Last Day in Atlanta-Smyrna and Pool

The Cavallaro family likes to explore potential neighborhoods to move to on the weekends. Todays trip was to a town called Smyrna. It was just a little outside of Atlanta. I guess the routine is check out the park, the library, the downtown and some house on both sides of town. We started at a glorious park. It was shady and nice an big. There was a historic house that was quite nice. It also gave the park nice air conditioned bathrooms especially good for new potty goers! After the park we went to the library which was nice but had a funny smell. The downtown was cute and would be our lunch destination. The houses were all very big and nice, however, there was not much grass at all. For lunch we had ribs and Shane's Shack. On the way back we missed a ramp and ended up on downtown Atlanta for a brief moment. We contemplated going to Underground Atlanta but we had a crabby one with us. We would go after nap. But after nap we did not go to the city. Instead we went to the pool. The swim club is nice! I used the whirlpool and sauna at the end. Did you know people love to be naked in the whirlpool? It did not make me all that comfortable so I didn't stay long!
Now there is lots to be packed up. We are all heading out tomorrow. David is off to Minnesota a day early to hang with friends and Julie and Leah are coming back with me. The girls will be stopping at the outlet malls on the way back.
So long Atlanta...it's looking like I'll be back sooner rather than later.

Day 4 Atlanta-Decatur to Gelato

Well it was a bit of a rough night sleeping for all of us so we got a super late start on our outing. That's okay! We still fit it all in. First stop was the Decatur Park and Library. Leah was the official tour guide in big girl underwear all day! She showed me the swings first then we slid and went round and round on a spinning thing.
It was much too hot so it was a short trip. Next stop was the library for a bathroom break and then to a children's boutique called Wiggles. Leah left with a new dress in my favorite color. For lunch we ate at the Raging Burrito. It was a bit spicy but I enjoyed my pineapple salsa jerk chicken burrito on a spinach tortilla.
After nap we got ready for the pool but did not look outside. (You have to keep the blinds closed to keep the heat out.) Once we were ready to go a big storm blew in. Instead of going to the pool we played in the rain. It turned out for the best because the pool ended up being closed for a shock treatment. We did play in the sand while Julie went to the grocery store.
Back at home David arrived and we had dinner. For dessert we went for Gelato. Leah wore her new Jelly Shoes from me. They are from Brazil but I bought them in Costa Rica.
It was a tasty treat. You can tell from Leah's face. Dave enjoyed getting a bocce ball too! It was a a giant meatball covered with dough.

The World of Coke and Centennial Olympic Park

Day three in Atlanta and it was time for me to learn more about my favorite beverage! We were off to the World of Coke. First stop was the lobby where there were coke bottles created by artists to represent different countries. Next stop was a Coca-cola decorated waiting room. Having a stroller gets you in first so I liked that. Here we learned about the advertisements and the oldest Coca-cola tschosky which was a bowl/urn thing. We also learned why coke was sold in six packs. It was the typical size of a family back then. One for mom, dad, the two-three kids, and the mother-in-law. You've got to keep her happy they said. After that demo we were ushered into a theater where we saw an expanded superbowl commercial. Leah enjoyed it because it was a cartoon. Out of the theater and into the main part of the museum. Our first stop was with the Coke Polar Bear. Leah only liked him from a distance. In fact she loved him from a distance! Then we learned how coke is bottled and saw the plant in action. There was a whole gallery of coke inspired art. We also saw a 4-D movie. The chair moves! It was about a professor trying to find the recipe for coke. At some point we got wet and a bee was flying around and stung us in the back. It really hurt! Leah liked the movie for the most part but she had to sit on Julie's lap. The last stop was the tasting room. The ambassadors (museum docents) told us to try Beverly. It was like tonic water and bubblegum, definitely not my favorite. There were many fruit flavors! Leah liked most of them too. The final room is just classic coke which was good to wash out some of the yucky flavors. As we left we got our free coke bottles and hit the gift shop. Leah has an extreme fascination with lip gloss so guess what I bought her...coke flavored chapstick.
Next stop was Centennial Park. It was blazing hot and we had such a short walk but we were drenched with sweat by the time we got there. Leah was dressed and ready to play in the Olympic rings along with a bazillion other kids. It was so hot the news was out and the thermometer they had was reading 120! Leah made it on the noon news in the background.
We walked back through the sweltering heat and went home for lunch and nap time. After nap we went to the mall. It was a nice one! I bought a shirt from Anthropologie. That was Day 3 in Atlanta!

Stone Mountain-Atlanta Day 2

My first excursion in Atlanta was not actually in Atlanta. Julie, Leah, and I took a short trip to Stone Mountain. It is about 10 miles east of Atlanta. We had googled information and knew we had to find a Kroger to get discount tickets. We decided to chance finding a Kroger along the way. Lucky for us we found a Kroger and saved 2 bucks! Luck was on our side all day. We got a prime parking spot and walked right into the ropes course area. Who knew that people wait hours to do this. Julie, Leah, and I basically walked right in. Leah did the baby course

From Stone Mountain

From Stone Mountain

From Stone Mountain

while I did the 44 inch and taller course.







It was fun!

After the ropes course we just happened to walk to the little "town" to the glassblower. He just happened to be starting a demonstration.



After we watched him turn a blob into a beautiful vase we headed for the choo choo! Leah was really excited since she has a sudden fascination with trains. Again we basically walked right on to the train with no wait. It was a 30 minute slow ride around the mountain. They have a fake town and you listen to music with the word vacation, summer, or train in it while you chug along.




