Costa Rica, me encanta (más y más)

Just when I think things here are already so stellar, they get even better. I am LOVING pretty much everything about my time here. For one, I’m really starting to feel a part of my class at the CEC, rather than just some new outsider- I’ll get more into my time there later (I’ve got to save it for the end/maybe another post, or else I’ll never talk about anything else…). So before that, some highlights from the past twoish weeks:

• I got to Skype with my whole family two weekends ago! Though it was sad to be the one so far away, it was great to be able to catch up with everyone all at once and feel almost like I was right there with them. Also, it was a happy feeling to know that, while I wish I could have transported myself to Connecticut to be with them more than anything, I wasn’t totally homesick afterwards, rather just really happy to have such an incredible family.
• I had my first ever banana split (fresh Costa Rican banana + local Monteverde ice cream = how am I going to prevent myself from getting one of these every day??)
• It’s mango season and this one farmer at the feria sells the best mangos I have ever, ever eaten. Basically, anything to do with fruit here is INCREDIBLE.
•  All of the interns went on a horseback-riding trip together last weekend. It was one of the most beautiful days I’ve had (Monteverde continues to blow me away with its mountains- forested and country-, startling greenness, electric blue skies, and cottony clouds that move faster than any I’ve seen before). The whole experience is kind of dream like, actually, and that’s how it felt as it was happening too. It was the most blue and clear day and we went on a fortyish minute ride through this family’s land to a hidden river, where we got to swim for a few hours in the fresh spring water. After, we rode our horses back to their house, where the family had made corn bread and juice for us. 
• Last Sunday, my abuela got a new washing machine, which was exciting for her. What was exciting for my two sisters and me is that it came in a GIANT cardboard box, which we commandeered for the night (and I guess eternally). We spent the night playing games inside this box like it was a fort, and then we actually made it into a fort by decorating the inside with drawings of trees and mountains. It was such a simple thing, but such a blast and, since that night, I feel like Alejandra and Angelica are actually my sisters- playing pretend and all these crazy kid games somehow brought us so much closer together! Also, as a funny side note, I spent all of Sunday babysitting my sisters while Dixia and Geovanny were at a party, and that included me walking them into town to get ice cream and helping them clean up the house. That night, after Dixia and I had made dinner and cleaned up, she told me that she officially deems me ready to have kids because I’m such a “motherly person.” I assured her I will be waiting many years before even thinking about that, haha but it’s good to know I have the okay of this woman I so admire (especially as a mother). 
• It’s a Leap Year!! Which was really fun in second grade. I made up a whole ton of themed activities to do for the day, like lily pad math, where my class literally jumped like frogs from lily pad to lily pad to solve the math problems written on them. We also wrote about what life might be like in one/two/five/ten/thirty leap years (watch out, there are flying cars, robot houses coming up, and a whole slew of new rock stars and singers coming up…). Then, we made frogs out of paper bags. I will probably be saying this over and over, but it’s incredible to be at a school where there is enough flexibility to be able to dedicate entire days to celebrations like this, with no pressures or worries of falling behind schedule or deviating from the curriculum. 
• Since the sun sets here like clockwork at six, I get to walk into the sunset every night on my way home from school. 
• I went back to the waterfall in San Luis with a bunch of the other interns this weekend. It was a beautiful hike there and it was great to spend time with the interns, since we don’t see much of each other during the week. After the tiring but beautiful-so-you-can’t-help-but-smiling-and-feeling-at-ease hike, we hung out by the waterfall for a few hours, eating our lunches, swimming, and just talking. To make the already fantastic day even better, Lisa suggested we go to Sabores, one of the ice cream shops in town. With no plans to do anything that afternoon and a strong love for ice cream, I decided to go along. As Lisa, Amanda, and I were ordering, the owner/manager (?) of the shop came over to us with two giant plates- chocolate and vanilla Belgian waffles with ice cream. She had just been taking pictures of the newest addition to their menu to make some posters… could we maybe help her out? She didn’t want to throw them out, and she also wanted to know how the waffles were because they aren’t exactly a common Costa Rican food. Amanda had already ordered a cinnamon bun literally the size of my whole hand, but of course we couldn’t refuse! We spent the next hour in a giddy high, both from sugar and disbelief about our luck to be there in time to get free waffles and ice cream!
• Sundays, which used to be my least favorite day of the week because they’re so slow and I often just got really bored and lonely, are getting better and better as time goes on. This Sunday, I spent the whole morning lying outside with Alejandra watching butterflies hatch, which is such a stunning thing to see. We also played hide and seek, Frisbee, and catch with water balloons and made friendship bracelets (finally used what you sent me, Mom!). Being a big sister is fun, but it takes up so much energy (haha Jen, how did you do it with me??)! But, it’s a good thing we did so many things because the rest of the day was pretty much spent eating (which, I’ve realized, is what happens on Sundays here). We had a kind of cookout for lunch, with veggie kabobs, tortillas, beets, plantains, and salad, all cooked in the outdoor kitchen. It felt so much like a summer family holiday day; it was a ton of fun to just hang around and talk and joke with Dixia and my sisters. Then, for an afternoon snack, Dixia made arroz con leche. THEN for dinner we made sushi and tempura, Costa Rican style. It was typical veggie sushi, with carrots, cucumber, and avocado… wrapped in cooked plantains, dipped in tempura batter, and fried. Dixia used to work in this sushi restaurant that is in Santa Elena, so she’s got all sorts of tricks up her sleeve. Not only was it a blast to cook this with her, but it was DELICIOUS too!
• To balance out all the eating that has been happening, running became a lot more fun when I realized that I can go on school grounds in the afternoon, rather than on the rocky, dusty roads near my house. Running in over 100 acres of a private cloud forest reserve is pretty spectacular…
• Beverly has been out sick all week so far, and will be for the rest of the week. So, I have been thrown intot the full role of a teacher. It's definitely been a struggle, but I think a really, really good thing. More on
  

As is probably evident in my excessive use of the words beautiful, amazing, so, very, and happy and the fact that I end every post with a similar sentiment: I’m just falling more in love with Monteverde the more time I spend here. I repeat these things because they’re true! Also, it seems like my ability to form eloquent sentences in English is declining, and I haven’t quite reached the point of eloquence in Spanish yet, meaning I’m sometimes a little stuck haha. So: I’m just so very happy to be in this beautiful, amazing place. I sometimes still wake up for look around as I’m walking and feel myself questioning whether or not this is just a dream. I can’t shake my feelings of luck and good fortune, mostly thanks to all who have helped me get to this point.

Sending love to you everyone! Especially to the Ryan/Colonnese/Nazzaro clan <3 As much as I love it here, I wish right now that I could be with you guys. I hope you can feel me hugging you and sending all my loving and positive thoughts in your ways as you read this.