And thus began grad school...

Classes started for me last Friday the 13th, which if I was a superstitious person would have been a bad omen...luckily for me though, I'm not and I really enjoyed my first class, "Semantica del Texto." I was caught quite off guard when the professor announced that the whole semester would be conducted in English, I mean after all I came here so that I could learn to think in Spanish, but after sitting through the next 3 classes, 2 of which are in Spanish, I am quite thankful for the change in language...at least I know I'll fully understand 2 of my 4 classes! Now I only have to get used to being up, sitting in class, and fully focused on learning at 7 a.m. on a Saturday...what do you suppose are the chances of that? Never in my life have I had a Saturday class, let alone a 7 a.m. class.

I woke up on February the 14th at 5:30 a.m., made coffee, showered, and was out the door by 6:30 to get to the university on time (I have to catch a bus from central park in Barva to Heredia, and then walk about 500 kilometers to the university). Suprisingly though, it wasn't that hard. The professor I have for the 7 a.m. class somewhat reminds me of Dr. Peery (for those of you who know him). I couldn't imagine having anyone else at 7 a.m. and enjoying being in class. Of course as soon as that class got out I was the first out the door searching more coffee, but I wasn't completely bored during the 2 1/2 hours I sat there focused on the use of words in a strictly gramatical sense, with or without being ambigious...ummm...what???

Anyway my day finally ended at 3:30 p.m. after 2 other classes, "Estrategias de la traduccion" and "Terminologia" which could possibly be an interesting subject but, thanks to the professor who has a need to clarify herself about 12 times and talk all the way though a project she gave us to do, won't be my favourite class. It was at about 4 p.m. when I arrived back at the house that I realized it was Valentine's Day. Not because of anything anyone did for me, but because it was the first time since I woke up that I was able to relax and not focus on learning. That night I went out to a restaurant to listen to my brother, Jaime, and two of his friends play their first gig. The bar/restaurant was tiny but had an amazing view of the lights of the city, including the lights of the runway at the airport. Even at 11:00 p.m. it was breathtaking. Unfortunately after that things turned sour when we went out to eat Taco Bell at 12:00 in the morning and I woke up Sunday sick to my stomach from late night grease. Not the brightest idea I have ever had, but hmmm was it good at the time.

Other than that, currently there is this sculpture fair or festival going on in the central park in Barva. There are about 12 sculptors, 2 from the US, 1 from Cuba and the rest Costa Rican who started sculpting on Sunday and are supposed to finish completely in two weeks. Its incredible to see how a huge piece of rock is gradually transformed into art. I have been speaking with one of the sculptors, from Colorado, who is doing this interesting Mother-Daughter piece. She is very nice but doesn't speak a word of Spanish so I've been interpreting for her whenever I'm around. It's quite fun actually.

Yesterday I spent the day at the beach with Tonio, a friend that I made last time I was here. We went to Jaco, about 2 1/2 hours away from San Jose, not the prettiest of beaches in Costa Rica, but not the worst either. It was a gorgeous day to spend on the beach, lots of sunshine and warm weather. It was just nice to get out in the sun again after 6 months straight in an office working in front of a computer. I wasn't even out in the sun that much, considering how quickly I burn it wasn't a smart idea to spend hours with no shade, but even a little sun drains a person and when I arrived home at around 8:30 I was super tired. I fell asleep on the couch attempting to have a conversation on MSN only to be woken up by Danilo, my other brother, and sent to bed. Unfortunately the morning brought the realization that I still had about 140 pages to read for my classes on Saturday and about 6 short interviews to do for Friday night...and thus began my career as a grad school student...fun times...

Pura Vida is a way of life...

