So it's been a REALLY long time since I last posted! I had every intention of making daily posts but obviously that did not work out! I will try catch you all up from my weekend until now....

This past weekend we went to Manuel Antonio which was a beautiful beach! We were warned about dengue (a type of mosquito that lays eggs or something in your bloodstream and you get super sick a couple weeks later) so I basically bathed in bug spray! We arrived around dinner time on Friday evening and were given the keys to our room. Now we have had pretty nice hotel rooms so our expectations were decently high....but we were let down! It almost felt like a dorm room at youth camp. It was clean, just not what we were expecting! After a good nights sleep we headed out to the beach the next morning. At 9 in the morning, it was already super hot! As soon as my feet touched the sand I decided I NEEDED a chair and an umbrella. Well my friend and I split the cost and we got 2 chairs with an umbrella all day for 4 mil (8 dollars). (At the end of the day we decided we would've payed 20 dollars for it!) We put our sunscreen on and while the other girls laid out in the sun, I sat in my shaded chair with a book - who does that sound like? :) But about that time I realized that I had just read the same book two weeks before I came down here! So while my friend Ross tried to surf, I read his book! After I had my fill of reading I decided I would get in the ocean. That was the most perfect ocean water I have ever felt! I could've sat in there the entire day! I went out just far enough to where the waves weren't breaking on my head but could still touch. When I began to drift a little bit down the beach I decided to get out and get some lunch. Lunch consisted of dry rice and greasy chicken...not good any time of the day but especially when you are hot! After that I went back to my lovely chair on the beach. Later in the afternoon, I decided I would give surfing a try. I had watched some of the other girls in the group try out the surfboard that Ross rented and thought why not?! Well I have to say it is harder than it looks! I could balance on my belly and even on my knees all the way to the shore, but I could never get up! Well I kinda did one time but I slipped off - I'm blaming it on the lack of wax on the board :) After what felt like forever, I was exhausted and rode it back in (on my belly) to shore. About that time it began to rain but several of us decided we would wait it out under our umbrella. Problem number one was that the umbrella was not in the best of shape and had holes in it. Problem number two was that it was not just a quick shower, it turned into a thunderstorm! We decided we had had enough of the beach and were desperate need of a shower! After our shower, the sunburn began to show! Although I put sunscreen on I did get pretty pink under my eyes (I'm guessing where I was constantly wiping the water and makeup from my face while I was attempting to surf) and my chest. Kayla, my roommate, got pretty burnt and our pale red-headed friend got fried! But we put some lotion and bug spray on and headed to dinner. The food was very good and after we went to get us some gelato, Italian ice cream. The next day, most of our San Jose group went to the national park. It was a pretty good walk from the entrance to the beach but I think it was worth it. There were no vendors trying to sell you anything and absolutely no trash. You did have to watch your stuff because the monkeys would actually grab your things and open them to look for food! There were a lot of people there so the monkeys weren't too active but we did see one! Kayla could've touched it she was so close! Unfortunately we didn't have much time in the park because we had to leave at 12 to go back to San Jose. The bus ride was pretty uneventful but as always it felt really long!

Mondays are probably the worst day of the week because it is one of our long days and we are tired from the weekend. But classes were really easy because our teacher (the same for both classes) was sick and he was obviously doing whatever he could to waste time! Later that evening when we were waiting on dinner, our sister (the one with the son that lives with us) brought in McDonalds for the kids. Now I'm not a huge McDonalds person but at that moment I could think of nothing else! I wanted a cheeseburger so bad I was drooling! For some reason they had an extra one and after seeing my face (which was apparently obvious that I was dying to eat it) they let me have it! Now I, as everyone knows, am pretty picky. I like my cheeseburgers with ketchup only. This one, I pulled the pickle off and dove in! I didn't care about the mustard, onions, or whatever else was on it! I ate that thing in four bites! When I finally came up for air, everyone was staring at me and laughing! I believe it was the best McDonalds cheeseburger I've ever eaten!

On Tuesday, we ate a nice relaxed breakfast and piddled around until we had to leave for our meeting. The meeting was super short because we don't have a trip through the travel company this weekend. After that, we walked as a group downtown to catch a bus to the ISA office for our dance lesson! Although I was excited to learn some dance moves, I was a little apprehensive. A couple of years ago Jennifer (Justin's sister) had to show me how to do "The Twist"...the really old song where all you do is...well...twist! So we get there and our dance teacher lady is super energetic and ready to get going. About five minutes into what felt like an aerobics class, we realized we could only get one of the windows to open! Now this room had no air conditioning, it was full of people, and we were all sweating like pigs! But after that hour of more exercise than I have had in my entire life, I did learn a few steps of Salsa and Meringue! We left from there to walk to the bus stop to catch a bus back to the downtown area. Apparently 3 o'clock in the afternoon is the most popular time to take that bus! There were almost 20 of us and there was not one seat on the bus! We were standing in the aisle with everyone in everyone else's bubble! Not to mention that no one wanted to put the windows down because it was SPRINKLING outside - so I'm sure everyone loved having the hot and sweaty gringos on the bus! After what felt like the longest bus ride of my life, we ate lunch downtown and went through the artisan market. It was full of tourists but they did have some neat stuff in there...I got something for Sarah :) When we got back to our house we were greeted by some other gringos! Shantel, who had stayed with our family in 2007 for a semester, and Joshua, who's twin brother was here a couple of weeks ago and didn't live here but was over here all the time in 2007. A little confusing I know! Kayla and I played card games with them and enjoyed speaking a little English! They are here for 10 days to sight-see and visit. ISA doesn't allow people from the US to stay in a home where there are students (I assume because they're afraid that we would speak in English the whole time) so they are staying with our sister who doesn't live here.

Well I believe that's everything! I will try my best to post again before I leave for our trip this weekend. It isn't an ISA sponsored trip so everyone is free to go wherever they please. Some of the group and I are going whitewater rafting on Saturday and then are going to be dropped off in Puerto Viejo. It is a beach on the Caribbean side! We will stay Saturday night and catch a bus back to San Jose on Sunday. Next week is my last so I know I will be busy! Bittersweet! :( :)