Next stop was lunch. We packed a picnic but ate inside because it is Hotlanta. After lunch we walked up hill to the gondola. Here we visited a gift store while waiting for the gondola to reopen. It was on lunch break. Leah was excited to find her name on a keychain and mug. She also liked playing with the toys. She wanted a huge sucker but I told her it was sucker tree just for looks. What a sucker! LOL! How long will that work?

The gondola up was hot but quick and then it was hiking time. You can walk on top this large piece of granite. it almost feels like you are on top of a volcano because there are craters. You can hike up or down for 1.3 miles but it was not the right temperature for that. Leah loved hiking. She especially loved the dirt she could find in the craters. It was neat to see the skyline of Atlanta and Buckhead. You'd think it would be cool since you a good ways up but nope it was even hotter since we were closer to the sun!







Back down the gondola we went and then stopped quickly in the museum before having some soft serve ice cream. Then it was time to leave in order for a nap to be taken. We did a lot of stuff but Leah needed her rest so we missed story time, a 4-D movie, duck tour, paddleboats, hiking, fishing, and a few other shops. That will be for next time.


After rest time and dinner we went back to Stone Mountain for its 9:30 Laserlight Show. We had heard it would have a confederate theme to it which it did slightly. You could tell who they were cheering for during the Civil War! The music and lasers were great. There were even a few fireworks in the mix. I highly recommend seeing this show.

Atlanta Day 1-July 6, 2010

The trip to Atlanta was an easy drive. I made a pit stop for gas and food in Gaffney, South Carolina and completed the trip in about 5 1/2 hours. I did notice some outlet malls on the way. I'll be looking into that for future trips.
Here is the Cavallaro Summer Apartment:
Leah's room is absolutely perfect for her and she loves it.
When Leah awoke from her nap we went to the pool, dollar tree, and to get Chinese for dinner. After dinner we made a trip to the grocery store and made plans for the rest of the week that evening.

To the Airport

Hao's mom, Marjory is like a celebrity. She ended up finding me a free ride to the airport. Her cousin was going and he spoke English. They picked me up at about 4:20 a.m. and we were off for one scary drive!
When I got in the car there was his wife and son. His son was dressed in a uniform. When I looked it said Gymnastics. I was so excited. Soon I found out that he was one of three selected to represent Costa Rica in an international competition in El Salvador. How cool! He had been to Switzerland earlier in the year along with his brother. If he did well in this meet he would go to the Pan American games. His dad told me more about his training and technique. The poor boy had a rip on his hand that he hoped would heal in time. I also learned that it was very expensive and that the government didn't help support them.
An hour later and a lot of truck passing in no passing zones we arrived at the airport. Apparently all trucks have to be off the highway from 6-10 for rush hour so there were a ton on the road! I said my goodbyes and gave them stuff to give to Hao like an extra bag, extra food and candy, and my camera. I was off to pay my exit taxes and they were off to find their team.
Later I saw the whole team and was wishing I had my camera. The little girls were super cute.
In the airport I spent the last of my colones and met a nice girl from Canada who had traveled from Panama to Costa Rica. On the plane I sat next to a couple from Virgina beach who lived in Costa Rica. I enjoyed hearing about their lives.
I got to Atlanta right on time only to find out my plane to Raleigh was delayed. Never fear though I made friends with a lady and a man sitting nearby so the time passed quickly!
Now I am home:(
I will work on putting in the pictures and video on Sunday/Monday. For now the weekend is all about Elizabeth! Tonight is her bachelorette party.

My last day of Touring

When school ended I walked with John and Hao and the kids to their house. My last adventure with them was to the coffee factory. My stomachache was also back. I should have taken more syrup but I couldn't even think about the tast. We had an all vegetarian lunch. There was a mustard colored soup made of a vegetable that I forget the name of, rice, beans, a beet salad that tasted like egg salad, avocado, carrots, and another green vegetable that was cooked that John insisted tasted like nothing. The drink was strawberry jello! They drink it before it hardens. It was much too sweet for me. After lunch we waited on Dionel our taxi driver. He was like part of the family now. He was quite late so in the mean time Hao's dad gave me a massage. My headache went right away and my arms felt better. They were hurting from that crazy waterslide. Then he took me to his office where he performed reflexology on my stomach. He put magnets in various places, check to make sure my legs were even and did a lot of pushing on my gut and my arms. It was painful! My stomachache did go away!
Next stop the coffee factory. It was a very interesting tour. This factory supplies Starbucks, Peet's, Caribou, and Green Something. They have won many awards for their coffee. We really liked this place becuase they get their beans from small local farmers. The process to make coffee is intense. So now I know why it is so pricey. Coffee beans must dry for a long time and the beans come in 4 colors. Our tour guide was the taster. He showed us the room which had sinks and spickets like an old school dentist office. He also showed us how he slurps it in and makes this weird whistle noise. It was a cool tour and completely free. Unfortunately we did not get to sample and coffee becuase the season ended in May. It starts again in October. Hao purchased 30 bags of coffee. They were much cheaper than in the states. I left my duffle bag for her to carry it all back.
Then we were off to a small mountain town. Apparently we were passing Abuela's other daughter so we stopped in. From her house we could see the Arenal volcano. On a clear day you can also see the ocean but we couldn't see that. She had many fruit trees in her yard which I thought was cool.
Our next stop was Zarcero. This town is way up high. In fact it was a little chilly. This town is famous for its manicured park in the city center. On the way we got pulled over by the police. I was freaking out because I had read the legal system was quite harsh in Costa Rica. The kids werne't in car seats and we were over capacity. However, it was just a routine check of the taxi driver. When we got to the town we walked the park which was cool. The shrubs were shaped into arches leading to the church and into various animals. Here we saw the police again. They searched a teenager for drugs. I don't think they found anything. The church here was colorful. After that we were off to drive up higher to look down at the town. There were many dairy cows on our way up. It was beautiful and we took some pictures. Then it was back home. On the way back home we stopped at a stand to by the famous cheese of this area. It looked like mozerella but it was really string cheese. It was called something like queso de palmetto or something like that.
Back at home I said my goodbyes and the taxi took me back to my house.
There I took pictures of my family and had dinner. She made chicken tenders, french fries, rice and avocado tomato salad. I packed up all my stuff and showered for my night out.
Tow of the boys from Hao's family walked to get me to take me to the bar. We went out for some Imperials. It was fun to speak Spanglish and relax. At the bar we me an old American who had been coming to San Ramon for 10 years but didn't speak a lick of Spanish. I couldn't understand why he came to such a non touristy place. There must have been a lady at some point! Anyways he bought us all a beer. 2 hours later we were stumbling home. I had to get up in a mere 4 hours.
I had a blast in San Ramon.

