Being alone; it can be quite romantic.

Where to begin? I spent my last night in Pochote with two French girls I met. They live in Pochote but I did not meet them until my last day! ¡Qué lástima! Using counterfeit wristbands, we snuck into the all-inclusive resort nearby for free drinks and dancing! We danced like crazy people.

I really had to get out of Pochote, though. So, I left Pochote, absolutely sure that my rash was caused by all too much exposure to the four dogs combined with the excessive heat. I could not WAIT to get to my new house where I could fully recover. En route from Pochote to San Jose, I truly embraced every aspect of the trip. If I were with anyone else, I wouldn't have been able to fully absorb all of the beauty of the ferry ride or just the beauty of being alone, listening to my own music, looking like a total creep taking pictures of my stuffed animals (ha!). I got into the bus station and I found myself my own cab, negotiated with a cab driver in Spanish so that he wouldn't think I was just a dumb tourist and charge me too much, and I safely arrived at my new host family. (Taking a cab by yourself is SO SCARY THOUGH! I knew that I needed to find an official San Jose taxi and do my best to look self-assured and not too obviously a tourist but after all is said and done I still needed to trust that he wasn't going to abduct me! Terrifying.) I gave him a big tip because, por dicha, he did not in any way abuse his power as a taxi driver. But upon arrival to my new house, I was first greeted by an Alaskan Malamute that is bigger than me and is the fuzziest of fuzzy dogs. AND I TOLD THE SCHOOL I WAS ALLERGIC TO DOGS! Oh well, one more week of suffering and I will be out of there.

My new host Mom, María, is really chill- not as over-bearing as my last host Mom, Cecilia, but in turn not as warm. The house is way more modern than Cecilia and Carlos' and they have Diet Coke with dinner and Splenda for coffee (which I think is SO GROSS now and I'm only going to use real sugar from now on) and they watch TV with the meals. I eat breakfast with María and her adult daughter, Marcela, while watching the morning news. María eats a little dinner with me but neither her husband nor Marcela eat dinner with us. I think that is just the custom here. I also think that Maria and her husband hate each other but are too religious to get divorced. I don't even know his name... He has begrudingly said a total of three words to me "Hola" and "Buenas noches." He makes me really miss my former host Dad, Carlos, who was such a sweetheart. (By some strange coincidence I ran into Tanya, my former host sister, yesterday so we decided to pop by and say hi to Cecilia and Carlos! They are sweet as ever but I'm actually really glad I got a chance to experience a different Costa Rican household.)

Maria, though, thinks I am really dumb. She thinks I don't know any Spanish even though all of my responses to her are in relatively good Spanish. She uses grand hand gestures and speaks really slowly- sometimes she even uses English words! Come on! Day by day, though, we are becoming a little more attached to each other. She is such a genuine, caring person, it just took me a view days to see that side of her.

I took classes at the Costa Rican Language Academy all week, instead of starting a new volunteer project. Five hours of conversation a day is the best thing I could have done to round out my trip and improve my Spanish. There is one know-it-all in my class, though, and I'm gonna sock him. He tries to prove to us how worldly he is all the time and I think he has some affliction where it is physically impossible for him to say "Estados Unidos". When referring to the United States, the ONLY term he uses is "Gringolandia" .....as my fist gets closer to his face.....

I met back up with Simon and Cornelia in San Jos! We went to the movies together (Wolfman!) and I took the bus in the evening by myself like a real city girl. I was so proud of myself that when I arrived at the mall where the movie theatre is, I bought myself an ice cream.

I only have to wait one more day until Jimmy comes! And then I have just about one week left in Costa Rica. (More of a three-month adventure instead of a six-month adventure) I'm trying to soak it all while I can- mostly by gobbling up all the fresh fruits I see!

Man, I gotta rash.

It is SO HARD to put these pictures in order so I'm not even going to try!

Me in my NEW family in San Jose- Carlos and Cecilia didn't have room for me! ¡Qué lástima! My face is sooo much better now.