Finally classes start this week! And I say finally since I have now been here for almost 3 weeks with nothing of value to do. Oh I have definitely had fun, too much at times, but I'm ready to get down to business and start learning again...after all, and as much of a nerd as this makes me sound...I really do enjoy having papers to write! Anyway so I have my first class on Friday at 5 p.m. followed by 3 classes on Saturday that begin at 7 a.m...yes in the morning...and end at 4. I was thinking today about how this is probably payback for my last semester at Mars Hill when I only had classes Tuesday and Thursday for a couple hours in the morning, and even before that, my semester here when I had no classes on Friday or Tuesday and Thursday during the day. I mean its not so bad only having classes two days a week, but why the weekend? Grrr.

Anyway so besides karma being a...you know...I have spent my days doing nothing of consequence. For the Super Bowl I went to a Casino near the airport which was awesome. They had about 5 gigantic screens set up around the restaurant so I got to see all the details. I went with my hermano tico, Jaime, and Astrid, another student that is staying here from Sweden and then we met up there with one of Jaime's high school friends, Marco, and three of Marco's friends, all of which say they watch football every Sunday. Jaime and I were the only ones rooting for the Cardinals and the only reason we did was to play Devil's Advocate, which I'm sure for those of you who know me, doesn't suprise you :-P. Anyway I was all into the game and the team so I was quite upset when they lost and now I'm even more sad that I have to wait until like August to watch another game! Yesterday I went to watch the Pro Bowl with the same people minus Jaime and Astrid, and this time I was happy that the NFC won! It was the first time I think I've ever watched the Pro Bowl and we spent like 30 minutes talking about which helmets we liked and which we didn't. I was thought of as strange because I'm not a fan of the Buccaneer's helmet but I do like the Dolphins' simply because I like the colours. We all agreed on our dislike of the Browns' helmets and full uniform really...they need a new stylist.

Ok so that was random, moving on...on Tuesday last week I went up...or down really I think...to San Jose with Jaime's friend, Marco, to see the university there, UCR is the biggest in Costa Rica I believe. Its quite a nice campus, new and old buildings and has the same sort of artsyness that I loved about Asheville. There are so many restaurants and bars, many very old, but its full with university students, obviously, so it was super fun. I spent the entire day outside on a gorgeous day talking spanish. What more could I ask for in life?

The weather has been sort of crazy. I was told this is the most beautiful time to be here in Costa Rica...always sunny and warm, but I think I was lied to. Some days have been amazing, I lay out on the balcony one morning for about 30 minutes and burned lol, what else is new...but then for the past week the wind has been hurricane-like. I seriously think sometimes that the roof might blow off. It would be beautiful sans the wind....Jaime says its just a cold front, but it seems to have parked itself over the whole country. I would love to go to the beach this week but with this wind I can't imagine it being pleasant.

Anyway other than that, life is just great. Yesterday I went to a baptist church close to my house and really enjoyed it. The people were so friendly and there is a good amount of younger people there. I just feel great about life right now, I have nothing to be upset about and can only thank the Lord for this amazing opportunity that I have! The phrase Pura Vida definitely defines my life these days!

It's now a reality...

So I came down here on a whim basically. Although I had taken an exam in the US,and did relatively well on it, I still had to take the entrance exam into the specific Master's in Translation program when I arrived here which I did on Monday. I had planned on being down here for two years but if I didn't do well on the exam all that would change and I'd be heading back to the United States. Fortunately though, and yes I did doubt it for a few hours, I received excellent news that I passed the exam and have been admitted into the program! So no "welcome back" party for me anytime soon!

I went to the university yesterday to register as a student. I was hoping on it being simple and being finished in a few minutes but for some reason the school requires a photo of me in order to register...like passport style...and we all know how bad those always come out! So I took a little walk around Heredia, something I haven't done since the day before I left back in December of 2007. Everything is the same. Its so nice coming back to a place that is just how it was before and hasn't been modernized by hundreds of McDonalds' and Burger Kings...although a Starbucks would be nice! I walked through central park, scattered with young children feeding the pidgeons and I remembered how I felt the last time I was there, nostalgic. There seriously is something about Costa Rica that grabbed my heart and never let go!

