Random ramblings

Today was a quiet day. Mostly cause I was tired and it was grey and chilly out. Lesson this am started w Mad Libs, which was fairly entertaining. This was followed by “tell us about your country” complete w a map provided. That was cool both from a discussion / practical speaking and listening standpoint and also from a learning all about Germany standpoint (both my classmates are German). We also had an in-depth discussion about the correct way to make coffee, the fact that barristas here apparently work in the coffee plantation before ever serving so they know every step of the process, and the difference between a French and Canadian press (apparently Canadian has two filters and French has one that is metal. Prof says Canadian is better, but to be fair, google knows nothing about this ;)

Tonight’s homework is to write a speech - yikes!

This afternoon was pretty quiet - I read in the park and watched the hummingbirds flit around. Then the girls and I went to a cafe in town recommended by our prof, where I had absolutely the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had! Amazing.

Since not much happened some random thoughts about life here :). It amuses me to no end that the store Ropa Americano (essentially American Clothes) is a super-cheap secondhand shop.
I’ve noticed that fast food drinks are served without lids. Plastic straws are still a thing here but lids, not so much.

Residence has been an interesting experience. While I like my privacy too much to want to do it for too long, for a short stay it’s amazing. Esp w this being such a small town, it’s really nice to have like-minded people to talk to, coffee and lunch breaks, homework sessions in pjs, etc. Just like first yr uni, it really puts you in the middle of things and makes it easier to get to know people. When I added a couple of the girls on FB we were talking about how short a time we’ve known each other, but then really there are comparatively v few people on my fb who know me well enough to have seen me in my pjs ;). So the time = depth rule is very much broken.
Showers here (and apparently not just in residence, is a CR thing that we didn’t experience in the resort). As my roommate put it “you can have hot water or you can have a lot of water, but not both.” So if you turn the tap just a little you get hot water, with no pressure. As you turn it more, you get more pressure but lose all heat. Sinks are cold water only. End result is that my hair hasn’t been washed all week ;). Although it has been soaked through w rain several times so we’re saying that counts ;)

The school has insanely loud bells signally start, break, and finish of class times but somehow nobody is ever on time. All week I’ve consistently been the only one on time - even counting the teachers. Lol CR time. And to be fair, they generally continue a few mins after the bell too so it balances out.

Things definitely move slower here - people on the street move so slowly I’m not sure how they ever get anywhere. Checkouts are painful. Have to readjust my mentality before going into any shop (have I mentioned lately how much I love the paneria? Lol - that in itself took a kind soul to show me how to navigate the first time. You take a tray and tonges, and place the items you wish to purchase directly on the tray. When you check out they bag your items and wipe the tray.). But yeah - every checkout is painfully slow. And most of the time I have no idea why lol. Just a thing here.
I’ve seen nobody smoking, and lots of people use the gym equipment in the park. People here seem to be either exceptionally obese or supremely fit - there doesn’t seem to be much inbetween. I’m wondering if it has to do w the hills — any kind of physical activity (cycling, running, etc) here is a serious commitment. I don’t think I could bike in this town — it’d be like the hill we lived on in Paris everywhere. So there’s no entry level fitness option for people like me ;). Not a serious athlete but occasionally like to go run a few kms w my dog. Here - no way. So you get the Uber fit who either have no car and thus are forced into fitness or who are genuinely impressive athletes (the Olympic training centre is near here) but everybody else just gets round - helped w a carb heavy local diet.

Oh and the dogs. There are dogs everywhere. I believe most are strays (although a few have collars) but unlike other places w stray dog issues, these ones all seem to be friendly and in good condition - decent weight, good coats, alert expressions, no obvious scraps etc. Mostly either alone or in pairs; I’ve yet to see more than two together. So I’m not quite sure what’s going on. I’ve seen lots of people walking their dogs so it’s clearly not just common practice to let their pets roam.

My currency comprehension is improving and now I can comparatively tell if something is expensive (eg I know how much lunch should cost in a Soda - Costa Rican eatery - etc) but I really have no grasp of what it translates to in dollars.

Think that’s enough rambling for tonight. Have to write my speech. So sad :(