Sapo grande in Pochote. ¡Me asusté mucho!

Rest stop on the bus ride from Pochote to San Jose. Pretty cool, no?

The sun was setting as I was taking the ferry on my way back to San Jose... It was so beautiful I almost cried.

The relationship between Sangeeta and Edvaard is flourishing.
They even shared a Titanic moment together.

Me, enjoying my music, the breeze and the beautiful sunset during the ferry ride.

Last day in Pochote with Edvaard and Sangeeta!!

At the school. Twins Mikel y Juaf.

New friends Simon and Cornelia!

Amor de mi vida, Tango.

Bunny ears behind someone's head never gets old.

Turn away if you're squeamish! That is a sideways picture of my right leg. (Or left... no, right.) This wasn't even the worst of it.

¡Vea! ¡Ay yi yi como me duele! It has gotten mucho mejor, as you can see by the first picture.

March, already??

Sorry for the lack of updates! The internet is expensive here and I am lazy.

Due to lack of funds, the restaurant has still not opened. Por eso, I have been spending my time working at the three-classroom community school. The semester started last month and the students had to take diagnostic exams. I have spent the last few weeks grading and organizing los examenes de ciencias, estudios sociales, español y matemáticas. I also had to proctor some of the exams and make sure the kids sat in their seats and didn't copy off each other! If I can play teacher in a Spanish-speaking classroom, I think I will be able to teach Spanish in the U.S. just fine.

Unfortunately, something in the environment here has been setting off my allergies for the past several weeks and it is just unbearable. Maybe it is all of my new four-legged friends Cha-Cha, Luna, Tango and Shakira but it is causing my skin to flare up in red bumps and upraised rashes. The other day my face swelled up so bad that I could hardly move it and I couldn't feel it. I decided that this was my tipping point- I sucked it up and went to the clínica. My tica amiga Jenny (who lives and works at the music school where I am staying) took me to the clinic and graciously waited with me the whole time. I was so proud, though, because I told her I did not need her help translating and I did it all by myself! I figured out the insurance, the payment, the prescriptions and I described my symptoms to the doctor! They gave me an injection, some Prednisone, some Hydrocortisone and Rose creme. I cleared up after a day! I felt like a new person! My skin was normal! My eyes were open all the way! I hadn't felt this good in months! It only lasted a week. I am back to being miserable so I decided I need to leave Pochote early. I will return to the warmth and comfort of Cecilia and Carlos' home in San Jose as soon as all the arrangements are made.

Some observations... You know you aren't in Suburbia when:
-You see a gigantic lady with her midriff showing chopping down a bunch of bananas with a machete.
-Your dog follows you to class and sits with you the whole day and no one bats an eye. (I never knew I would appreciate a dog's companionship so much as I do now. Tango is my buddy.)
-While walking through town you see a lady harvesting some strange fruit off her tree with a harvesting implemented made of a cut gallon-bottle fashioned to a broomstick.
-Students call the teacher by her first name, or just call her Mamí or Mamá.
-The head teacher is also the principal, the secretary, the counselor, the janitor, the curriculum designer, and the recess supervisor.
-Tiny little kids can wield gigantic knives at school to cut up their fruit.
-The lunch room consists of a two tables with a couple of benchs and one lady serving homemade food from two big pots on the stove and then cleaning all the dishes herself.
-Tang is served with the school lunch out of a giant bucket that has a "Corrosivo" sign on it.
-Somehow you and your friend end up having a jam session with nature-instruments with some crazy 70-year-old Coloradan and as he hands you a sturdy bamboo shoot with a stick he exclaims "This thing is a fucking gas to play!"
-You hike a trail to a hidden beach and howling monkeys surround you and start making so much noise that you almost pee your pants.
-A puffer fish and a pelican were the last two dead animals you saw.
-You watch the sunset while jogging on the beach with your favorite perros.

Newest plan: Stay in San Jose for a couple weeks, working on social projects there, then travel with Jimmy for a week!!! Yayyyyyyyyyy