Anyway, so now that I'm in the program I just have to sign up for my classes, and then those start either the 2nd of the 9th of February. I'm excited to be studying again. In the months since I graduated I definitely missed school, and even essays. Working was a change I wasn't ready for and I'm super excited to be able to study again. Now we just have to hope that I understand everything that is going on when I get in the classroom!

Here's to my new reality!

I always said I would come home...

I arrived at around 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday the 21st of January. It was incredibly difficult to leave everyone again. While having dinner at Chili's in NC with friends after watching a movie I became unbarebly sad for what I was leaving behind: my friends, my family, my life. Sitting in the airport in Houston, not being able to get ahold of Mom one last time to say goodbye brought me to tears and I wondered if I was really doing the right thing; why after I had built my new life in California, would I want to leave it again? I knew though, that if I decided not to do this, that if I just decided to stay I would always wonder what could have been, and how much this experience would have changed me. I might be having second thoughts but I know myself well enough to know that if I do not get this out of my system I would never be happy with the life I would build for myself in the future, wherever that may be.

In Costa Rica, after leaving North Carolina's icy, low 20s degree weather, the warm muggyness of summer in the tropics was definitely welcoming. My host mother, Nela, my younger host brother Jaime, and Sylvia who helps Nela around the house met me at the airport. It was just as if I'd never left. After leaving the airport we went to Danilo, my older brother's, office so he could say hi. He pretty much tackled me almost to the ground (it would have been if the car wasn't in the way) in his attempt to say hello. It was nice though, to know I was missed. After that we went to my host father, Alberto's office to see him. Since I've been back he has been so caring, asking if I need anything everytime he sees me, making sure I'm happy.

Eventually I made it back to the house where I met Astrid, a Swedish student staying with us for a few months while she goes to the University as well. We have spent time getting to know each other and she seems nice enough, but apparently there was an issue with her and Jaime so she doesn't really hang out with the same crowd anymore, and I was advised not to invite her when we all go out since its awkward, and none of the guys like what she did to Jaime. There is also a girl from France staying with here for about another week while she is on vacation.

Since I've been here I've just been catching up with people I haven't seen in a year. The night I arrived Andrey, a friend of Danilo's, came to visit me. We were pretty good friends when I was here last so it was nice to see him again. On Thursday I just hung out at the house unpacking and making my room more homey, watched Grey's and then went out to Heredia to meet up with Antonio. Although we didnt' see much of each other when I was here last we became better friends by talking online when I was in the US. Friday was Nacho's birthday, a good friend of Jaime's, so we all went out to La Rumba, a dance club not too far away. I had only been 1 time before but the place was exactly as I remembered it. We danced Salsa and Merengue for hours!

One thing I have noticed this time that I wasn't so tuned into last time is the amount of gringos or Americans that are here. Last night there must have been 40 in La Rumba and I've seen at least 3 others around Barva, the small town that I live in. They all hang out together and speak English and drink beer, ignoring everyone around them. I sat there wondering if I was like that last time I was here. In the beginning I would only go out with my exchange group, until I realized I was not learning any Spanish by only speaking English, and so I began to go out only with Jaime and his friends. I wonder if any of them will have the same realization I had and make friends with the natives instead.

Costa Rica hasn't changed though because of the trade agreement with the United States and for that I am thankful. Although there might be a few more foreign banks and large grocery stores, the country is as it was before, warm, sunny, and green, and fortunately without rain this time of year! The view of the sunset from my balcony still takes my breadth away. The food still consists of the staple rice and beans with beef or chicken and every meal is accompanied by freshly made juice: pineapple, mango, papaya, you name it. The people are as friendly and helpful as ever. Being here again makes me realize just how much I have missed not only the slow pace of life that is definitely lacking in Southern California but also the incredibly generous latino culture that makes being back in Costa Rica more like returning to the place I was always meant to be, it's just like I have finally come home.