Jungle Fever... allegedly.

I've got a lot to catch up! So since Friday, (my last post)... we spent the weekend with our homestay families. Before we left we were all so nervous about spending that much time with our families... as Professor Polk said, during these homestay weeks we're never really "off". If we're not on campus working for our classes (which is a substantial work load!), we're constantly having to culturally adjust to the ways of our Costa Rican families, which includes speaking exclusively in Spanish. Hopefully we'll be fluent before too long!

Lil ninja

Marcelo and me on night numero uno at his crib.

On Saturday Marcelo and I walked down the road and ran into his neighbors who are housing some of my friends. We kicked around the soccer ball, I got annihilated by las ormigas, and I realized that kids here are not afraid of eating ANYTHING that grows on a tree. Tamara's little girl, Laura, was eating a guava she found when she realized there was a worm in it. No big deal, to her at least. I also learned, through this interaction, that Marcelo has the hotts for "teh-meh-rah"... adorbz. For lunch, Doña Miriam made me an interesting soup featuring several foreign vegetables.. I was pressured into taking a shot of "Don Abuelo" Rum halfway through the course, which apparently makes the hot stew go down easier. It was so potent, I was burping up the taste the entire rest of the day. WOOF.

Outside Kristena's casa.

That night a big group of us hit up Bar Amigos to cheer on the good 'ol Estados Unidas as they took on-- and lost to-- Mexico. Out of all of the gringos and ticos in the bar, only two people were cheering for Mexico. That was awesome. Despite the sad loss, we all managed to have a good time. It started pouring while we were there, so Tamara and I had a struggle of a walk at the end of the night back to my house where we both slept. I lost my flip flop circa 5 times on the walk from where our cab dropped us off... note to self, brown rainbows and mud match really well.

Tyler doesn't drink out of cups.

Hatz n poutz

Count the chins.

Creepin... no surprise

Sunday involved catching up on a bunch of homework, a much-needed fam skype sesh, and SLEEP. I sleep like a baby here. We pack so much into each day that I have zero problem heading to bed each night by 9 and waking up around 7am. Monday we had class all day, and that night for dinner my family went to Tamara's family's house for a pizza dinner. It was delicious home made pizza with all kinds of vegetables including AVOCADOOOOO! Dad, I know, I need to be photographing my food. I promise I'll start doing so. 

This morning Doña Miriam made me a delicious breakfast of all my favorite things- avocado, fried plantains, and this chicken/bacon-type meat that's delicious and semi-healthy. A nice break from the carb-fest she so often encourages. I went on another picturesque run after breakfast. On this grass road that leads to a spot of the river, you pass a couple of interesting things including a "hippie farm", some shack-houses that appear neglected, lots of cows, and pair of abandoned vehicles (a blue mini-van and a red motorcycle) both with California license plates. Well... apparently these aren't so abandoned, as I realized the motocicleta had moved since the last time I ran by... dun dun dun.

Ran into this 'lil guy on my walk to school today.

Somehow this rat finds me EVERY day on my walk.

Tonight's our second-to-last night with this homestay family... sad! On Thursday we move back to campus for one night, then we're off for the much anticipated San José and Arenal trip! This is like our spring break trip, and we're so excited. We're all planning on going to a karaoke bar before we leave San Luis though, which is like my worst fear ever. And Shamar's also planning for us to visit a highly revered gay bar when we get to San José... another first for me. We're so excited to see Tyler work it in that environment. Fourth of July will also be interesting here, as I don't that our group will plan some ridiculous tribute to American patriotism.

Pretty bird... pretty bird...

On other agendas, over lunch today Kelsey explained her plans for her wedding: Fall time, 2 o'clock PM (as this is when her family "always convenes for everything"), bridesmaids will be indians, groomsmen will be pilgrims, the reception will feature a feast, and decorations will be cornucopia themed. She says that she'll know she's found the right man when she finally finds someone who will agree to this.