Mi Casa Hostel San Jose

... not the one that I normally go to. It was really different. I should have been alarmed when I realized that I was the only person in workout clothes. Every other woman had on tight jeans and flat shoes…one lady even had on Debbie Allen “Fame” leggings and heels. The men were casual and one guy even had on white loafers. I did not let it bother me…at first. Then we got into dancing. I could roll for a minute

Los Brazos… ...

... just 30 min! =D  After break we spent about 20 min reviewing commands and then we spent the next hour having class outside.  

After class I came home and took a nap.  At 2 I left for the ISA office because we were having one last 'cultural event' and we (with Priscilla-the San Jose director) made arroz con pollo and tres leches (yum!).  Both were very very good (and yes, she printed out the recipes for us) so we'll (yes, 'we' not 'me/I') have to ...

We zijn net aangekomen in San Jose, de hoofdstad van Costa Rica, en hebben een hotelletje geboekt voor twee nachten in een gure buurt.....kon even niet anders want het is het enige hotel wat in de buurt zit van het hotel van Jan en Margreet. Als het goed is komen die vanavond rond de klok van 23.00 aan op het internationale vliegveld....en we gaan ze ophalen straks. Eerst nog even wat eten en douchen...is nodig want we plakken aan ...

... were 2 rooms, 4 girls were in my room and the others had the other room (the 3 boys slept at another lodge but the TAs and my professor and family stayed at our lodge). We had a nice porch and the beds were clean and bug free (to start, at least – we were out in the middle of a warm climate, we couldn’t avoid the bugs). It started to rain, of course, so we did some art projects with natural materials at the lodge. We painted on paper made from banana ...

Under the volcano ....there is a city. The city of Cartago. First capital of CR. We are here to visit the Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles, the basilic made in honour of the holy 'patrone' of CE "La Negrita" or The Black Madonna.There's a legend that sais that a young woman found this statue somewhere in the forest in 1635. Because tit was so dark, it was called the Negrita. A priest took her  to the church but the statue dissapeared. Twice.They ...

... switched to that wonderfully catchy Latin beat. (as if to tell the assemblage - "We fooled you - this really is fun!") We don't remember the second group, except that after the twelfth, repetitive verse, of something we decided to find some ice cream. (Indoors and seated, we wouldn't have dared). The third group - of university students - sang and danced with high energy, again beginning slowly with traditional Advent music and ending with hip shaking ...

... Even though our language is not the same we spoke the same language at that moment. This morning I gave both Federico and Vicky the poem "I said a Prayer For You Today." On the back of Federico's I thanked him. Without him this trip would not be the same. I thanked him for being my superman - saving me from the dogs. I think he appreciated it. We took our bags and we were on our way. Ok still many dogs to pass and my bag to drag through the dirt ...

... roof of the butterfly garden, the hillsides studded with shrubbery, and even a few hawks circling in low thermals, I had a morbid thought: this is how I want to die. Not by falling; I wouldn't want to spend my last moments in fear and pain. I'd just want to be soaring through the air, with the sun on my face and the most beautiful countryside on earth below me, and close my eyes ...

... excitement started to build. We could not believe the trip was finally here after all the planning. And that was when the pilot came on and told us the maintenance crew was on their way with the part we needed. We collectively looked at our watches attempting to determine how much of the scheduled lay over was still left and if we would make the next plane. The good news was we were in row 8 and could dash off the plane, but ...