Last weekend I had a relaxing weekend with the family. My family took me to a town that I don’t remember the name of. (I know, I love it when I’m specific). We stayed in Ana’s niece’s house. It’s her second home and it is located fairly close to the beach. We left Saturday morning and came back Sunday afternoon. The house has a Jacuzzi, a cold water Jacuzzi to be exact. But it felt nice since it’s so hot there. On Saturday night we went to town and saw a parade of horses (it has a Spanish name…it might be “tope” but I’m not sure). There had to have been more than 250 horses in this “tope”. After that finished we went to the “Fruit Fair.” A bunch of fruit farmers brought their crop in to sell. Ana bought me a bunch of crazy fruit because I wanted to try it all. I took pictures of them all on Sunday, and then I had Ana tell me the name so I could look it up in the dictionary. However, we don’t have English words for these fruits. Why? Because we’ve never ever seen them or eaten them because they are crazy and only grow in the tropics. Some of these fruits we would never even think of eating because they don’t even look like fruit. As I was writing the names of them down, I wrote descriptions of them. For more than two different kinds I compared them to a potato. This one looks like a small, hairy potato, and that one looks like a big pointy potato. Obviously I’m a potato girl. One fruit that actually is in the dictionary is the soursop (guanábana). If any of you have ever eaten a soursop, please tell me because I will be utterly amazed.
It was a nice relaxing weekend. We ate copos (a.k.a granizados) which are like snow cones, except they’re made with powdered milk and condensed milk as well as the flavor syrup. I also played games, including Uno, with Ismael. An interesting side note about the game Uno. Whenever Costa Ricans ask me if I know how to play (if they’re speaking in English) they ask me if I know how to play One. At first, I was very confused, but when I realized what they were asking me, I found it quite hilarious. Apparently, they think that we call it One in the States. They were quite shocked when I told them that we also call it Uno. Anyway, I just thought that was an interesting little tid bit.
Next weekend I will be traveling to Puntarenas to learn to scuba dive. As long as I remember to keep breathing out as I ascend to the surface (so my lungs don’t explode), I should be fine. No worries.
On Monday I went to Sonrisas (Smiles), a Pre-K school. I’m going to start volunteering there every Monday (even though I’ve only got five left). They put me in a classroom with children who I would guess are between 1 and 2. They can walk, talk in words, and they still poop in their pants…so however old that is. Anyway, I was only there for an hour today. I don’t know if most of you know how absolutely horrible I am with kids. They hate me because they can sense my fear of them. I’m drenched with “Oh-sweet-Moses-please-don’t-puke-on-me-poop-on-me-or-stick-your-dirty-little-fingers-in-my-mouth” pheromones. Anyway, I fed some fruit to one kid and some ¡gelatina rica! (tasty jello) to a cute little girl. Then I attempted to play with them while the teacher changed diapers (thank goodness they didn’t make me do that!). Every time I sat down, Bianca, a cute little girl, sat in my lap. I was ok with it after she got her diaper changed, but before I was slightly uncomfortable with her damp little bum plopped nicely in my lap. She also liked the feel of my stubble growing on my legs and she liked my “cola” (pony tail). I think one of the little girls sensed that I wasn’t actually a native Spanish-speaker (I can’t even fool the little kids!) because she brought me a toy car and said “carro” and she touched the door and said “puerta.” So I don’t know if I was supposed to be saying, “Good job!” or “thank you for teaching me.” Anyway, I think I’ll enjoy spending 4 hours with those guys once a week. They’re pretty darn cute. However, my hands were pretty sticky when I went to dance class, and there may have been feces residue on my pants, but that’s nothing a little water and soap can’t cure.
Tonight I’ve got a potluck type fiesta to go to. One of my Spanish classes is going to get together with some Costa Ricans who are learning English. We’re going to play games and eat food. I’m planning on making some chip dip, but it’s hard when they don’t have the same things we do. And even though Wal-Mart may be the devil, I won’t deny that I miss having so many options in one building.
Anyway, I better get reading some of my novels and doing some other homework. Oh, and wish me luck this weekend that my lungs don’t explode and that I don’t get nitrogen poisoning!
It was a nice relaxing weekend. We ate copos (a.k.a granizados) which are like snow cones, except they’re made with powdered milk and condensed milk as well as the flavor syrup. I also played games, including Uno, with Ismael. An interesting side note about the game Uno. Whenever Costa Ricans ask me if I know how to play (if they’re speaking in English) they ask me if I know how to play One. At first, I was very confused, but when I realized what they were asking me, I found it quite hilarious. Apparently, they think that we call it One in the States. They were quite shocked when I told them that we also call it Uno. Anyway, I just thought that was an interesting little tid bit.
Next weekend I will be traveling to Puntarenas to learn to scuba dive. As long as I remember to keep breathing out as I ascend to the surface (so my lungs don’t explode), I should be fine. No worries.
On Monday I went to Sonrisas (Smiles), a Pre-K school. I’m going to start volunteering there every Monday (even though I’ve only got five left). They put me in a classroom with children who I would guess are between 1 and 2. They can walk, talk in words, and they still poop in their pants…so however old that is. Anyway, I was only there for an hour today. I don’t know if most of you know how absolutely horrible I am with kids. They hate me because they can sense my fear of them. I’m drenched with “Oh-sweet-Moses-please-don’t-puke-on-me-poop-on-me-or-stick-your-dirty-little-fingers-in-my-mouth” pheromones. Anyway, I fed some fruit to one kid and some ¡gelatina rica! (tasty jello) to a cute little girl. Then I attempted to play with them while the teacher changed diapers (thank goodness they didn’t make me do that!). Every time I sat down, Bianca, a cute little girl, sat in my lap. I was ok with it after she got her diaper changed, but before I was slightly uncomfortable with her damp little bum plopped nicely in my lap. She also liked the feel of my stubble growing on my legs and she liked my “cola” (pony tail). I think one of the little girls sensed that I wasn’t actually a native Spanish-speaker (I can’t even fool the little kids!) because she brought me a toy car and said “carro” and she touched the door and said “puerta.” So I don’t know if I was supposed to be saying, “Good job!” or “thank you for teaching me.” Anyway, I think I’ll enjoy spending 4 hours with those guys once a week. They’re pretty darn cute. However, my hands were pretty sticky when I went to dance class, and there may have been feces residue on my pants, but that’s nothing a little water and soap can’t cure.
Tonight I’ve got a potluck type fiesta to go to. One of my Spanish classes is going to get together with some Costa Ricans who are learning English. We’re going to play games and eat food. I’m planning on making some chip dip, but it’s hard when they don’t have the same things we do. And even though Wal-Mart may be the devil, I won’t deny that I miss having so many options in one building.
Anyway, I better get reading some of my novels and doing some other homework. Oh, and wish me luck this weekend that my lungs don’t explode and that I don’t get nitrogen poisoning!
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