Happy 4th!

Feliz Dia de Independencia!

Tonight I´m going to write a little bit, but I am super exhausted because of the awesome weekend I´ve had! I guess I wrote last on Thursday night, so I will now tell about Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

I guess that every Friday at school we will have a test. So on Friday we had our class, and then during the last hour of class (11-12) we had a test to make sure we are ready for the next level. Also there are people who are getting college credit, so they need to have a grade. After school on Friday, some of us went to a coffee plantation! Other than all the rain, it was pretty cool. We got to see how the plants grow, how the beans are picked and processed, etc. This particular plantation provides coffee for Starbucks! The most interesting part of the tour was when our guide said that the bean pickers only make about $20 a day, and that is on the higher side. I can´t imagine making so little for such hard work. A lot of the workers are from Nicaragua. Our tour guide said that the situation with CR and Nicaragua is similar to US and Mexico, on a smaller scale, as there are workers sneaking over the border so they can have work.

After the coffee tour we came back to Alajuela. On Friday nights and Saturday there is a huge market where most of the town does their shopping for fruits, veggies, some meat, etc. It was so much fun! Of course we stood out like crazy, and I was the only person with blonde hair for miles! We were generating lots of attention, which did get a little scary. We had to watch our stuff so closely. I had to wear my backpack on the front and keep my wallet and camera in inside pockets of my jacket. The market was so much fun because there were soooo many different fruits to sample. I love all types of fruit, so I was in heaven! I did buy a pineapple, some apples, and some weird fruits that I can´t remember the name of.

Later that evening I went to see the movie that´s out with Matt Damon. I can´t remember the name. The movie was in English, but with Spanish subtitles. Much cheaper that in the US for a ticket and for the popcorn and soda. Also, there were only like 10 minutes of previews instead of 30. Nice, right?

Anyway, I really need to get to bed, so I will write about the remainder of the weekend later. It was really awesome and I did get to see lava coming out of the volcano last night! Sooo cool!

Hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th! Enjoy the holiday tomorrow!