Funny thing happened to me the other day...

Okay, here is a really funny story. As you consider what I'm about to write, also, please consider that this type of thing happens to me all the time. And so I begin...
On Thursday I went walking at 6:00am with my ladies (these are some friends and my host mom and we go for an hour walk on Tuesdays and Thursdays). So, we are walking and one of the ladies asks me “Laura, are you going to run in the race? I bet you're going to win”. I respond, “oh, wow, that's today? I don't know, maybe, I haven't eaten or drank anything today, so I don't think so. Also, I haven't been running in weeks, but I guess I'll see if there's time for me to eat and maybe”. Okay, so we walk on and I find out that the race starts at 8:00am and it's only 7:00am so there is time. So I go to this race, where there are including me 8 participants. There were 2 woman and 6 men. I'm thinking, okay, I'll run, why not. So we begin the race and me and the other lady start to run together, I was pretty happy with it, we ran the whole race together. So, towards the end of the race the last Kilometer I'm thinking, well, in the past usually I take off and bust it out in the end for the win, but, I don't think that would be really cool to do since I know that lady that I'm running with really well and we've been together the whole time and I think it would be really cool for us to finish together. So I think this whole thing out for the last lap of the race and I finally decide, I'm not going to sprint the finish, I'm going to be cool and finish with my friend (I really did debate about this for like 3 min in my head, I'm super competitive, but that's not always good). Okay, so when we are about 75 feet from the finish line, I'm thinking oh, how great, we made it and just as I'm about to say something to my friend, she takes off at a full sprint. Typical. At first I started to run after her, but then I thought, “no vale la pena” or, it's not worth it and I just let her go. Wow, is all I could think. Typical, enough said.

I'm just going to go ahead and say it, I hate rice!

Okay, I do, I hate rice. I don't care what the rest of the world says, I've never really liked rice. Ever since I was little I've only liked rice one way with milk, butter, sugar and cinnamon. That's a tasty breakfast all warm and delicious. So, back to my hate for rice, here in Costa Rica it just so happens that rice is eaten as the main part of every meal. I'm not exaggerating. It's seriously the base of every meal and sometimes it makes me really angry. I'm laughing as I write this because the irony of it all is just too much. Okay, when I eat at places like Chipolet or Moes Southwest where they have awesome burritos; when I placed my order I always said “no rice please”. So that you know, I didn't eat it before I came here, I don't like sushi and I almost never go out for Chinese food, why, because I hate rice. Now that you all know that, recently in one of my English classes we were learning “I'm going” so learning the simple future tense. One of the activities was that we were going on a picnic and then we would go around the class and say “I'm going to bring ...”. So I started and then had my class go. Maurice says “I'm going to bring rice and beans”. I just looked at him and said “I'm sorry, you can't come to my picnic” (joking of course). Then we got into a conversation about the rice and beans and I asked them “do you guys seriously like rice and beans, I mean really like, you're serious”? They all said that they did, they like it, they really like it. Unbelievable. I'm shocked, I just can't imagine a day when I'm going to say, wow, get me some rice and beans. I don't mind the beans by the way. I am sick of only ever eating one type, I would love to switch it up a little, not just white rice with black beans. What's wrong with red beans? And, if we're eating pasta, why not skip the rice? Or, when we're eating potatoes, why not pass on the rice? I know I'd be okay with it.

Just Some Random Stuff

I don't have a whole lot to update on. My English classes have another test this week, with one class finishing the book. Instead of starting the next book just to take a massive break in December and January, we're going to have conversation classes and do little work shop type things (this will be easier and more fun for me, I hope). Guias y Scouts is coming along nicely, I'm hoping to have the adults in place and ready to go by December and then find the niños sometime in February. That's a pretty ambitious time line, so I'm not too worried if it takes a little longer...
I'm planning on getting a dog soon, probably in January. I think it will be really nice to have a little friend to hangout with and keep me company. Other than that, I'm still reading a lot. I'm currently reading Jane Eyre, a classic which is really good so far. After this I think I'm going to finish up my No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books which will be really sad. Not much else to report for now. The rain has picked up a little in the past couple of weeks which is a big relief and a nice break from the heat.
Weigh lifting with my friend Elena is going really well, she loves to work out as much as I do and we help to push each other so that has been a really pleasant surprise.

Here are some strange things that have happened or that I do...

First, I used to hate the show Xena Warrior Princess. It was on when I was in high school and I thought it was super lame. I don't think it's on anymore, but they are showing it here in Costa Rica, dubbed in Spanish. Now, one of my favorite things to do is watch Xena with my adult host brother every morning. We sit down and watch it and if I miss something or can't figure something out he explains the show to me. Today I asked him, what are the little gremlin looking monsters all about and he said “who knows what those strange little monsters are supposed to be”. I don't know why, but I thought it was really funny. Anyway, I love the show now and when I get back to the states (permanently) I'm going to be Xena for Halloween, she's awesome.

Second, here is something that happened just the other day. My host family and I were hanging out on the front porch where we spend most of our time and I saw a little black thing about the size of a lime in the curtain. I thought it was a giant spider and it kind of freaked me out. I asked them what it was and they said something, but I didn't know the word. I asked if they were just going to leave it there and my host dad says “no” and walks over to it and picks it out of the curtain. I see that it's a little bat. I've always really liked bats for some reason and I'm thinking oh, how cool, maybe he's going to throw it into the air and the little thing can fly away. Wrong. My host dad grabs it by the wing and slams it onto the ground. I was soooooo sad. I didn't kill the poor thing the first time so he did it 3 times and then chucked it across the street. I was crushed. That was a sad moment, but stuff like that happens a lot.

