Isla Tortuga y más!

Hello, world! As always, I have so much to say & only so little will to write it all. :P To sum up the past few days, I have had a blast!! I won't talk too much about my work in this post--we have a big project to do and I would rather not think about it on this peaceful Sunday.

For starters, on Thursday night I went out to dinner with some of my colleagues to have a goodbye party for one the the employees! We went to this Irish pub. The burgers were delicious! I had a chickpea and black bean burger. I really enjoyed having fun with my colleagues--they are truly truly wonderful people, and I will certainly miss them when I leave. I'm glad I was able to bond with them. Anyways, the pub had really delicious burgers. We had a lot of fun! After some people left, Andrés (the consultant who is leaving) and some others said they wanted to go dancing. I was very hesitant at first & almost went home before Andrés literally dragged me out of the restaurant. In the US, dancing is not something I really enjoy doing--flashback to awkward high school days at dances with lots of inappropriate shenanigans going on (quick story to illustrate how I've been scarred by dances: I was on student council & one of our projects was to plan/set-up/clean-up for homecoming dances. After one dance, we found pantyhose on the dance floor.. No one picked them up, and when we unrolled the tarp on the gym floor for the next big dance... They were still there...)

Now that I have thoroughly grossed you out, back to the story. I was SO glad I went! It was a blast! In Costa Rica (and in Latin America in general, I believe) dancing means actually dancing! Andrés and the other guys we were with tried to teach Faye and me some dances (like bachata), and it was a blast. It was also at a karaoke bar, which made it all the more fun. Most of the music was popular Costa Rican songs, but Britney Spears did make an appearance with "Oops I did it again," which was hilarious. Anyways, long story short workplace bonding = FUN!

On Friday, I left San Jose for Esparza, where I was to meet one of my mother's contacts. This was a bit of an adventure. There are no direct buses for Esparza, so I had to figure out which one to get on. Luckily, a nice boy named John graciously pointed out the correct bus (and the correct bus stop, later that night). I was supposed to call my mom's contact once I got my ticket Funny thing, because my cell phone doesn't actually work here in Costa Rica. I have an international phone the Brueggeman Center gave me, but I didn't really want to use it--only for emergencies. So, I tried my hand at the payphone, which was a total flop. I have never actually used a payphone before, so not only did I not know how to use it, but I didn't know the verbs in the very poorly written instructions. In the end, I whipped out my international phone and tried calling my mom's contact--no answer. Call again--no answer. So I boarded the bus, without actually knowing if I've made contact with this man. I'm headed to a strange town, at night, to meet a man that I have never met and who might not actually be there.. Hmm. I wasn't too stressed out about it, though, funnily enough. I said some prayers, sent his number a few texts, and hoped for the best. THANKFULLY, when I got off the bus, a man called my name, and it turned out to be my mom's contact.

He took to to my host family's house--the most wonderful people! Arianne, the daughter, who is 14, was the sweetest, most gracious host. They fed me dinner and breakfast! Her mom even got me a doughnut (and not just any doughnut, but a DULCE DE LECHE doughnut!) for the boat ride to Isla Tortuga. So nice. I am very grateful for their hospitality (also, their air-conditioning).

On Saturday morning, I met up with my mom and her group. We took a bus to Puntarenas and boarded a dinky little boat for Isla Tortuga! (Isla = island, for you non-Spanish speakers).

The island was very beautiful! As soon as we hopped off the boat, I practically inhaled my doughnut before hopping on another boat to go SNORKELING! It was so cool! I definitely appreciated my maybe-extravagant purchase of a water-proof camera. That camera has been amazing for this trip!!

Go X! You can take the girl out of Xavier, but you can't take the Xavier out of the girl. <3

I don't always take selfies, but when I do, you can't see my face & I almost drown in the process. 

Fishies 

More little friends

So beautiful!

Besides snorkeling, we went on a very mild banana boat ride and just relaxed on the beach. I have already received several compliments about how tan I look--watch out, world! I'm becoming fabulous. We left the island around 3:00. Arianne took me back to her aunt's house, where we cleaned up. At 8:30, we left for one of the other girl's house for a "despedida" party! My mom and her students leave on Monday, so they had a goodbye celebration for them. Much milder than my Thursday despedida. :P I tried ceviche for the first time. It tasted fine, but because I know how it is made, it grossed me out a bit. Which is weird because I love sushi, but I can't explain my brain sometimes. :p Basically, ceviche is fish that has been refrigerated for several days, and that's it. I've certainly eaten weirder things, but for some reason this grosses me out. 

This morning, I met my mom in downtown Esparza for mass. It was another beautiful church! The priest was from Spain, and I think because I have had several professors from Spain, I felt like I understood him a bit better. I have been to SIX Spanish masses! It's been great, but I am very much looking forward to returning to mass in English. And with song sheets for music so I can sing along!

¡Bonita!

After mass, my mom and I went to a soda and grabbed some beverages. It was SO HOT. We sat and chatted for a bit, which was really nice. I love my mom. <3

Yay, cookies and my mom! Can you tell I haven't showered? What is personal hygiene when you are "backpacking" every weekend?

We also went to the grocery store, where I picked up some more cookies & green tea! My mom saw me off to the bus station, and I was very sad to leave her. To make matters worse, the bus was PACKED. I had to stand for the first hour of the ride. We were also stuck in traffic at one point due to a van that caught on fire ahead of us. Standing on the bus was very interesting, because the roads going up the mountains and hills are very winding. It was interesting, but not life-threatening. Also, counting it as my workout for the weekend. 

I got back to San Jose early (around 2:00) so I have just been relaxing--doing nothing is really awesome, since I haven't had the chance to do that in awhile. Also, I met a girl FROM CINCINNATI! :O We talked for a really long time--she is super cool! Really awesome vibe. 

I'm bracing myself for a busy week of work, but I am excited about all the learning opportunities that are ahead of me this week (translation: I'm trying really hard to be positive about the insane amount of work I have to do, and that's the best I can do at this point).

Until, next time, amigos!

Typical. 

Family! Also a picture (finally) with my dad.