My last Day of School

My last day my stomach was killing me. Luckily no tortillas were served for breakfast. Instead she made pancakes. They were sweet like crepes but thick as a pancake and as big as a dinner plate. Fortunately, they did not eat them with syrup. I probably would have barfed since I can hardly bear the smell when I am well. Gustavo ate them with cream cheese and Mama ate them with honey. I tried both but preferred them plain.
Now onto my last day of school. I videoed my entire walk there so you could see the city. I was definitely nervous to do my presentation and I didn't feel well. The school director sensed I wasn't well so she went off to get me some herbal syrup. Meanwhile class started. We were learing future tense! My stomach was hurting and I was so confused that I almost started to cry. Luckily John was with me and cleared up my confusion. Then Daniela arrived with the herbal syrup and cleared up more confusion. I took one giant T-terrible spoonful of the medicine. It was so bitter and disgusting that I almost vomitted in my mouth. However, I felt better about 15 minutes later. Class continued and we reviewed body parts and she only looked at our homework. We didn't even have to say it. I had a few minor mistakes.
Our last lesson was on question words and stems. Our final assignment was to come up with five questions and then go to Costa Rica University and ask some students. There are several universities in Costa Rica. CRU is apparently comparable to Harvard. It is very difficult to get in to. The main campus is in San Jose but there is a branch here in San Ramon. John and I were able to work together. We came up with the usuals like what is your name, major, age. How long until you finish? But our favorites were do you like to drink beer and do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend? Off we went to CRU. First our teacher gave us a tour. It was very similar to colleges here but the classrooms were a little old school. John did all the stopping of people. I was too shy. The first girls we talked to were in the social sciences and were only 19 and both had boyfriends. Our next set of girls were studying psychology and philosophy. They were 20 and both had boyfriend and did not like beer. Our last question asking group was large. Class had just ended and John stopped all of them. There were 12! They were all in IT and were a funny group. Most of them liked beer especially one who must be the partier of the group but the funny thing was none of them had a boyfriend or girlfriend. I guess nerds/geeks are universal! John even said this but he said such a wordy sentence they didn't understand. In Costa Rica if you are nerdy you are called verde. I guess when you get green marks on your paper that is excellent. That was the end of class! We walked back and I paid my bill. I was super sad!

Here is my trip in Spanish

Yo estoy en Costa Rica. Yo vivo con la familia Loria. Ellos son dos hermanos y una hermana. Ellos se llamen: Mario Alberto, Gustavo, y Patricia. Mi mama falsa se llama Maria Teresa. Ella tiene un esposo llamado Mario. Ellos viven detrás de la clínica de ropa.
Yo voy a muchos lugares. Primero yo voy a canopy con los estudiantes de Durham Academy. Nosotros nos columpiamos como Tarzan. Yo grito muy fuerte. ¡Me gusta el canopy!
Después yo voy al trapiche. El turismo va en bus muy despacio. En el trapiche hay muchas abejas! Mi amiga, Hao, la picaron en los pies. Nosotros aprendemos mucho! Nosotros compramos azúcar.
El viernes yo voy primero día de escuela. Me gusta escuela!
En la noche nosotros vamos ala playa Sámara. Yo voy a nadar en el hotel las Brisas. Yo monto a caballo en la playa Sámara. Gabriela, Esteban,y yo saltamos una grande ola! Me gusta el sol.
El domingo voy a mi casa. Nosotros pro vamos el vine de coyol y la pipa.
El día del Padre yo voy a una fiesta. Ellos cantan karaoke. Ellos se di vertieron.
El lunes yo voy a la escuela. En la tarde yo voy a pescar. Yo pesque un pez. Ellos cocinan seis pescados.
Ayer nosotros fuimos a la catarata de las Musas. El agua estaba muy fría. Yo fui al tobogan que era muy rápido. Yo grito muy fuerte!
En la noche nosotros vamos a comprar. Yo compre zapatos para mi sobrina. Estos son transparentes y de plástico.
El miércoles yo camino por San Ramón. Mis vacaciones son muy cortas.
¡Me gusta Costa Rica!

