back country with a "do whatever you want" kind of attitude most of the time, their banking system is actually pretty organized. When you walk in, you get inspected by a policeman I guess to make sure you aren't packing heat and then you make your way to a kiosk where you inform it what your purpose is for being there [like one transaction or two, etc] and then it spits out a ticket with your number on it. My number was A275. By the end of this experience, I had never wanted to be a three numbers and a letter so badly in my life. As soon as I got my ticket, I knew it was a big mistake when I looked around and saw that the place was SLAMMED full of people. I should have left but I was literally down to about 1000 colones (not even $2.00) and I knew that wasnt gonna get me very far. So I took my seat and looked to see what number was on the screen. It was only on A255. Dear lord, i was twenty away. At least thats what I thought anyway. i was already pretty tired from work today, so I didnt feel like being there to begin with. As I was just chillin in my chair for a while, the dude next to me was obviously exhausted too because he kept dozing off. I wanted to do that but I was afraid I would fall out of my chair or miss my number being called which would have SUCKED. So I just sat there. Everything was fine until A261. Because after A261 you would think A262 right? [at least thats what I learned in 1st grade] Oh no, you wanna know who came after A261. M276. yup thats right M. Where the heck did this mysterious M come from. and why was the person who had the number RIGHT after mine going before me. I looked at miss M276, which happened to be an elderly lady, and wondered what made her so special that she got a different letter and got to go before everyone else. Well the sign right beside the teller where she was at gave me the answer. The sign that showed a picture of a pregnant woman, an old man with a cane, and a person in a wheelchair with the words "priority service" So apparently pregnant women, elderly people and those in wheelchairs get bestowed a random letter like M or R (yeah R 307 even got to go before me) and got to go whenever they came in. I had been there for a while at that point and honest to goodness i thought "shoot Ill go get knocked up real quick if thats what it takes to get the heck out of here" [just kidding mom and dad. Not the part where I thought that, the part that I was serious about it] Sorry, I promise Im not hating on anyone that meets those three categories and I do think they should get priorty service. I was just jealous that I was a plain jane, young healthy adult without a fetus in my womb. Anyway, after I kept getting skipped a lot, to make matters worse, teller number 2 mr Jose Rojas S. just got up and started walking around where everyone could see him but he was definitely not doing a dang thing. I was like "scuse me, Jose, could you please stop wandering around and start helping one of the 5 billion customers you have here" Clearly Jose did not get my telepathic messages because he NEVER came back to his desk the entire time I was there. Darn you Jose. When it got to A272 I started getting excited, and I had never been jealous of someone named A274 in my life. I knew my time was coming. Unfortunately as always, Mr. A274 was the bigshot executive dude with some large manila envelope which indicated he was going to be taking his sweet time. [btw, there was this other dude there who was one of those business men types, but i promise you, This dude had so much gel in his hair that on top of the fact that i could see my hideous reflection in it, his hair looked like someone had strategically placed tiny sharp peices of plastic all over his head.what is it about Gel that guys think they can put as much as they possibly want in their hair? The light reflecting off his hair was so blinding that a couple times i think it even woke up Dozing Dan beside me.] FINALLY (cue the hallelujah course) the lady on the tv screen so sweetly said "A, dos cientos setenta y cinco" that was me, my time had finally come. i made my way to teller 1 [mind you this is the third time i've gone to the bank but none of the other times were like this] and placed my money and passport on the counter [you have to show your passport to get money exchanged here. Now at this point, I'm tired, hungry, and way past the point of even wanting to speak or think in spanish. Every other time I had been to the bank, the teller didnt say more that then word "pasaporte" to me to indicate that I needed to hand it over to him. But oh no, the one day I dont feel like saying anything, conversation charlie feels like learning about my life story. He kept asking me questions, and to make matters worse, at the banks here, there is a window that separates you from the teller with only a few holes cut out for you to hear them. Not only do I have to be listening intently to understand spanish, I definitely dont need some kind of barrier that makes your voice sound like the teacher from charlie brown "wah wah wah" I kept trying to talk, but it was clear by the end when he started speaking English that he realized that I had no idea what was going on. Needless to say, after I left the bank, i went to POPS (the mcdonalds of Ice cream down here) and got a guanabana nieve (its kind of like sherbert). I was not intending on going but that experience was really exhausting and I just wanted to treat myself gosh darnit. Well anyway, thats about all. I'm sorry thats all I wrote about but I promise thats the most interesting thing that happened. And I promise Im not in a bad mood at all, its just funnier to write like I am sometimes. Anyway, Love you all, PURA VIDA!