It's true love...

Today I rediscovered the love I used to have for Costa Rica. The love that, little by little, I had been losing. My life here had become the same monotonous routine, day in and day out. My days spent indoors working on endless amounts of translation homework and thesis writing, an afternoon of rain, clear but cold nights, ESPN right before turning the light out only to wake up in 8 hours to do it all over again. I was always surrounded by the same people, always in the same places and last night I felt suffocated. The feeling started at dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant by the university. There were too many tables crammed into one dinning room and the room was packed. One one side I had a piller, behind a party of two, to my left a party of 8 and in front of me the bar. It was stuffy and hot, the only ceiling-fan being situated tables away from mine. I couldn't wait to leave, to be able to breath again, but when I got outside I realized it wasn't just the restaurant, it was my life.

I went to bed last night with a million thoughts rolling around in my head. And when I woke up at 6 am to the sound of a text message I couldn't even remember if I had dreamt anything. Two hours later I woke up again and turned on ESPN. My day was about to be as monotonous as the rest when a friend said: vaya afuera, es increible hoy! Go outside, its gorgeous today. I turned off my computer, grabbed the January edition of Fitness magazine, and headed to Central Park to enjoy the sun. I bought an iced cappuccino and a chicken empanada, and sat on a bench for the next hour and a half soaking up the amazing Central American midday sun.

Central park was packed with families: children running around after the pidgeons, parent's holding up their toddlers to see into the fountain, clowns trying to sell bubbles and blow-up toys, an indigenous flute musician playing along to Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." The sky was the magnificent blue colour of Costa Rica's still-undamaged-by- tourists Rio Celeste and the puffy white clouds were scarce. From where I sat, I had a view of the ancient Catholic church hidden partially by the tall palm trees blowing gently in the breeze. A grandmother, her daughter, and her grandson sat next to me on the bench, speaking the beautiful Spanish that I love, Tico Spanish. Across were two teenagers in-love, locked in embrace, him kissing her on the forehead. A gorgeous black labrador jumped into the fountain to cool himself off. A toddler cycled by on a green plastic tricycle, followed by his young father in faded jeans, a airy white button-up shirt, and his dark shaggy hair bouncing as he jogged to keep up. And as I watched a beautiful little girl in a pink dress and white sandles, with thick, long, dark hair chase the bubbles her mom blew I realized, this is the Costa Rica I love. Just five blocks from my apartment I found my escape and I fell back in love with Costa Rica.

I came back to the apartment, slightly burnt, but content. The sun is shining in my world again and Costa Rica is truly the love of my life.