martes

I woke up with a stomachache this morning. I decided eating would be good so I had eggs, cheese, and tortilla. I could harly eat half of it but I didn´t want to be rude so I ate as much as possible.
At school I had the manager which made the class much easier because she speaks English. John is also doubling up on lessons so he stayed the first hour and the third hour with me. Our grammar lesson taught us the future tense which was helpful. Then my listening activity came. I had to listen to a woman and then tell what I understood in as much Spanish as possible. I think I got about 60% correct. Then we went slowly through each paragraph. It was about a woman named Maria from Guatamala. She told me where the country was located and what the flag looked like. She told me her favorite food coco flan and the ingredients to make it. It ended with her telling me what she likes to do. I was proud of myself.
John returned and we learned the parts of the body. We played a game where we had to tape the name on the right body part. I beat John because I had watched Barney on Father´s Day and had learned a few.
After that we were given a picture where we had to write 10 sentences about what was going on. I did fairly well. We are aloud to use a verb list and the dictionary for new vocabulary but we have to conjugate without looking. I am getting good at nouns and verbs but don´t know the little words to make the sentence flow. I did have one funny! I meant to say The man, Miguel, feeds the birds. Instead I said the man EATS the birds. Oops! Danielas my teacher and John had a good laugh.
My last hour was spent practicing a conversation. I had to tell my friend about the similarities and differences of Durham, NC and Costa Rica. My teacher was super interested in my school´s recycled water system. We use rain water to flush the toilets.
At noon I was off to Hao´s family. On my walk home I ran into Gabriela and Esteban, the youngest school aged kids. It turned out that was a good thing because they are not supposed to walk alone. Hao´s mom had everything packed and we were off to the Muses, the name of the park at the waterfall. Gabriela did not clean her room so she could not go so abuela came. It turns out that Gabi came later when her cousin got off work and could take her. It was just a small punishment.
The waterfall was beautiful and it was surrounded by a waterpark. It was not very hot but you know me I had to get in the water. First we explored the waterfall. Since it is the rainy season the pool beneath it was dirty water. You can swim in it but it was much too cold. John and I started to hike around it but chickened out when John´s foot went through the bridge and the rain began.
We had lunch at a covered picnic table. It was a paella like lunch. There was also bread with ham and cheese already in it or bread with beans and cheese in it and of course salad. It was good but my belly wasn´t ready for that. After digesting I put my suit on to go swimming. Gabi arrived and hadn´t gotten out of the water since her arrival. Ha Lien only went for about 5 minutes and Esteban was dying to go down the slide but he can´t swim. So let´s talk about the waterslide. It would not be allowed in the USA. First it went so fast and second the process to get up to it was a law suit waiting to happen. It was fun but I am paying for it now. I am so sore!
After swimming the sun came out. I forgot to mention it was raining most of the time while I was swimming. I did get Hoang Linh to go in too! He loves to be tossed up and down.
We decided to hike. Our first path John slid with Hoang Linh on his back so we immediately turned around. Hao went to ask about the trails after that incident. She found out that there was a five minute trail to a butterfly garden so that is what we did. It was perfect except there were hardly any butterflies.
4 hours later we returned home where I had to prepare a 5 minute presentation for school in all Spanish. I did okay but had help when I wanted to use the past tense.
I will post my presentation next.
I am sad to say I only have one more day.
Oh before I did my homework we went to the mall. We had no luck there so we went to the city center where I bought Leah something.

lunes

Monday started with an early wake up. Everyone is up and moving by 5:30 and I lay in bed until 6:15ish. For breakfast I had a sandwich. It was like a ham and cheese grilled cheese. I was also served a tortilla which I don´t really love because it is so thick and corny! At school I was given a new teacher named Esperanza. She did not speak English so it was a long 3 hours. The first hour was good because John was there to help me. I learned a lot and am sure I missed a lot too! The first hour is always grammar which I am good at because it is rote memory. Next we do a listening activity. I listened to a song and then had to circle the verbs. That was super tough for me to do since they come in so many forms. Next up was numbers. Here in Costa Rica you need to know big numbers. For example 1000 colones=2 bucks. When they say it fast I am hopeless but I got much better after today. We played Bingo which wasn´t all that fun with just me and the teacher but it helped me learn. Snack time goes by so fast because I get to talk to Hao and John. Then it is back to learning. I learned the family members and had to complete a family tree. I found a mistake on the worksheet! The last hour was killer! I was supposed to have an outing but for whatever reason we didn´t go. My brain was killing as we reviewed everything I had learned thus far.

After lunch (leftovers from Father´s day) I walked to Hao´s family. We were planning to go the waterfall since it was a beautiful day. However, plans changed because Hao´s family wanted to go with us. Instead we went to a trout farm. There we fished with rustic fishing gear and caught 6 fish. We could have caught a bunch but each one was about 4 bucks. After we caught the fish we wandered the grounds. The place had a bar and we enjoyed watching some people dance. After our exploration we had the fish cooked. While waiting we danced, played pool, and chased the kids. We had 3 fried and 2 boiled. Of course we had to eat one while it was hot so we did. It came with yucca and pickled plantains in a sauce similar to Texas Pete. We devoured the fish. I got to watch John and Hao eat the head! YUCK!

