Busy, busy, busy

I have so much to write I hardly know where to start. Emily and I checked out of our hotel early Sunday and took a 3 dollar cab ride to Intercultura, the English-Spanish college where we will be studying Spanish at the next 3 weeks. It wasnt open yet. We ran into two other girls from our program, Laura and Nicole, a few minutes later, and we decided to go to the parque central and pass some time. Emily and I played some more cards and we got misted by the central fountain. Its really windy here in January and February.

We checked in and filled out some paperwork at Intercultura, and I got dragged into a room and given an evaluation. At first I didnt know what was going on, but when she was only speaking in Spanish and telling to use the subjunctive to describe things for her to do in a potential future visit to Seattle, I figured it out. I happened to be the first one to go. Everybody had shown up by the time I was done with the eval, and I got picked up by my host family in a few minutes.

Two of the three brothers came. Jose Miguel, 21, and Rolando, 17. Rolando has a mowhawk and braces. Jose is a little pudgy but a really cool guy. Both (and later the third brother) speak flawless English. Mi mama is named Rosio, and she is not only a kindergarten principle, but the mayor of Heredia too. Pretty cool. They have an old rott in the yard named Zeus. Apparently he was two points away from being the Central American champion.

The house is kind of tough to describe. It is gated, and all of the windows have black bars over them, but I live in the nice area of Heredia. The rooms are small and cramped, but well decorated and clean, and the yard is pretty large. The terrace was the only huge room. Upstairs were two of the guys bedrooms and a bathroom. I apologize the apostrophe doesnt work on this keyboard. Anyways, my room is small with a single bed and half a closet, a nightstand, and a table. Ashtray included. They all smoke, but not very much, and not in the house when I am home.

My first dinner that night was traditional Tico food: fried potatoes (papas), pan fried steak (bistec), plantains (platanos), which are pretty much giant fried bananas, red beans, and white rice. I liked all of it. I also forgot to mention we watched the Eagles beat the Giants (unfortunately) on TV before dinner. After dinner I hung out with the guys for awhile, learned about Heredia and Costa Rica, and listened to music with Rolando. He listens to the same music I do and his favorite band is Iron Maiden. Pretty funny. I went to bed at 11.

The next morning I had to be at class at 815. Breakfast was cornflakes and coffee. I was driven my Rosio´s driver. We got picked up in an SUV and I learned my route. I was placed in Advanced IV, the second highest level, and one level higher than I think I should be personally, and I am the only person in my class. From 830 to 1230 I have one-on-one with my profesora. I cant remember her name right now, but she is great. I have already learned a lot in a couple days. After class we got a tour of Heredia, which kind of sucked. Hard to hear anything. We walked to lunch which was only 1000 colones (2 bucks) for a big plate of chicken, rice, beans, plantains, and a salad, and guava juice. Then I went with a couple of the guys to Bolevar, a popular bar, and we grabbed a few pitchers (picheles). They drink Pilsen and Imperial, two local Costa Rican beers that are surprisingly really, really good. Beer is about 800 colones or so for a bottle with tip included (1.50 USD or so). At 4 we had another oriention to discuss some things. For example, you usually put your used TP in the garbage, not the toitet. Yeah.

I forgot to mention that the drivers here are insane. You will get hit by a car if you walk in front of a car. Crossing the streets can be a pain, and taxi rides are a bit of an adventure. Nobody wears seatbelts. There are huge (four feet deep sometimes) potholes on the sidewalks and in the streets. The roads are bad.

After the meeting I walked home and watched Talledaga Nights with Will Ferrell with Jose. Dinner was spaghetti with a cream sauce that had ham and corn in it, along with--you guessed it--plantains. I think Ben would die if he had to eat one. Yummmmm....mushy bananas. I took a seven minute nap and headed to La Choza or something, another bar that was across the street from Bolevar. I think all 25 of our group showed up, and we had a good night. I took a cab home around 1230 and got up at 700.

Today there was a strange woman in the kitchen. I said hi to her and she told me her name is Gabriella. She must be a maid, but maybe only comes once in awhile? No sé. I had gallepinto for breakfast, which is another typical Tico breakfast food. Its just rice and beans mixed together. Class was fine today, though I admit I was a little bit hungover. My subject this week is human rights and the dictators of Central and South America. I get to watch a movie on Thursday (by myself) for class, which will probably end up being Diarias Motocicletas (Motorcycle Diaries) which is about Che Guevera.

After class we went to the mercado (market). It was huge, and different from the market in Rome. I got a casado, which is the term for a typical Costa Rican lunch, for about 3 dollars. It is what I described above as my first meal. I bought a beach towel at the Super (short for supermercado) and went to the pool for a couple hours. It closed at 330, and now here I am, writing an entirely too long blog post at Intercultura. Im going to head home in a few, and not go out tonight. Maybe the movies. Not sure. I have to go to dance lessons tomorrow and Thursday because on Thursday night we are going to San Jose to a club. Wish me luck.