Last quick trip to the beach.
Dustin's sister and a friend came down for a few days... so we went ot Playa Tiveves in Puntarenas (the fact that this was the only province I had not yet visited was a big reason that I decided to go). Dustin's host parents have a house out there, so it was super cheap, and super fun. The novio came with, and it was actually a really fun mix of gringos and ticos and bad Spanish and bad English =) We went swimming and made a camp fire, and just relaxed. It was really hot... which is good. I am training for coming back to AZ!
Costa Rica vs Mexico en el Azteca... tear
Interesting fact: Costa Ricans HATE Mexico, or at least when it come to soccer. I get a lot of crap for loving Mexico so much as a country, so when Costa Rica played against Mex last week, I kept my mouth shut =). I decked myslef out in the national colors (my whole life, I have never had to buy new clothes to be patriotic or have school spirit; Benson High School colors- red and blue. University of Arizona colors- red and blue. USA colors- red, white, blue. Costa Rica's flag- red white and blue)! We went to the local bar to watc hteh game on a screen they had set up... and emotions were high. Apparently, Costa Rica is the only team that has ever beat Mexico in their own stadium... 4 years ago. So now, they really wanted a repeat. However, that was not meant to be... and we lost. Here are some pictures... happy ones from before the gaem, sad ones form after.
Kindergarden
One of my coworkers at the school has a mom who teaches kindergarden in Cartago. They have English class once a week, and she asked me to come and do a lesson with the kids so they can be exposed to a native speaker. They were super cute! We learned all about the color GREEN... frogs, and grass, and trees. I had a good time.
Saying Goodbyes
A week ago, all I could think about was how excited I am to see everyone back home. I was sure that saying goodbye to the community wouldn't be too painful... because i have so much ot look forward to in AZ. I was wrong. This week has been a string of despedidas (going away parties), and it has been rough. Note: my first surprise party of my life was in June when my friends threw me a going away party in Tucson (which rocked, by the way). Since then, I have, like, quadrupled the number of surprise parties! Costa Ricans love surprise parties! I don't get it.
It started when my 6th graders threw me a surprise going away party last Wednesday. They were adorable! Of course, I suspected... but I just loved it. They made a cake and put up decorations and even had a piñata. I got pretty choked up when i was saying goodbye- I am so proud of them.
Then, my coworkers in the Habitat office got me ANOTHER cake, and also some really cool Costa Rican jewelry. That was also a nice opportunity to say goodbye to the friends I made in the office.
Next, I went to what I was told was going to be a "meeting of Santa Rosa's Development Association" at 7 pm on Saturday night. I had my doubts about the "meeting" and it turned out that it was another suprise thank you dinner, this time with the governing board of the Association (with whom I have been working on a few projects). It was really nice, and we laughed a lot.
On Sunday I went to Palm Sunday Mass. There was a procession of little kids dressed up like angles and disciples, and it was cute. It was a gorgeous sunny day, so like 10 of my friends and surrogate family members went to play frisbee in the soccer plaza (I have introduced a new sport... and they're not bad). My team won. Carita told me that we were going to go over to Rene's house that night to hang out (somethign we do pretty often.. watching TV and such). Well, we arrive at 6:30, and there is a bunch of food and a bunch of our friends, plus my host family. What do you know, another suprise party! However, this tim
e I really didn't suspect anything. I looked like a total hobo... without makeup or anything. I was a little embarrassed, but touched. Well, we had a barbeque, and then Nelson brought out his guitar and everyone satrted singing songs about departures and friendship and missing people. Well, that was just too much... I hadn't cried up until this point, but I was a total
llorona. It was sooo nice. In the States, we avoid crying whenever possible. Here, they organize events with crying as the main objective. I kind of like it, though. I actually felt a lot better after a good cry.
knew that I was going to miss this town and the people, I just don't think I realized to what extent. God totally ansered my prayers: my biggest fear about coming here was that I would be lonely- totally not a problem I ever encountered. I have made a whole new group of best friends, plus a love interest that is also going to sting with my departure. I have literally been excepted as a member of the family, and I am really going to miss them. I tell everyone that I am going ot come back and visit, I just don't know when.
To donate to the "Mikey needs to go back and visit her Costa Rican Family Fund", send checks to Benson, Arizona =).
I'll try and write another blog once I get back to Tucson, capping off the last few days here, plus my homecoming.
