I think the man who runs the buses on my street corner might also be working at the tienda on the street. The wouldn't be so intriguing except that he might be doing both at the same time. Anyway, I saw him sitting in the store while no one else was there. Perhaps he was just guarding it. But anyway...
My host-mother told me yesterday that as it so happens, "Ms. Costa Rica" is single, twenty-one, and an old friend of my host-sister. Note to self: exploit, exploit, exploit. I mentioned this today in grammar class (don't ask why, I'm sure it was somehow relevant at the time) and my teacher told me that Ms. CR lived in the same neighborhood as herself. Naturally, I asked what Ms. CR was doing this weekend. I'm waiting to hear back.
As if Costa Rica wasn't small enough, I told my family that I was going to Jaco for the weekend yesterday. Ten minutes later, my mother is on the phone with a friend getting a house for me and two friends on the beach; we'd be staying with a friend of a friend. Turns out though, all twelve of us students are traveling to Jaco, so we had to go for a different house. Either way, it's going to be a pretty cheap stay.
As far as money is concerned though, it is easy to spot the two separate cultures that exist in Costa Rica: there is tico Costa Rica and there is tourist Costa Rica. Tico CR means spending only $40 for a weekend of fun; tourist CR could be close to $400. I'm thinking about taking my individual project to Cahuita on the Caribe side in a month to explore this battle further. I'll have two weeks on my own on the beach...oh sigh. That's not a guaranteed trip though: I could end up in Heredia or Guanacaste, but I will still make my project tourism-based. In those cases I'd be excited to see what it's like in a part of Costa Rica that doesn't see tourism: pure sweetness.
Yesterday for lunch a friend and I decided to try some down-home Midwest-American food. Long story short, I had a hot dog with ham sprinkled on top of it with ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise. I can't begin to describe how delicious and disgusting it was. I haven't made up my mind yet, but I might have to go back. I was being conservative anyhow: my friend had his dog wrapped in bacon.
I turned a few heads in class today: we had to sing a popular song and I busted out the baritone pipes that I usually only use during Christmas Eve service. Yeah, I know what you're thinking: they weren't turning to see who had the angelic voice. I can sing I swear! Los maestros raised there eyebrows at least.
Tomorrow we're taking a tour of San Jose, then off to Jaco. I'm glad I'll have some time to relax. In reality, I'll try to use the time to get some homework done. But hey, there's good surfing too.
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