Thurs. 7/22 (and a bit of today, too)

OMG, yesterday was such a good day. I mean, I didn't get to go into the forest to plant trees, but it was still splendid. I love being busy here in CR! We actually had class class in the morning - which was such a bummer after 2 days of field trips. Then, Emily (a classmate who is also in AIFS - I think I write about her a lot) worked on our presentation for today that was about our visit to the Gold Museum [the field trip on Tues] (it went quite well, in case you were wondering. It was the first time I've ever had to do a legitimate presentation in Spanish. The purpose was to learn about CR culture firsthand and then share w/ our class. It's what we've been talking about all day - culture, that is - so I've been a happy camper. I think I've been dominating the conversation. This is definitely my forte - much more than volunteering w/ little kids, which is what some girls from my group are doing on Mon afternoons. It's awesome, tho, because I can share my Ecuador Experiences with my classmates and use this [plus what I've learned in my classes - it makes me the "go to girl" whenever anyone in our program has a question about anything here in CR, really] to better relate to what my prof is teaching. So I love it. I mean, I chose to study this at home because I enjoy it). But anyway, back to YESTERDAY first...

Afterwards, we had our cooking class. Not sure if I explained, so really quickly: we don't actually get to cook, but we sit there and this woman teaches us how to cook (in Spanish, of course), and we get the recipe (also in Spanish), and then we get to eat it at the end. So I'm sure you can tell what my fav part of this class is...But we made pineapple empanadas! Yummmmm. I had like 4 of them...Whoops! I'm def going to have to walk a ton w/ Stryder when I get home!!! But it was neat because you use the same "dough" to make any kind of empanada (fruit, meat, cheese), so I feel empowered. Lol. I am for sure having a CR cooking fest when I get home. Y'all are invited (you can come help me cook, too). ;)

Then, Ale and I went exploring again. Thursdays are our days to explore because I don't get out of cooking until 3 and many things close at 4, so we just pick an area and wander to see what's open and interesting. This time, Jess Lowman (we have 3 Jessica's on the trip) went with us, too. (She's from Ohio, so she understands/knows a lot about our area). We went to the cultural centers (Mexico, North America, and England), which turned out to be like mini consulates that teach English as private tutors. It was interesting. We went into a couple stores to see what they were like.

Then, a bunch of people from my class and AIFS went out to dinner at Cafe Mundo. I think I mentioned that place before. That was really fun to get a bunch of us together for a "nice" dinner of our choosing. I don't really even do that at home...

After dinner, we went to Castro's a discoteca/salsa club/bar. We DANCED AND DANCED AND DANCED and had a fabulous time. It was the first time we've gone out in CR that I didnt want to go home. We just had that much fun. AND I danced with a Tico boy!!! Sorry Doug. 2 guys came over and asked some classmates to dance, but the 1 girl didn't want to, so the 1st guy asked another girl and the 2nd guy just grabbed my hand and started dancing. I mean, it's dancing, so I didn't object. The order of events was quite funny to me, though. After not asking me to dance, his only question was, "Are you a student at Veritas?" (This whole convo was in Spanish, but it's just easier for those of you who wouldn't understand). Then, a minute or 2 later, when he realized that I actually COULD dance, he started trying slightly more complex moves and asked, "Would you rather dance salsa or merengue?" I told him that it didn't matter since I didn't really know how to do either. He said it was fine and I was doing alright. Then, another minute or 2 later, he finally asked, "What's your name?" but didn't offer his. It was Jorge, btw. Which I found hilarious because that's waht I usually name everything (good thing Ernesto was unique). But we danced for maybe 7 minutes (1 song, but it was a long, discoteca dance-y song). I had a blast! In Ecuador, the only local I ever danced with was my host brother, so this was for sure a very exciting experience for me.

As you can see, it was a very full, but very fun day. Yay!!! :)