Beginning..
The first few days were really hard. I just missed Tim a lot and didn´t know what to do with myself in Alajuela. But now that Courtney
is here and we are in Orosi it is a million times better. It rains a lot, but it is so much cooler than it is in Baltimore that I don´t
really care. It just rains in the evening every day, so it is not too much of a problem.
Yesterday Courtney and I went with a big group up to a waterfall with this crazy local guy named Nano (at one point he put on a plastic cape
and yelled ¨Super Nano!¨), he was so funny. The group is here teaching English, there are so many of them but I think they will only be here
for a few more days. I much prefer meeting independent travellers than big groups, but they are all pretty nice. We´ve also befriended a
couple in the hostel, one of whom is starting law school to do public interest work just like me. So that´s pretty cool. The town is so
beautiful, and we got a great view from the mountains on the hike yesterday. I am a bit exhausted from the hike, which was all morning
and involved some muddy parts, during which I was grateful for my boots.
My host family is really nice, I spent my first night with them last night. There is a divorced mom, who speaks only Spanish and is very
patient with me. She seems to get the vegetarian thing, which is also a big relief. When I told the kids that I hadn´t eaten meat for about
6 or 7 years, it was funny to see their jaws drop. She has two sons, a younger one who must be in 2nd or 3rd grade and an older boy who is
about 20 and is gay and is super bored with Orosi and wants to live in London. The older son speaks nearly perfect English, and I am trying
to help him with his job. He has to be able to pronounce a bunch of words for a dental insurance call center for MetLife. It is weird and
difficult to explain American insurance.
Their whole extended family lives on the same block practically, the grandparents, 2 mentally challenged aunts and a sister her husband and
their baby. I visited at least 5 different houses with them yesterday, all related to the host family. The house is nicer than I expected,
it´s very clean, and I have my own room, so it´s a pretty good deal. I am already learning a lot of Spanish and my classes don´t even start
until 3 p.m.!
Tomorrow we are thinking of going to the volcano on a tour, and today I am just going to take it easy. Friday is the big kick off for the
world cup, and it´s Costa Rica v. Germany. I am sure Germany will win, but it will be a really fun party here. Everyone gets off of school
and work for it.
The Internet here is sort of sketchy, so I may not be able to update as much as I hoped, but I will try to when I can. I was hoping to upload
some pictures, but I will probably have to wait until I am in San Jose in a couple of weeks. The internet is working better now, earlier in
the day when less people are here, so I will try to keep in touch this way, but if I don´t respond to your emails, please don´t worry, it
just means I couldn´t get through. The town is very safe, and everyone wants to welcome new people here. As soon as we got off the bus,
several kids in the central park yelled ¨hello!¨to us. It was very cute. They all want to show off their English, which is a mandatory
part of school here now.
is here and we are in Orosi it is a million times better. It rains a lot, but it is so much cooler than it is in Baltimore that I don´t
really care. It just rains in the evening every day, so it is not too much of a problem.
Yesterday Courtney and I went with a big group up to a waterfall with this crazy local guy named Nano (at one point he put on a plastic cape
and yelled ¨Super Nano!¨), he was so funny. The group is here teaching English, there are so many of them but I think they will only be here
for a few more days. I much prefer meeting independent travellers than big groups, but they are all pretty nice. We´ve also befriended a
couple in the hostel, one of whom is starting law school to do public interest work just like me. So that´s pretty cool. The town is so
beautiful, and we got a great view from the mountains on the hike yesterday. I am a bit exhausted from the hike, which was all morning
and involved some muddy parts, during which I was grateful for my boots.
My host family is really nice, I spent my first night with them last night. There is a divorced mom, who speaks only Spanish and is very
patient with me. She seems to get the vegetarian thing, which is also a big relief. When I told the kids that I hadn´t eaten meat for about
6 or 7 years, it was funny to see their jaws drop. She has two sons, a younger one who must be in 2nd or 3rd grade and an older boy who is
about 20 and is gay and is super bored with Orosi and wants to live in London. The older son speaks nearly perfect English, and I am trying
to help him with his job. He has to be able to pronounce a bunch of words for a dental insurance call center for MetLife. It is weird and
difficult to explain American insurance.
Their whole extended family lives on the same block practically, the grandparents, 2 mentally challenged aunts and a sister her husband and
their baby. I visited at least 5 different houses with them yesterday, all related to the host family. The house is nicer than I expected,
it´s very clean, and I have my own room, so it´s a pretty good deal. I am already learning a lot of Spanish and my classes don´t even start
until 3 p.m.!
Tomorrow we are thinking of going to the volcano on a tour, and today I am just going to take it easy. Friday is the big kick off for the
world cup, and it´s Costa Rica v. Germany. I am sure Germany will win, but it will be a really fun party here. Everyone gets off of school
and work for it.
The Internet here is sort of sketchy, so I may not be able to update as much as I hoped, but I will try to when I can. I was hoping to upload
some pictures, but I will probably have to wait until I am in San Jose in a couple of weeks. The internet is working better now, earlier in
the day when less people are here, so I will try to keep in touch this way, but if I don´t respond to your emails, please don´t worry, it
just means I couldn´t get through. The town is very safe, and everyone wants to welcome new people here. As soon as we got off the bus,
several kids in the central park yelled ¨hello!¨to us. It was very cute. They all want to show off their English, which is a mandatory
part of school here now.