Catching up

Well, I was right: I've been too busy to take time to post anything, but this weekend is all down time for me, so I'm trying to get caught up. I'll also try to be as terse as possible.  ..Okay, I said I'll try.

The program is half-way over already!  I'm in one class for which I will get six hours' credit, so we meet five hours a day, with the two Fridays in the middle of the month free to travel.  Because July 25th (a Monday this year) is a national holiday, we'll have a four-day weekend next week, which means that for five days, we'll be in class six hours each day.  That's a long time for this old body to just sit in a wooden desk, but I learn a lot each day and feel very engaged in the class, so I'm sure I'll be fine.

I've enjoyed two major excursions already; the first, as I mentioned before, was to Volcán Poás and Las Cataratas La Paz, and then last weekend to Isla Tortuga.  They were two days full of physically exhausting fun and mind-boggling beauty.

We have also spent an afternoon in Cartago, where the Basilica de la Virgen de Los Ángeles is, which is the site of the miracle of La Negrita, as the Costa Ricans (aka Ticos) lovingly call their patron saint.  Another afternoon we went to the Teatro Nacional, but the day that we were to go the the Museo Nacional, I had a big presentaion due the next morning and was already dog-tired, so I opted out of that excursion and came home to work.

So how's the food, you ask?  Every morning is the delicious same in my home: the traditional gallo pinto, a dish made with black beans and rice that I love, especially with Salsa Lizano (Maritza's sister Pita already gave me a half gallon to take home!) We also always have fresh fruit, either toast or home-made tortillas, usually cheese (queso fresco), coffee, and what my grandfather would have consumed with "I could make a meal out of this": home-made fruit juice. You can't imagine how delicious it always is.  And I'm not talking about freshly squeezed orange juice. Nope.  It's made from some exotic fruit that is not readily available (if at all) in the United States, or it's a yummy recipe using strawberries, or my favorite: watermelon juice.  Chacha has a woman who comes six days a week to cook, clean, do laundry, and work her tail off.  She's really good with the cooking part of her job.  Our evening meals, though they often have black beans and/or rice as a part, are not typically Costa Rican foods.  We're spoiled with things like asparagus lasagna.  No one here has ever heard of that, but OMG! I've kidded with Neyli that I'm going to skip class one day to shadow her in the kitchen because every meal she makes is fabulous.  We are on our own for lunch each day; depending on who has to do what, most of the time a few of us meet up to eat somewhere around campus. 

This post was longer than I would have liked. For those of you still reading at this point, thanks for your interest and persistance.  I love you for that.  :)