Back at Hao´s house I got help with my homework. I had to write 10 sentences. I went above and beyond and wrote 11.
By the time I got back to my house it was late so it was a shower and to bed.

feliz padre de día

Back at my host families house they were celebrating Father´s Day! I was fed rice with shrimp and potato chips. Later I found out that you put the rice onto the potato chip. It was good, but I didn´t do it properly. Then I was whisked away to the husband´s brother´s house. Here I was greeted by many people my age who wanted to practice English. It was fun to learn about their family and understand what was going on. Three of the woman in the family were pregnant so there was a lot of talk about the new babies coming. I also saw the others eat the rice with the chips and the dessert was like a birthday cake but for all the dads.
The highlight of the night was when all the old people busted out singing karioke. They had a high tech sound system and a lot of songs on the computer to sing. I enjoyed watching. I have a video of my Mama that I will post when I get back. By the way her name is Maria Teresa!
I was exhausted so I got a ride back from their son and daughter in law. I have no idea what time everyone got home because I was sound asleep. I do know the liquor was flowing.

Day 2 Samara

Day 2 began with sunshine! We had a quick breakfast (the same as yesterday) and hit the beach and pool. Hoang Linh was much more into it so it was fun. I talked to the California family some more and decided not to surf. I probably should have done it on day one to get my moneys worth but I was too chicken. Instead we took a horse ride down the beach. I rode with Ha Lien and Hao had Hoang Linh. We were on the slow horses. John had to ride one of the fiestier horses. We had a great ride down the beach but had to stop because the tide was so high and we felt bad for the horses. They did not like the water much. Let me remind you that Costa Rican animals are skinny! We were feeling bad for these horses. We stopped for a picture. Just wait to you see the ones our guide took. He was like a cowboy from a century ago. He acted like he had never seen a camera before and you can tell by the photos he took. Finally we got him to take a semi decent one. After the photo shoot we turned around and went back the other way. We all were getting better at making the horse do what we wanted. Just as we were approaching the hotel John´s horse decided he was done listening to orders. He took off towards a hotel fence. John was convinced he would jump it but the ancient Costa Rican cowboy rescued him.
The day ended with us in the pool and ocean up to the very last 15 minutes before the taxi arrived at 2 to take us back.
The ride home was better. The car seats were fixed to give more space for us. We made three stops on the way home. One to get homemade wine and coco friel. The wine tasted like fermented cider to me and the coconut milk was iced and slurped right from the husk through a straw. Of course after the beverages we had to make a bathroom stop. Our last stop was at the bridge that connects the Nicoya pennisula to the main land. Apparently Taiwan helped build the bridge because there was a monument saying so. We were told we could see red macaws here but we did not see any which was a bummer.
The last hour was bumper to bumper traffic in the pouring rain. We survived the ride and were back in San Ramon four hours later.

Playa Samara Evening

After a lot of sunshine we took our taxi to Playa Carillo, a beach near Samara. This beach is a bit nicer with more beach houses than hotels. Here you can see the sun drop into the Pacific Ocean, but of course it was too cloudy for that. We did see some nice pink in between the clouds. It was nice to get a tour of the town and to see the house Marjory´s family normally rents even though we were seconds away from a head on collision. Our quick taxi driver saved us! We also found some intereting shells here. John called them unicorn horns. John also found a seed that is called The Bull´s Eye! It was magical. It is a beautiful mix of brown that when you rub on something to create friction gets extremely hot. So hot that I have a blister on my hand. Thanks John! Apparently it is used for hot stone (seed) massages. It certainly was cool minus my burn.
Next up was dinner. We walked to town via the beach and no lights. It was a fun adventure. We decided to go to a Soda, a small food stand instead of a restaurant. There we all had steak, beans, rice, salad, and plantains for five bucks a person. John went next door to get us beer. It hit the spot and then of course it was raining again so we took a taxi back to the hotel for bed.
Every time we come by the German couple next door is on the balcony. The minute they see us they go inside. Good thing we only stayed two nights or they really would have hated us.

Day One at Playa Samara

The next morning we woke up to rain! AHHHHH! You cannot enjoy rain at the beach. We decided to get ready for the beach anyway. Good choice because the rain stopped shortly after breakfast. We stayed a Hotel Las Brisa in case anyone wants to google it. It was very nice and run by a German man. The rates include breakfast. You have 3 choices-American, Typical, or Continental. We wer all starving remember since we had no dinner. The American included eggs (scrambled or fried) and ham. The typical was eggs, rice and beans. And the continental was just fruit. The OJ was good and apparently the coffee was too. After breakfast we walked down the beach to the town. The tide was high so we had to go up and around to avoid being knee deep in water. Just as we were getting to town everything was opening. It couldn´t have been more perfect. We bought swimmies for the kids, flip flops for Ha Lien, and groceries for us and snacks to repay the neighbors. During all this we ran into Marjory and her family. Small town! We decided to meet up later. Getting back to the hotel was not so fun since we bought 40 bucks worth of groceries! We made it and then went directly to the pool and beach. Ha Lien loved the water and Hoang Linh was apprehensive. We played until lunch time. Oh, I forgot to mention we met a family from California who kept us abreast of information. They returned from surfing lessons and tried to convince me to do it. The waves were so big so I was a chicken! Just as we were leaving the pool Ha Lien had a slight mishap. When she gets tired she ignores her mother. He mother told her not to move as she had just taken off her swimmies. Two seconds later Ha Lien was underwater. Never fear Hao was 1 nanosecond away but that sure did scare her. She ate lunch with us (ham and cheese sandwiches) and went right to nap. She knew better!
While the kids were napping John and I went for a walk. John found a lot off hermit crabs and cool seashells. He has a good eye! He thinks he should have been a geologist. When we walked back we ran into Marjory and her family and the taxi driver. It turns out that he shared a cabin with them. There cabin had no air or fans and a crying baby for most of the night! Doesn´t sound like fun to me but they were in heaven. Marjory asked me to watch Estefan. He can´t really swim so for an hour I held his hand and jumped waves (ola grande)! While all this was going on we didn´t realize Hao and the kids were locked in the room. Oops! John went to check on them and found that out. They hadn´t been up for long so it was okay. After that we played on the beach since our visitors were not allowed in the pool. Mean German man! There was nobody in it! (rainy season) We played until it was almost sunset. At sunset we were off to another town to watch the sun drop into the ocean.