Third, I've found a place to lift weight and use an elliptical machine to avoid the sun. It's awesome and I love it. My new friend is great and we have a really nice time lifting. There is just one minor problem. You can't imagine how much I sweat in that little house with no A/C and it's super humid here. It's a total problem. I bring a towel with me, but by the end of the session all of my cloths are soaked, and I mean soaked. The towel is soaked and my shoes are soaked. I don't think there is anyway to stop it. I'm a sweater and put a sweater indoors in a humid climate on a hot day (everyday) and you're going to have a problem. It's okay though, I'll take it over weak arms.

Guias y Scouts

Since I arrieved in La Palma and heard about the boy/girl scout troup in Jimenez, I've sort of casually thought of starting a troup in La Palma. It's called Guias y Scouts and it's based off the USA version, but it's obviously adapted to the Costa Rican culture and the boys and girls are in separate troups but they all meet together, have the same uniform and it's the same program that they follow. So, this past weekend I went with the Jimenez troup to Cartagena and we hiked in the Corovado national park and stayed at a really cool eco lodge called La Leona. There is a ton that I can write about each of these things, but I don't have a ton of time so I'll stick to Guias y Scouts and fill you in on the park and the lodge later. You can not imagine how seriously they take their troups and how well they do it. In CR there is a real lack of things for people to do. There is a lot of TV watching, but it's not like in the States where you can just join a club or play on one of 100 teams. There is just nothing to do, so Guias y Scouts provides a really healthy activity for the kids where they can learn a ton of life skills and feel really proud to be a part of something. It's really beautiful. I watched as the troup leaders would blow their whistles and the kids would run from where ever they were to fall in formation and shout out their troup call. It was so cool. I did girl scouts when I was a kid, but I don't think I took it very seriously and I don't recall their being any troup calls or whistles. The program is great and I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make it happen in La Palma. The kids will love it and I think it could really help keep them safe and teach them how to have fun in a really health and way.

I'm still working on the computer problem in La Palma, This is going to take a while... Otherwise, I'm doing really well, time is flying by and as I get to know more people in the community and make friends and have more projects, I'm feeling a lot happier here. I think I may have made it through the hardest part (hopefully).

***Okay, as I read over some of my blog entries and e-mails, I'm noticing that my English no is very good (that was a joke). But, really, if you read this and think, wow, that was really bad sentence construction, just know that pretty much all day everyday is in Spanish and it makes it hard to switch over to English with out any bumps. It's kind of funny actually, I catch myself making some of the same mistakes that my English students make.***

Soccer

This past weekend I found a women's soccer team to play on and ended up playing in a mini tournament Saturday and Sunday. It was probably the most fun and the most normal I've felt since I arrived some 7 months ago. I loved it so much. The ladies were so excited to have me on the team and after the first game were asking me how long I could play with them for and when I told them that we had a good year and a half together they were thrilled. I was great. I've found a team who work really hard and put forth a really good effort. The level of play isn't super high, but it's high enough to be fun. I think soccer is going to make time pass a lot quicker without huge weekend gaps to try and fill up with, oh, nothing to do...
Last week I was in Jimenez and was able to hang out with the volunteer there and that was really nice. I'm hoping to hangout with her today for a bit and also some on the weekend, It's good to have a friend and someone to talk to.
Life here is pretty up and down. Days go by where I like it and I'm excited to be here and then a day like yesterday will hit and it's all I can do to try and make the time pass. I'm not really sure what it is that make some days harder than others, but I'm sure once I'm a little busier it won't be so up and down all the time.
God is good.

Books

Something I do a lot of is read, so I thought I'd talk a little about some of the books I've been reading. First, I love love love The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I'm eight books into the series and I am so in love with the characters. Since I lack friends and in general, deep human interaction, the characters of this series have become a real comfort to me. I try not to read the books one after the other and instead try and wait until I “need” them. It's sad, I know, but it's true. So anyway, check them out, Mma Ramotswe is a great source of wisdom and has a great outlook on life.
Right now I'm on book two of the Twilight series, New Moon and of course it's great. I must admit sometimes I'm a little frustrated will Belle the protagonist and her “poor me, I'm so clumsy and plain” attitude, but once I got past that, I fell in love with the book. I try not to read too much, but certain days (the last week) it's hard not to.
I also just finished the Glass Castle, I'm going to say it's good, but not great. It's one of those really sad life memoirs, which are good, but it seems like I've read a lot of those.
I totally recommend the book the Tale of the Town of Widows. This book was great, though there was a brief period (maybe 30 pages toward the end) when the author kind of lost me by being just a little too obvious with the symbolism. I mean come on, don't hit me over the head with it. But, it was really just a short bit and then he got back on track, it was a unique and good book.
That's what I've read the past 2 weeks or so. Books are kind of becoming my friends, since I'm kind of lacking in that department. Making friends here, I'm not so sure is going to happen for me, but I'm coming to accept that or at least hope that someone is on their way here, it could happen. Other than that I've been watching the series Arrested Development and Bones on my computer at night and that has been a lot of fun. A friend gave me the 2 series when I was in training a few weeks ago and it has been a really nice addition.