Being in a new city is a strange thing. With the exception of my walk to the university, the grocery store, and the basketball courts that we play futbol on, I really don't know how to get anywhere. Whenever I "venture out," I take a taxi and I magically appear at whatever I told the taxi driver. I wonder if that will ever not work. But none the less, it is quite a surreal feeling getting into a daily rhythm in a place you don't know. You notice all the cars that pass you as your walking to class and quickly remember that this is a real city with people that are late for work, people who are exhausted, and people who are singing spanish songs at the top of their lungs. It makes one realize how small they are in comparison to a bustling city.
I've almost been here two weeks now. People are not lying when they say summer is the rainy season in Costa Rica. Almost everyday, with the exception of maybe two, there has been copious amounts of rain. The mornings are usually sunny, but like clockwork once it hits about 12:30 or 1:00 the floodgates open. The first two weeks have been great. I have loved the feeling of being sort of unplugged from everything (ironic that I say that as I am typing a blog). Not having a cell phone is quite a nice change from normal life.
This is my house.
This is my host family and my housemates. It was Juan Carlos and Gley's 20th anniversary so all of us guys decided such occasions call for a cake (or queque depending on language preference. )
Bungee jumping has always seemed absolutely ridiculous to me, so when I heard we could go I quickly signed up.... to go watch. And watch I did. Every once in a while I regret I didn't do it but then I look at the following pictures and quickly forget such regrets.
Mark, Me, Lance, and Dan before they jump.
Clearly Dan is not too stoked he signed up for this.
This is about the time that bungee jump staff guy tells Dan this was his first day working there. We're still not sure if he was joking.
Just in case you still thought it didn't look that high.
After getting back from tropical bungee, we packed up our stuff for the first weekend excursion. We were going to Playa Tamarindo, a beautiful beach with a super nice resort. After a 5 hour bus ride that turned into a 6 hour bus ride because of traffic we arrived.
Guacamole + Steak.
Saturday we had a free day to either go on optional tours or just hangout around the beach. Most people with our program went on a catamaran ride for the day, but I opted for a massage on the beach (rough decision, I know). Since, I had never had a professional massage before I didn't really know what to expect. Conveniently, the hotel we were staying at had massage tables right out on the hotel beach. So there I was, laying on a table right in front of the ocean getting a massage by a Costa Rican who didn't speak any english, as tourists walked the beach right in front of me- kind of awkward but after like 5 minutes I got used to it. (see picture below, you can see the massage tables if you look close enough).
After my massage, I did something I do often:
wandered around aimlessly and took pictures of things.
Until next time.
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