To the beach

On Friday I took a taxi from my family to Hao´s family because it was pouring down rain around 2 o´clock. It was a silent ride but less than a buck. Hao´s mom, Majory is a negiotiater and found us a taxi driver to take us to the beach for 200 bucks. It was going to be 400 before she got on the phone. We were told the taxi holds 9 people so Majory and three of her kids were going to come. The kids were at school when I arrived so I played with the babies. Then Marjory asked me to run errands with her. She is a sales woman. She buys from a company and makes house deliveries. Since Father´s Day was in two days she had a lot of deliveries to make. On the way she talked slowy and used a lot of gestures for me to understand. We first went to a government building to sell to her friends. They bought boxer briefs and men´s lotion. There was a man there who wanted to speak English to me so that was fun. He was fruity! There are a lot of fruity men here in Costa Rica. Next stop was to her office to turn in receipts and pick up more goods. Then we went to her friend´s house. The dad told me who they were buying for which was his three son in laws and his son. He spoke super slowly and I understood! Then in the pouring down rain we walked home. The taxi came about 20 minutes later. It was small! It only had room for 7 and with the car seats that was a stretch. But Majory´s kids were so excited so they squeezed in. There was the mom, an 11 year old, a 7 year old, and a 1 1/2 year old all in the way back next to Ha Lien. We were like sardines said the grandma. And we were off by 6:00 p.m. It was pitch black and raining so we just hoped the driver was safe. He was! 3 hours later and after one puker we arrived. I ended up holding the sleeping baby for most of the ride. It was 9 p.m. and we were starving but guess what. It was too dark to walk to town and you have to go through the beach said our neighbors who were German. They felt so bad for us they gave us all their snacks. So our dinner was bbq pringles, cheese curls, chips ahoy, and oatmeal cookies. Good thing you can drink the water here! We were excited to go to bed becuase there was AC and a fan! Sleeping was great but I was freezing.
To be continued because now I must go to school.

¡Escuela!

I loved my first real day of school. Guess that´s why I like being a teacher, but deep down I still like being a teacher so I can go on adventures like this. So the day started with my teacher calling in sick so the director of the school had to teach me. My first hour I was with John. We worked on greetings, pronouns, and the verb to be. In Spanish there are two of them which confuses me a bit. After that hour I was one on one with Danielas. The next thing she had me do is listen to a song. I was to underline when I didn´t understand. I knew more than I thought. It was a song about an American man falling in love with a Cuban. Since they come from such different countries they ended up settling in France. Next on the schedule was snack. I shared with Hoang Linh who arrived with John. John does class from 8-9 and Hao from 9-10. They switch off watching Hoang Linh. Ha Lien does pre-K from 7:30-11:30. So during my pastry snack John said he went to check on Ha Lien and they were going on a field trip. Of course, this freaked Hao out because he had no idea where. I haven´t heard from them yet so I´m not sure where she went but I´ll find out soon. After snack I learned words about the days, months, years, and seasons. I did very well on that activity. Third grade Spanish helps a little.
The last part of my day was an outing. The last hour is always an outing. We went to a fruit market and I had to ask Que es? What is it and write it down. Danielas also bought me two fruits to eat. They were mamonchino (spikey fruit with a white/clear middle and pit) and granadilla which was like an orange but more sour. Both were good. Then we went to the mercado. There I had to ask different shop owners what things were. I went to an everything/toy shop. There I learned sombrilla, muneca, sandalias, jarra, and reloj. Next stop was for helado flavors. They don´t let you sample flavors here :( The fish market was next. There was a lot of tiburon (shark) for sale along with huge camarones and disgusting cabezade pescado.
On the way to our final destination I had two more questions to ask. This next one will need to be passed on to cousin Dan. I asked what this bundle of sticks was and it was mazote. This is a natural remedy for colitis. You drink the special water that comes out of it to help your colon. My final questions was how do you say beet? My host family served it to me and I don´t like them. Beet is remonlacha.
Danielas was excited for me to drink a special Costa Rican drink called chinchivi. It is kind of like beer foam. It was flavored with strawberry and just a lot of foam. Apparently it is fermented corn with sugar cane. It was very sweet but tasty. It can make you drunk, but you have to drink a lot!
Back at school we reviewed.
I have to practice at the beach.
My current two favorite phrases are: Estoy aprendiendo! and Despacio por favor!
Now time to pack for Playa Samara.

