Tyeing Loose Ends

I have finally found a computer!!!  I have about three more posts already written to add, but those will come the next time I find a computer, which hopefully will be soon, because this time it has been almost two monthes...  I figured you all should have enough to read for now though.

I feel like lately there have been a lot of little things happening, so this post is going to be about all of them that don't exactly make the cut for their own post.  I have been going to school, though between senior exams and teacher meetings, we have had a lot of days off, like all of last week off and most of this week as well...

Halloween is slowly creeping closer, and as it does, I find myself missing home far more then I expected.  I didn't think that I would even notice that Halloween was coming up, rather that it would pass without a second thought, but that assumption has proved to be far off the marker.  Even though Halloween isn't really celebrated here the way it is in the US, there is definitely a very strong American influence.  In the tourist towns there are Halloween parties, a lot of the television is American so we get the Halloween movie marathons, and advertisements are all Halloween themed.  I guess I just didn't expect this time of year to be so hard. 

Two Fridays ago we were supposed to have midterms in chem and psychology, but instead my section rented a van and went to the mall in San Jose!  It's not what your thinking though, there was an educational aspect to the field trip.  Inside the mall there was a temporary museum exhibit called “Our Body and the universe within,” and it was exactly what the name implies.  We spent about half an hour there, learning about different systems, and then were free to explore the mall for the next like four hours.  The exhibit was actually mostly just text, but I was surprised to find that I can now understand everything I read in Spanish without having to exhort and extraordinary amount of effort!

 The mall is in a “town” called Escazu, and is either a part of San Jose or else right outside, though it looks like it belongs right out side of Miami of Las Angeles.  Its composed of a brand new mall, fancy hotels, and expensive houses.  Most of the stores were American, including a North Face, which made me super happy, but definitely a little home sick.  There was also a cart selling the nuts they sell at the creek fest, but they weren't nearly as good here. 

When I got here, I didn't think it was really all that different then back home and didn't expect to that I would really end up with any kind of culture shock coming back home, but just spending a day back in an environment closer to back home, made me realize that that certainty wont be the case.  The mall had to have been smaller then Flatiron, and yet this felt like a completely different world than I had ever experienced before.  I watched as my classmates gawked in wonder at the escalators and elevators, things that I would never have given a second thought to back home.

I went surfing not once, but twice this week!  The first day I went to Tamarindo with three other German kids that live “near” me.  We paid $10 and rented boards for the entire day.  It would have been a perfect day, except that I definitely don't understand German.  The three Germans spent the entire day speaking in German and I had never had any idea what was going on.  It was extremly frustrating and made for a rather lonely day that I don't think I will do again.  The surfing was amazing though, and I after only one day I could already understand the surf bums that just spend all of their time surfing.  It was definitely harder then I expected, and by the end my legs felt like it was the first day of ski season.  Its kinda like back country skiing in an area that you don't really know; you put an exorbitant amount of energy hiking out, and you may find an incredible stash and have the best run of your life, or there might not be anything there.  The rush of catching one is definitely worth the effort though!

The second time, I went with my brother and his friend to a beach called Playa Grande for just a couple hours.  We left at four in the morning, but it was 100% worth it.  Playa Grande is one of the many beaches that are protected here, so it lacks the monstrosity of condos and overpriced all-inclusives that seem to be sprouting up right and left.  Its a beautiful white sand beach that stretches as far as the eye can see, and with big waves and perfect brakes, it is a surfers dream.  Watching the sunrise is always beautiful, but there is something magical about watching it from the ocean as it rises over the horizon.  It was so peaceful.  Im still not a huge fan of getting pounded by waves though, and while I love the warmth of the beach, I think if I had to choose between ski bum and surf bum, I'd choose skiing.