Week one, almost over!

Sorry I haven´t written since earlier this week! I´ve been using my phone a lot for internet, so I haven´t really gotten on an actual computer since Tuesday. So, things are still going well. Classes have been ok, but my favorite things so far is living with the family (who is still calling me Laura) and going on the different excursions in the afternoons.

I have been able to become friends with many of the other teachers who are here. I guess we already have a few things in common, so it´s easy. There are people from Annapolis, Boston, Savannah, Texas, Washington State, Kenya, France, and many more. I am a little shocked because I did not expect to be one of the youngest people participating. There are a few people who are around my age, but others who are 40´s and 50´s.

I guess I am pretty lucky because the house I am living in has internet and also they have a wireless router. This means that I can use my iPhone for internet and Skype also. I talked to my sister yesterday via Skype and it was perfect. No problems! None of the other people I´m going to school with have wireless.

Our classes end at noon every day, so we have lunch, and then they usually have something lined up for us to do in the afternoon. On Tuesday we went to this factory that makes jewelry and other things out of wood. Although a little random, it was cool. We got to see the workers who are sanding down the pieces of wood, cutting little holes through the pieces for the jewelry, actually making the jewelry, etc. I guess I´m pretty lucky to not have such a repetitive job...
Yesterday after school a friend and I went to downtown Alajuela and to have una cerveza and some french fries. It was crazy because we wanted to sit in the front of the restaurant that opens up to the street, but the server told us not to sit so close to the street because someone might try to take our bags. :(

Every afternoon, it has rained, but it is beautiful in the mornings. I guess the rain isn´t so bad because it cools things down. However, if humidity can be above 100%, it definitely is here! My hair does not even have a chance!

So last night, right before I went to sleep my host parents were talking to me, and they decided to tell me that we might have an earthquake during the night!! OMG!!! I guess there was a VERY small one sometime during the day and I guess they thought it was probable that we could have a bigger one during the night. So, they were telling me what to do: get under a door frame, don´t try to run out, etc. I was a little scared, of course. I mean, we aren´t used to earthquakes in Georgia! Hopefully the one yesterday (that I didn´t feel) is the only one we´ll have while I´m here. Of course, I was picturing images from Haiti and Chile. I´m surprised I was able to sleep last night!

This afternoon we visited what is similar to a US vocational high school. It was so cool to see the school and the kids were so nice. The kids were the same age as some of the kids I teach, and they take some of the same classes I teach. They are there for careers in Customer Service, Technical, Auto Tech, Electrical, etc. Kasie, who was my tour guide, is 18 years old. She is in vocational school for Customer Service. This means that she is training for a job in a call center, hotel, restaurant, or something similar. She was so cute and so nice! They had some typical Costa Rican food for us for a snack, such as these little ice creams (mine was of coconut), tortillas with sour cream (muy interesante), y Yucca Cake. After eating this really good chicken and rice for lunch, I wasn´t really hungry, but I did eat all of my coconut ice cream!

I´m really excited about this weekend because we are going on two excursions. First, on Saturday we are going to Volcano Arenal. It looks really beautiful! (Google it) I´m excited because I´m ready to see more of Costa Rica. On Sunday we are going to Tortuga Island, which is on the Pacific Coast. It also looks very beautiful. We are taking a boat out to the island where we will have lunch, some tropical fruit drinks, and hopefully get some sun! As you can see, I don´t have much free time, but that´s okay by me.

I guess that´s about it for now. I tried to upload pics to Facebook, but the internet connection isn´t quite what it is in the US, and it was going to take like one hour to upload 30 or so picutres. No me gusta! Maybe I can get to an internet cafe and try there. Hope all is well! Talk to you all soon!