A Visit to Hao´s Family

Yesterday afternoon Hao´s family picked me up. This means they walked over and said come on we are going to the supermercado. This family has nine children but most are grown. It happened to be a teacher work day so she had three of them with her-Gabriela, Estafan, and Andres plus we had Ha Lien and Hoang Linh. We were a large group walking around town.
Our first stop was ice cream. This place had little rides for the kids so they loved it. I had crema chip which was like a vanilla and penaut butter combo. I originally got chocolate but it had almonds in it so Hao took that.
Next stop was the grocery store. We had two buggies and two strollers in the tiny aisles. It was quite a site. Estafan kept adding goodies to the cart. He´s seven and wild!
After that we went to the fruit market to get those spikey fruits that are clear in the middle. Quite tasty!
Then it was back to their house. I now know how to walk over. It is about 10 blocks or more so it is not as close as I´d like but still walkable.
At the house is where Gabriela who is 11 began teaching me Spanish. She was a great teacher. I also taught her English. We did this for 2 hours! My brain was tired. Then Fabiola came over with a game. It was a game where you race to find pictures. It was good for me to listen to all the directions in Spanish.
The dad of the family came home along with 4 other kids. The dad is a reflexologist. Ha Lien had a stomach ache and got a massage! We had dinner. They are vegetarian so my family´s food is much better. Oh I forgot to mention the mom of my family is cousins with this family. We had quesadillas filled with black beans and cheese. Then there was salad.
After that I was picked up by my family where I talked a little Spanish, showered, and went to bed.
Now I am off to four hours of Spanish and then we are trying to get to Samara, the beach. However, I am having great difficulties with the interbus website. I guess I´ll have Hao call.

Sugar Cane Factory Tour

Today we met at escuela for the factory tour. I counted the 100 meters and found it to be a little over 100 steps. It is about 130 of my steps. I did make one wrong turn when walking but still found my way. I just took the scenic route. I took my test and guess what my score was...not good! I only got two questions correct. The rest of the exam asked me to put the verbs in using the correct endings. Ahhhh! I need rules and help for that.

After that we were off. This time the we included Hao, John, and the kids. We rode the bus for about 45 minutes to the factory. It was on the outskirts on town in the mountains. Ha Lien kept saying bonita (beautiful) to everything including the graffiti painted on a truck.

After finding our way, (the driver got lost) we were given a guided tour. The sugar cane is chopped down and hauled in on a truck. Then it is fed into a machine to make a pulp. This particular factory is ecofriendly. It produces no waste! As the sugar can which looks similar to bamboo is turned into pulp the juice is collected. The left over pulp is the fuel for the fire to heat and clean the juice. We got to sample it in the taffy like stage and the liquid stage. It is very sweet. As you can imagine there are tons of bees flying around too. In fact, Hao got stung but played it cool since her daughter was freaking out. After seeing all the parts we were given suagar (looks like super light brown sugar) to bring home and some hard candy. If you want a sample I have plenty. Sugar cane is very important to the economy. It is one of the top three exports. Bananas and coffee are the top two! The Costa Ricans use it to make sugar water and to flavor many things. It is a local delight.

On the ride home we stopped at a river and had a snack of a piece of cake and saltines flavored with ham.

Now I am back at home. I had steak, onions, red pepper and rice for lunch with a side of salad.

Soon Hao´s mama is coming to pick me up so I can go grocery shopping with them. Then I will hang out and play with the 9 kids.

Casa

So Elizabeth asked what my house is like. This post will be better with pictures so you´ll have to check it out again when I get the pictures in. So every house here is behind bars for safety. The windows do not face the street. My house is directly behind an alteration shop. You come in a gate which is also their garage but it is only for car storage. Not for anything else! Upon entering the front door you are in a living room. This connects to a small kitchen with all the modern amenities except a dishwasher. It is tiny and we wash and reuse the same dishes at every meal. At the back of the kitchen there are steps leading down to a covered courtyard that opens to the courtyard. This is where the washing machine is. There are no dryers but clothes lines. From the living room there are steps leading up. Oh by the way there are only like 5 steps us and down. Upstairs there are 3 bedrooms and an office. The bathroom I use is the main one for the house and the sink is outside the bathroom. There must also be a bathroom in the master bedroom but I have not been in. The hallway in front of the bedrooms serves as the TV room. The office is tiny but has a full sized desk, half sized desk for homework and a bookshelf. Everything is made of beautiful wood.
I´m sure this description will not match my pictures but at least you have some sort of idea.

Today I met the director of NSI (Natural Spanish Institute) Daniela. Try to google that and see what comes up. My google is all in Spanish! She walked me to school. I have to do it all on my own from now on. I have to go 300 meters down to the left and then 100 meters right and 25 meters to the school. I am in between the 2 churches which serve as perfect landmarks. There are no street names or addresses here so for those of you reading this those numbers are important. 100 meters is basically equivalent to a block. I´ll count the steps to give more accuracy in the next post.

Daniela gave me a schedule and the rest of the group arrived at the school to depart for the ziplining. There are 6 high schoolers (three rising sophomores, a rising junior, and 2 rising seniors) Boy do I feel old! But they welcomed me and off to the bus we went. We drove for about an hour to Villa Blanco, a cloud forest. The teenagers were so preoccupied with their i-whatevers that I just kept my eyes straight ahead to avoid getting bus sick on the windy, bumpy roads and rested. It took awhile for us to get started but no one would explain. I think they were trying to over charge us but our school got the price they felt was fair $40. Ziplining was 8 lines of pure fun and 1 tarzan free fall. I loved it just as much as the first time. I did not see any animals but did enjoy the lush green gigantic plants! And guess what...NO RAIN! Back in the van we were happily welcomed with a snack packed for us from school. This is like being in a tour group. How nice! With bellies satisfied we napped all the way back. Oh one more thought about ziplining a green cockroach landed on my chest. It was the prettiest bug I´d ever seen. If only it would have posed long enough for a photo.

Back at home Mama made me lunch. I had chicken, potatoes, rice, beans with a little onion. the next post. She also squeezed me fresh pineapple juice. It was delicious! I even talked a little Spanish. I will know more tomorrow after my 4 hour lesson. Today I only started my test before our adventure. Then I was off to walk to find the park which was only pointed out to me by Mama on our quick walk to pick up pictures yesterday. Daniela had a lot of faith in me. Well, it worked out. I found the park and 3 of the other kids. We then just waited for Daniela to take us to our dancing lesson. We waited 15 minutes! Then Daniela was in a panic because one of the boys was missing. He apparently is always late and has already been lost. His name is Ben. He is French with blond hair and blue eyes and no tan. He sticks out pretty easy here. It still made me nervous. We ended up spotting him on the corner 15 minutes later. He got the time wrong and wasn´t actually lost. Let´s just say he has lost 3 sets us keys while being here. 2 to his host family and one at a hotel. We have to give him a bit of a break as he does have ADHD and is not taking meds.

So now on to the dancing. We danced on the third story of a building. Remember no AC and we are now movin´and a groovin´! Let´s just say toasty! We learned the merengue, salsa, and Costa Rican swing. Luke and I according to the dance instructor were the best. So yes, I danced well with a 15 year old! He was loving every minute of it as his head was getting bigger and bigger. Afterwards I was turned around, hot, and nervous to get home. Luke walked me home which is when he told me the two girls had lived in this house before me.

This afternoon I had homemade bread pudding. The house smelled so sweet, read, did Sudoku and played on the internet.

We´ll see what tomorrow brings. Should be school, sugar cane factory tour, and a trip to the waterfall/swimming hole in town.

Evening of Day 1 in San Ramon

So I totally got some information wrong about my host family. Who knew that when school got out they would have a 14 year old son who could do some translating for me. That helped a lot! I now understand that the daughter lives in the Boston area with two kids. The other son lives around here. I haven´t quite figured out if he is married but the 14 year old said something about someone being pregnant. I only get bits and pieces so I could still have wrong information. I also found out that they were hosting two of the girls from Durham Academy but the girls did not find it to be sufficient accomodations. Apparently they only watched TV and did not interact with them. I have not had that at all! But maybe it is because I am basically a mute right now.

I am lost without a guide book. I was told not to bring one so I read up as much as I could before the trip but it is not the same. I also could use a San Ramon city map but no, no. I must live like a local.

Last night we (we being the people I know John, Hao, the kids, Fabiloa, her son, her husband, plus the 6 Durham Academy students) went to see Prince of Persia. It was not my kind of movie in English or Spanish. I did not understand much since it would flash back and time and there was so much fighting. It was suspenseful which everyone knows I do not do well with. My eyes were constantly closing. I also plugged my ears when I didn´t even know what they were saying. When I told my version afterwards I got the gist. I mean the bare minimum! It was a good experience and by seeing the movie I was in air conditioning and protected from the evening downpour. The best part of this outing to the mall was Fabiola´s son, Luigi (aged 4) telling us how we had to walk through the grocery store to get to the theater. He was correct! Hao and I also had fun at the ATM. We took out 55,000 colones which we figured out was only 100 bucks. Told you I need my guide book.

Back to my house I helped Gustavo with his homework. It was real tough...he needed to know the word for what goes on a broken arm, a cast. I was glad to be of service. It was late around 8 and I had no dinner. I thought they´d offer but they did not so I had some cheese and crackers and peanuts. I now know how to ask for food and to say what I would like but I was too nervous. It didn´t matter though because I was exhausted so it was perfectly fine. (Getting up at 2:30 a.m. is always rough)I showered by jumping in and out of the water (need to ask if it gets hot) and went right to bed.

Day 1 San Ramon, Costa Rica

Well I made it! It was an early start to the day. I got up around 2:30 a.m. and am still going strong. Of course I napped on the plane. Hao, John, and I are pretty good travelers with all the gear kids come with. The car seats and strollers seemed like a piece of cake this time. It was the darn infant ticket that was the pain in the butt.

So I was dropped off at my house which is in the heart of the city.

Here is the front of my house. The car parks behind the blue gate and the door is to the right.

It is a tri level home. I have my own bedroom and bathroom. My mama and papa do not speak any English so communication has been minimal. I was shown my room and given a tour and then my mama cooked lunch for me. I had fish, rice, tomato and lettuce salad, and lemonade. It was delicious.

Then I pulled out my picture dictionary and we tried to talk a bit. I know she has three grown children and two grandchildren. Her oldest son lives in NY and her youngest son is a student in the university here. I am not so sure where her daughter lives. I have access to internet! So I´ll update regularly.
Mama whose name I cannot pronounce so that is what I call her showed me family pictures. I unpacked. How nice to be in one place! Then her husband came home with his brother and now everyone is watching the world cup. I´m off to see a movie in a bit. We´ll see what I get out of that. I will also get my schedule for the next 10 days.
Tomorrow, my first day of class I will be skipping. I am off to go on a hike and canopy tour in a different cloud forest. My guide said to eat a big breakfast and sleep well. Sounds like an adventure! Here is school but I'm skipping!

More later...